Fantasy Catcher Rankings:

Time for my annual fantasy rankings. I’ll be posting one position per day as well as giving draft advice. My method is proven, having won my head to head fantasy league 3 straight years before teaching my fiancé how to play last season only to have her use my rankings against me and take the Championship. This year I’ll look to rebound from last year’s disappointing 2^nd place finish.

Catchers are to Fantasy Baseball what Tight Ends are to Fantasy Football. If you can’t get one of the top two or three guys, wait ‘til the late rounds and get a contributor. In my first draft, picking 11^th in a serpentine format, I waited and got Jason Varitek in the 18^th round. Not a guy who is going to carry you, but hitting in Boston’s lineup, he won’t hurt you either, and I was able to load up the rest of my lineup and grab some serious pitching.

Name, Team	Remarks (# games)	Other
Victor Martinez, CLE	+RBI	1B
Russell Martin, LAD	+SB
Joe Mauer, MIN	-PARK, MED, -HR
Brian McCann, ATL	-R
Jorge Posada, NYY	+BA,
Kenji Johjima, SEA	-R
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, TEX		1B
Geovany Soto, ChC	+BA, -HR, -RBI, -R (18)
Bengie Molina, SF	-PARK, -R
Ramon Hernandez, BAL	MED, -HR, -R
Ivan Rodriguez, DET	-R
Jason Varitek, BOS
A.J. Pierzynski, CWS	-R
Mike Napoli, LAA	-BA, -RBI, -R (75)
Ryan Doumit, PIT	-HR, -RBI, -R (83)	OF
Paul LoDuca, NYM	-HR, -R
Ronny Paulino, PIT
J.R. Towles, HOU	!BA, -HR, -RBI, -R (14)
Yadier Molina, StL	-HR, -RBI, -R
Johnny Estrada, WAS	-R

In the key below, some notes:

+/- PARK means different things to different folks. In the pitcher lists, +PARK is one of the top 3 pitchers parks For position players, +PARK is one of the top 3 hitters parks. Anyone with a ! can carry your team for a week or two in that category. –BA should be seen as the kiss of death. These guys are not starters for a contending fantasy team. You’re better off taking a flier on a rookie than drafting one of these siphons.

KEY	Numbers based on last years stats
MED	History of medical issues or coming off injury
+PARK	Park is a serious advantage (top 3)
-PARK	Park is a serious disadvantage (bottom 3)
!HR	>37 HR
+HR	>30 HR
-HR	<10>
!RBI	>120 RBI
+RBI	>100 RBI
-RBI	<50>
!BA	>.330
+BA	>.305
-BA	<.250
!R	>110 R
+R	>100 R
-R	<55>
!SB	>35 SB
+SB	>15 SB