by Todd Lammi

Following up on my previous post, here are the tiers for fantasy baseball catchers.

Tier 1 – Russ Martin, Brian McCann

Tier 2 – Geovany Soto, Victor Martinez

Tier 3 – Ryan Doumit, Chris Ianetta, Bengie Molina

Tier 4 – Jorge Posada, A.J. Pierzynski, Ramon Hernandez

Tier 5 – Kelly Shoppach, Ivan Rodriguez, Chris Snyder, Matt Wieters, Mike Napoli

Tier 6 – John Baker, Miguel Olivo, Brandon Igne

Tier 7 – Kurt Suzuki, Dioner Navarro, George Laird, Yadier Molina, Jesus Flores, Kenji Johjima, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Nick Hundley, Rod Barajas, Brian Schneider

Martin and McCann are going two picks apart according to their average draft position (ADP). However, I would opt for Martin over McCann every time with the bonus of 20 steals coming from the catcher position. Martin’s power might fluctuate more from year-to-year in the 13-20 home run range, while McCann has 20-25 home run power, the steals more than make up for the difference since the other categories of batting average, runs and rbi are close.

Soto is close to the first tier, but I would like to see his put up the same stats for a second year in a row before I bump him up to that group. The power potential he had exhibited in 2007 in the minor leagues carried over last season as he clubbed the same number of home runs as McCann did. Throw the last season out the window for Victor Martinez as he battled injuries that reduced his power. He has already hit three home runs this spring, which is more that what he hit last season in 266 at bats. Expect a return to numbers that fall in between his 2006 and 2007 seasons.

Doumit’s power numbers in 2008 were pretty much in line with what he had done the two previous seasons, when you look at the at bat totals. The .319 average might have been a little over his head. His career minor league minor league average was .296, and I see him more in the .285-.300 range annually. Iannetta offers a little more power than Doumit, but a lower batting average, even taking into account Ianetta plays his home games at Coors field. Bengie Molina always seems to be underrated. He is old and plays for the San Francisco Giants who have a somewhat weak offense, but that benefits Molina who hit cleanup and has driven in 80+ runs each of the last two seasons. The only downside is his runs scored which  has been below 46 the last two years with the Giants.

Posada comes off of shoulder surgery in 2008 that limited him to only 168 at bats. So far this spring, he seems in line to be ready to play on Opening Day. He might be limited to around 400-450 at bats, which puts him at around 13-15 home runs, with 55 runs scored and 65 rbi. Pierzynski, or AJP for ease of typing purposes is solid every season. You know what you are going to get with him, an average around .280 with 14 home runs, 60 rbi and 60 runs scored. Ramon Hernandez moves to the the National League this season and should be able to put up similar stats to AJP but with a batting average in the .255-.265 range.

Shoppach has some thunder in his bat, but the question is how many at bats is he going to get this season. I am pegging him for around 400 which gives him the possibility to hit 15-20 home runs. He has already hit four home runs this spring. Rodriguez heads to the National League after recently signing with the Houston Astros. It looks like from his first few games with the Astros that he might be hitting second in the batting order. I see Rodriguez putting up a stat line of .270 with 70 runs, 12 home runs, 65 rbi and 8 stolen bases. Chris Snyder offers 15 home run power with a some batting average downside. He seemed to get more hack happy last season as he struck out 34 more time in only eight more at bats than the previous year. Wieters has already been told he is being sent down to the minors, but he should be back in the major leagues by May. Of course, this is the Baltimore Orioles we a re talking about so even that might not be a certainty. He is hitting .343 this spring with more walks than strikeouts (4/3) which is always nice to see from a young hitter. Napoli is recovering from shoulder surgery and there is a chance that he might start the season on the disabled yes. He has 20 home run potential, but because he has never had more than 269 at bats in the previous three seasons, his runs scored and rbi remain low.

Baker was part of the Oakland A’s draft made famous by the book “Moneyball”. Now in his first year as a starting major league catcher, he has a chance to put up some decent numbers for the Florida Marlins. It looks like Baker will be hitting second this season. Expect a year around .280-70-11-60. Miquel Olivo was promised the starting catcher by the Kansas City Royals back in November and so far the coach speak has them sticking with the plan. Even with Olivo as the starter, John Buck will still start possibly 2-3 games per week. Olivo has the power to hit 15 home runs so if he can start off the season hot, he will keep Buck relegated to bench duty. Inge should see a return to 500 at bats this season as a starter once again. That may be a bad thing if you have him on your fantasy roster as the more at bats does more damage to your team batting average. He has the ability to put up some decent numbers, to the tune of 15 home runs and 70 rbi, but you better have a lot of .300 hitters on your team to carry his sub .230 average.

Tier 7 I have in no real order. Best I can say is put all of the names in the hat, pull one out and hope you get Yahtzee. You only would have to worry about a tier 7 in leagues that require you to draft two catchers. If you do, make sure you don’t get sutck with one of them. There is no reason to end up with two weak catchers or even one weak catcher even in a 14 or 15 team league. Don’t let the catcher spot on your roster put you at a disadvantage against the other owners in your league.