MLB Preview - Catchers

It really helps to grab two solid Catchers when playing Fantasy Baseball. I know that's not an easy thing to do. The average starting Catcher plays about 110 games with the other 52 going to back-ups. Injuries are always a concern at this position and you should draft accordingly.

3-Year Avg. Leaders: (2007-09)
Games Played: Russell Martin (150)
Batting Average: Joe Mauer (.332)
Home Runs: Brian McCann (21)
Doubles: Brian McCann (38)
RBI: Brian McCann (91)
Triples: Joe Mauer, Ivan Rodriguez, and Miguel Olivo (3)
Stolen Bases: Russell Martin (17)
Walks: Russell Martin (75)
Runs: Joe Mauer (85)
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Cream of the Crop: #1 Joe Mauer (MIN) #2 Victor Martinez (BOS) #3 Brian McCann (ATL) #4 Russell Martin (LAD)

The Next Best: #5 Miguel Montero (ARZ) #6 Jorge Posada (NYY) #7 A.J. Pierzynski (CHW) #8 Yadier Molina (STL) #9 Bengie Molina (SFG) #10 Ivan Rodriguez (WASH) #11 Kurt Suzuki (OAK) #12 Mike Napoli (LAA) # #13 Geovany Soto (Cubs) #14 Jason Castro (Hou) #15 J.R. Towles (Hou)

You could do worse: #16 Carlos Ruiz (Phi) #17 Ryan Doumit (Pitt) #18 Gerald Laird (Det) #19 John Baker (FLA) #20 Miguel Olivo (Col) #21 Chris Ianetta (Col) #22 Jason Kendall (KC) #23 Ramon Hernandez (Reds) #24 Dioner Navarro (Rays) #25 Rod Barajas (NYM) #26 Jarrod Saltalamaccia (Tex) #27 Jason Varitek (Bos) #28 Carlos Santana (Clev) #29 Gregg Zaun (Milw)

Hope and Prey: #30 John Buck (Tor) #31 Nick Hundley (SD) #32 Rob Johnson (Sea) #33 Yorvit Torrealba (SD) #34 Kelly Shoppach (TB) #35 Matt Wieters (Balt) #36 Jeff Mathis (LAA) #37 Taylor Teagarden (Tex) #38 Brayan Pena (KC) #39 Chris Snyder (ARZ) #40 Adam Moore (Sea) #41 Brad Ausmus (LAD) #42 Ryan Hanigan (Reds) #43 Lou Marson (CLev)
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Career Year: Miguel Montero (ARZ) At 26 years of age Montero is on the verge of becoming an All-Star at the Catcher position. He hit .294 with 16 Home Runs in just 128 games last season and plays 82 games in a hitter-friendly park. He hit one of the longest Home Runs in the history of Citi Field (Mets) in 2009 and does a great job of making contact. Montero had 425 at-bats and only had 78 punch-outs. Really love this guys potential. I expect .300, 25 HR's, 85 RBI in 2010. Maybe even better!

Sleeper: Geovany Soto (Cubs) Geovany went through the dreaded sophomore slump (injures too) but his skill-set is very high and will bounce back in a big way. He only batted .218 in 102 games played and that will cause him to drop in your draft. Wrigley Field is a hitter-friendly park in the Summer, especially when the wind is blowing out. If you see a O/U of 9 to 10 runs most likely the wind is blowing out. If you see a total of 7 to 8.5 the wind most likely is blowing in. I like Soto to come close or surpass his .285/13 HR/86 RBI season of 2008.

Bust: Russell Martin (LAD) What has happened to Russell Martin? He is just not the same player. For the first three seasons of his career, he averaged .285/ 13 HR/ 74 RBI, with 16 Stolen bases. Last year, Martin had the worst season of his career batting .250, 7 HR, 53 RBI, with just 11 Steals. Some might say he has played way too many games early in his career. In fact, Brad Ausmus played much better in all aspects of the game. Expect even less playing time for RM this season. If he drops in your draft you can take a shot because his team is going to score plenty of runs. He just might wake up this year!

Good Luck in your draft!

Check out Jeff's plays for this week....

[TheWiesguy]

I think the 10 spot is a little high for Pudge. That Washington lineup is pretty bad and he is not getting any younger.

[the noise factor]

I don't play fantasy baseball because I just don't have the time. But if I did I would take Martin. He's going to put in a solid 140+ games with a consistent AVG and a few SBs.

[Johnny Probst]

I'm definitely Bullish on Montero and Soto is a good bounce-back sleeper.

Mauer rocks but don't you get the feeling there's no way he can outproduce his draft position? I just can't fathom taking a catcher in the top 10.

My fave catcher for fantasy is Brian McCann. So reliable and you can get him several rounds after Mauer.

Watch out for Buster Posey down the road, too.

[Butterman]

Posada is always strong - he will obviously get more RBI opportunities than anyone else. Russell Martin is like a hockey player that plays baseball - tough, intelligent, and in love with his game!

[TheWiesguy]

I am a big fan of McCann also. I usually grab him in the 4th round which might be a tad high but then I don't sweat it the rest of the draft.