2008 Fantasy Rankings - Catcher

These rankings are preliminary. I reserve the right to change them based on new information or simply re-thinking old information. For a full explanation as to the methodology involved in producing these rankings, please see this post.

1. Russell Martin
2. Victor Martinez
3. Joe Mauer
4. Jorge Posada
5. Brian McCann
6. Kenji Johjima
7. Geovany Soto
8. J.R. Towles
9. Carlos Ruiz
10. Ivan Rodriguez
11. Jarrod Saltalamacchia
12. Bengie Molina
13. Jason Varitek
14. Ryan Doumit
15. Ronny Paulino
16. Mike Napoli
17. A.J. Pierzynski
18. Ramon Hernandez
19. Kurt Suzuki
20. Paul Lo Duca
21. Johnny Estrada
22. Yorvit Torrealba
23. Josh Bard
24. Ramon Castro
25. Miguel Olivo


Notes:

• The difference between Martin and Martinez is not big. If you need a few extra steals, go with Martin. If you need some power, go with Martinez.
• Towles is a big question mark as the Astros aren't the brightest organization and may feel some need to play Brad Ausmus. I have Towles down for only 100 games played. If he gets more, he could have a Russell-Martin-in-2007-type season. I'll keep my ears open for news as to the Astros' plans.
• Napoli has a ton of power but he's never going to hit for a decent average. Plus, Jeff Mathis may steal some ABs from him.
• Soto is the next Victor Martinez. That said, he'll probably struggle at times this year.
• Ruiz is probably the biggest bargain at this point. He's going much later than he should in early mock drafts.