Original Air Date: February 14, 2008 Listen to the Original Episode
It’s my least favorite fantasy position, so let's get it out of the way early. There's one elite fantasy contributor who is worth the high price people pay for him: Victor Martinez of the Cleveland Indians. Pretty safe bet to get about 550 AB's again (he's been there the last three seasons), and he's playing first base, too. He'll reel in a solid batting average and a lot of RBI and should hit 20-25 home runs again.
Another notable catcher worth a premium price is Los Angeles Dodgers’ Russ Martin. Plays a lot and puts up solid numbers all around, and I mean all-around—21 stolen bases last year! Don't hold your breath to see if he'll do it again, but the speed is a nice addition to a well-catcher who should contribute every day.
Minnesota Twins’ Joe Mauer can hit as well as Martin or Martinez if not better, but he battled injury problems last year and is not worth the risk this year.
Kenji Johjima of the Seattle Mariners is solid, but better known than other catchers who can put up similar numbers, so you may want to pass on him in favor of another position player and snag a catcher later.
Excellent (and affordable) Catchers:
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Texas Rangers
- **Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs (Hit .357 with 117 RBI w/ 29 HR btw Triple-A and Majors last year, STUD!)
- J.R. Towles, Houston Astros (Cheap version of Russ Martin)
- Josh Bard, San Diego Padres (Solid numbers in a pitchers park)
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