Fantasy Baseball 2011 Rankings: Joe Mauer, Buster Posey and The Top 10 Catchers
Is it baseball season yet? I know I can't wait for my favorite fantasy sport to start up again.
Catcher is a top-heavy position. Either you get a guy like Joe Mauer or Buster Posey or you play a patchwork of lower-level options.
But that is what is so great about fantasy baseball. In fantasy football, you set a lineup once a week, and if a star player gets hurt, your team is pretty much done (Aaron Rodgers' concussion ruined three of my teams.).
But in fantasy baseball, there are games every single day, and you can micro-manage your team, making up for injuries and cold streaks.
So if you end up with a catcher outside the top 10, it's not a big deal. You can mix and match guys to try to squeeze as much production as possible from the position.
Of course, it'll make things a little easier if you manage to grab one of these top 10 catchers in your draft.
10. Kurt Suzuki, Oakland Athletics
1 of 10
Suzuki only hit .242 last season, but he racked up 13 home runs and 71 RBI.
So while your team will suffer in terms of batting average, he provides more power than most catchers.
Plus, he played in 131 games last year, so he's durable.
9. Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs
2 of 10
Soto only played in 105 games in 2010, but he was very productive in those games.
He hit .280 with 17 home runs and 53 RBI.
If he can play in more games this year, expect the average to be down slightly. But the tradeoff will be better power numbers.
8. Miguel Montero, Arizona Diamondbacks
3 of 10
Montero played in just over half of the Diamondbacks' games in 2010.
But, like Soto, he was very productive when he played.
In the 85 games in which he appeared, he hit .266 with nine home runs and 43 RBI.
That projects into roughly 18 home runs and 86 RBI if he can stay healthy for the whole season in 2011.
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7. Carlos Santana, Cleveland Indians
4 of 10
Santana had his very promising rookie season cut short by injury.
In his 46 games of being healthy, he posted a solid line of .260/6/22.
But there are still a lot of questions with him.
How will he be when he comes back from injury? Will he continue his hot hitting once pitchers figure out the holes in his swing?
These are just two questions that prevent Santana from rising higher on this list.
6. Matt Wieters, Baltimore Orioles
5 of 10
Wieters wasn't quite the savior the Orioles thought he'd be, but he's still young.
He's also a productive catcher despite not entirely living up to his lofty expectations.
He needs to work on his average, but I'd take 11 home runs and 55 RBI from my catcher position.
5. Mike Napoli, Texas Rangers
6 of 10
Napoli moves into the Rangers' lineup as what may be the missing piece.
Texas was weak at catcher and first base in 2010, and they still made the World Series.
Though they lost Cliff Lee, they've shored up the one weak spot in their lineup with Napoli, who can play both catcher and first base.
He hit 26 home runs with 68 RBI in 2010.
4. Victor Martinez, Detroit Tigers
7 of 10
Martinez is one of the best catchers because he won't hurt your team batting average.
He hit .302 last season and provided some power with 20 home runs and 79 RBI.
Now he's taking his talents to Detroit, where he'll be protecting Miguel Cabrera in the Tigers' batting order.
3. Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves
8 of 10
McCann provides a decent average (.269 in 2010) and some great power (21 homers, 77 RBI) from the catcher position.
He's also one of the most consistent catchers in the league.
You know what you are getting with McCann: peace of mind and some above-average production from the catcher position.
2. Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
9 of 10
Posey had a great rookie season, helping the Giants win a World Series title.
He hit .305 with 18 home runs and 67 RBI in only 105 games.
The sky is the limit for this kid, so if you are in a position to draft him, do it. You won't regret it.
1. Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
10 of 10
Mauer is unquestionably the best hitting catcher in the league.
He hit .327 in 2010, by far the best average of any catcher on this list.
He also hit nine home runs and drove in 75 runs.
The power numbers were down a bit from 2009, but he's still the best fantasy catcher in the game. If he can stay healthy in 2011, he'll be the leader in batting average again.
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