2012 Fantasy Baseball Catcher Rankings

Victor Martinez’s injury and Joe Mauer’s down year leaves the position without a bona fide No. 1. That said, here are the 2012 Lester’s Legends fantasy baseball catcher rankings.

1. Mike Napoli, Texas Rangers: Napoli was a force in the second half last year, hitting .320 with 30 HR. He’s a career .264 hitter, so that’s a concern, but I love him in this offense. His added first base eligibility is a bonus.

2. Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves: Year after year he turns in another solid performance. He has averaged 21.8 HR and 85.7 RBI over the past six seasons while hitting north of .285. Somehow I think he is a little underrated.

3. Carlos Santana, Cleveland Indians: Obviously the power is there. Can the .244 lifetime average improve? If so, he could possibly take over the top spot. His added first base eligibility is a bonus.

4. Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins: Am I crazy to think that Mauer can return to form? Maybe, but initial indications are that his legs are back. If that is the case, there is no reason to think this .323 career hitter can’t challenge for a batting title.

5. Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants: His season could not have ended on a more sour note. Fortunately it happened early enough that it shouldn’t hinder his play. He’ll get some time at first base, which will ensure a solid at-bat total.

6. Miguel Montero, Arizona Diamondbacks: Montero broke out with an impressive .282-65-18-86-1 season, which is pretty much in line with what he did in his past 1.5 seasons. His second half was better than his solid first half. He’s for real.

7. Matt Wieters, Baltimore Orioles: Was the hype machine too much for Wieters? Hard to say. He finally showed the power we expected with 22 HR. Can the player once referred to as Mauer with Power show improvement in his batting average? My guess is yes.

8. Jesus Montero, Seattle Mariners: Talk about a trade. The Yankees have the hitting and need pitching, and vice versa for the M’s. The deal to send Montero to Seattle for Michael Pineda should be a win-win.

9. Alex Avila, Detroit Tigers: Avila put up an impressive .295-63-19-82-3 line. Prince Fielder’s arrival should only help that offense.

10. J.P. Arencibia, Toronto Blue Jays: In his first full season in the bigs, he hit 23 HR. The average sucked, but he possesses big-time power.

11. Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals: Molina will miss Albert Pujols’ presence. How can you not? Molina is not a sexy pick, but he has been steady for years. Is his double-digit HR power for real? Probably not, but he should continue to get you 60-plus RBI.

12. Wilson Ramos, Washington Nationals: Ramos had easily the scariest offseason of anyone, being kidnapped and all. He is just 24 and coming off a solid .267-48-15-52-0 season.

13. Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs: As always, his health is a concern. He has averaged 17 HR over the past four seasons despite playing in just 118.3 games per year.

14. Jonathan Lucroy, Milwaukee Brewers: Fielder is gone and Ryan Braun could miss 50 games. He’ll turn 26 this year, though, and is coming off a .265-45-12-59-2 season. He should be a solid backup fantasy catcher.

15. Kurt Suzuki, Oakland Athletics: Suzuki had a down year, hitting .237 with just 44 RBI despite hitting 14 HR. He averaged 14 HR and 79.5 RBI his previous two seasons. He’s a solid bet to bounce back.

Also check out:

2012 Fantasy Baseball First Base Rankings
2012 Fantasy Baseball Second Base Rankings
2012 Fantasy Baseball Third Base Rankings
2012 Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Rankings
2012 Fantasy Baseball Outfielder Rankings