Fantasy Baseball Top 15 Catchers for 2011: An Early 2nd Look

Both Carlos Santana and Buster Posey have paid immediate dividends for fantasy owners and have made an impact on our early 2011 rankings.  Let’s take a look at how things currently stand (remember, this an extremely early ranking and may change significantly as the season progresses):

1. Joe Mauer - Minnesota Twins
2. Brian McCann - Atlanta Braves
3. Victor Martinez - Boston Red Sox
4. Carlos Santana - Cleveland Indians
5. Miguel Montero - Arizona Diamondbacks
6. Buster Posey - San Francisco Giants
7. Kurt Suzuki - Oakland Athletics
8. Matt Wieters - Baltimore Orioles
9. Geovany Soto - Chicago Cubs
10. Jorge Posada - New York Yankees
11. Mike Napoli - Los Angeles Angels
12. John Buck - Toronto Blue Jays
13. Ryan Doumit - Pittsburgh Pirates
14. Bengie Molina - Texas Rangers
15. Miguel Olivo - Colorado Rockies

Thoughts

• It’s become more and more evident that last season’s power surge was the aberration, and Mauer’s grasp on the top spot may be slipping slightly because of it.  For now, with the average and RBI potential the way it is, it’s impossible to move him down.  A big two months from Brian McCann could change that.
• Carlos Santana has lived up to the hype and then some.  He has the look of a young Victor Martinez, which is really all you need to know.
• It has been a tremendous start for Buster Posey, hitting .353 with 8 HR in just 170 AB.  He also has an inflated BABIP (.361) and HR/FB (17.0%).  There’s a lot to like and he’s a great option, but I would still place him just outside the Top 5.
• Matt Wieters has struggled mightily, but the potential is still there.  That’s certainly more then enough to keep him as a starter in all formats.
• The numbers for John Buck are actually not unrealistic.  His career HR/FB is 12.7%, and this season he’s at 15.7 %.  There’s no reason to think that he can’t continue to slug—the only question is will J.P. Arencibia force the Blue Jays to send him packing.  If that happens, where he lands will affect his value.
• Miguel Olivo barely holds his spot on this list, but his own teammate, Chris Iannetta, can easily supplant him by year’s end.

What are your thoughts on these rankings?  Who is being overvalued?  Who is being undervalued?

Make sure to check out our other early 2011 rankings:

• First Basemen
• Second Basemen
• Third Basemen
• Shortstops
• Outfielders
• Closers

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