2011 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: CATCHER

THE CATCHERS…Well here we are, finally rolling out the much-anticipated 2011 Positional Rankings starting with the Backstops. To no one’s surprise, Joe Mauer tops our composite rankings as the #1 Catcher for this upcoming season. Mauer could not repeat his 2009 success, but to call his 2010 a bust would be absurd. Mauer looks to rebound and keep his throne.

Photo by Scott A. Schneider/Getty Images

Enjoy and comment as necessary!

RANK	PLAYER	Brian	Mike	Killboy	Jesse	Eric	COMP
1	Joe Mauer – MIN	1	1	1	1	1	1.0
2	Victor Martinez – DET	2	3	2	2	3	2.4
3	Buster Posey – SF	3	4	3	3	2	3.0
4	Brian McCann – ATL	4	2	4	4	4	3.6
5	Carlos Santana – CLE	6	6	5	6	5	5.6
6	Geovany Soto – CHC	5	9	6	5	6	6.2
7	Mike Napoli – TEX	10	5	7	8	7	7.4
8	Kurt Suzuki – OAK	7	8	13	7	8	8.6
9	Jorge Posada – NYY	12	11	8	10	9	10.0
10	Miguel Montero – ARI	8	10	9	13	11	10.2
11	Matt Wieters – BAL	11	7	14	9	10	10.2
12	Carlos Ruiz – PHI	9	12	18	11	14	12.8
13	Chris Iannetta – COL	13	16	10	12	13	12.8
14	Russell Martin – NYY	15	13	12	15	12	13.4
15	John Buck – FLA	16	17	11	16	17	15.4
16	A.J. Pierzynski – CHW	17	14	20	17	15	16.6
17	J.P. Arencibia – TOR	–	–	16	14	16	17.6
18	Miguel Olivo – SEA	–	18	15	–	18	18.6
19	Ryan Doumit – PIT	19	19	17	19	20	18.8
20	Yadier Molina – STL	14	–	19	–	19	18.8

MIKE NAPOLI

I am sticking to my words: “Napoli could wind up a Top 5 Catcher.” The guy is in one of the best parks and lineups in all of baseball. 30 bombs is NOT a stretch.

J.P. ARENCIBIA

Last year’s Pacific Coast League MVP is pretty much guaranteed to be the starting catcher in Toronto this year.  He has almost no major league experience but his minor league home run total’s (32HR in 2010) make him worth a flier in the late rounds of the draft.  Expect some growing pains, but Arencibia could be a cheap source for power.

CARLOS RUIZ

Chooch continues to be one of the most under rated players in MLB.  He was the Phillies 2010 MVP for his clutch hitting and handling of their pitching staff.  All projections are calling for him to regress this season – but looking at graphs of his last three seasons he is trending up in all the right categories.  Ruiz could be a tremendous consolation prize if you like to draft your catcher(s) in the later rounds.

SLEEPER: JARROD SALTALAMACCHIA

Salty has + power for a catcher and looks to be the likely starter in Boston. In that lineup you can expect a lot of RBI and Run chances. Only downside potential is the number of AB’s Varitek may steal from him.

BUST: KURT SUZUKI

Weak 260-275 AVG with low double-digit HR totals. Suzuki’s move to the bottom 3rd of a poor Oakland lineup will kill his counting stats. If you wait to draft a catcher, at least draft one with power potential.