If you are in a keeper league then chances are you have no shot at either of the two top catchers for your team, unless you happen to be the keeper yourself.
One of the teams that made it to the finals in my old league last year had Joe Mauer on his team, and I suspect that a lot of fantasy playoff teams had the Twins catcher on their roster.
Minnesota's backstop had arguably the greatest single season by any catcher in my lifetime that dates back to General Eisenhower's early days residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Mauer led everybody, not just catchers, with his .365 batting average, ranked first among catchers in homers (28) and runs scored (94), and was second in RBI with 96. A dozen more ribbies and he could've won the quadruple crown for the position.
Victor Martinez and his 108 runs batted in kept Mauer from sweeping the board, and the Red Sox catcher will join his contemporary from the Twins as very high draft picks in fantasy leagues this season. That is if they're not already being held over as keeper or contract players for the renewing leagues.
The catcher position in fantasy drafts is always a bit strange. In the 'old days' you would never see a catcher being drafted very high. Even some of the better guys in the 1980s – Gary Carter, Lance Parrish to name two – were never round 1 picks. What you hear each preseason in fantasy publications is the old line about a "catcher run," and that was true 15, 20 years ago. But then along came Mike Piazza and suddenly the position had a true, big bopper.
Truth is, depending on each league's setup there are "position runs" that occur during each draft at several defensive slots on the field. So don't buy into anyone pressuring you that you gotta' get a catcher or anything else right now because two or three have been selected ahead of you in a specific round.
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As good as Martinez' overall numbers are, Mauer is still head-&-shoulders ahead. He's happy in Minnesota, where he wants to be, and going to be a rich young man. There is the concern with some of his injuries, especially the back trouble, and how that will affect him as a catcher long-term. But there are health concerns for any catcher. And when you can get a guy that is so much better than everyone else at his position, you have a big leg up on your competition.
If I had the chance for the No. 1 pick in my league this year with all players available, Mauer would be my man. No, he's not going to hit 40+ homers like an Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard or Prince Fielder or Mark Teixeira. But when it's your turn in Round 2 to make a choice, you will have a 30+ HR stick to grab and the quick the teams that do select from the deep 1B position in the opening round are going to be picking up Ryan Doumit, Rod Barajas or Dioner Navarro to be their catchers later in the draft.
If you have already kept a catcher or you have a shot to pick one of the top-8 or so at the position, go ahead and grab the backup with your last pick if you can. If you take a mid-level catcher in your draft, don't bother with their backup.
Here are some catcher broken down into three groups. I tend to think of all players as being either early rounders (1-4), middle rounders (5-10) or late rounders (11+). The first thing to do if you're in a keeper league is to list the positions already kept in your league. That way you know how many starting catchers or any other position is needed so you can narrow down your own list at every spot on the field. If there are 12 teams in your league and three catchers are being held over, at least get a list of your top-9 and stick to that list during your draft. Don't listen to any of the BS your 'buddies' are feeding you during a live draft.
Oh, and since there were only 100 stolen bases total by all 106 catcher who qualify at the position based on 2009 stats, I'm not projecting steals for this position.
EARLY ROUNDS
Joe Mauer - .340, 25 HR, 100 RBI, 100 Runs
Victor Martinez - .290, 30 HR, 100 RBI, 85 Runs
Brian McCann - .290, 25 HR, 100 RBI, 70 Runs
MIDDLE ROUNDS
Matt Wieters: .290, 15 HR, 85 RBI, 65 Runs
Kurt Suzuki: .280, 15 HR, 80 RBI, 70 Runs
Miguel Montero: .280, 15 HR, 75 RBI, 70 Runs
Mike Napoli: .275, 20 HR, 70 RBI, 65 Runs
John Baker: .280, 15 HR, 60 RBI, 65 Runs
Bengie Molina: .275, 15 HR, 70 RBI, 55 Runs
Jorge Posada: .270, 15 HR, 75 RBI, 55 Runs
* Geovany Soto: .270, 15 HR, 70 RBI, 50 Runs; Every draft seems to have at least one Cubs fan, plus Soto is just a year removed from an incredible season. So I'm stopping short of calling this a 'sleeper pick.' He should bounce back with at least mid-round stats.
LATE ROUNDERS (in no particular order)
A.J. Pierzynski: .290, 10 HR, 55 RBI, 55 Runs
Russell Martin: .260, 10 HR, 55 RBI, 55 Runs
Ryan Doumit: .260, 15 HR, 50 RBI, 50 Runs
Jarrod Saltalamacchia: .250, 15 HR, 50 RBI, 50 Runs
Yadier Molina: .280, 5 HR, 55 RBI, 50 Runs