Geovany Soto is looking to bounce back from a disappointing season.

March 1 and spring is in the air.  I love this time of year.  Pitchers and catchers have reported and it won’t be long until they start to play games in Florida and Arizona.  That being said it won’t be to long until you start drafting for your fantasy leagues either.  With that in mind we will begin with our first in a series of columns about positional rankings.  Today catcher is on tap.  We will rank our top 15.  Now catcher is certainly not to deep a position, matter of fact after the top three, there is a certain drop off, and after the top eight, there are some major warts.  When it comes to drafting a catcher I’m not a big believer in drafting one early.  Catchers don’t play as many games as other position players and they get banged up easily.  Foul tips, bats, base runners sliding into home, I’d much rather spend a high draft pick on a player that is more likely to play 150+ games.  With that being said, here are our top 15.

Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins:  No big shock here, far and away the best catcher in baseball.  Mauer developed power last season which was the only thing missing from his game.  Now there is some worry as the Twins will leave the cozy confines of the Metrodome for a beautiful new ballpark in Target Field.  Now playing outdoors in Minnesota will certainly not be much fun in April and one has to wonder how many postponements there will be because of inclement weather, but still I’ll take Mauer in a heartbeat.

Victor Martinez, Boston Red Sox:  Boston acquired Martinez from the Indians at the trading deadline last season to help out what was a struggling offense at the time.  His first full season in Boston figures to be plenty productive as the Sox have a much better lineup surrounding him than did the Indians, but he will also be the full-time catcher, not seeing as many starts at DH or 1B as the Sox have full-time starters at those positions as well.

Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves:  Don’t let the vision problems that McCann suffered through fool you, he is the best hitting catcher in the National League and with his eyesight problems behind him numbers should return back to their pre-2009 level.  Not a big fan of his ballpark either as Turner Field will certainly cut down on his home run production, but it’s hard to complain about the overall production he will provide.

Matt Wieters, Baltimore Orioles:  Yeah, I’m buying into the hype.  Wieters started slowly last season for the Os before the light seemed to turn on for him at the end of the season.  It may have taken him that long to feel comfortable handling the pitching staff, which should be his first priority.  He should be even better in his first full season in the majors, playing in a good hitter’s ballpark, and hitting in a good lineup.

Jorge Posada, New York Yankees:  He may be 39 years of age but his numbers last season don’t

show a significant decline in production.  He will likely bat fifth behind ARod and Mark Teixeira in the Yankees lineup and that is pretty good spot to be in.  The new Yankee Stadium was very homer friendly in 2009 and should be again in 2010 which will benefit Posada.  One worry is that the Yankees don’t have an open DH spot for him this year, when he needs a break from catching it’s not an automatic assumption that he can get four Abs in the game.

Ryan Doumit, Pittsburgh Pirates:  Two questions loom with Doumit.  First, can he stay healthy for an entire season?  Seems unlikely seeing as though he has only played in more than 100 games in a season once in his career so far.  Second question is where will he be playing come season’s end?  As we all know, the Pirates have sold off quite a few pieces the past couple of seasons and Doumit’s time in Pittsburgh will probably expire before the trading deadline in July.  Of course being on another team might be a good thing for Doumit as he will probably have a better offense around him.

Miguel Montero, Arizona Diamondbacks:  Montero finally took over the starting job last season for the DBacks.  Now he just needs to prove that he can keep it.  Montero is someone who might drop on my list as draft time approaches as I do have some worries about what happens if he were to get off to a slow start.  Would Chris Snyder start to eat into his playing time?  So there is some risk here, keep that in mind come draft time.

Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs:  Soto had a great freshman year with the Cubs but then bombed in his sophomore year.  Whereas I might drop Montero on my draft list come draft time, Soto I may place higher in my rankings.  Soto suffered a shoulder injury within the first two weeks of the 2009 season that took months to heal.  He played during this time and may have adjusted his swing mechanics to make up for the pain in his shoulder.  With an off-season to work on this problem there is reason to believe that his numbers will once again approach the 2008 level.

Chris Ianetta, Colorado Rockies:  Ianetta would be in the buy low category.  He has some pop as evidenced by his home run totals the past two years, but his average has suffered and he did lose his starting job last September to Yorvit Torrealba.  The good news is that Torrealba is no longer on the team and Ianetta will be the starting back stop in Colorado.  He’s hitting in Colorado in a good lineup, the upside is there and there is not all that much talent at catcher after number nine.

A. J. Pierzynski, Chicago White Sox:  When you draft Pierzynski your draft consistency.  He’s going to hit about 13 homeruns, drive in about 55 runs, and bat around .280.  You could do a whole lot worse than what Pierzynski provides.  He may not give you much in counting stats, but he won’t kill your average, you can always find counting stats in other players.

Kurt Suzuki, Oakland Athletics:  If you waited this long to draft a catcher you’re not going to find anyone else who can truly help out your fantasy team, you’re looking for someone who won’t hurt your team.  Suzuki may be a steal at this point in the draft as his numbers have certainly improved each year he has started.  One could easily argue that he should be in the top nine, and if he was in a better ballpark with a better lineup I might be inclined to move him up there.

Russell Martin, Los Angeles Dodgers:  Martin’s numbers have taken a complete nosedive the past three seasons.  Hits, home runs, RBIs, runs, SBs, AVG, SLG, and OPS have all gone down in each of those seasons.  It’s not like we’ve seen anything that would suggest a return to glory for Martin.  Don’t draft him because of his name power.

Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals:  Molina’s numbers have taken off the past couple of years where he could be a steal at this point in the draft.  Molina is playing in a good lineup, for a good team, in a good hitter’s ballpark.  However he bats pretty low in this lineup and his ability to drive in runs may be hindered.  I know most pundits have Molina ranked considerably higher but I have to admit there is just something about him that doesn’t excite me.

Mike Napoli, Los Angeles Angels:  The problem for Napoli is the presence of Jeff Mathis.  Napoli can hit but the problem is an extended slump could get Mathis the chance to play.  Mathis also excelled in the first second round playoff loss to the Yankees last season and may get more chances to play anyway.

Benji Molina, San Francisco Giants:  Molina is also another player who may have found himself higher on this list if not for the presence of Buster Posey.  Posey is the number one offensive player in the Giants system and it’s just a matter of time before he gets called up to the majors to stay for good, and once he does, he will be the starter and that will eliminate any value that Molina has.