2009 Catcher Rankings
Injuries rattled the catcher position in 2008, but some new names rose in the season’s rankings, bringing a dose of power and high batting average to the position that hasn’t been seen outside of the top five hitters in recent years.
Brian McCann of the Atlanta Braves spent the majority of the season as fantasy baseball’s top catcher. His power numbers were tough to beat, as he hit 23 home runs and drove in 87 RBI. While Geovany Soto of the Chicago Cubs hit as many home runs as McCann, only Bengie Molina of the San Francisco Giants drove in more runs among catchers.
The top catcher in fantasy baseball 2008 was Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins, who scored 98 runs and batted .328. Because he won his second career AL batting title, Mauer tops our first ranking of catchers for fantasy baseball 2009.
Two catchers to watch in 2009: Kelly Shoppach of the Cleveland Indians and Mike Napoli of the Anaheim Angels. Both guys hit over 20 homeruns. Napoli stepped to the plate less than 200 times in 2008, so if he gets a full season of at-bats in 2009, a 30+ homerun season is not out of the question. Shoppach also showed 30+ homerun power in 2008, but will likely lose his spot behind the plate with the return of last year’s top rated pre-season catcher, Victor Martinez.
There are a wide variety of quality catchers to consider in 2009, below are our Top 25. E-mail webmaster [at] fantasybaseballdugout [dot] com if you think we got something wrong.
Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins- Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves
- Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs
- Russell Martin, Los Angeles Dodgers
- Victor Martinez, Cleveland Indians
- Bengie Molina, San Francisco Giants
- Ryan Doumit, Pittsburgh Pirates
- A.J. Pierzynski, Chicago White Sox
- Mike Napoli, Anaheim Angels
- Kelly Shoppach, Cleveland Indians
- Jorge Posada, New York Yankees
- Kurt Suzuki, Oakland Athletics
- Ivan Rodriguez, New York Yankees
- Jason Kendall, Milwaukee Brewers
- Rod Barajas, Toronto Blue Jays
- Jason Varitek, Boston Red Sox
- Dioner Navarro, Tampa Bay Rays
- Chris Ianetta, Colorado Rockies
- Ramon Hernandez, Baltimore Orioles
- Kenji Johijima, Seattle Mariners
- Miguel Olivo, Kansas City Royals
- Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
- Gerald Laird, Texas Rangers
- Chris Snyder, Arizona Diamondbacks
- Jesus Flores, Washington Nationals
Check out our other 2009 fantasy baseball rankings:
First Base | Second Base | Third Base | Shortstop | Outfielders |
Starters | Closers
