Instead of posting my usual player rankings lists, I'm just going to go over a brief discussion on each position and look at draft strategies and whom to target (and whom to avoid.)
Catcher is the position I seem to completely neglect this year. Aside from Victor Martinez, I don't see any catchers that I truly trust. And if you want to land Martinez, its going to cost you a very early pick.
After someone has reached for Martinez, we're left with the next 4 (in no particular order): McCann, Mauer, Martin and Posada. I find it hard to use an early pick on any of these guys because they all have warts. Mauer will struggle to stay healthy, McCann still hasn't separated himself that much from the next tier and Posada is an aging catcher that had a flukey batting average last year. I think the safest bet is Martin, who will get you some HRs and SBs, but I don't think his early draft position justifies taking him, considering the catching options later in the draft.
The importance of ranking player in tiers allows you to judge where to draft players, and never has that been so evident with catchers this year. If you miss one of the 5 players listed above, you can make the case to completely ignore drafting a catcher until the very end of your draft. Why? Let's look at my second tier (in no particular order):
Kenji Johjima
Jason Varitek
Ramon Hernandez
Bengie Molina
Ivan Rodriguez
Jarrod Saltalamacchia
If you do some quick math, you'll see that there are 11 catchers listed in the top two tiers. When you consider that most people play in 10 team leagues and very few people ever draft a back-up catcher, you'll see that you can get a perfectly serviceable catcher with your last pick, using your other picks to address other needs. All of the guys listed above are going to hit around .270-.280 and get you close to 15 HRs. Hernandez and Saltalamacchia probably have the highest upsides, but also come with the biggest question marks. Even if you still miss on these 11, guys like Geovany Soto and JR Towles are some intriguing young catchers with high upsides that would be worth a gamble.
So the moral of the story is: In 2008, there is no need drafting a catcher early, unless one of the top 5 are available at the right price. Otherwise, just wait until the very end to fill the need.
Guys to Target:
Jarrod Saltalamacchia - Will likely see time at C and 1B to keep his promising bat in the line-up. Also plays in hitter friendly Texas.
Ramon Hernandez - If healthy, could hit like a first tier catcher.
Victor Martinez - Heads and shoulders above the rest and probably the safest pick. Also likely to be too expensive on draft day.
Guys to Avoid:
Jorge Posada - Catchers with Posada's age and workload do not tend to age well. He also had a ridiculously high BABIP (batting average on balls in play).
Ivan Rodriguez - Don't draft this fading player based on his name.
Bengie Molina - Will be a decent option but will likely kill you in runs and the RBIs will likely drop due to the crapstorm that is San Fran's offence this year.
Carlos Ruiz - Being touted as a sleeper, I find it hard to put too much faith behind 29 year old catchers that have never been known for their hitting in the past.
Sleepers:
Geovany Soto - Put up stellar numbers last year in the minors, but it was also the first season he hit well. May actually be overrated a bit right now.
J.R. Towles - If he wrestles away the starting job from hacktastic Brad Ausmus he may have a Russell Martin-lite type season.
Ryan Doumit - If he can find a spot as a starting OF in Pittsburgh, he could provide some very nice numbers.
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