C Plus

Its the year of the catcher and the position has never before offered this much talent. Offensively you have the batting title winner who has taken home the trophy in two of the last three seasons, Joe Mauer, four world series rings in Posada, two in Jason Varitek, MVP numbers in Brian McCann and the possibility of ROY/MVP numbers from Matt Wieters this coming season.

There are quite a few catchers in the MLB that deserve more credit than they get and there are quie a few that don't deserve the credit that they get. If you want to do the overrated/underrated thing, then the overrated are Jason Varitek and Jarrod Saltalamacchia and the underrated are Mike Napoli and Ryan Doumit. Below is the list of the best catchers in the game, categorized by their current "buzz" in relation to their output/potential.

The Underrated

1. Joe Mauer, C, Minnesoda Twins, (A)- Mauer is perfection at catcher. He has already won two batting titles in his short career, won three gold gloves, a couplea' silver sluggers and started at the All Star game. He's the leader of the Twins and is STILL not the household name he should be. It troubles me that more casual six-year-old fans would know Jason Varitek or Jorge Posada's name before Mauers...He's the best of the three, kid, and the best of your generation.

2. Mike Napoli, C, Anaheim Angels, (B)- Napoli could shit out a golden egg and cure Cancer and he'd still never make the front page of the LA Times. The guy had the fewest at bats per home run among catchers. Napoli had only 227 at bats in 2008, sharing his time with the completely ill-prepated Jeff Mathis, and still managed to belt 20 homers and walk 35 times. He doesn't get too many pats on the back because he goes through those pro-longed slumps, but a guy who can put up 30 homers and got on base 35-26% of the time over a full season, especially at catcher, deserves some a applause. Oh, he has a strong arm as well...

3. Ryan Doumit, C, Pittsburgh Pirates, (B+)- Soto got all of the praise for his breakout year in 2008, but by all accounts Doumit had a better one. In 2/3 of a season the DouBoy hit .318 with 15 homers, only 55 strikeouts, 34 doubles and 69 rbi's. Like Ianetta, it took a few years for him to get comfortable and as a late-blooming 28 year old, Doumit got the short end of the stick in ROY voting. Anyway, he replaces Ronnie Paulino at the stopper and through a full season the guy could hit 30 homers and bat .300.

4. Jorge Posada, C, New York Yankees, (B+)- Posada is one of those players whom is indispensible to his team. The Yankees didn't realize how important Posada was until he was gone. The signal caller lost most of 2008 with shoulder surgery and the Yankees consequently missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade. He hit .337 in 2007, his highest batting average ever, and he's always good for 20 homers, 30 doubles, 70 walks and some good defense. He's way too old to play every day for the Yankees now, so a .280 batting average, 15 homers and 45 walks sounds about right.

5. Kurt Suzuki, C, Oakland Athletics, (B)- The Suzuki Side-Kick didn't get the hype that his fellow prospects Cahill, Buck and, back in the day, Crosby got. Still, Suzuki has proven so far that he is the best product at catcher out of the A's farm system over the past decade or so. He doesn't do one thing particularly well, but he calls a good game, has a good arm, can block the plate, hit about 10-12 homers and bat near .300 over a full season. He is a very nice additional at catcher, and like Orlando Cabrera is a short stop, you can slot him in at catcher and know you're fine through September.

Overrated

1. Jason Varitek, C, Boston Red Sox, (B-)- I gave 'Tek a generous 'B-' ranking only because of his role as Captain on the Sox. The truth is, Varitek hasn't played B- ball for a while. He had the worst season of his career in 2008 and put up numbers that only a Molina could love, batting .220 with 13 homeruns, 122 strikeouts and a .313 OBP over a little over 2/3 of a season. He's still solid defensively and probably the most loyal player the Red Sox have, but the only reason Theo gave him a new contract was his pity for the old man. Withou a better option currently, Epstein is taking long, hard looks at Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Taylor Teagarden and Miguel Montero.

2. Jason Kendall, C, Milwaukee Brewers, (C)- Kendall isn't a good player. Before injecting 'roids into his shoulder in 2008 he couldn't throw out a baserunner even on a pitch out. His pluses are his ability to call a good game, block the plate and avoid striking out in the batter's box while his minuses are a much longer list. The former all star put up Jose Molina/Wil Nieves numbers in 2008, batting .243 with 2 homer runs, a .324 slugging percentage and a .327 OBP. Those numbers are criminal, especially for a starter. The Brewers have Salome, their guardian Angel, right on Kendall's tail, and he SHOULD take over full time by mid-2009.

3. Dioner Navarro, C, Tampa Bay Ras, (B-)- Navarro is no slouch at catcher, don't get me wrong, but his All Star game appearance in 2008 won't be repeated. He's a catcher that has a solid arm, plays nimble defense and can bat between .280 and .300. His weakness are his absolute lack of any sort of power and his inability to concentrate with men on base--two very big aspects of the game. Shawn Riggans is on his tail, but Navarro, being a decent option for the Rays, seems to be able to hold down his job, at least for now.

4. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C, Texas Rangers, (B-)- Salty was traded to the Rangers, from the Braves, for Mark Teixeira. Salty's power potential is nothing to ignore. In the minors he has shown 30 home run power annually. His major league numbers have shown nothing however. He batted just .253 with a .364 slugging percentage for the big club in 2008,

5. Russell Martin, C, Los Angeles Dodgers, (B/B+)- Martin is a good catcher, and a very good receiver. He has a strong arm, and is probably the best defensive catcher in the NL. His offense though is overrated. Just because he's a catcher that can ht .280-.290 and steal 20 bases doesn't make him an annual All Star. He doesn't have much power, hitting 13 bombs in a full season of work in 2008, and his .280 batting average does't exactly knock your socks off. What saves him is his knack for getting on base, almost 39% of the tim in '08 and his ability to advance the runner, striking out only 83 times in over 550 at bats.