Early 2013 Prospect Position Rankings: Catcher

Craig and I will be working our way through each of the 30 minor league systems in the coming months, looking at some of the top prospects in each of them. After we finish those, Fake Teams will be releasing our consensus position by position prospect rankings, including a fantasy-specific top 100 prospects list.

To start the discussion, I will be posting VERY RAW positional rankings. Note the emphasis on VERY RAW. I have begun to do my research for these upcoming projects, but it is very possible I could miss a prospect or have them ranked entirely too low or high. These are more aimed at general discussion amongst the community here, so if you've read or seen something that could be interesting to how a prospect is viewed, feel free to share it in the comments.

With that in mind, here is the criteria we will be using to determine whether a player is eligible for our prospect lists:

Hitters must have less than 130 AB in the Majors.

Pitchers must have thrown less than 50 IP in the Majors.

Graduates from 2012: Jesus Montero (SEA), Yasmani Grandal (SD), Devin Mesoraco (CIN), Wilin Rosario (COL), Derek Norris (OAK)

You can find notes on some of the prospects after the jump:

• d'Arnaud remains the top prospect in the minors at the catcher position, and I would practically expect that the Blue Jays will look to trade current starter J.P. Arencibia for some other needs so that d'Arnaud can start.
• Zunino is an excellent combination of solid offensive production and a player who will definitely stay at the position long-term. I am really a big fan of Zunino's, and think he could be the starter in Seattle by the end of 2013.
• There are concerns whether or not Stryker Trahan will be able to stay at the catcher position long-term, but the reports are that even if he does not, his bat will still play anywhere on the field.
• Baseball Prospectus' Jason Parks wrote ($) about Clint Coulter last month, and it sounds more and more like he is a name we should all be aware of. As with Trahan, it is important to remember though that both were high school draftees, and will likely take a few years to get to the Majors.
• The Marlins' Rob Brantly still qualifies as a prospect based on his AB total, but he seems like he will be more useful to the Marlins rather than fantasy owners, as he doesn't appear likely to provide very much power.
• A couple of other interesting names for me are Oscar Hernandez of the Rays, Will Swanner of the Rockies, and Marcus Littlewood of the Mariners, who is being converted to the position.