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Fantasy Baseball: Top 20 NL only Catchers for 2014

Ray offers his top 20 NL only fantasy catchers for 2014, headed by Buster Posey. Check out where Devin Mesoraco, Jonathan Lucroy and Travis d'Arnaud rank for NL only leagues.

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Now that we have completed our consensus position rankings for 2014, it is time to address rankings for those of you in AL only and NL only leagues. I will publish league specific position rankings each day, addressing one position at a time, starting with the NL only position rankings.

In case you missed them, below you will find links to all of our consensus position rankings and projections that we have published to date:

Catcher: Part 1| Part 2

First Base: Part 1| Part 2

Second Base: Part 1| Part 2

Shortstop: Part 1| Part 2

Third Base: Part 1| Part 2

Outfielders: Part 1| Part 2| Part 3

Starting Pitcher: Part 1| Part 2| Part 3

The catcher position appears to be deeper than I can remember. In NL only leagues, Giants catcher Buster Posey leads the pack, but his lead over the next 3-4 catchers is narrowing in my mind. Posey had a horrific second half of 2013 where he had just nine extra base hits in his 228 plate appearances. I imagine he will return to being the Posey of the first half, but I have some concerns.

if you don't get Posey, rest assured the next four NL catchers are just as good, or nearly just as good, as Posey at the plate. Rosario, playing in Coors Field, has more power and and has hit for a solid average in his first two seasons in the big leagues.

Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy had a terrific 2013 season, and he will be looking to build on his 18-59-82-.280 performance in 2014. He stands to have a good shot as he plays in one of the better hitters parks in baseball.

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina is the catching version of Joe Mauer, as he hits with little power, but hits for a high batting average, 70-80 runs and RBI, which is pretty valuable. Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos had a great second half after returning from his knee injury, and displayed lots of power. He could hit 20 home runs if he plays 120-125 games this season.

If you are looking for a bounce back candidate at the catcher postion, then look no further than Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero. He slumped badly last season, but prior to 2013, he had two consecutive seasons of 15 home runs, 65 runs, 86-88 RBI and an average over .280.

Of the remaining NL catchers, three of them have breakout potential: Devin Mesoraco, Travis d'Arnaud and Yasmani Grandal. Mesoraco is the only one who hits in a hitters park, so I lean toward him over the other two.

Rank

Player

1

Buster Posey

2

Wilin Rosario

3

Jonathan Lucroy

4

Yadier Molina

5

Wilson Ramos

6

Miguel Montero

7

Evan Gattis

8

Jarrod Saltalamacchia

9

Russell Martin

10

Devin Mesoraco

11

Travis d'Arnaud

12

Carlos Ruiz

13

Welington Castillo

14

A.J. Ellis

15

Yasmani Grandal

16

Ryan Doumit

17

Nick Hundley

18

Jose Lobaton

19

Hector Sanchez

20

Tim Federowicz


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