Here are the top five catchers for fantasy baseball in the National League:

Brian McCann – McCann to me is on the verge of a breakout year among National League catchers. Most prognosticators put McCann behind Russell Martin, largely because of Martin’s speed. I place McCann ahead of Martin this year because I think that gap will close some. Not because McCann suddenly will get faster, but because I see Martin dropping in the other categories this year a bit. McCann is a very strong hitter and his role with the Brave’s offense this season might increase, thereby giving his stats a little bump.

Russell Martin – As stated above, Martin gets the jump on most catchers due to speed, but Martin has to start to show the effects of being a catcher someday. My guess is that will begin to show this year. Martin did not seem like himself last year, and I expect that a decline is in the works. Still, Martin with a slight decline in stats is still better in fantasy baseball than the majority of National League catchers.

Geovany Soto – Soto burst onto the National League scene last year and fantasy baseball certainly took notice. Soto may even get drafted above McCann and Russell Martin in some fantasy drafts, but I think that is a bit premature. I expect another solid season from the young catcher, and a big year next year. Still, he could break out this season and be a steal for some lucky owner.

Ryan Doumit – Doumit is in much the same boat as Soto in my eyes, though slightly behind him in most categories. I expect that Doumit will be much better this year than last, and the trend to continue to grow. He is a keeper for the long run to be sure. Doumit has the potential to be the best of the bunch.

Chris Iannetta – Iannetta would be included with the Soto/Doumit category were it not for his struggles with batting average. His power and RBIs are encouraging, but his batting average will need to rise to truly become a fantasy baseball force. Still, he is a good bet at catcher in the National League Fantasy Baseball leagues.

Cabrera is a shortstop that can give you a good bit of versatility. He is still relatively young at only 34 years old, and the Athletics have been looking for a replacement for former rookie of the year Crosby. Crosby still is a very talented player, and is considered to be in the Athletics plans as a utility player at least. After a fantastic rookie start, Crosby has since faltered particularly with his batting average.

The biggest upgrade the Athletics are getting putting Cabrera at shortstop is in the average and on base percentage categories. Crosby has struggled mightily averaging only .239 over his career. His on base percentages are also quite poor. Cabrera is a solid hitter as shown last season with his .281 avg., eight homers, and 57 RBIs attest. He also is still an effective base stealer having stolen 19 bases last season.

Garciaparra is being sought primarily for depth and flexibility in the infield one would assume. He is far from the player that set the Major Leagues on fire early in his career. Still, he is an effective player capable of having very good stretches. He would be the ideal candidate for infield utility play.

Oakland appears to be making some serious moves towards trying to once again contend. Their anemic lineup the last couple of years has been upgraded in the offseason considerably. The addition of Cabrera, Jason Giambi, and free agent superstar Matt Holliday is sure to jump start an offense that had been struggling to score runs. Adding Nomar to the mix would further enhance that lineup.

Cabrera also gives the Athletics a powerful defensive source at the shortstop position as Cabrera is a two time gold glove winner over his career at the position. While he is not as quick as he once was, he is still better than average and makes all the plays that he should make.

The announcement for the Cabrera signing is expected to take place Monday or Tuesday.

Ian Kinsler – Without a doubt, Kinsler has made a case for being the best second baseman in baseball, much less the American League. The one thing that really makes Kinsler stand out is the fact that he helps in every single category. Consider his numbers in 2008. .319 batting average, 18 home runs, 71 RBIs, and just for good measure he had 26 stolen bases. Now that is fantasy production. This season may be even better with the loaded lineup that Texas fields.

Alexei Ramirez – This would be a poor man’s Ian Kinsler. The average is not quite as good at only .290, but he did hit 21 home runs and drive in 77. The big difference here is stolen bases with only 13, but that is more a product of experience. Alexei is capable of more stolen bases. In the long run, or keeper leagues, Ramirez may end up being even better. For now, though, he is number two.

Dustin Pedroia – Pedroia is a perfect example of how fantasy baseball does not always value a player like Pedroia. Sure, he is listed at number three and could even be picked higher by some, but this guy was the MVP for Boston in real baseball. His numbers are off the charts at .326, 17 HRs, and 83 RBIs. He also stole 20 bases. But Pedroia’s biggest value is not reflected in fantasy baseball stats. He is a clutch player that hits when the hits are needed, and he keeps his team fired up.

Robinson Cano – Cano is certainly going to get bumped in value if for no other reason than the fact that he will be involved with the Yankee power lineup. These guys are loaded and Cano is just the type of player that he should reap some of the benefits. His numbers are respectable from last year at .271, 14 HRs, and 72 RBIs. Cano can be much better than those numbers, however. He is my dark horse candidate in this category.

Brian Roberts – Brian Roberts is a specialist player for the most part. The Baltimore speedster will hit for an average around .300, hit a couple of homers, and drive in 50 runs or so, but his real value is in steals. The speedy Roberts swiped 40 bases last year, and this year should be at least that good as well.

Garrett Atkins – Regardless of where Atkins ends up, I am sure that he will struggle. How do I know this? I have drafted him every year since that magical 06 year that he showed so much promise. He has been in a free fall since that day. What is truly hard to believe is that he plays half of his games in Colorado. Colorado, dammit! That should be good for some kind of juice in the bat should it not? It appears that is not the case, and Atkins can not seem to figure it out.

Mark Derosa – Derosa exploding for 20 plus longballs last year was a complete and utter fluke. He has never been a homerun hitter and the Cubs were smart to trade him when they did. I love the style of play that Derosa plays, but it is not because he is a huge run producer. Let others take the chance on Derosa this season because his price tag is out of whack. Especially with him moving over to the Indians and the American League. Heartbreak will come to those that overpay for this scrappy yet limited player.

Matt Holliday – Location, location, location. That is what the deal is with Holliday. When you compare his numbers in Colorado and his numbers in other parks, you will quickly see the Coors Field influence. Holliday is an absolutely fantastic ball player. No doubt about that. But he will be overpriced moving into a ball park that is no Coor’s Field. His numbers will drop across the board with no question. He is still a great player, but just not as great as he was in Coor’s Field.

Ryan Ludwick – Ludwick also suffers from the one season mirage. Last year he went crazy on National League pitching hitting 37 home runs with 113 RBIs. His batting average was what really stuns you when you look at the career. Ludwick has always been a .250-.265 type hitter. Suddenly out of the blue last year he puts up .299? That simply is not going to happen again. Still, Ludwick will post solid power numbers and get his share of RBIs. Especially in that Cardinal lineup. The key is to not pay for that average. If he is sky high, leave him for somebody else.

Jake Peavy -Peavy gets it from both sides. If he stays in Petco park where he has a much lower ERA, he is going to get much less run support than he might elsewhere. If he moves to another team with a hitter’s park, he is likely to get the exploding ERA problem. Either way, you have to figure on a drop in production for Peavy on some front. He is a great starter that is simply in a very bad situation for draft day value. Let someone else take on the chances for this one.

1. The Mets and their bullpen just got a whole lot better, though that was an easy task. The last couple of years the Mets bullpen nearly singlehandedly ruined two fantastic years in New York. This season, they signed arguably the most prolific reliever in baseball with the signing of K-rod, Francisco Rodriguez. He should be a huge upgrade from the problems of last year, but just in case, they also traded for former Mariner JJ Putz. Putz is about as solid as relievers get in baseball. The Mets look a whole lot different in the eighth and ninth innings now. How that helps against the Phillies remains to be seen.

2. Though it did not get much press, the Dodgers resigning of shortstop Rafael Furcal is huge. With Furcal in the lineup, the Dodgers are a completely different team. They suddenly become a high scoring machine that can drop runs on anybody. Without him, they still got by thanks to a monster year from Manny after coming over from Boston. This season, however, Manny is no sure bet to be in Dodger blue, though the Dodgers seem to think he will be. Either way, the resigning of Furcal is huge for the Dodgers on offense and defense.

3. The signing of Milton Bradley by the Chicago Cubs has some folks scratching their heads. For one, Bradley is a constant injury machine. He stays hurt. Last year, he stayed healthy only because he was a DH. This year, he returns to the field in the National League and the high probability that he will again be injured. Add to that the fact that he is sometimes moody and a bad locker room guy and one has to wonder why the Cubs payed him 30 million dollars. One reason is because when Bradley is not hurt, he is an absolute force at the plate. The Cubs rolled the dice big with this one.

4. The Phillies rode a rollercoaster this offseason with all of the potential arbitration hearings and so forth. Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, etc.. How in the world did they find the time to pull a magic rabbit out of their proverbial hats? The Phillies made a very deft and impressive move in left field during the offseason. For years, the Phillies have dealt with the low batting averages, and strikeouts of the power hitting Pat Burrell. Also, left field has been a bit of an adventure in recent years. The Phillies solved all those problems by sending Burrell off to the Rays, and replacing him with Mr. Steady, Raul Ibanez. Ibanez is a great fielder, and is just as productive at the plate as Burrell minus the strikeouts and average woes. Ibanez is not quite the home run threat that Burrell is, but he still gets his share. Expect around 25 home runs from this under the radar star.

5. The San Francisco Giants finally made a media splash without the name Barry Bonds headlining the copy. They signed the long and lean Randy Johnson to a one year deal for 8 million dollars. What makes this effective for the Giants is that he is added to an already impressive Giants pitching staff. The Giants must have liked what they saw from Johnson last year as he posted solid numbers with the Diamondbacks. In spite of his age of 45 years, and 4000+ innings, Johnson is still a difference maker on any team he signs with.

Consider Hanley Ramirez’s power numbers. After a mediocre 17 homers back in 06, Ramirez exploded for 29 bombs in 07. Just to show that it was no fluke, Hanley then hit 33 home runs in 08. What will be the encore in 09? For those that like looking at the more specific slugging percentage, how does .540 and .527 in the last two seasons sound? Ramirez has plenty of power.
When you look at the baseline for any player, you have to look at batting average as well. Hanley Ramirez has batted over .300 for three straight years, and did so while having an on base percentage that hovers around .390.

Another big factor for picking a number one fantasy baseball player would be RBI production. Given that he is a tablesetter type that is not called upon to drive them in as often, Ramirez is still quite the run producer. He drives in about 70-80 runs per season. More importantly, he has scored 125 runs in two straight seasons. That is one tough thing to do for any player. To score 125 runs and still drive in those types of numbers is telling.

Speed? Oh yes Hanley has that. Ramirez is projected to steal around 40+ bases this year as well. That is just the cherry on the top for baseball’s most well rounded batter. Hanley Ramirez also entered the 30 home run / 30 stolen base club last year in only his third true season. That is impressive by any standard.

Hanley Ramirez is heading towards being the best player in baseball, and fantasy baseball along with it. The young star has spent the majority of his career improving, and the amazing thing is that he is just now 25 years old. He is only now beginning to reach his prime. What will he do when he really knows what he is doing?

It is a scary thought for owners that do not own him in their fantasy baseball league. This is the reason that Hanley Ramirez should be the number one pick in fantasy baseball drafts across the country.