Victor Martinez's importance to the Indians lineup will see him playing more positions than catcher in 2008.

Ron Vesely/MLB Photos via Getty Images

By David Sabino, SI.com

SI's resident fantasy guru David Sabino takes a preseason look at the fantasy prospects position-by-position and ranks the candidates in four tiers from the superstars to those who should be left at home. Today, the catchers ...

Casey Stengel didn't know it at the time, but he helped sum up the annual fantasy catcher drafting dilemma after the Mets took Hobie Landrith with their first pick in the 1961 expansion draft by explaining, "You gotta have a catcher or you're gonna have a lot of passed balls." Fantasy players may not care about passed balls, but they do want to avoid dead spots in their lineups, and catcher is the easiest place to be stuck with a non-producer. Here's how to make sure you don't get stuck with a donut in the middle of your team.

• Most Valuable: Victor Martinez, Indians
• Most Overrated: Pudge Rodriguez, Tigers
• Most Underrated: Russell Martin, Dodgers and Bengie Molina, Giants
• Most likely to breakout: Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Rangers
• Most likely backup to earn a starting spot: Miguel Olivo
• Most improved: Dioner Navarro, Rays
•Most likely to flop: Paul Lo Duca, Nationals
• Comeback catcher of the Year: Yadier Molina, Cardinals
• Top Rookie: Geovanny Soto, Cubs
• Best $1 Long shot: Mike Rabelo, Marlins

Locked At the Top

1. Victor Martinez, Indians: Over the last three years Martinez has averaged 20.3 home runs, 95.7 RBIs with batting, OBP and SLG averages of .308/.381/.482. He's such a good hitter that he spends time at DH and first base when he's not behind the dish, enabling him to average 149 games played since 2005, best among all backstops

2. Russell Martin, Dodgers: Joe Torre rode Jorge Posada hard for the last decade, and with only Gary Bennett to serve as his backup, Martin can expect the same treatment. Don't forget Martin's added bonus: he stole 21 bases in '07, and Torre likes to let his players run

3. Brian McCann, Braves: The 24-year old with a career .491 slugging percentage and .296 batting average will see a statistical surge by picking up the offensive slack left by the Andruw Jones' departure.

4. Jorge Posada, Yankees: Posada's career-high average (.338) will be nearly impossible to duplicate, and his aggregate numbers could slide with his mentor and ex-platoon mate, Joe Girardi, now calling the shots and likely to cut his playing time to keep him fresh.

5. Joe Mauer, Twins: Injuries have kept him from fulfilling expectations, but when Mauer plays, the former first overall pick is an excellent offensive option, especially with protection in the lineup from Justin Morneau.

6. Bengie Molina, Giants: With no Barry Bonds or Pedro Feliz in the lineup, expect Molina to continue to hit in the heart of the order for the Giants. Last year  Molina drove in 81 runs, 66 of which came while batting in the five and six holes

7. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Rangers: The jury's still out on whether Saltalamacchia will be a full-time catcher in Texas or not, but in any case, he's catcher eligible and in limited time as a rookie had virtually the same slugging percentage than either Jason Varitek or Pudge Rodriguez.

The Next Best

1. Jason Varitek, Red Sox
2. A.J. Pierzynski, White Sox
3. Kenji Johjima, Mariners
4. Ronny Paulino, Pirates
5. Ivan Rodriguez, Tigers
6. Ramon Hernandez, Orioles
7. Dioner Navarro, Rays
8. Yadier Molina, Cardinals
9. Josh Bard, Padres
10. Yorvit Torrealba, Rockies
11. Chris Snyder, Diamondbacks
12. Geovanny Soto, Cubs
13. Carlos Ruiz, Phillies
14. Kurt Suzuki, Athletics

Varitek's career batting average has fallen by five points over the last two seasons, yet he continues to produce big RBI totals in the potent Red Sox attack ... Pierzynski has a double-digit home run total with 50 or more RBIs in five straight seasons ... Paulino's power continues to develop and his playing-time is unchallenged ... After struggling early, Navarro was one of the majors' most productive catchers from August onin '07, batting .294 with six home runs and 23 RBI. Only Posada had a higher slugging percentage among regular catchers than his .493 ... Soto was the PCL MVP last year, hitting .353 with a league leading 106 RBIs and .650 SLG, making his .389 average in limited big league action worthy of notice.

From the Risks to the Reaches

15. Michael Barrett, Padres
16. Johnny Estrada, Nationals
17. Dave Ross, Reds
18. John Buck, Royals
19. Ryan Doumit, Pirates
20. Jeff Mathis, Angels
21. Gregg Zaun, Blue Jays
22. J.R. Towles, Astros
23. Jason Kendall, Brewers
24. Gerald Laird, Rangers
25. Ramon Castro, Mets
26. Miguel Olivo, Royals
27. Mike Napoli, Angels
28. Brian Schneider, Mets
29. Miguel Montero, Diamondbacks
30. Paul Lo Duca, Nationals
31. Mike Rabelo, Marlins
32. Kelly Shoppach, Indians
33. Javier Valentin, Reds
34. Rod Barajas, Blue Jays
35. Eric Munson, Brewers
36. Jason LaRue, Cardinals
37. Chris Coste, Phillies
38. Brayan Pena, Braves
39. Matt Treanor, Mariners
40. Doug Mirabelli, Red Sox
41. Vance Wilson, Tigers
42. Guillermo Rodriguez, Giants
43. Chris Iannetta, Rockies
44. Curtis Thigpen, Blue Jays

Formerly a top-10 offensive catcher, Barrett will be entwined (and therefore be muted) in a platoon situation with Josh Bard in a poor park for hitters ... Estrada was signed after Lo Duca's offseason knee injury, which leads you to believe that it's worse than anyone has let onto and that the switch-hitting Estrada could get a majority of the team's at bats ... Ross placed seventh among catchers in home runs with 17 but his .203 average was the worst of any major leaguer with at least 300 at bats since Chris Snyder hit .202 in '05 ... Buck was tied for fifth among catchers in HRs last season, but his .222 batting average was second worst to Ross, and now Miguel Olivo (.237-16-60 for the Marlins) is there to push for playing time ... Eight of Towles' 12 RBIs came in a single game against the Cardinals, but he also hit in eight of the last nine games he played last year. A right-handed swinger, he has 20-home run potential playing half his games in Minute Maid Field but like any rookie, could be overmatched early on ... Castro will play less than half the games that Schneider does for the Mets but should put up numbers at least as good as the starter's ... The Marlins have a big decision to make behind the plate after the departure of Olivo, but look for ex-Tiger Rabelo to nab the starting job. Whether that's a good thing for your team (.194, one home run in 168 at bats) is still under review ... Kendall should bounce back after a horrible season between the A's and Cubs, but even at his best, he's not much of a fantasy force.

Don't Even Think About It

45. Brad Ausmus, Astros
46. Rob Bowen, Athletics
47. Henry Blanco, Cubs
48. Toby Hall, White Sox
49. Jose Molina, Yankees
50. Gary Bennett, Dodgers
51. Adam Melhuse, Rangers
52. J.R. House, Astros
53. Mike Rivera, Brewers
54. Mike Redmond, Twins
55. Eliezer Alfonzo, Giants
56. Shawn Riggans, Rays
57. Jeff Clement, Mariners
58. Clint Sammons, Braves
59. Paul Bako, Reds
60. Pete LaForest, Phillies
61. Paul Phillips, White Sox
62. Jesus Flores, Nationals
63. Guillermo Quiroz, Orioles
64. Ryan Budde, Angels
65. Chris Heinze, Orioles
66. Humberto Cota, Nationals
67. Raul Casanova, Mets
68. Josh Paul, Rays