Every Tuesday and Thursday for the next 4 weeks Caveball will sort out the 8 tiers for all 8 Fantasy positions. The following week at the end of February we will release our unique “Chartfelt Tiers”, the ultimate Cheat-sheet for Fantasy Baseball – unique because it allows you to easily cross-reference players in different positions who have similar value.

During that same week we will offer up our General Draft Strategy, which will then be followed by a specific strategy for 2015, which you can use in tandem with our “Chartfelt Tiers”.

Here now are Caveball’s tiers for the always shallow catcher position:

Tier #1 – The Alpha Wolves (Level 1)

This tier includes all catchers ranked in the top 24 players overall. For 12-team leagues this covers rounds 1 and 2.

• There are no catchers in this tier

Tier #2 – The Alpha Wolves (Level 2)

This tier includes all catchers ranked from 25 to 48 overall. For 12-team leagues this covers rounds 3 and 4.

• There are no catchers in this tier

Tier #3 – The Beta Wolves (Level 1)

This tier includes all catchers ranked from 49 to 84 overall. For 12-team leagues this covers rounds 5, 6 and 7.

• Buster Posey - 28 yr. old has 3 rings in 5 years. Busting with confidence, Posey plays more games than the average catcher because of his value at the plate.

Tier #4 – The Beta Wolves (Level 2)

This tier includes all catchers ranked from 85 to 132 overall. For 12-team leagues this covers rounds 8, 9, 10 and 11.

• Devin Mesoraco - Had 3 more HR and 9 less RBI than Posey in 33 fewer games
• Jonathan Lucroy - Played almost every day with an .836 OPS
• Carlos Santana - Indians don’t keep him for his catcher status, but you should
• Yan Gomes - Similar stats to his teammate above, and entering prime years

Tier #5 – The Gamma Wolves (Level 1)

This tier includes all catchers ranked from 133 to 192 overall. For 12-team leagues this covers rounds 12-16 inclusive.

• Salvador Perez - Turns 25 in May, so there may be some upside left
• Yadier Molina - Wear and tear of more than 1400 games starting to show 
• Evan Gattis - 22 HR and an .810 OPS in just 108 games
• Brian McCann - 23 HR, but hit 40 pts. below career avg. of .272
• Matt Wieters - Now looking probable for Opening Day

Tier #6 – The Gamma Wolves (Level 2)

This tier includes all catchers ranked from 193 to 240 overall. For 12-team leagues this covers rounds 17-20 inclusive.

• Willin Rosario - Averaging just 115 GP last 3 seasons – he’s a beta otherwise
• Miguel Montero - Might ride the Cubs momentum, but might hit 8th
• Russell Martin - Canadian goes home with big contract. Up until last year he hadn’t had 100+ hits in a season since 2009. He turns 32 this Sunday
• Yasmani Grandal - Overlooked cog in the Kemp trade. He moves from one of the worst line-ups to one of the most stacked, yet remains in familiar division. Career OPSs: Minors – .895 / Majors: .763. (Sleeper)

Tier #7 – The Omega Wolves (Level 1)

This tier includes all catchers ranked from 241 to 276 overall. For 12-team leagues this covers rounds 21-23 inclusive.

• Wilson Ramos - Big durability issues – 2011 was last yr. with 100+ GP 
• Derek Norris - OPS improving with each year. Turns 26 this Saturday. (Sleeper)
• Jason Castro - Followed breakout year with breakdown year
• Travis d’Arnaud - Pre All-Star OPS of .646 improved to .787 after the break. He turns 26 today. Stars are aligned (Stay tuned for our Sleeper picks next week). 
• Kurt Suzuki - Had a bounce-back yr. with .288 avg. Twins’ improved, as well
• Mike Zunino - Mendosa Line avg. should improve. His 22 HR/60 RBI were no fluke, as he had 24 HR/86 RBI in a short 96-game Minor League career

Tier #8 – The Omega Wolves (Level 2)

This tier includes all catchers ranked lower than 276 overall who have a chance to crack the top 300. For a 12-team league this covers rounds 24 and higher.

• Dioner Navarro - Turned 31 yesterday – what is it with February catchers?
• Chris Iannetta - Over 9 yrs he has never started more than 115 games
• Jarrod Saltalamacchia - Never really lived up to his billing
• Tyler Flowers - Still hasn’t really lived up to his billing
• Alex Avila - Best example of how gruelling the C position can be
• Christian Vazquez - Fun to watch defensively, not so much Fantastically
• Carlos Ruiz - 36 yr. old has seen better days, and so has his team