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Here are the fantasy baseball rankings for the top ten catchers for the 2008 season. I will also list the predictions from the pre-season at the bottom of this post for comparison.

1. Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins - Mauer scored more runs and out hit every catcher in MLB. And the margin with which he did so was amazingly large. 98 runs | 9 HR | 85 RBI | 1 SB | .328
2. Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves - Tough decision here as each of the top three catchers are statistically different, and studly. McCann’s home runs and RBI, plus his .301 batting average, almost warranted top billing, but Mauer was just too good. But you can argue for any of these three guys to top the list. 68 runs | 23 HR | 87 RBI | 5 SB | .301
3. Russell Martin, Los Angeles Dodgers - Martin is the most well rounder catcher, statistically speaking, of the whole bunch. Had he hit closer to .300, he’d easily be the number one ranked catcher. He also played 11 games at third base. That’ll help out his knees from time to time, and if 11 games is enough to qualify at a position in your fantasy league, Martin’s value rises. 87 runs | 13 HR | 69 RBI | 18 SB | .280
4. Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs - Soto’s numbers are very similar to those of McCann’s. But his lower batting average keep him out of the elite three at the catcher position. 66 runs | 23 HR | 86 RBI | 0 SB | .285
5. Ryan Doumit, Pittsburgh Pirates - Emerged in 2008, maybe you can even call it a breakout. His numbers were fantastic and it’s fun to imagine how good they would have been if he’d received 100 more at-bats. 71 runs | 15 HR | 69 RBI | 2 SB | .318
6. Bengie Molina, San Francisco Giants - You gotta love his RBI production and his home run total and batting average were solid too. It’s too bad he didn’t score a lot. 46 runs | 16 HR | 95 RBI | 0 SB | .292
7. Kelly Shoppach, Cleveland Indians - He only got the opportunity to catch full time when Victor Martinez went down. But, he sure did make the most of his 352 at-bats. 67 runs | 21 HR | 55 RBI | 0 SB | .261
8. A.J. Pierzynski, Chicago White Sox - These are pretty good numbers for the eighth ranked catcher on this list. 66 runs | 13 HR | 60 RBI | 1 SB | .281
9. Chris Iannetta, Colorado Rockies - Iannetta finally lived up to his potential and had a break-out season. Remember that these numbers were produced from only 333 at-bats. 50 runs | 18 HR | 65 RBI | 0 SB | .264
10. Ramon Hernandez, Baltimore Orioles - Hernandez bounced back from a miserable 2007 season . He got his power stroke back, but it’d be nice if the O’s could drive him across the plate a bit more. 49 runs | 15 HR | 65 RBI | 0 SB | .257

Listed below are the pre-season rankings. You can see how great I predicted things or laugh at how far off I was.

2008 American League Fantasy Baseball Catcher Rankings

1. Victor Martinez | Cleveland Indians
2. Jorge Posada | New York Yankees
3. Joe Mauer | Minnesota Twins
4. Kenji Johjima | Seattle Mariners
5. Jarrod Saltalamacchia | Texas Rangers
6. Ivan Rodriguez | Detroit Tigers
7. Jason Varitek | Boston Red Sox
8. Ramon Hernandez | Baltimore Orioles
9. A.J. Pierzynski | Chicago White Sox
10. John Buck | Kansas City Royals
11. Kurt Suzuki | Oakland Athletics
12. Mike Napoli | Los Angeles Angels
13. Dioner Navarro | Tampa Bay Rays
14. Gregg Zaun | Toronto Blue Jays
15. Miguel Olivo | Kansas City Royals
16. Gerald Laird | Texas Rangers
17. Mike Redmond | Minnesota Twins
18. Jeff Mathis | Los Angeles Angels
19. Kelly Shoppach | Cleveland Indians

2008 National League Fantasy Baseball Catcher Rankings

1. Russell Martin | Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Brian McCann | Atlanta Braves
3. Bengie Molina | San Francisco Giants
4. Carlos Ruiz | Philadephia Phillies
5. Johnny Estrada | FA
6. Ronny Paulino | Pittsburgh Pirates
7. Paul LoDuca | Washington Nationals
8. Geovany Soto | Chicago Cubs
9. David Ross | Cincinnati Reds
10. J.R.Towels | Houston Astros
11. Michael Barrett | San Diego Padres
12. Chris Snyder | Arizona Diamondbacks
13. Ryan Doumit | Pittsburgh Pirates
14. Yorvit Torreabla | Colorado Rockies
15. Yadier Molina | St. Louis Cardinals
16. Jason Kendall | Milwaukee Brewers
17. Brian Schneider |New York Mets
18. Josh Bard | San Diego Padres
19. Javier Valentin | Cincinnati Reds
20. Chris Iannetta | Colorado Rockies
21. Ramon Castro | New York Mets
22. Miguel Montero | Arizona Diamondbacks
23. Jesus Flores | Washington Nationals

Catcher: Russell Martin | Los Angeles Dodgers - Geovany Soto and his 16 bombs got the All-Star starting job for the NL, while stud Brian McCann barely got to play even though his numbers merited the role of NL starter as well. Russell martin was sandwiched in between them for the game. And even though he has fewer home runs than both catchers, and a lower batting average than McCann, Martin is the first half, fantasy MVP due to his stolen base output. He swiped 10 bags and proved that cathcers can run a bit. His value is in the fact that he produces in every fantasy category, and with numbers like .294/.394/.436 with 49 runs, 10 home runs, 45 RBI, and 10 stolen bases, he produces well.

First Base: Lance Berkman | Houston Astros - Ryan Howard may have 28 home runs, but he’s not even close to being as valuable of a fantasy first baseman as Berkman is. Berkman batted .347/.443/.653 with 79 runs, 22 home runs, 73 RBI, and 15 stolen bases in the first half of 2008. He may even have been the most valuable player in the entire fantasy baseball universe.

Second Base: Ian Kinsler | Texas Rangers - In April, if you had told me that Chase Utley would have 25 home runs at the All-Star break and wouldn’t be the most valuable fantasy baseball second baseman, I would have called the insane asylum and booked your room. It’s true though. Kinsler topped Utley in batting average, runs scored, and stolen bases, and isn’t too far behind in the RBI category. Kinsler’s first half numbers were .337/.397/.548 with 84 runs scored, 14 home runs, 58 RBI, and 23 stolen bases.

Shortstop: Hanley Ramirez | Florida Marlins - Ramirez sure has proven worthy of first round consideration at draft time this past off-season. He put up first half numbers of .311/.391/.566 with 80 runs scored, 23 home runs, 45 RBI, and 23 stolen bases and did that all without Miguel Cabrera hitting in the Marlins lineup with him. The only shortstop who can put up numbers like Hanley is playing third base for the Yankees.

Third Base: Chipper Jones | Atlanta Braves - Although he’s no longer flirting with a .400 batting average, Jones still tearing up National League pitching and leading the league in batting average . Jones is batting .376/.472/.614 with 56 runs scored, 18 home runs, 51 RBI, and two stolen bases. As long as Jones stays healthy, expect monster production from him to continue in the second half.

Outfield: Josh Hamilton | Texas Rangers - You don’t even have to consider his 28 home run, first round home run derby spectacle to consider what Hamilton is doing this season as spectacular. He’s leading MLB in RBI as he approached 100 RBI in the first half alone, and is just an all around good story for baseball. His first half numbers were .310/.367/.552 with 60 runs scored, 21 home runs, 95 RBI, and even seven stolen bases. Wherever you drafted this guy, you absolutely stole him.

Starting Pitcher: Tim Lincecum | San Francisco Giants - Picking a first half MVP from the great performers from the starting pitching pool, was very difficult. Cliff Lee, Edison Volquez, Roy Halladay, and even Justin Duchscherer deserved consideration. Lincecum was chosen as he second in the league in strikeouts, tied for third in wins, and is an ERA stud pitching for what was supposed to be a terrible team. His first half line was 11-2 with a 2.57 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 135 strikeouts and 47 walks in 129.2 innings of work.

Relief Pitcher: Francisco Rodriguez | Los Angeles Angels - Rodriguez’ closest competitor in the saves category is 10 saves away, and his 38 saves leads MLB by a long shot. He also has a 2.36 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP to go along with those saves. In 42 innings pitched, Rodriguez struck out 41 and walked 26.