Victor Martinez was going to be a full-time designated hitter in 2012.

The Tigers have a very good, much younger catcher in 24-year-old Alex Avila, making Martinez a perfect fit for DH.

The news this week that the 33-year-old could miss the season after tearing the ACL in his left knee during offseason conditioning was still a big blow to the fantasy catching ranks, however.

Many leagues allow you to use a player at the position at which he played the season before, even if said player has changed positions and might never go back. Thus, if you had the option of playing Martinez at catcher or utility in fantasy, you certainly would have selected catcher.

Sadly, we probably won't have that choice this year. The Tigers said this week Martinez likely needs surgery, making his chances of playing in 2012 remote at best.

Martinez no longer seems to be much of a power hitter -- he had 12 home runs last season, down from his average of 21.5 in 2009 and '10 -- but he still rakes. In 2011, he batted a career-high .330, drove in 103 runs and had an OPS of .850 (up from .844 the year before).

In his career, he's a .303 hitter who has had at least 20 home runs five times and driven in 100 runs or more four times.

Martinez's injury thins an already-skinny catching position in fantasy.

He would have been our top-ranked catcher. Now, we're left with his long-term replacement in Cleveland, Carlos Santana, leading a list that features five very good options, a former stud who is a risky pick before the middle rounds (Joe Mauer), two solid-but-unspectacular choices (Miguel Montero and Matt Wieters), a touted rookie (Jesus Montero) and ... a Molina?

Our early top 12 at catcher as spring training nears:

1. Carlos Santana, Indians: Batted .239, but had 27 homers, 79 RBI and 84 runs in 2011.

2. Brian McCann, Braves: He's not the stud he once was, but McCann has still averaged 23 homers and 74 RBI the last two seasons.

3. Mike Napoli, Rangers: We doubt he can come close to duplicating his sensational 2011 (.320, 30 homers, 75 RBI and 72 runs in 369 at-bats).

4. Buster Posey, Giants: He was productive as a rookie in 2010, but is coming off a frightening ankle injury sustained in a home-plate collision early last season.

5. Alex Avila, Tigers: He batted .295 with 19 homers and 82 RBI in his first full big-league season.

6. Joe Mauer, Twins: He says he's recovered from an illness- and injury-plagued 2011, but we're left with the realization he can hit for average and not much else.

7. Miguel Montero, Diamondbacks: He was solid in three categories in 2011 (.282, 18 homers, 86 RBI).


8. Matt Wieters, Orioles: OK, so maybe he isn't as good as we thought he would be, but Wieters did hit 22 homers and drive in 68 last season.

9. Jesus Montero, Mariners: He batted .328 in 61 at-bats as a rookie for the Yankees. He was traded to the Mariners in the Michael Pineda deal.

10. Yadier Molina, Cardinals: Granted, he hit .305 with 14 homers and 65 RBI last season, but this is where the rankings seem to take a dive toward A.J. Pierzynski levels.

11. Russell Martin, Yankees: He started strong for the Yankees last season, but tailed off and finished with a .237 average, 18 homers and 65 RBI.

12. Wilson Ramos, Nationals: He hit .267 with 15 homers and 52 RBI in 389 at-bats in his first full major-league season. In a 12-team league, he could be a starter, which makes me miss Martinez already.

Joe Mauer, as expected, is the consensus No. 1 catcher as we enter the 2011 season.

Victor Martinez and Brian McCann usually follow in some order — but we prefer to stray from the norm.

I would take Giants rookie Buster Posey after Mauer is off the board, and consider the phenom among the top 20 players overall after a rookie season in which he produced 18 homers, 67 RBI, 43 extra-base hits and an .862 OPS in 406 at-bats.

Mauer will hit for a better average, but do you really believe he’ll hit more home runs (Mauer had nine last season) or drive in more runs than Posey?

It says here he won’t, and we don’t think Posey will endure a sophomore slump.

That brings us to our first set of rankings for 2011 — the backstops. Players are ranked where we expect them to spend the most time this season, not at every position at which they are eligible. For example, Jorge Posada is listed as a designated hitter, not a catcher.

Posada is obviously much more valuable at the latter position, and should be considered in the No. 12 range (one spot ahead of Jaso) at catcher.

On to the rankings:

Rank, player: R-HR-RBI-SB-Avg.
1. Joe Mauer, Min: 88-9-75-1-.327
2. Buster Posey, SF: 58-18-67-0-.305
3. Victor Martinez, Det: 64-20-79-1-.302
4. Brian McCann, Atl: 63-21-77 -5-.269
5. Carlos Santana, Cle: 23-6-22-3-.260
6. Geovany Soto, ChC: 47-17-53-0-.280
7. Kurt Suzuki, Oak: 55-13-71-3-.242
8. Miguel Montero, Ari: 36-9-43-0-.266
9. Matt Wieters, Bal: 37-11-55-0-.249
10. John Buck, Fla: 53-20-66-0-.281
11. Russell Martin, NYY: 45-5-26-6-.248
12. John Jaso, TB: 57-5-44-4-.263
13. J.P. Arencibia, Tor: 3-2-4-0-.143
14. A.J. Pierzynski, CWS: 43-9-56-3-.270
15. Carlos Ruiz, Phi: 43-8-53-0-.302
16. Mike Napoli, Tex: 60-26-68-4-.238
17. Yadier Molina, StL: 34-6-62-8-.262
18. Chris Iannetta, Col: 20-9-27-1-.197
19. Josh Thole, NYM: 17-3-17-1-.277
20. Rod Barajas, LAD: 39-17-47-0-.240

Preseason top 100 players (5): Mauer (19), Posey (20), Martinez (36), McCann (44), Santana (78).

Short hops
Was Mauer’s 2009 home-run total of 28 a fluke? Since 2005, he has hit, in order, nine, 13, seven, nine, 28 and nine home runs. ... The Tribe’s Santana appears to be fully recovered from his scary knee injury and could be a seventh- or eighth-round steal in a 12-team league. ... Montero was very good in 2009 (.294, 16 homers, 59 RBI, .833 OPS in 433 at-bats), but was limited to 297 at-bats by injury last season. ... Wieters seems to have regressed, but his minor-league track record suggests he should put it all together soon. ... Jaso, who should be the Rays’ everyday catcher, could be a sleeper. The same goes for Arencibia, who will be a starter now that Buck is in Florida. The latter batted .301 with 32 homers and 85 RBI in 412 at-bats in Triple-A last season. ... Napoli is an intriguing choice after hitting at least 20 homers in three straight seasons, but unless Michael Young is traded, he is a backup catcher, first baseman and DH.

NOTE: Statistics are from the 2010 season. ... Players are listed only at the positions at which they are expected to spend the most time in 2011.

THIS WEEK: We’ll preview the first basemen on Tuesday and the second basemen on Wednesday.

NEXT WEEK: Shortstops, third basemen and designated hitters.

Before we get to our first fantasy baseball preview of the season, here’s a quick question for Indians fans who are in AL-only leagues: Lou Marson, Mike Redmond or Wyatt Toregas?

The possibility that one of the aforementioned Indians catchers will be drafted — and possibly started — in any fantasy league this season is among the best arguments proponents of mixed leagues can make.

The Tribe trio combined for 56 hits in 247 at-bats (a .227 average), zero home runs and 17 RBI in 85 major-league games last season.

You already knew the Indians’ catching situation — at least until Carlos Santana’s arrival — was as tenuous as their starting rotation. But you might not have known the position, from a fantasy perspective, isn’t much better.

This season, there seem to be three sure things — the Twins’ Joe Mauer, the Red Sox’s Victor Martinez and the Braves’ Brian McCann — and three very good No. 1 catchers (the Dodgers’ Russell Martin, the Yankees’ Jorge Posada and the Orioles’ Matt Wieters).

The latter statement is assuming Martin rebounds from a season in which he batted .250 with seven homers and 53 RBI, the 38-year-old Posada stays healthy and Wieters lives up to the hype.

Translation: If you don’t want your catcher to be a liability, you better draft one in the first five rounds.

If you wait, you might be looking at a best-case scenario of gambling that Geovany Soto rebounds or 35-year-old Bengie Molina continues to produce solid home-run and RBI numbers.

On to the rankings:

Rank, player: R-HR-RBI-SB-Avg.
1. Joe Mauer, Twins: 94-28-96-4-.365
2. Victor Martinez, Red Sox: 88-23-108-1-.303
3. Brian McCann, Braves: 63-21-94-4.281
4. Russell Martin, Dodgers: 63-7-53-11-.250
5. Jorge Posada, Yankees: 55-22-81-1-.285
6. Matt Wieters, Orioles: 35-9-43-0-.288
7. Kurt Suzuki, Athletics: 74-15-88-8-.274
8. Miguel Montero, Diamondbacks: 61-16-59-1-.294
9. Geovany Soto, Cubs: 27-11-47-1-.218
10. Bengie Molina, Giants: 52-20-80-0-.265
11. Ryan Doumit, Pirates: 31-10-38-4-.250
12. Mike Napoli, Angels: 60-20-56-3-.272
13. Yadier Molina, Cardinals: 45-6-54-9-.293
14. Chris Iannetta, Rockies: 41-16-52-0-.228
15. A.J. Pierzynski, White Sox: 57-13-49-1-.300
16. John Baker, Marlins: 59-9-50-0-.271
17. Ramon Hernandez, Reds: 25-5-37-1-.258
18. Rod Barajas, Mets: 43-19-71-1-.226
19. Miguel Olivo, Rockies: 51-23-65-5-.249
20. Pudge Rodriguez, Nationals: 55-10-47-1-.249

Preseason top 100 players (3): Mauer (8), Martinez (43), McCann (46)

Short hops
In 523 at-bats last season, Mauer more than doubled his previous career high of 13 homers, set in 2006. ... McCann has 86 home runs and 366 RBI in the last four seasons. ... Soto was great in 2008, when he batted .285 with 23 homers and 85 RBI in his first full big-league season. ... Doumit was also much better in 2008 (.318, 15 homers, 69 RBI) than ’09. ... Napoli has 40 homers, 105 RBI and 173 strikeouts in 609 at-bats the last two years. ... Iannetta also can be a liability in points-based leagues that penalize for strikeouts. He has fanned 167 times in 622 at-bats the last two seasons. ... Same goes for his new teammate, Olivo, who has 208 strikeouts in 696 at-bats in that span. ... A possible sleeper, if healthy: The Reds’ Hernandez, who averaged 16 homers and 73 RBI from 2006 to 2008.

NOTE: Statistics are from the 2009 season. ... Positions listed are according to the depth charts at mlb.com.

THIS WEEK: We’ll preview the first basemen on Thursday and the second basemen on Friday.

NEXT WEEK: Shortstops, third basemen and designated hitters

The Indians are off to another awful April start. Their starting pitching has been dreadful, and their bullpen is a Kane Davis or Jorge Julio sighting from being even worse.

None of that will stop us from our best Eric Wedge impersonation today. We're going to keep our eyes on the prize, stay focused, continue to grind it out and look at the positives. OK, we're just going to look at the positives -- the Tribe's surprising offensive numbers (stats that are skewed by their 22-4 win over the Yankees on Saturday in The House That George Built and Hitters Love).

Through Sunday, the Indians rank seventh in the major leagues in batting average (.280), are second in runs scored (83), home runs (22), on-base percentage (.380) and OPS (.875). The Indians lead the big leagues in doubles (33), are tied for third in RBI (79) and, here's a shocker, have rung up the most strikeouts (115 in 13 games).

All of which means the following from a fantasy perspective:

-- Every-week starters: Grady Sizemore, Victor Martinez, Mark DeRosa, Travis Hafner and Jhonny Peralta. Sizemore is striking out as much as ever (17 in 54 at-bats) and is batting only .259, but you can't sit that combination of speed and power. ... Martinez's power has returned (he has four homers, which is double his 2008 total), and his .466 OBP doesn't hurt. ... Don't bench DeRosa strictly because of his batting average (.236). The versatile infielder has three homers and 15 RBI in his last eight games. ... Hafner has four homers and eight RBI, but isn't as much of an asset in points leagues that penalize for strikeouts (14 in 42 at-bats). ... Peralta has yet to hit a homer, but he's batting .333 and has an OBP of .404.

-- Backups: Shin-Soo Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera. Choo has three homers and eight RBI in 43 at-bats, and he's a rare member of the Tribe who has more walks (nine) than strikeouts (eight). ... Cabrera has been surprisingly effective (.333, 10 runs scored, one homer, seven RBI and two steals), but should only be started in deeper leagues in which you need infield help.

-- Not much help: Ryan Garko, Kelly Shoppach and Ben Francisco. Garko is batting .300 with a .447 on-base percentage, but he doesn't play every day and has just one homer. That's not enough power at a position as loaded as first base. ... Shoppach, who hit 21 homers last season, doesn't play enough (24 at-bats in 13 games) and has already struck out nine times. ... Even Wedge couldn't find something to like in Francisco's stats (.211, one homer, four RBI).

That sound you just heard was Nick Swisher coming back to earth. The Yankees outfielder, after starting the season 11-for-24 (.458) with four homers and 11 RBI, is 3-for-18 with one run, zero RBI and six strikeouts in his last four games.

Tick, tick, tick ... Fantasy owners who took a chance on Alex Rodriguez in the second, third or fourth rounds might be rewarded sooner than originally thought. A-Rod is already taking batting practice and fielding ground balls, making the original May 15 timetable for his return from hip surgery seem pessimistic. I'm no doctor, and I don't play one on the Internet, but here's a guess: A-Rod will be in all fantasy lineups by the start of Week 6 on Monday, May 11 -- at the latest.

You don't need me to tell you to bench Chien-Ming Wang. But I wouldn't drop him, as is happening in many leagues, even with that slow-pitch softball ERA (34.50).

Pick three

In the fantasy baseball column that was published in Saturday's editions, I wrote about three free agents who were worth picking up in deeper leagues (Kyle Davies, Chris Duncan and Randy Winn), with the rule of thumb that each player must be available in more than half of the leagues on ESPN.com.

Let's look at three more:

Denard Span, OF, Twins -- He's young (25), fast (three stolen bases this year, and 18 in 347 at-bats last season) and drives in a decent amount of runs (nine this season, 47 in a little more than half a season in 2008). He's also batting .300 and has been so effective that the playing time of Carlos Gomez (.200) and Delmon Young (.212) has suffered.

Jason Kubel, DH, Twins -- He hit for the cycle on Friday, which only jumped his ownership percentage to 7.4 entering Sunday night on ESPN.com. The fact Kubel is only a DH limits you, but he'll hit for power (a combined 33 homers in 881 at-bats in 2007 and '08) and his batting average (.333) and OPS (.939) are too good to pass up as a low-end starter in 12-team leagues.

Zach Duke, SP, Pirates -- His poor outing Sunday notwithstanding, Duke has resembled his 2005 rookie self (8-2, 1.81 ERA), not the 18-37 train wreck from 2006-08. The lefty is 2-1 with a 2.95 ERA. The negative: He won't help you much in the strikeout department (11 in 20 2/3 innings this season, and 314 in 613 career innings).

That does it for this week. Good luck, keep your head up and (channeling my inner Eric Wedge) remember there's a lot of baseball left to be played.