After a short hiatus, here are your catcher rankings. I’m going to experiment with not including any numbers next to the players names, for various reasons. If you really feel like you need them, let me know in the comments.

The Big Three
Victor Martinez
Joe Mauer
Brian McCann

Things change, people. I never thought Mauer would show the power like he did last year, but he has fallen way back. Martinez will give you a more balanced attack, so he gets the number one spot.

Happy to Have
Jorge Posada
Geovany Soto
Kurt Suzuki
Ryan Doumit
Mike Napoli

Even though Jorge is fresh off a DL stint, I had to give him the number four slot. Kendry Morales getting hurt was a godsend for Napoli. He won’t have to play behind the plate all of the time, and his bat sticks in the lineup. The Angels may look to trade for a first baseman, but until then, Napoli has great value.

I am Jack’s Catcher
Matt Wieters
Russell Martin
Miguel Olivo
Yadier Molina

What’s up, Wieters?

Buckaroos
Carlos Ruiz
John Buck
Buster Posey
Bengie Molina
Rod Barajas
Miguel Montero

Miguel Montero should be back soon, so keep an eye on him. He was in my top-10 before he got injured, and he’s only this low because he’s not back yet and knee injuries scare me when it comes to catchers.

The Prospect
Carlos Santana

Santana should be up within the week.

The Rest of ‘Em
Ronny Paulino
Ivan Rodriguez
Chris Snyder
Chris Iannetta
A.J. Pierzynski
Jeff Clement
Nick Hundley

I still have a little hope left for Clement. Just a little. I’ve heard the name Ryan Hanigan thrown around a lot in the comments, but he just doesn’t get enough AB’s to justify a spot. Hundley gets slightly more playing time, and the two are probably interchangeable.

While it isn’t official quite yet, it looks like Mike Stanton is being called up by the Marlins and should join the team shortly. Stanton isn’t playing in Double-A today, and MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro says that he will be with the club on Tuesday.

Stanton, one of baseball’s top prospects, hit 21 homers in 240 plate appearances for Jacksonville. He posted a line of .313/.442/.729, with a wOBA of .449. Stanton had a career high walk rate (18.3%), and kept his strikeout rate around 22%. Stanton is only 20 years old, yet he should be able to step right in for the Marlins and at least hit for power.

For those of you who don’t like the fancy things we call numbers, Stanton is even built like a power hitter. Hitting right handed, Stanton is 6-5, weighing in around 235 pounds. While I’m not a professional scout, and I don’t evaluate hitters nearly as well as pitchers, Stanton just looks like a power hitter in the batters box. Our very own Marc Hulet said ” Stanton obviously has massive power potential as a future MLBer, but it will be his contact rate that dictates just how big of an impact he has.”

Before the season began, no one could figure out where Stanton would fit into Florida’s lineup. Now, with Cameron Maybin struggling, it looks like Cody Ross will move into CF and Stanton will man RF. The club wouldn’t call up Stanton to have him sit on the bench, so look for him to be in the lineup more times than not. He’s probably not worth a spot in standard re-draft leagues, but if he’s available in a keeper league, snatch him up.

Thanks to Michael Jong for the information about what the Marlins lineup will probably look like.

Aloha, America! Another week means another look at the third base rankings. Just like last week, wOBA numbers are listed as “(Current, ZiPS Updated).”

The Big Three
Alex Rodriguez (.365, .388)
Evan Longoria (.409, .396)
David Wright (.393, .400)

If A-Rod’s HR/FB rate wasn’t half it’s normal level, Longoria would be the top dog. Call me crazy, but I was really tempted to move Wright down to the next tier. Striking out a ton (having a HR/FB rate close to 23% doesn’t help either) is not a good way to go about your season.

Medium Three
Ryan Zimmerman (.423, .390)
Mark Reynolds (.369, .370)
Pablo Sandoval (.340, .371)

After some careful deliberation, I have decided that I would rather have Reynolds’ power than Pablo’s average, at this point. Of course, if you are in a league that docks points for strikeouts, this isn’t the case.

Group X
Ian Stewart (.366, .354)
Jorge Cantu (.338, .338)
Scott Rolen (.359, .356)
Michael Young (.326, .346)

I’m happy to eat my words when it comes to Scott Rolen. I wasn’t very high on him coming into the year (as those of you who bought the Second Opinion will know), and even though his power may be fluky, it is entirely possible he keeps it up for awhile longer.

*Sigh*
Casey McGehee (.399, .354)
Chipper Jones (.349, .379)
Adrian Beltre (.340, .341)
David Freese (.377, .357)
Aramis Ramirez (.237, .322)

Chipper is going to be great in OBP leagues this year, but I’m not sure what he has to offer in standard 5×5 leagues. No power and a extreme BABIP? No thanks, Mr. Beltre. Aramis can’t buy a hit right now, let alone a HR, but he needs to cut down on his strikeouts if he wants to have a better chance to bounce back.

The Rest of ‘Em
Chase Headley (.333, .325)
Kevin Kouzmanoff (.281, .316)
Casey Blake (.318, .340)
Mark Teahen (.291, .321)
Jhonny Peralta (.323, .328)

Alternate group title is “Shaking My Head”. Third base is really ugly this year, which we sort of knew, but it has gotten worse as the season has progressed. You may notice I trimmed the list from 25 to 20 this week, simply because it gets really nasty after these guys, and I’m not sure if any of the other folks are even worth a shot.

Aloha, America! Another week means another look at the first base rankings. Just like last week, wOBA numbers are listed as “(Current, ZiPS Updated).”

The Machine
Albert Pujols (.403, .452)

Only a 14.3% HR/FB rate for Albert. Going to have to work for a 40-HR season, according to ZiPS.

Big Ballerz
Miguel Cabrera (.449, .419)
Mark Teixeira (.341, .369)
Ryan Howard (.347, .387)
Prince Fielder (.368, .395)

Teix and Howard switch spots, but this group stays intact.

Not Quite Elite
Joey Votto (.392, .388)
Adrian Gonzalez (.346, .375)
Justin Morneau (.486, .421)
Kevin Youkilis (.430, .405)

If Gonzalez could get his O-Swing% back down to his 2009 rate (22.7% vs. 29.6% in 2010), that would be swell. Youkilis has the lowest K% of his career, and his HR/FB% is down to his career average. However, he has been 4%-6% above his current career average the past two years, so he may see a couple extra HR’s as the year progresses. Morneau has a .486 wOBA! Holy crap.

Pure…Unadulterated…Power
Kendry Morales (.342, .352)
Adam Dunn (.400, .400)
Paul Konerko (.425, .386)

ZiPS says Konerko is on a 34 HR pace, which would be the most since he hit 35 in 2006.

Writers Block
Billy Butler (.375, .368)
Adam LaRoche (.353, .375)
Carlos Pena (.292, .356)
James Loney (.361, .357)

LaRoche has an increased FB rate, and a decreased HR/FB%. Could we see more power later on in the year?

Switch Hitting Brigade
Derrek Lee (.318, .355)
Garrett Jones (.354, .360)
Justin Smoak (.319, .327)
Lance Berkman (.357, .388)
Nick Swisher (.399, .370)

Smoak may not be putting up great wOBA or batting average numbers quite yet, but what are the odds he has a .186 BABIP with a 23.8 LD% for the rest of the year? Also, Derrek Lee falls all the way from 12 to 17. I think I’ve given him a fair shot to put up numbers, but he isn’t producing this year. On a kinder note, Swisher debuts at #22. Before the season began, I would have thought you were crazy to suggest Nick Swisher would be on this list. Now, it’s reality.

The Rest of ‘Em
Luke Scott (.349, .354)
Todd Helton (.315, .353)
David Ortiz (.326, .366)
Ike Davis (.360, .303)

Making his debut this week is the one, the only, Ike Davis. Also noteworthy is Helton moving from 20 to 23, and he may be done as a fantasy producer in non-OBP leagues.

Aloha, America! Another week means another look at the catcher rankings. Just like last week, wOBA numbers are listed as “(Current, ZiPS Updated).”

The Big Three
Joe Mauer (.409, .416)
Brian McCann (.362, .374)
Victor Martinez (.278, .339)

Victor has lowered his strikeout rate, but that has come with a decrease in his walk rate, as well. He still has a .227 BABIP, and with a 22% LD rate, Victor’s batting average will rise sometime soon.

Happy to Have
Matt Wieters (.317, .335)
Geovany Soto (.426, .378)
Russell Martin (.331, .340)
Jorge Posada (.433, .380)

Geo Soto, consider yourself moved up! Last week, commenter “hamandcheese” said that he would “rather have Soto than any of the other guys in his group.” While I didn’t go as far as to move him ahead of Wieters, I did reevaluate his ranking and decided to move him up to number five. Which reminds me to remind you, the reader, to continue challenging these rankings in the comments. For the most part, I do my best to read through them and do some extra thinking about the player(s) in question.

Name That Molina
Bengie Molina (.375, .340)
Yadier Molina (.320, .332)
Ryan Doumit (.339, .340)
Kurt Suzuki (.368, .340)

Suzuki should be back in the next couple of days, but I want to see him come out of the gates and hit before I move him up any higher.

I Am Jack’s Catcher
Ivan Rodriguez (.371, .318)
Miguel Olivo (.392, .338)
Carlos Ruiz (.418, .366)

Olivo snapped out of a small slump, and Pudge is still showing life. Ruiz is slightly hampered by a knee issue, so keep an eye on that over the next week.

Problem Children
A.J. Pierzynski (.241, .300)
Chris Snyder (.340, .352)
Miguel Montero (.498, .360)
Mike Napoli (.392, .338)

It sounds like the White Sox may be open to dealing Pierzynski, and while leaving The Cell may not be the best thing, getting traded to Texas wouldn’t be a bad idea.

The Rest of ‘Em
Jeff Clement (.247, .323)
John Buck (.389, .349)
Chris Iannetta (.244, .334)
Rod Barajas (.361, .327)
Ronny Paulino (.350, .328)
Carlos Santana ( – , .348)
Jake Fox (.261, .317)

I can’t even look at Iannetta’s name without shaking my head, turning towards Denver, and making an obscene gesture.

Authors Note: I know there has been some interest in this, and I’ve never stated a public policy on it, so I figured I’d make it known. Feel free to send me an email with a question about your team, using the email address hyperlinked below this post. Of course, you can also send it to the RotoGraphs Mailbag, if that is more your cup of tea.

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Max Scherzer was demoted to Triple-A Toledo today, along with second baseman Scott Sizemore.

Scherzer, who was acquired from the D’Backs by the Tigers this offseason as part of the Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson deal, did not impress in his brief time in the AL. Scherzer struck out 9.19 batters per nine innings last year, but is down to a 5.57 K/9 through his eight starts in 2010.

He has seen a touch of bad luck, with a .327 BABIP agaisnt and 58% LOB%. However, Scherzer has had trouble with balls in play for his short MLB career, with a .323 BABIP against in over 268 innings.

While his ERA is 7.29, his xFIP is only 5.04. Our updated ZiPS projections have Scherzer finishing the year with a 5.16 ERA. MLB.com’s Jason Beck says that Scherzer has had problems with his mechanics, so hopefully he can work things out in the minors and return relatively shortly. If you have Scherzer in a keeper league, you might as well hold on to him during this stretch, otherwise it is safe to drop him.

As far as Sizemore goes, his demotion isn’t even the biggest news surrounding the Tigers 2B job. The team says that Carlos Guillen will be the everyday second baseman when he returns from the DL in the next week or two.

Guillen hasn’t played 2B since 1999 (when he was with the Mariners), but he did play 132 games at SS back in 2007, so he isn’t that far removed from the middle infield. In real life, UZR was not kind to Guillen at SS in ’07, or at 3B in ’08, so we’ll see how long Guillen can hold down the job at 2B. For fantasy owners, as long as he plays enough games to gain eligibility, it doesn’t matter how long he sticks. ZiPS has Guillen hitting .280 the rest of the season, and adding in 10 homers and 5 steals. Getting those numbers out of your second baseman is not the worst thing in the world.

Focusing on Sizemore, a .268 BABIP and 3.6% HR/FB rate hurt his value and he ended up with awRC+ of only 60. He should be able to return to AAA and hit very well once again, forcing the Tigers to consider bringing him back up later on in the season. But, if Guillen plays well at 2B, there may not be room from him.

Back after a week lost to illness, here are your third base rankings. wOBA numbers are listed as “(Current, ZiPS Updated)”. If the wOBA numbers are a couple of points off, don’t sweat it, because it’s just me writing these things up ahead of time.

Big Three
Alex Rodriguez (.363, .389)
Evan Longoria (.417, .397)
David Wright (.401, .401)

According to wOBA and ZiPS, Wright is wright (intended, shamelessly) on target.

Medium Three
Ryan Zimmerman (.432, .385)
Pablo Sandoval (.337, .371)
Mark Reynolds (.377, .371)

I decided to place Zimmerman above Kung Fu Panda. He’s got more power and the batting average is more than good enough. Reynolds is still cranking balls out of the park, but that’s partly because he’s been getting the ball in the air more often.

Third Base Group X
Jorge Cantu (.350, .341)
Ian Stewart (.395, .362)
Michael Young (.312, .339)
Scott Rolen (.339, .346)

Cantu and Stewart move up at the expense of Young. Cantu is very steady, and I like what Stewart is doing at the plate.

The “A” Team
Aramis Ramirez (.218, .324)
Adrian Beltre (.361, .350)

Yes, America, I hear your cries regarding A-Ram. He’s aging, and even though his numbers say he’ll bounce back, I don’t think it will be enough to be anything special. If you ask me, he’s almost done.

The “C” Team
Chipper Jones (.352, .382)
Casey McGehee (.396, .347)
Casey Blake (.336, .347)
David Freese (.387, .352)
Chase Headley (.369, .335)

McGehee sure is slugging the ball, eh?

The Rest of ‘Em
Andy LaRoche (.362, .341)
Jhonny Peralta (.301, .323)
Mark Teahen (.304, .327)
Kevin Kouzmanoff (.295, .322)
Alex Gordon (.299, .329)
Mark DeRosa (.243, .313)
Edwin Encarnacion (.296, .315)
Brandon Inge (.322, .314)

I originally had LaRoche and Peralta in their own group, but decided to just lump them together with the rest of these fools. Seriously, though, can someone please save Gordon from the hell that is the Royals organization?

Back after a week lost to illness, here are your first base rankings. wOBA numbers are listed as “(Current, ZiPS Updated)”. If the wOBA numbers are a couple of points off, don’t sweat it, because it’s just me writing these things up ahead of time.

The Machine
Albert Pujols (.407, .455)

Albert’s OPS is below 1.000. I’m shocked.

Big Ballerz
Miguel Cabrera (.460, .420)
Ryan Howard (.336, .385)
Mark Teixeira (.331, .366)
Prince Fielder (.346, .389)

Cabrera holds strong at number two, with Teixeira overtaking Fielder for the number four spot. It wasn’t his power surge in Boston that did it. Just kidding, it was his power surge in Boston.

Not Quite Elite
Adrian Gonzalez (.369, .379)
Joey Votto (.424, .398)
Kevin Youkilis (.425, .399)

Am I the only one who thinks Youkilis could hit way more homers if he wanted to? Also, Joey Votto is really good.

A Cuban, A Canadian, and a Fat Guy
Justin Morneau (.466, .412)
Kendry Morales (.354, .356)
Adam Dunn (.393, .396)
Derrek Lee (.304, .355)
Paul Konerko (.455, .393)

This group keeps on growing. Adam Dunn jumps up two spots, and Konerko continues his ascent back into fantasy relevance.

Writers Block
Carlos Pena (.295, .357)
Billy Butler (.364, .365)
Adam LaRoche (.371, .380)
James Loney (.337, .350)

Remember, folks, Billy Butler is only 24 years old. It doesn’t look like it will be this year, but his power will continue to develop and he will be freakin’ awesome.

Two Men and a Baby
Garrett Jones (.348, .359)
Justin Smoak (.314, .327)*
Todd Helton (.306, .354)
Lance Berkman (.288, .375)

Smoak does not have a ZiPS Update, so his number is simply his ZiPS projection. I like what he’s doing thus far, and yes, I’d rather have him than Helton or Berkman going forward.

The Rest of ‘Em
Daric Barton (.371, .360)
Luke Scott (.282, .333)
Russell Branyan (.263, .336)
David Ortiz (.291, .358)

Branyan is yet to hit a dinger this year, and Big Papi is showing little signs of life once and awhile. Don’t get me wrong, he’s very close to done, but he might have one decent year left in him. At least, that’s what the Red Sox are hoping.

Back after a week lost to illness, here are your catcher rankings. wOBA numbers are listed as “(current wOBA, ZiPS ROS)”. If the wOBA numbers are a couple of points off, don’t sweat it, because it’s just me writing these things up ahead of time.

Big Three
Joe Mauer (.388, .414)
Brian McCann (.347, .370)
Victor Martinez (.316, .364)

Victor had himself a week. He still has a nice LD%, unlucky BABIP and bad HR/FB%, but they are getting closer to normal. Enjoy the rest of your season with one of the games top catchers.

Happy to Have
Matt Wieters (.334, .341)
Russell Martin (.309, .340)
Jorge Posada (.406, .351)
Geovany Soto (.484, .366)

Half of the time Wieters puts the ball in play, it’s on the ground. Not good. If Jorge wasn’t so old, I’d be more excited about his start. Oh, and a HR/FB% of 27.8% doesn’t help his cause, either. Geo Soto has been tearing it up, and he’s walking more than he’s striking out thus far.

Name That Molina
Bengie Molina (.369, .324)
Yadier Molina (.358, .337)
Ryan Doumit (.364, .346)

Bengie’s average will go down, but he should show more power than he’s displayed thus far. If Ryan Doumit wouldn’t get injured every year, he’d be so much cooler.

I Am Jack’s Catcher
Kurt Suzuki (.367, .336)
Carlos Ruiz (.388, .339)
Ivan Rodriguez (.400, .299)
John Baker (.301, .320)

Suzuki wasn’t all that impressive early on, and an intercostal strain seems like something that could bother him when he comes back. I’m not overly worried yet, so let’s wait before pronouncing him dead.

Problem Children
A.J. Pierzynski (.253, .319)
Jeff Clement (.231, .340)
Miguel Olivo (.348, .313)
Chris Snyder (.372, .354)
Miguel Montero (.497, .351)
Mike Napoli (.321, .362)

When Pierzynski’s .202 BABIP regresses to the mean, it’s going to be glorious. Glorious! For someone who is supposed to be a power hitter, Jeffy likes to hit the ball on the ground. Is it okay if I call him Jeffy?

The Rest of ‘Em
Chris Iannetta (.243, .343)
Rod Barajas (.355, .308)
Jake Fox (.247, .326)
John Buck (.353, .317)
Carlos Santana

Welcome Fox and Buck to this list. And as far as Iannetta goes, getting sent to the minors is a good thing, right?

Here we go again.

Big Three
Alex Rodriguez (.418 wOBA)
Evan Longoria (.386)
David Wright (.395)

Once again, I wrestled with the idea of mixing this bunch up. Next year, I’ll be taking Longoria over A-Rod, but I don’t think that’s the case for 2010. I heard some objections about Wright last week so I thought I’d clear something up; I don’t expect 30+ homers again, but I think 25 is totally reasonable and still makes him worthy of this rank.

Medium Three
Pablo Sandoval (.386)
Ryan Zimmerman (.376)
Mark Reynolds (.364)

I really like the diverseness of this group. Sandoval is a mostly AVG guy who will pop a few, Zimmerman is a happy medium, and Reynolds is the power guy.

Tier X
Michael Young (.355)
Jorge Cantu (.347)
Ian Stewart (.352)

Cantu and Stewart each move up a couple of spots and are starting to win me over. I wasn’t a big Stewart fan coming into the year, but I’m about to hitch a ride on that bandwagon. Feel free to join me.

Tested and True
Scott Rolen (.353)
Chipper Jones (.389)
Adrian Beltre (.346)
Aramis Ramirez (.383)
Casey Blake (.339)

I like what I’m seeing from Rolen, and I think Jones could be closed to finished as an automatic fantasy starter. His lack of pop and lowered batting average numbers make him questionable in my book.

Upside!
Mark Teahen (.329)
Chase Headley (.353)
Casey McGehee (.330)
Alex Gordon (.364)

Teahen is another guy I like. He’s hitting the ball in the air more, which works well when you play in The Cell.

I Know What I Like, and Don’t Like What I Know
Mark DeRosa (.342)
Andy LaRoche (.340)
Jhonny Peralta (.329)

For the most part, what you see is what you get with these three. And what you get isn’t going to be the prettiest thing in the world.

The Rest of ‘Em
Kevin Kouzmanoff (.330)
Jake Fox (.345)
Edwin Encarnacion (.348)
Brandon Inge (.319)

If Jake Fox starts one more game at the catcher position, he’ll be eligible there in Yahoo! leagues, and I’ll likely start ranking him as a backstop. Also, Garrett Atkins is off the list this week.