Last year's rankings featured Ivan Rodriguez first. This year Pudge drops to third, and could drop out completely if his overtures of going to Japan unexpectedly turn out to be more than a bluff.

1. Mike Piazza (NYM) � There will be no debate about Piazza the second he becomes Hall of Fame eligible. In the past ten years, Piazza has averaged 137 games per year (Cal Ripken-like for the position), has gotten at least 90 RBI along 30+ home runs in nine of those seasons to go along with a .321 lifetime BA and .576 slugging pct. There are some subtle signs of slowing down however. The BA has dropped from .324 to .300 to a career low .280 over the past three years. Piazza has also settled for 94 and 98 RBI after five seasons of 100+ in that department. Piazza also turns 35 in September. Speaking of, that is the month Mike usually catches on fire, when most other backstops are worn down. Piazza continues to be top play at the position simply due to position scarcity with power/avg. simply unmatched by any other backstop.



2. Jorge Posada (NYY) � You have to like him just for being in one of the most loaded lineups in MLB history. Has settled down the past three seasons into the .280/25/90 range. Is older (32 in July) than most would think, so don�t look for a whole lot of upside. That said, Posada is the only catcher capable of giving Piazza a run for his money.



3. Ivan Rodriguez (FL) � The market for Pudge was softer than anyone could had imagined. One year, $10 million - with Florida??? I have a feeling he will be on the trade market by mid-season. Has only played in 310 of a possible 486 games the past three seasons, meaning he has missed 31 percent of all games with his various ailments. When healthy however, is as good as anyone � as evidenced by 19/60/.314 with a .542 slugging percentage in just 408 AB�s last year. Signing with an NL team takes away DH possibilites, another negative. Thus Pudge drops behind Pudge and Piazza this year.



4. Mike Lieberthal (PHI) � Position becomes a crapshoot at this point, but Lieberthal should be solid with a much improved lineup hitting in front of him. Had solid year in return from a torn ACL, finishing .279/15/52 in 130 games. Also had 15 bombs and 71 RBI in 2000, so 20 and 80 is possible with Thome hitting in front.



5. Jason Kendall (PIT) � Though not a power hitter, a lot of his speed seems to have returned, stealing 15 out of 23 bases in �02. On the downside, Kendall dropped to a measly three home runs after 10 in �01 and 14 in 2000. Another area of concern is that Jason had only 44 RBI and his run total dropped to 59 after scoring 112 times in �00.



6. Paul LoDuca (LA) - Fell way off from his 2001 #'s, going from .320/25/90/.543 to .281/10/64/.402. One positive was playing in 149 games, getting 580 AB's. If he could just split the difference between '01 and '02 fantasy owners would take it.



7. A.J Pierzynski (MN) - .295 career hitter in 941 career AB's bodes very well for the position. Hopefully he's been hanging out in the weight room, since he still has time on his side to muscle up (6 HR/49 RBI in '02). The fact that Twins management is intent on keeping the nucleas intact is a very good sign as well.



8. Eli Marrero (STL) - 44 games behind the dish last year so he's eligible (but not in the CDM Challenge). However the Cards have added veteran Joe Girardi to go along with Mike Matheny, so Eli's playing time will not come there this year. 18 HR and 66 RBI in just 397 AB's last year, along with a .262 BA. A career average of .239 draws concerns however. His worth all comes down to playing time.



9. Charles Johnson (COL) - Like Todd Hundley, has reverted back into being a good field/no hit backstop - and his slide has occured in just the past year and a half, falling from .304/31/91/.582 in 2000 to .217/6/36 in 244 AB's last year. Going to Colorado will either be a godsend, or the ultimate proof that he will never again be among the top echelon at the position.



10. Toby Hall (TB) - Many got burned starting the year with him in '02, but don't be afraid to take a flier on him again this year. Finished the year 40-117 (.342) with 2 HR and 16 RBI. That over an entire season would easily place Toby in the top ten among backstops.



11. Javy Lopez (ATL) � Bad news is that Braves elected to keep Greg Maddux instead of Tom Glavine, as Maddux would rather have anyone else on the planet as a battery mate besides Lopez. Stock has steadily dropped, and hit only .233 last year. But has power and still managed 11 HR and 52 RBI in 109 games, and had 24/89 as recently as 2000.



12. Damian Miller (CHI) � Got as close to his native Wisconsin as possible without playing for the Brewers, which no one in their right mind would want anyway. Has very respectable power numbers of 50 HR and 207 RBI in 1531 career AB�s. Could flirt with 20 HR and 70 RBI if he plays full-time in Wrigley.



13. Michael Barrett (MTL) � Then-manager Jeff Torberg�s conditioning coach son (the wrestler) got him into the weight room a couple years back, and it started to pay dividends with 12 HR and 49 RBI (along with a .276) in 376 AB�s. MB recently signed a one-year 2.6 million dollar contract, and that is even too much for Montreal�s budget. Milwaukee has been mentioned as a possible destination for Barrett at some point this year � which would be good considering that he�s currently in a quasi-platoon with defensive specialist Brian Schneider.



14. Benito Santiago (SF) � 16 HR, 74 RBI, .278 BA and .450 slugging percentage, after .295/.369/6/45 in virtually the same # of AB�s in 2001. Now for the bad news, Benny only turns 38 before opening day, so there may even be gas still left in the tank.



15. Jason Varitek (BOS) � Do not look for much upside here. 10 HR and 65 RBI in 2000 followed by 10 HR and 61 RBI last year. BA usually falls in the .260 range.



16. Victor Martinez (CLE) � Prospect rated #11 in TSN�s pre-season rankings. The coast should be clear with incumbent Einar Diaz traded, but would like to see him go north with the big club before giving him consideration though. Has been MVP in his respective minor leagues the past two seasons, including .336 with 22 HR and 40 doubles in AA last season.



17. Miguel Olivo (CWS) � As with Vic Martinez, make sure he makes the trip north come the end of March, but currently has the inside track to the ChiSox starting gig. Hit 14 HR in 93 AA games last year but only hit .259. One huge bright spot though was 25 steals, a similar number in the bigs would make him a god-send.



18. Ramon Hernandez (OAK) � Starts season on the comeback trail after suffering torn Achilles in game 5 of the A�s Division Series loss. Dropped to .233/7/42 last year after 15 HR/60 RBI in 2001 and 14 HR/62 RBI in �00. Only a .247 lifetime hitter.



19. Ben Davis (SEA) � 7 HR, 43 RBI in just 228 AB�s in �02, but only a .242 lifetime hitter. Should get more playing time this year however.



20. Benji Molina (ANH) � Only .245/5/47 last year, but .281/14/71 back in 2000. Still only 28, so a return to that level is very possible.