When finding a backstop for your fantasy squad, you can either agonize over the paltry options, hoping to get one of the few gems, or you can just give up and figure it out later. Last season I chose the first option, grabbing Victor Martinez early in the draft. Even though he was basically a one-man drain on every offensive stat throughout the first half of the season, it ended up working well when he figured out how to hit later on. Still, the anguish I suffered from his fecal performance through the first few months has made me a catching conservative and I think I'll adopt the second strategy this time around. Essentially, if you can find a solid catcher later in the draft after shoring up more important positions, you rejoice in your good fortune and set your expectations at an appropriately modest level. If you don't see anyone all that exciting, you grab what you can and wait until the season starts, before snapping up whoever's hot out of the free agent pool. Only with relief pitchers can you find more diamonds in the waiver-wire rough.

Interestingly, the most promising catching prospect in my mind is a Japanese import. Though I took some criticism for drafting Tadahito Iguchi last year at 2nd base (Iguchi's Hoochies!!!!), he ended up being a solid pick, living up to the modest standards i'd set. This year I'll probably go for Japanese star Kenji Johjima. At age 29, he's only a few years shy of the usual expiration date on catchers, but he had excellent numbers last year in Japan (.330 average, 36 homers) and his walk/K ratio is promising (49walks/45Ks). Successful Japanese players (like Ichiro and Hideki Matsui) tend to have good walk to K ratios, while Japanese busts (Kaz Matsui) don't. Besides, with the current state of catching in the majors, it's worth a gamble.