Category: Catchers | Page 4 | RotoGraphs Fantasy Baseball

More than any other position, how I approach drafting catchers will depend on my current roster construction as much as the actual player. Sometimes the “best” player available (according to my values) just won’t be a viable option given the state of my team stats prior.

With that in mind, here are my top-40 catchers for 2022. If you’re just joining us, you can find the first base ranks here and third base here. Read the rest of this entry »

Michael Simione’s Catcher Rankings

by Michael Simione

February 8, 2022

Michael Simione’s Catcher Rankings

Rank	Player	Team	Position	ADP	Notes
1	Salvador Perez	KC	C	41.08	PA’s are king and Salvador Perez can bring plenty of those.
2	Will Smith	LAD	C	66.44	High floor and has the possibility to become the number one catcher.
3	J.T. Realmuto	PHI	C	52.86	Bit of a down year from injury, the stolen bases make him a valuable asset.
4	Willson Contreras	CHC	C	123.44	Sacrificing average for power. Brings some speed. Realmuto without the average.
5	Yasmani Grandal	CWS	C	109.28	The second half surgence shows the ceiling of Grandal and it’s really high.
6	Daulton Varsho	ARZ	C, OF	96.69	The Varsho love has catapulted him into being drafted as the catcher number four. For me, I need a larger sample of production.
7	Tyler Stephenson	CIN	C, 1B	155.08	Fantastic at making contact and should put plenty of balls into play. Should see plenty of PA’s in Cincy.
8	Keibert Ruiz	WAS	C	157.42	Will be the featured catcher in Washington. Should be above average in BA with some pop.
9	Mitch Garver	MIN	C	202.75	Injuries have held him back and PA is slightly a concern. His 131 wRC+ in 243 PA’s last season is impressive.
10	Christian Vazquez	BOS	C	229.42	Can get you some steals with a decent average but has virtually no power. The season long 77 wRC+ is just horrible.
11	Alejandro Kirk	TOR	C	238.92	A ton of potential w/ great plate discipline but PA’s are a big concern.
12	Sean Murphy	OAK	C	242.69	Seems to be more power to unlock here and while the batting average is low he did have a decent in-zone contact rate.
13	Adley Rutschman	BAL	C	192.69	I know everyone loves him but I just can’t buy in until we know he is 100% starting up in the bigs.
14	Travis d’Arnaud	ATL	C	226.61	Has solid contact skills and a solid EV/FB but he just cannot stay on the field.
15	Elias Diaz	COL	C	256.25	Plays in Coors and shows power potential with a high Max EV and decent Barrel%.
16	Gary Sanchez	NYY	C	271.92	Insane power but it comes with a lowly average at least he should see a good amount of playing time.
17	Mike Zunino	TB	C	276.25	Insane power but it comes with a lowly average and not a lot of playing time.
18	Max Stassi	LAA	C	300.14	The high strikeout rate is worrisome but the high Barrel% shows we can see 16-18 home runs.
19	Omar Narvaez	MLW	C	276.36	Just solid all around and will do a little bit of everything for you.
20	Carson Kelly	ARZ	C	290.89	Varsho will be used in the field and maybe even DH leaving playing time for Kelly who had a solid EV/FB last season.
21	Yadier Molina	STL	C	294.92	Molina’s best years are behind him but he still makes solid contact and will chip in some steals.
22	Jacob Stallings	MIA	C	345.47	Stallings is good at what he does – making contact.
23	Danny Jansen	TOR	C	303.36	Jansen had a 1.165 OPS and 204 wRC+ in the second half. Small sample but still.
24	Eric Haase	DET	C, OF	322.78	Haase could play in the OF at times giving him plenty of playing opportunities. As long as he performs as good as last season he is a great option.
25	Joey Bart	SF	C	308.17	With Posey retiring Bart should get the starting gig.
26	James McCann	NYM	C	319.11	McCann will be the starter and will put up just mediocre numbers as always.
27	Austin Nola	SD	C	331.61	Decent power, decent average, but he just cannot stay healthy.
28	Yan Gomes	CHC	C	355.19	If Willson Contreras is traded his stock should rise as he provides a decent average with decent power.
29	Luis Torrens	SEA	C	378.61	A catcher with decent playing time and some pop at this point in the draft makes him a good late-round target.
30	Jorge Alfaro	SD	C, OF	392.53	A good option if you are in need of some speed.
31	Tucker Barnhart	DET	C	372.22	Will see playing time but won’t provide much.
32	Jonah Heim	TEX	C	416.25	A bit of a sleeper as he could provide you with double-digit home runs.
33	MJ Melendez	KC	C	383.14	After ripping up the minors a lot of people are hoping he gets the call.
34	Francisco Mejia	TB	C	396.36	Will split time with Zunino.
35	Ryan Jeffers	MIN	C	445.08	Bit of a disappointment last season. Should see some PA’s but he is mainly a good backup to have if you took Garver.
36	Manny Pina	ATL	C	528.81	Decent underlying numbers w/ a .250 ISO and 10.5 Barrel%. Could see playing time with the injury prone d’Arnaud ahead of him.
37	Tom Murphy	SEA	C	485.97	It starts getting really ugly here but Murphy can give you some pop.
38	Cal Raleigh	SEA	C	544.17	He impressed in AAA and if he does so again he could get another shot.
39	Pedro Severino	MLW	C	469.53	Maybe going to a new team can help Severino?
40	Roberto Perez	PIT	C	509.78	Known more for his defense than offense.
41	Martin Maldonado	HOU	C	535.78	Plate apperances but not much more than that here.
42	Victor Caratini	SD	C	553.5	Not much to discuss here.
43	Jose Trevino	TEX	C	554.75	Not much to discuss here.
44	Luis Campusano	SD	C	557.03	Not much to discuss here.
45	Austin Hedges	CLE	C	573.89	Not much to discuss here.
46	Dom Nunez	COL	C	585.83	Not much to discuss here.
47	Kyle Higashioka	NYY	C	585.94	Not much to discuss here.
48	Kevin Plawecki	BOS	C	587.97	Not much to discuss here.
49	Curt Casali	SF	C	617.39	Not much to discuss here.
50	Gabriel Moreno	TOR	C	457.31	Not much to discuss here.

Catchers ADP Market Report: 1/24/22

by Justin Mason

January 25, 2022

With drafts beginning to ramp up, it is important to monitor where players are being drafted on a regular basis. Throughout draft season, I will be doing that work for you with regular updates on the Average Draft Position on NFBC up until Opening Day.

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Justin Mason’s 2022 Catchers Rank: 1/24/22

by Justin Mason

January 24, 2022

2021 is over and we turn the page to 2022. Here are my current ranks for the catcher position for 2022, my second of the offseason. I will post updates as things change with signings, injuries, or news in Major League Baseball. On the Sleeper and the Bust Patreon, you can see the rankings updated live and notes for each player will be added this week.

You can review my ranks for other positions here: https://fantasy.fangraphs.com/category/rankings/
Read the rest of this entry »

Beat the Shift Podcast – Player Pool & Catcher Episode w/ Todd Zola

by Ariel Cohen

January 21, 2022

The Player Pool & Catcher Episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.

Guest: Todd Zola

Todd’s Mastersball Projections

What’s new?
Assuming a DH in the National League
Adjusting for the Camden Yards’ new dimensions
Adjusting for the Blue Jays irregular home park in 2021

Strategy Section

Player Pool
- Starting Pitchers
  - Is there more risk at the very top?
  - Is this the year to wait and grab pitchers in the early middle rounds?
- Closers
  - Where is the value?
  - How many saves do you really need to be competitive?
- Corner infielders
  - Bargains in the first base position
    - Pass on top talent?
  - The drop in talent at third base
    - How to attack/address the 3B position
- Middle infielders
  - Do you need to obtain steals from the middle infield position?
  - Setting hotspot values and budgeting for the middle infield
- Outfielders
  - At what price points should one purchase outfielders?
    - Early, middle, late, or spread them out?
    - The $1 outfielder conundrum
    - The effect of multiple position eligilibity on the OF pool

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Chad Young’s Ottoneu C Rankings

by Chad Young

January 7, 2022

With just over three weeks until the Ottoneu cut and trade deadline, and the start of auction season, it’s about time to start posting some positional rankings and tiers. Over the next couple weeks, we’ll hit every position. After that, I plan to call out relevant updates if and when they are needed. Before we dive in, a few notes.

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Paul Sporer’s 2022 C Rankings

by Paul Sporer

December 28, 2021

Finishing up my first run of rankings with C, OF, SP, and RP coming. My rankings with the individual comments will come after the new year, but these will lay the groundwork and show you where I’m at to start. These are for 5×5 15-teamers with a 20-game eligibility threshold.

Let’s discuss in the comments!

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Justin Mason’s 2022 Catcher Ranks: 11/22/21

by Justin Mason

November 22, 2021

2021 is over and we turn the page to 2022. Here are my current ranks for the catcher position for 2022, my second of the offseason. I will post updates as things change with signings, injuries, or news in Major League Baseball. Read the rest of this entry »

Positional Production in 2021

by Chad Young

November 5, 2021

For years, it was taken as a given that fantasy replacement level varied by position, such that a C, a SS, and a 1B with the same exact line would have different values because of how they compare to their peers. That has been challenged more often lately, especially in leagues that have multiple utility spots and no corner or middle infield spots, like standard Yahoo leagues. In Ottoneu, most people who create values are still assigning players a primary position, setting a replacement level for each position, and adjusting values for each player based on that. I went back to look at production by position, based on Ottoneu FanGraphs Points scoring, in 2021 to see how the positions compare. Is C really that much weaker than everyone else? Should you pay a premium for MI production? Is 1B much better than any other spot?

Read the rest of this entry »

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