In Defense Of Two Catcher Leagues

It has become fashionable to complain about two catcher leagues. In the last week alone, four people have made offhand comments to me, assuming I agreed with them. I’m sure more people will find the time to reach out and gripe now that I’ve written this article. And if it’s not clear, I’m very much a fan of the two catcher setting.

The classic argument against two catchers is that the position is too shallow. Even in a 12-team format, some fugly players will be rostered. That… is the point. One catcher leagues are boring – everybody has a good catcher? What’s the fun in that?

The double catcher opens considerable strategic variance. Here are a few of your options.

• Use early picks/auction dollars to acquire two of the top catchers. Gain a big advantage at catcher and put pressure on your cheap sleepers to pan out. How confident are you in your $1 targets? Will they actually be $1?
• Take one big name and a cheapie. Should guarantee roughly average catcher production while giving you an easy opportunity to upgrade. Opens an additional streaming spot.
• Snag two mid-tier catchers. Yawn.
• Reserve all your budget/picks for the most productive positions. Punt catcher while searching for the next Cameron Rupp or Willson Contreras. Gain two streaming spots.

That’s a sampling of your choices. Obviously, the specific execution of those plans opens the door for even more variety. There are dozens of ways the double catcher can affect your draft and roster construction. By comparison, in a one catcher league, there are really only three metas – draft early, middle, or last. The opportunity costs are similarly simplified.

Beyond the draft, two catchers can mean two more opportunities to stream. When I use the “punt” approach (about half of leagues), I’ll stream my catcher slot on Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays until I find my Contreras.

Perhaps it’s not intuitive, but you can get more out of your catcher slots by not rostering a catcher. On those certain days. Most starting catchers sit on Sundays, so you’ll want to stream in a solid backup like David Ross. Oh, he’s gone… maybe Josh Phegley? Jett Bandy? Perhaps there’s a great pitching matchup to snag.

Mondays and Thursdays are where you’ll really make up ground. Odds are, you have several fallow roster positions on those days. Andre Ethier versus a crappy righty has a higher expected value than all but the best catchers. The waiver wire will have several of these options along with starting pitchers and unrostered elite relievers like Brad Hand. Fill your actually productive spots before worrying about accruing catcher days.

While it’s true that you also have this option in a one catcher league, you’ll be more hesitant to cut Wellington Castillo. And the difference between a Castillo and an Ethier is less stark. Assuming your league isn’t also shallower in other respects, you’ll receive considerably less benefit from streaming.

I get it. Really, I do. You don’t want to worry yourself Austin Hedges‘ swing adjustments or Omar Narvaez’s existence. My fantasy experiences are improved when I have to dig deep for strategic advantages. I prefer to have as many pathways to success as possible – and I like to try them all. Two catcher leagues enable me.