Justin Mason’s 2022 Catchers Rank: 1/24/22
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/
| Rank | Player | Team | POS | ADP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salvador Perez | KCR | C | 36.78 |
| 2 | J.T. Realmuto | PHI | C | 53.04 |
| 3 | Will Smith | LAD | C | 67.43 |
| 4 | Yasmani Grandal | CHW | C | 110.48 |
| 5 | Daulton Varsho | ARI | C/OF | 102.09 |
| 6 | Willson Contreras | CHC | C | 121.91 |
| 7 | Tyler Stephenson | CIN | C | 153.35 |
| 8 | Keibert Ruiz | WAS | C | 160.13 |
| 9 | Sean Murphy | OAK | C | 245.00 |
| 10 | Alejandro Kirk | TOR | C | 242.13 |
| 11 | Adley Rutschman | BAL | C | 193.74 |
| 12 | Gary Sanchez | NYY | C | 265.52 |
| 13 | Christian Vazquez | BOS | C | 226.22 |
| 14 | Mitch Garver | MIN | C | 204.61 |
| 15 | Joey Bart | SF | C | 299.65 |
| 16 | Max Stassi | LAA | C | 304.39 |
| 17 | Travis d’Arnaud | ATL | C | 217.83 |
| 18 | Yadier Molina | STL | C | 294.48 |
| 19 | Elias Diaz | COL | C | 258.13 |
| 20 | Omar Narvaez | MIL | C | 280.87 |
| 21 | Carson Kelly | ARI | C | 290.43 |
| 22 | Mike Zunino | TBR | C | 273.83 |
| 23 | Eric Haase | DET | C | 319.70 |
| 24 | Luis Torrens | SEA | C | 368.43 |
| 25 | Tucker Barnhart | DET | C | 374.96 |
| 26 | Jorge Alfaro | SDP | C/OF | 397.70 |
| 27 | Danny Jansen | TOR | C | 306.26 |
| 28 | Austin Nola | SDP | C | 340.00 |
| 29 | James McCann | NYM | C | 323.39 |
| 30 | Yan Gomes | CHC | C | 351.78 |
| 31 | Francisco Mejia | TBR | C | 380.09 |
| 32 | Jacob Stallings | PIT | C | 345.48 |
| 33 | MJ Melendez | KC | C | 379.13 |
| 34 | Zack Collins | CHW | C | 686.22 |
| 35 | Dom Nunez | COL | C | 586.74 |
| 36 | Ryan Jeffers | MIN | C | 438.74 |
| 37 | Martin Maldonado | HOU | C | 539.22 |
| 38 | Cal Raleigh | SEA | C | 545.00 |
| 39 | Pedro Severino | MLW | C | 459.26 |
| 40 | Manny Pina | ATL | C | 542.91 |
| 41 | William Contreras | ATL | C | 613.30 |
| 42 | Jonah Heim | TEX | C | 422.04 |
| 43 | Jose Trevino | TEX | C | 557.30 |
| 44 | Austin Barnes | LAD | C | 628.26 |
| 45 | Gabriel Moreno | TOR | C | 443.65 |
| 46 | Jake Rogers | DET | C | 745.09 |
| 47 | Kyle Higashioka | NYY | C | 579.70 |
| 48 | Luis Campusano | SD | C | 530.70 |
| 49 | Tom Murphy | SEA | C | 469.00 |
| 50 | Roberto Perez | CLE | C | 520.39 |
Justin is the co-host on The Sleeper and The Bust Podcast and writes for Rotographs covering the Roto Riteup as well as other periodic articles. In addition to his work at Rotographs, Justin is the lead fantasy writer/analyst and co-owner for FriendswithFantasyBenefits.com, and the owner of The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational. He is also a certified addiction treatment counselor. Follow Justin on Twitter @JustinMasonFWFB.
Barnhart is a Tiger…
I’m even more bullish on Kirk’s PT than you are. He started at DH 6 times in the final 5 weeks of the season last year and mostly batted 6th, so I think it’s pretty clear Toronto does indeed see the value of his bat in the lineup (the other catchers batted 9th when they played). With Semien gone that could mean even more plate appearances if he regularly slots into the 5th spot. His ranking across the industry is all about PT speculation, and a reasonable path to 500 plate appearances seems to be there. Adding in all his other favorable metrics (K%, BB%, very nice statcast profile) and the upside combination is a monster breakout. I would only take the top 4 or 5 guys over him with the enormous talent gap that starts after Grandal/Contreras. I’ll definitely be waiting at catcher and making sure I snatch up up a couple rounds ahead of his very reasonable ADP.
I’m more concerned with Gabriel Moreno eventually getting called up. The risk is greater than with other options at catcher. I’d have him more down in the 15 or so spot. With guys like Garver, Vazquez and Rutchsman ahead of him
I can’t see Moreno getting called up. The Jays are flush with catchers already and there is no point calling up Moreno unless the playing time is there. Danny Janson is a good catcher who has been a bit unlucky. Kirk as we all know is a very good hitter but playing time will be an issue unless he is traded. Good mention on Garver. Big power, one bad year and people forget about him.
as long as kirk hits like he can i don’t think “moreno called up, kirk benched as a result” is a thing that will happen. either they’ll play both (most likely) or they’ll trade kirk at that point
There’s no way I’d take him over Ruiz, who has both a higher floor and a higher ceiling. Plus, a guaranteed starting job.
Yes Ruiz is going to be (already is) a very good hitting catcher.
I wouldn’t assume Kirk needs a change of scenery to secure playing time. He’s already the best DH on the team since they cleared most of their OF logjam. If he hits, he will play, and someone else will be traded.
You have a good point in that Kirk SHOULD get lots of at bats with the Jays, but I’m not sure they will consider him their main DH. Catching is a problem as he is rated a poor catcher so maybe they should just consider him the 3rd catcher and the main DH.
They still have Springer, Hernandez, Grichuk and Gurriel to rotate around the OF and DH. So one of those 4 needs DH at bats as well. I don’t see Kirk or Jansen as someone you hold back Moreno for. He had a nice breakout at AA last year and is probably the #2 catching prospect after Adley. Kirk has a higher ceiling, but lower floor than almost anyone in the top 15 or 20. Guess it depends on how much risk you want to draft.
Agree that his risk is high. My position is that his upside at his ADP is also incredibly high. I wouldn’t grab him at before pick 100 as the 4th catcher off the board. The difference between the 15th ranked catcher and a FA catcher is small enough to chance busting your 14th round pick or wherever you’d need to get Kirk. That’s borderline “preseason roster churn” territory. It’s not easy to find top-of-the-position upside in this range of the draft.
Grichuk is probably not going to keep Kirk from getting at bats. He’s a 4th OF who should see plenty of time at DH and in the OF rotation, but not keep Kirk out of the lineup.
Although there could be an excuse in either health or BABIP, it should be noted that Kirk had a large platoon split. Unlike Kirk in his brief time, Jansen managed to perform well against RHP. It doesn’t guarantee a platoon as Kirk is likely to improve; until there is resolution this could influence playing time.
Until I see a pathway to prominent role and plate appearances for Kirk, rostering him needs to be at a discount despite what his metrics suggest. There are too many issues with the Blue Jays catcher and DH situation that make it very complicated to bet on Kirk coming away with more. The Springer signing last year added a huge barrier for Kirk to overcome, and I haven’t seen him cross it yet.
Just a raw list with no notes (apart from the learned commenters) is of limited interest. A few well chosen words about why Stassi is being touted or Jansen faded versus their ADPs (for instance) would help.
If you want actual analysis, you’re going to have to pay for Justin’s Patreon service.
which kind of sucks. i already pay for fangraphs.
edit: wow $15/month for access to notes
Maybe do a little research on your own about why the rankings make sense? There are far more valuable tools on FG than just letting the Rotographs writers tell you which players to draft.
The quality of this site just isn’t the same, and it’s been trending that way for a while due to defections. Talents like Sawchick, Eno, and Dave Cameron are hard to find and it’s understandable that there’s been a dip in quality from their replacements.
2-3 years ago I would have given my money without question to read those guys, now I’m not quite sure where the value is
Justin, thanks for these continued rankings updates. Do you expect Varsho to maintain C eligibility (20 G in 2022) into 2023?
Justin, thanks for your efforts on our behalf, between the winter and the lockout, this is a daily ritual. Any recommendations for a ten-team, A.L only, H2H, auction with OBP instead of AVG…a late one-dollar catcher flyer?