Justin Mason’s Top 40 Catchers for 2020
by Justin Mason
December 16, 2019
It is that time of year again! With the new year upon us, I am releasing my first set of ranks during this week and next for those doing early drafts or prep over the holidays. All ADP and position eligibility are based on NFBC Draft Champions leagues.
Justin Mason’s Top 40 Catchers
| Rank | Player | Team | Position(s) | ADP | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | J.T. Realmuto | PHI | C | 59.82 | Career highs in homers, runs, and RBI while maintaining average in first year in Philly. |
| 2 | Gary Sanchez | NYY | C | 88.27 | All the tools to be the top catcher and a steal in two-catcher leagues. |
| 3 | Yasmani Grandal | CWS | 1B, C | 103.55 | Move from Miller Park is a small downgrade, but not enough for me to move him out of the 3 spot. |
| 4 | Willson Contreras | CHC | C | 126.64 | Rebounded nicely in 2019. If he can stay on the field, he could explode this year. |
| 5 | Mitch Garver | MIN | C | 116.64 | He has to regress, but how much? |
| 6 | Omar Narvaez | MLW | C | 238.45 | As long as he doesn’t lose time for defense, he could be a monster moving to Miller Park. |
| 7 | Will Smith | LAD | C | 152.45 | Feels very safe, but eerily reminds me of Danny Jansen coming into 2019 and that last month was dreadful. |
| 8 | Wilson Ramos | NYM | C | 192.27 | Where did the power go? |
| 9 | Carson Kelly | ARZ | C | 228.55 | .348 OBP with 18 homers is a nice get after pick 200. |
| 10 | Sal Perez | KC | C | 195.18 | Should be healthy, but we won’t know for sure until we see him. Can’t imagine Matheny gives him the same workload coming off the injury either. |
| 11 | Jorge Alfaro | MIA | C | 224.18 | That average should drop, but rest is pretty legit. |
| 12 | Yadier Molina | STL | C | 268.91 | Safe floor perfect for two-catcher leagues. |
| 13 | Christian Vazquez | BOS | C | 199.27 | Powerless catcher hit 23 bombs last year. Big step back expected. |
| 14 | Travis d’Arnaud | ATL | 1B, C | 264.09 | Surprising he stayed healthy. Could be a nice value if he can again. |
| 15 | Buster Posey | SF | C | 283.77 | This rank is either way too low or way too high depending on health. |
| 16 | Sean Murphy | OAK | C | 239.09 | This is a hedge. I expect he gets full run, but I don’t see a ton of upside. Maybe 18 HR/,250 BA upside? |
| 17 | Francisco Mejia | SD | C | 247.09 | Timeshare hurts potential |
| 18 | Danny Jansen | TOR | C | 296.27 | Bounceback chance after falling flat. |
| 19 | Kurt Suzuki | WAS | C | 295.36 | Safe floor with no real ceiling. |
| 20 | Chance Sisco | BAL | C | 427.55 | Probably still falling for the prospect pedigree a bit, but I believe the breakout is coming. |
| 21 | Roberto Perez | CLE | C | 295.27 | Propped up by both HRs and RBI totals last season, but I expect both will fall back. |
| 22 | James McCann | CWS | C | 290 | Breakout season quieted by Grandal signing. |
| 23 | Tom Murphy | SEA | C | 307.23 | Fake player. |
| 24 | Tucker Barnhart | CIN | C | 347.73 | Fell off in 2019 and needs to perform to avoid getting leapfrogged by Stephenson |
| 25 | Mike Zunino | TB | C | 464.32 | Average hurts his upside. |
| 26 | Reese McGuire | TOR | C | 435.59 | Defensive specialist that overperformed offensively last season. |
| 27 | Robinson Chirinos | FA | C | 326.32 | Landing spot means a lot here. |
| 28 | Willians Astudillo | MIN | C | 329.91 | Fan favorite needs a place to play. |
| 29 | Pedro Severino | BAL | C | 387.95 | Played well enough to hold off Sisco last year. Don’t buy that will happen again. |
| 30 | Victor Caratini | CHC | C, 1B | 371.18 | Gets added at bats when Rizzo is hurting. |
| 31 | Joey Bart | SF | C | 439 | Injury in AFL set him back, but if the Giants trade Brandon Belt, that could open a spot for him at some point. |
| 32 | Yan Gomes | WAS | C | 442.36 | Second fiddle to an old guy. |
| 33 | Tyler Flowers | ATL | C | 434.55 | Back home to ATL with an injury risk guy as his time share partner. |
| 34 | Welington Castillo | FA | C | 443.95 | Not draftable until we see landing spot. |
| 35 | Jacobs Stallings | PIT | C | 528.59 | Apparently the guy in Pitt? |
| 36 | Tony Wolters | COL | C | 518.23 | How is a starting catcher in Colorado ranked this low? Please sign someone. |
| 37 | Daulton Varsho | ARZ | C | 537.64 | Cannot play defense, but apparently the D-Backs do not care. Bat is ready. |
| 38 | Tyler Shephenson | CIN | C | 684.86 | Impressive in AFL this year. Could make debut pretty quick. |
| 39 | Austin Hedges | SD | C | 613.91 | Defense first catcher that has some pop, but can kill your average. |
| 40 | Austin Allen | OAK | C | 673.82 | Has promise and a chance to compete for time. |
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.
Probably the toughest position to rank, with all of the 2019 breakouts.
Catchers ranked higher than I rank them: Molina (I don’t think a 37 year old catcher is safe), Posey, Mejia.
Suzuki should probably be higher than 19.
I feel Gomes is the one that should be higher than 32. You look at playing time last year- Gomes had 50 more PA’s than Suzuki did. That’s not going to change- and if anything Gomes might get even more.