Is there a more abused position in sports than the catcher in baseball? They catch crap (note: play on words) more than any other position, in any sport, at any level, and coincidentally, their importance to their team is more underrated than any other position in sports.
Catchers have to manage their pitching staffs, as well as the team’s defense, and they’re the only players on the field with the full-field perspective. Catchers manage the team — and they still have to hit above .200 somehow. Catchers are the quarterbacks of baseball, with the sports sex appeal of a kicker. No athlete is more important to his team and/or less appreciated.
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Catchers are like the moms of baseball.
Have you ever checked out the Today I Learned Reddit? It’s pretty great, and chock full of interesting tidbits. I bring it up because of something I learned … today. I’ve always known that there are usually more former catchers among the 30 current MLB managers. Considering their knowledge of pitching, defense and hitting, it only makes sense. But…
TIL: MLB managers who were former catchers have one of the lowest manager winning percentages of any position.
Man, things just keep getting uglier for catchers.
Catch as Catch Can
In fantasy baseball, catchers are pretty much considered garbage, too. I wish I had something poetic and poignant to say about fantasy catchers, but I don’t. The fantasy game used to be kinder to the position, especially when steroids helped their hitting stats, but now we’re at a point where very few catchers rank among the Top 100 hitters.
Add in the fact that most Head-to-Head fantasy leagues only start one catcher, with many Rotisserie formats starting to lean that way, too, and catchers continue to creep closer to becoming baseball’s version of the offensive line. (We used to think of catchers more along the lines of tight ends, but then 12 tight ends caught at least six touchdown passes in 2020.)
Teams have grown accustomed to using catcher platoons, and they appreciate defensive-minded catchers even more. These factors have really taken a hit on the number of plate appearances in the batter’s box for catchers, as opposed to just behind it.
Catcher Eligibility Rules
It’s worth noting that player eligibility rules are a little more important after an abbreviated 2020 season. In most fantasy leagues, a player must have 20 games played at catcher in order to receive that designation the following season. CBS Sports has set the games played mark at 10 games in 2020 to gain catcher eligibility in 2021. Just be aware of your league’s settings before drafting blindly.
Draft Considerations
There are only four or five catchers worth considering before the second half of your drafts. This is the thinnest position in fantasy baseball, which you can be happy about because it means there are value opportunities late in the draft. Sure, it also means there aren’t any superheroes in the early rounds, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still excellent players.
In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, hitters needed 186 plate appearances to qualify for the batting title. Just four catchers reached that number, three of which are near the very top of most 2021 catcher rankings: J.T. Realmuto, Yasmani Grandal and Willson Contreras. The fourth, Boston’s Christian Vazquez, is still considered a Top 10 fantasy backstop in 2021.
That’s good and bad for fantasy managers, as the fewer plate appearances mean their low batting averages will hurt fantasy teams less, but it also means there are fewer opportunities for hits, homers and RBI.
The lesson learned: Turn up the volume, turn up the fantasy value.
Realmuto is the only guy who’s going to take a draft pick from the first eight rounds or so. He can truly help you in all five categories, and he’s in his prime, and his knees are in good shape.
Dodgers catcher Will Smith and veteran Royals catcher Salvador Perez are the other top catchers, with Contreras and Grandal rounding out mostly everyone’s Top 5 catchers.
That first tier of five has set themselves apart from the rest of the group. You’ll have to make the decision of whether you want to pay a mid-round price for one of these Top 5 catchers or just wait until the end of your draft to fill your backstop slots.
In the past, I’ve always been a fan of drafting two Top 12 catchers, just outside of the superstar range, but that’s likely not the best route this season. Picking up a decent hitting catcher expected to see 450 at-bats (one of these top-fivers) and then rolling the dice late could be a path to success for me this season.
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Breakout Candidate
My definition of a breakout player is someone you’d draft in the middle rounds this season, who could have such a good season, he’d likely be an early pick next season. We’re going to amend this definition a bit for catchers, because you’d need Mike Piazza to get resurrected before you decide to take a catcher with a Top 30 pick next year.
Gary Sanchez, NYY: He’s really more of a rebound candidate, as the veteran slugger has two 30-homer seasons under his belt, but he’s coming off an eye-opening 2020 season where he hit .147 in 49 games. (I would like to point out, he still hit 10 home runs in 156 at-bats, and he averaged 28 home runs in his previous three seasons.) There are two problems with Sanchez though — well, four, if you count strikeouts and pop-ups. His batting average could/will drain your club, and his name/team is high profile, which could cause another manager to draft him before he falls to the round you’re comfortable in taking him.
Our Michael Salfino did a great piece on combining the stats from 2019 and 2020 in order to put the small sample size of 2020 to good use. Sanchez’s OPS+ difference from 2020 compared to 2019 was (-36), which was the 17th-largest differential last season. He’s in the prime of his career, everyone doubts him, and his Round 15 ADP is cheap enough to gamble on.
The fantasy industry is leaning away from Sanchez, especially after he was benched in the playoffs last season. But minor improvement in his swing and he could suddenly be a Top 5 catcher again. Had he played three-thirds of a season in 2020 instead of one third, maybe we’re talking differently about his 2021 outlook.
Sleeper Candidates
I define a sleeper as a player who likely goes undrafted or gets drafted late this season, but plays well enough to be draftable in the middle rounds next season.
Alejandro Kirk, TOR: Ideally, Kirk’s big bat will be needed to play some designated hitter, as well as catcher, which is music to fantasy baseball managers’ ears. This fireplug of a human has late ADP, and the Blue Jays might reward those who pick him up in the later rounds. As long as he stays in the majors, he’ll be a fantasy helper because he should hit positively, even in limited at-bats.
Yan Gomes, WAS: Catcher is a weird position in that after the Top 20 or so, you’re essentially looking at a 30-deep list of sleepers. Gomes was a Top 20 catcher in 2020, but that’s not enough to make you a mid-round pick, unless you are in one of those leagues that requires five starting catchers. Gomes should see more action in 2021, and with a .285-or-so batting average, he’s not going to hurt you, like most catchers would. Better yet, he’s only three seasons removed from the 2018 season when he posted 16 homers and 26 doubles (.266/.313/.449) in Cleveland.
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Buster Posey, SF: One of the best fantasy players of the past decade, Posey enters 2021 after opting out of the 2020 season. Posey has averaged 73 games played over the past three years, which would normally point to a danger sign for drafters. But light duty like this on a veteran catcher could mean a resurgence and healing of sorts. Remember that a hip injury slowed him in 2019, so time to heal plus a late ADP equals great value opportunity. If you’re worried about Joey Bart, the future for the Giants behind the plate, be prepared to pick the rookie up as soon as he gets the call in 2021.
Bust Candidates
There aren’t many to choose from! But a bust would be someone who you spend a relatively early pick on, but produces like a later pick.
J.T. Realmuto, PHI: The odds are someone is going to take Realmuto before you are ready to, so don’t get too upset by this “possible bust” tag. (I already know the comments will be filled with people who hate me because of this pick. Busts are never fun to pick.) As the top catcher, a lot is expected, including about 25 homers and 10 stolen bases. If you are relying on your catcher for those numbers, you are asking a lot from a player who faces more injury risk than any other player on the team. Also, let’s not forget that it’s a position where players are asked to play through minor injuries more than any other, which could adversely affect them at the plate.
Travis d’Arnaud, ATL: It’s a story as old as time: the Mets give up on you and it’s an improvement on your résumé. Little D posted a Top 5 Rotisserie season last year in his first with the Braves, after a big 2019 season with the Rays. His small-sample 2020 is probably coming back to the pack in 2021, and let’s not forget his injury history and the fact he’s 32 years old now. Not that it’s old, but for a previously oft-injured player like d’Arnaud, he’s probably closer to 36 years old.
Rookies
Rookie catchers are tricky because they’re usually asked to work on their defensive game and handling pitchers before they’re asked to work harder offensively. This is usually why you see 26-year-old breakouts, as opposed to the younger players, excelling at other positions.
Ryan Jeffers, MIN: He could split time with Mitch Garver behind the plate in Minnesota, which could prove to be helpful for Rotisserie owners. They might not get volume counting numbers, but they could enjoy a batting average north of .250, with a shot at 15-plus homers.
Tyler Stephenson, CIN: This 6-foot-4 youngster can hit for power and he’s definitely the future for the Reds behind the plate. But he’s likely doomed for platoon-work in the 2021 season.
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Keibert Ruiz, LAD: Keep an eye out for a trade that suddenly affords Ruiz an opportunity to start. For now, he’s buried in L.A., but that’s a good nugget to keep in mind.
Luis Campusano, SDG: He lost his catcher eligibility last season in the majors, but he’s a plus hitter who could make second-half noise for the Padres in 2021. (A felony arrest for marijuana possession is not expected to affect his outlook too much, according to MLB.com.)
DVR vs. Ciely — Catcher Rankings Battle
I thought it would be fun if we put two of The Athletic’s top fantasy baseball minds next to each other, from a responsible social distance, to see where they differ on certain catchers in their rankings.
Here’s a link to Derek VanRiper’s fantasy rankings, and here’s a link to Jake Ciely’s fantasy rankings. I’m not sharing all their rankings, side-by-side. I will, however, share their Top 5 ranking order because that’s always interesting:
DVR’s Top 5 Catchers
- J.T. Realmuto, PHI
- Will Smith, LAD
- Salvador Perez, KC
- Yasmani Grandal, CWS
- Willson Contreras, CHC
Ciely’s Top 5 Catchers
- J.T. Realmuto, PHI
- Salvador Perez, KC
- Will Smith, LAD
- Yasmani Grandal, CWS
- Travis d’Arnaud, ATL
Big Backstop Differences
I’m only pointing out the larger ranking differences worth noting.
Mitch Garver, MIN
- DVR ranks him 8th
- Ciely rankings him 16th
Daulton Varsho, ARI
- Ciely rankings him 8th
- DVR ranks him 13th
Jorge Alfaro, MIA
- DVR ranks him 16th
- Ciely rankings him 23rd
Alejandro Kirk, TOR
- Ciely rankings him 18th
- DVR ranks him 24th
Adley Rutschman, BAL
- DVR ranks him 25th
- Ciely rankings him 33rd
Let us know in the comments below which catcher sleepers, breakouts and busts you are thinking about this spring!
(Top photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
