2025 Position Previews: Catcher
An in depth look at the catcher position ahead of 2025 fantasy baseball draft season.
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Overview
I am behind the rest of the world on CATCHER WEEK, because I went ahead and did it last. The catcher position sucks, but I do have to give it some credit - it sucks a lot worse than it used to.
The main thing I have to tell you about catcher is how league-specific it is. Some leagues have 15 teams and two starting catcher slots. In those situations, you end up with wide disparities between what the better teams are getting at catcher compared to what the worse teams are getting. There are plenty of names at the position that can hit, but they dry up quickly.
There’s also a playing time angle to the position. You can find all kinds of guys projecting for 150 games played at every other offensive position, but there are typically only a handful of guys reaching above 140 or so games played in a given year at the catcher position.
Volume is more or less important depending on what kind of league you play in, but in most situations - volume is king. In a points league, for example, I’d say you’re crazy not to go after one of these volume guys. There were only 16 catchers last year who went above 400 PAs and only five who exceeded 600.
Your first consideration should be playing time. The second consideration should be, “Can this guy do something well?”
There are no five-category contributors to be found here. You’re giving up something with every single name. That gives you an opportunity to use your catcher selection to solidify your team in a category you’re weak in. We will see those opportunities as we go, so let’s get into it.
Tier One
#1 William Contreras (ADP Rank #1)
He and Cal Raleigh ran away with the roto title last year at the catcher position. Contreras went for 99 runs, 23 homers, 92 RBI, nine steals, and a .282 batting average. He was helpful across the board. Everything is there for him. He will DH quite a bit and be in the lineup essentially every day while he’s healthy, and he’s very good with the bat.
As a general principle, I don’t love being the first one in the catcher pool. What you find a lot of leagues is that catcher is a bit like reliever. Somebody breaks the seal on the position, and then everybody reacts, and you see most of the top guys go quickly after that.
I’d rather not start the catcher run, but hey, if you get late enough into the draft and nobody has pulled the trigger, it can make sense.
In my home league last year, for example, I was pretty set on waiting at catcher. But then, so was everybody else in my league. So we got to the point where Contreras was my best available projected hitter (not catcher, hitter), so I was happy to take him there, and it paid off handsomely.
In most leagues this year, somebody is likely to be aggressive on him. And I’d let them take him, I think. There are a lot more names to like.
Tier Two
#2 Yainer Diaz (ADP Rank #2)
Diaz also gets a tier to himself. There are very few catchers who can hit for power and batting average, so he and Contreras stand out in that regard. They are the only two who my model projects for 20+ homers and a batting average above .260.
Diaz is aggressive at the plate. He swings a lot and, therefore, chases a lot. That hurts him majorly in points or OBP leagues, so we have to keep that in mind. It doesn’t hurt us for standard roto leagues, and he’s probably my favorite target in these first three tiers when considering the price. I’m excited to see what the 26-year-old can do this year. I think he has a higher ceiling than most of the other guys at the position.
Tier Three
#3 Cal Raleigh (ADP Rank #6)
If you want power from your catcher, look no further than Raleigh. He’s homered 64 times in the last two seasons and has three straight seasons over 25. He turned in a 100 RBI season last year, something that is nearly impossible to find at this position.
I would not expect a repeat of that RBI production, but it’s tough to project him short of 30 homers! The batting average hurts, and that’s the thing that separates him from the top two tiers. But I’m willing to take the big edge in power that he gives me at catcher and make up for the average somewhere else.
The 11% BB% he gives you makes him a bit more appealing in OBP leagues. It’s still not a great OBP (.312 last year), but it doesn’t hurt nearly as bad as the average does.
#4 Adley Rutschman (ADP Rank #3)
He’s my #2 for points leagues. He plays a ton and walks a ton. The performance did hit bottom last year, but I’m willing to forgive that as there were some injuries involved and we also have to always be considering year-to-year variance (especially at the catcher position). I imagine he bounces back up to a .350-.370 OBP with 18-22 homers and a bunch of counting stats.
#5 Willson Contreras (ADP Rank #5)
In case you’re just getting back into baseball mode, you should know that Willson Contreras is playing first base for the Cardinals this year. That pushes him up the ranks all by itself because it locks him into a ton of playing time and a better probability of staying healthy.
And the guy can still hit. He slashed .262/.380/.468 last year in 358 PAs with 15 homers and four steals. It should be a nice year at the plate for Contreras, I’m just upset we aren’t getting the discount I thought we would on him.
#6 Salvador Perez (ADP Rank #4)
All good things must come to an end, but Perez made it clear the end is not imminent by slashing .273/.332/.458 last year with 27 bombs in 651 PAs. He played a good amount at DH and 1B, and that should continue. I think it’s fair to project another 140+ games for Perez. I’m just a bit worried about the age, and I’m not really buying into him as a positive batting average guy. That .273 mark last year was great, but don’t forget about the .254 mark he posted the prior two seasons.
He’s still a strong option, but there’s more age-related risk with the guy, so he ends up as my #6. He’s also a name to downgrade in OBP leagues with his low walk rate (although it did come way up last to 6.8%).
Tier Four
#7 Will Smith (ADP Rank #7)
The playing time is capped with Ohtani in town. He will not start in games he doesn’t catch. That keeps him away from the elite levels. He’s also never been the greatest fantasy player in the world.
The batting average fell 20 points to the .240 range last year. He homered just 20 times, and he doesn’t give you anything in steals either. He’s very safe, and he is a guy who can fall in drafts to the point where he’s a very nice guy to grab, but the ceiling just doesn’t match what the first six guys offer.
#8 Shea Langeliers (ADP Rank #8)
He is Cal Raleigh lite. He was quite streaky last year but finished with 29 homers and 80 RBI. Those are very nice numbers for a catcher. But, of course, it came with a poor .224 batting average and a .288 OBP. The strikeout rate is an issue (29% in 2023, 27% last year), and he doesn’t walk a ton to make up for it (7% in 2023, 8% last year).
At the age of 27 and moving to a more hitter-friendly ballpark, I do think he’s one of the better catchers to grab for upside, and I have found myself taking him a good bit when I don’t grab one of the first five guys in my ranks.
#9 J.T. Realmuto (ADP Rank #9)
Realmuto offers a ton of fantasy upside since he has this history of stealing bags. He did not have that as a part of his game last year with all of the knee stuff going on, and it’s fair to think that it won’t ever come back. But if anybody at the position is stealing 15-20 bags, it’s Realmuto.
He won’t play as much this year, I don’t think. Certainly, he’ll be capped on how many games he’s behind the plate, but he should get some DH reps and maybe even some appearances at first base to spell Harper. It’s a contract year, so the Phillies want to give him every opportunity to show what he can still do. I like Realmuto a lot this year, but I can’t deny the risk that the age and the knee issues bring to the table.