Catcher Rankings Table - 2020

Rank Catcher Team 1 J.T. Realmuto Phillies 2 Gary Sanchez Yankees 3 Yasmani Grandal White Sox 4 Mitch Garver Twins 5 Willson Contreras Cubs 6 Salvador Perez Royals 7 Wilson Ramos Mets 8 Will Smith Dodgers 9 Carson Kelly Diamondbacks 10 Omar Narvaez Brewers 11 Jorge Alfaro Marlins 12 Yadier Molina Cardinals 13 Christian Vazquez Red Sox 14 Jason Castro Angels 15 Buster Posey Giants 16 Francisco Mejia Padres 17 Danny Jansen Blue Jays 18 Travis d'Arnaud Braves 19 Tom Murphy Mariners 20 Roberto Perez Indians 21 Willians Astudillo Twins 22 Mike Zunino Rays 23 Sean Murphy Athletics 24 Kurt Suzuki Nationals 25 Tyler Flowers Braves 26 Yan Gomes Nationals 27 Austin Romine Tigers 28 James McCann White Sox 29 Chance Sisco Orioles 30 Jacob Stallings Pirates

J.T. Realmuto has been a consistent top-five performer at the position over the last three seasons. His low-to-mid 20s power seems legit and he’s one of the only catchers who can manage 8-10 steals which is extremely valuable at the shallow position. His contact skills provide a safe batting average floor with .290-.300 upside as well.

Gary Sanchez‘s .278 batting average from 2017 appears to be an outlier. His poor popup rate combined with a heavy pulled ground ball rate has led to a deflated BABIP. The power is, however, massive and it’s unmatched at the position (top 1% in MLB in BRL/BBE). Health is also an issue but if he reaches 550+ PA, 40 HR is attainable.

Yasmani Grandal goes from one friendly park to another. Unfortunately for Grandal, the White Sox signed Edwin Encarnacion as the full-time Designated Hitter leaving less room for Grandal to earn more plate appearances when he’s not behind the plate. Let’s not forget, Grandal managed an insane 632 PA in 2019 and will be 31 years old in 2020 with a capable backup in James McCann to spell him one or two times per week. I’m expecting closer to 500 PA for Grandal which is the reason he falls behind Sanchez.

With Castro gone, Mitch Garver should see 65-70% of the plate appearances for the Twins in 2020. He’s average defensively, but it shouldn’t hurt his playing time too much. He outperformed his home run total a year ago but that doesn’t mean his metrics weren’t impressive. He transformed increasing his FB% by 12% and tripled his BRL%. Maybe he doesn’t keep 100% of the gains but he should hit around .260 with 25 HR.







It was nice to see Wilson Contreras bounceback after a disappointing 2018 but he seemed to outperform his metrics last season. His ground ball rate still sits at an underwhelming 50% and his quality of contact skills are good but far from elite. That being said, he still has low-20s power with a better .260+ batting average which plays as a top-five player at the catcher position.

After missing all of 2019 with an ACL tear, Sal Perez is back and is still just 29 years old. Prior to 2019, Perez compiled four-straight 20-homer campaigns and provides better than league-average strikeout rates. He’s an ultra-aggressive hitter who won’t take a walk, so he gets a slight downgrade in OBP formats. That being said, I’d expect a line similar to that of 2016 or 2018 from Perez in 2020.

Wilson Ramos had an average launch angle of 0.0 degrees in 2019. Yuck. It’s too bad because he crushes the ball (90.0 mph Avg EV) and has one of the better strikeout rates from the catcher position (13.2% in 2019, 16.7% for his career). I wouldn’t be surprised to see him hit .280 again but reaching 20 homers is going to be difficult with a 60% ground ball rate.

Will Smith busted out in 2019 with 15 home runs in just 196 plate appearances! You may be wondering why a 30-homer catcher isn’t ranked higher but I don’t fully trust his skills will carry over given the small sample. His xBA was just .225 and he only barreled 13 balls. Given my eHR metric, he actually earned just nine home runs. Still solid but not an elite power bat. With a projected 25% strikeout rate, I think Smith hits in the .230s with 18-20 homers in 2020.

If I miss on a top-3 catcher in the draft, I’m likely jumping in on Carson Kelly who is going around pick 217 in NFBC drafts. The NFBC is a two-catcher format. In single catcher leagues, I’d imagine, his ADP may slip north of 250. Smith, on the other hand, is going around pick 150. No, thanks. Kelly has solid batted ball metrics and very good plate discipline. I think his floor is very high and his ceiling is borderline top-five at the position.

Omar Narvaez is Mr. Outperform his metrics. That being said, his ability to make contact earns him a solid batting average floor. He does receive a park upgrade, but I’m not going to project him for anywhere near 20 home runs again. Expect a good batting average (for a catcher) and take the 12-15 home runs he gives in you and be happy.







Jorge Alfaro‘s ceiling is capped by two main road bumps. First, his ground ball rate was 52% in 2019 (51.1% for his career). That’s going to limit the damage he does with his bat. Additionally, his strikeout rate has been north of 33% each of the last two seasons. If it weren’t for absurdly high BABIPs, he’d be a .210 hitter. That being said, the power is real and he profiles as a player who can sustain an elevated BABIP. He’s like Wilson Ramos without the batting average.

Yadier Molina has been around forever and will be 37 going into the 2020 season. He’s not going to compile 500 plate appearances anymore but he still makes a ton of contact. Even in an injury-shortened 2019, he hit .270 with 10 homers. At some point soon, he’s going to completely fall off but given this ranking, he’s not going to sink your team if that happens in 2020.

I won’t blame you if you want to pay for last season with Christian Vazquez because catcher is a wasteland. The 23 homers were very nice but prior to last season, Vazquez totaled 10 home runs in his previous 999 PA. Yes, he improved his quality of contact but nearly quadrupled his HR/FB rate/ Regression is coming, but how much?

Jason Castro slots in as the starting catcher for the Angels after a part-time role with the Twins. He bats from the left side and will split time with Max Stassi (RHB), so expect something similar to a 60/40 split in favor of Castro. Castro surprisingly was a monster when he made contact w/ a 17.6% BRL/BBE, 46.4% HH% and a .521 xSLG. His K% sits north of 30%, so don’t expect him to hit over .240 but 20 HR is not out of the question.

Why are projection systems expecting 11 home runs for Buster Posey? He’s totaled 12 home runs over the last two seasons combined. Yes, 12! He’ll be 33 to start 2020 and is a complete shell of his former self. I’ll take the under on almost every single one of his projected categories which is why he falls to 15th on my list. Keep in mind, prospect Joey Bart is nearly ready and could steal some at-bats late in the season.

Ahh, the dreaded near 50/50 timeshare in Atlanta with Travis d’Arnaud and Tyler Flowers. It’s great for real baseball value and helps keep their catchers healthy. However, it’s tough on us fantasy players. I wouldn’t expect 400 PA from d”Arnaud and his health history gives him a near zero-value floor. Draft him expecting 300-350 PA. Same with Flowers but without the batting average upside of d’Arnaud.

I won’t be covering everyone ranked 16-30 since they aren’t all that relevant in 12-team single catcher formats but I’ll touch on a few of them. Feel free to ask questions in the comments or on Twitter. Tom Murphy is like Mike Zunino with more guaranteed playing time. He could hit 25 homers with a .230 average or his average could plummet below .200. I know Roberto Perez was a top-10 catcher last year. I also know that even with his breakout at age-30, he’s still a career .216 hitter. I’m skeptical because he doubled his barrel rate without improving his hard hit% or fly ball rate. He’s a solid defensive backstop, so I’d expect another 350+ PA but it might come at a .210 AVG with 12-15 homers.







El Totuga!

Mike Zunino hit .165 last season and his strikeout rate is worse than Alfaro’s. On the plus side, he had a maximum exit velocity of 116 mph and an 11.3% BRL/BBE. I was fooled by a young catching prospect with Jansen last year and it’s not going to happen to me this time. Young catchers have a lot on their plate: managing an entire pitching staff, calling games, playing a physically demanding position. It adds up. I’m talking about Sean Murphy of the Athletics. Besides, he had offseason knee surgery in October and while it wasn’t major and he should be ready for spring training, I’m not jumping in with both feet given the questions marks.

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