Fantasy Baseball Catchers: Who to Start and Who to Stream

A look at the catcher position in fantasy baseball and who is valued as a daily starter versus those who are better to play only in good matchups.

With fantasy football so much more popular than the other sports, it helps me to think in those terms when analyzing baseball and basketball. I’ve been trying to identify how to best stream players in those sports the same way I would at quarterback or tight end in football.

Quarterback is a great example to play off: Some QBs are going to start in fantasy every week regardless of opponent. These are fantasy stars like Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson. There are also passers you would never consider unless you had no other option, like Bryce Young and Kenny Pickett.

Most players are in the middle, though, and fantasy-relevant in the right matchups. Baker Mayfield is a great guy to start against the Eagles but not against the Chiefs. Those lines are important when considering players in your draft and with trade and free agency decisions.

I am going through each baseball position to see who is valued as must-start and stream-worthy heading into the season. This won’t be my own analysis of the players as much as the perceived value in terms of average draft position.

To determine that status, I used FantasySP’s Average Draft Position tool. That’s important: Other sites will have different rankings and values, and this is exclusively based on FantasySP’s calculations.

I am thinking in terms of a 10-team league with Roto scoring and standard lineup structure, with a player at each infield position, three outfielders and a DH/flex among position players.

Let’s start with catchers, where tiers are often defined, especially at the top. Defensive catchers have a lot of value in real baseball, but they aren’t feasible for your roster in fantasy baseball. Everything is in fantasy terms.

 

Daily Starters

• Adley Rutschman, BAL 5th Round
• Tyler Stephenson, CIN 6th Round
• William Contreras, MIL 7th Round
• Will Smith, LAD 7th Round

This is the list of players who are acceptable to grab within the first 10 rounds if you want a set-and-forget guy. They are also the ones it’s OK to spend more than a couple dollars on in an auction. After this level, players begin sitting at the same level, and you can find as much or more value streaming than counting on one guy.

Rutschman is less tested than a few stalwarts but is probably the most talented of the group. He is a former top overall pick and has played just 270 games including playoffs, with less than 1,000 official at-bats. Rutschman has earned his place at the top of this list and presents plenty of upside.

Stephenson was close to 100 hits, 20 doubles, and 10 home runs in both 2021 and 2023 while playing just 50 games in 2022 due to injuries. He is less known than the other three listed here, but Stephenson is a young catcher with multiple productive seasons.

Contreras showed flashes with Atlanta but never played 100 games in a season with the team. Upon moving to Milwaukee last season, he appeared in 141 games. He received 540 at-bats compared to the 507 total he had previously and responded with 157 hits, 38 doubles and 17 home runs with a .291 average. Those hit and double totals were more than he had over his first three partial seasons combined.

Smith feels like a veteran despite just three seasons as a starter. He has been solid over that time, though, averaging 120 hits, 22 doubles, and 23 home runs since 2021.

 

Stream-Worthy

It’s important to note that some owners will grab one of these guys and start him every day. There’s nothing wrong with that, but streaming players at this level can create more value if done correctly. It takes a lot of time and effort to do it right, but this can give you an advantage at this position over other owners.

• J.T. Realmuto, PHI 10th Round
• Salvador Perez, KC 13th Round
• Cal Raleigh, SEA 13th Round
• Yainer Diaz, HOU 14th Round
• Jonah Heim, TEX 14th Round
• Gabriel Moreno, ARI 15th Round
• Keibert Ruiz, WAS 15th Round
• Sean Murphy, ATL, ATL 16th Round
• Willson Contreras, STL 16th Round
• Mitch Garver, SEA 17th Round

This isn’t the full list of usable fantasy players at the position, but it is a good idea of who to consider in your fantasy draft. This list is also fluid, as injuries and player improvements will move guys in and out of daily starter and streamer status.

Realmuto had at least 123 hits, 25 doubles, and 17 home runs each of the last three seasons. He is probably in daily-starter territory for most (including me); FantasySP has him right on that line.

I was surprised to find that Perez played to the same level and even better than Realmuto and Smith over the last three years. Perez had 169 hits, 24 doubles, and 48 home runs in 2021 and averaged 125, 22 and 23 in each category over 2022-23. 

In Diaz’s rookie season last year, he had 100 hits, 22 doubles and 23 home runs in 104 games. If he puts up a similar line this year, he will move into the daily starter group. He’s an upside play.

Beginning with Heim is the line where streaming definitely seems like the best plan. Every player there is good enough to be on your fantasy team but has enough questions that counting on him every day may not be your best bet.

Murphy had 167 less at-bats last season than in 2022 but hit three more home runs and improved every number of his slash line. Atlanta will rest him more than Oakland did, which might make him more valuable as part of a rotation on your team.

Raleigh has been near 20 doubles and 30 home runs each of the past two seasons. His batting average has suffered early in his career, but he has improved from .180 in 47 games in 2021 to .211 in 2022 and .232 last season.

The others all have their high points. I will surely recommend each guy as a streamer multiple times during the season, and they might be players to target in your draft depending on matchups in the first series of the season (we’ll get there closer to April).

 

Streaming Advice

When it comes to streaming, it’s all about matchups. A guy might have seven games against the Rockies over a 10-day period with four of them coming at Coors Field; that’s a player to pick up and stream. With back-to-back series against the Rays and Dodgers, though, it’s probably better to find someone else.

Every week, series, and even game is different. A right-handed batter getting two out of three games against lefty pitchers might be a reason to start a guy over the weekend. We will be here to help you with who to stream.

Going into the season, though, this is a decent look at how to value catchers. If the top four or five catchers are gone, don’t stress out and reach for someone in the 10th round when you could solidify your starting pitching or outfield, for instance.

Others will join the ranks of the stream-able as the season goes on. MJ Melendez of Kansas City played catcher in the past but will only play outfield moving forward; if he is eligible at catcher, you could steal some games at the position while having flexibility. Players like that are super valuable when you can find them. Be open to every option as the season goes on.

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