With the MLB season inching closer, we are taking a look at each position around the diamond and ranking the best fantasy options at each position.
Catcher might not be the most glamorous position, but there are still plenty of valuable players out there that could be the difference between winning and losing a title. Last year provided a little more flexibility for catchers, as with the universal designated hitter, managers had more options on how to manage the toughest position to play in baseball. Managers won't have the same luxury this year, since Major League Baseball is going back to the designated hitter being used in the AL-only.
The FindBet positional rankings were a compilation of the rankings from myself, Matt Hanson, and Tyler Austin. For catchers, we will dive into our top-20 catchers in the game right now.
1) J.T. Realmuto - Philadelphia Phillies
After becoming a full-time starter with the Miami Marlins in 2015, Realmuto has gotten better in each year since. After earning a spot in the All-Star Game in 2018 Realmuto was traded to Philadelphia in the off-season. In 2019, Realmuto blasted a career-high 25 home runs, and also won a Gold Glove award.
Last year, Realmuto's average dipped below .270 for the first time since 2015, but it's hard to put much stock in 2020 since it was such a strange year for everyone. Realmuto still hit 11 home runs last year in just 47 games, and with fellow Phillies like Bryce Harper and Rhys Hopkins with him in the lineup, it leaves opposing managers and pitchers with a big decision to make on how to pitch to the stacked lineup.
The biggest reason to expect a strong year from Realmuto is re-signed with Philadelphia in the offseason, so now he doesn't have to worry about free agency for a while. With a big payday secured, now we'll likely see Realmuto show that he was worth all the coin that the Phillies put in his pocket.
2) Will Smith - Los Angeles Dodgers
While J.T. Realmuto has established himself as the best catcher in the game, it wouldn't be a shock to see Will Smith pass him for that honor in a few years. The Louisville product entered the majors in 2019, hitting 15 homers for the Dodgers. Even though Smith and Austin Barnes split time for Los Angeles in 2020, it became obvious that Smith is the future behind the plate for the World Series champs.
After hitting .253 for the Dodgers in 2019, Smith raised his average to .289 in 37 games last year. Even though it's not often that we see a catcher hit over .300, it's possible to see Smith hit that mark. With the protection he'll have in the Dodgers lineup, many teams will likely look at Smith as someone they need to pitch to so they can avoid Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger, and others. Smith will make them regret that decision. Expect Smith to put up numbers that mirror what Realmuto puts up in Philadelphia, and the average and RBI total might even be better.
3) Yasmani Grandal - Chicago White Sox
Yasmani Grandal has bounced around a little, with Chicago being his fourth team in nine years in the majors. Grandal isn't going to wow you with his average, but his power numbers are great for a catcher. Prior to last year, where he played 46 games, Grandal hit at least 20 home runs in four straight seasons.
Much like the first two catchers on this list, Grandal is a key cog in a lineup that is loaded with talent. Being able to hit along with Jose Abreu, Tim Anderson, and Luis Robert will allow Grandal to continue to put up big home run and RBI numbers. Also, getting to go against some of the suspect pitching of the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers so many times definitely won't hurt Grandal's numbers in 2021.
Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador PerezCharlie Riedel - AP Photo
4) Salvador Perez - Kansas City Royals
One of the most respected catchers in the game right now is Kansas City's Salvador Perez. After missing the 2019 season, Perez burst back onto the scene last year, hitting .333 and bashing 11 homers. Perez has earned Silver Slugger honors in three of the last four years, and it's hard to not see him being in the mix to add to his collection this year.
5) Willson Contreras - Chicago Cubs
Yasmani Grandal isn't the only catcher in Chicago with some pop. As the core of the Cubs continues to age, Contreras is even more important to Chicago's playoff hopes. While you'll likely have to deal with plenty of strikeouts from the 28-year old catcher, he'll make up for the whiffs with some big flies at Wrigley Field, and around the rest of the NL Central stadiums that he'll frequent throughout the season.
The rest of the top-10
6) Travis d'Arnaud - Atlanta Braves
7) Gary Sanchez - New York Yankees
8) Austin Nola - San Diego Padres
9) Christian Vazquez - Boston Red Sox
10) James McCann - New York Mets
New York Yankees catcher Gary SanchezJim McIssac - Getty Images
After struggling to find a home in his first few years in the majors, Travis d'Arnaud really looked comfortable in Atlanta, hitting .321 for the Braves. Meanwhile in the Bronx, Gary Sanchez hit just .147 for the Yankees in 2020. A reason to be optimistic about Sanchez in 2021 is when he hit under .200 in 2018, he rebounded with 34 home runs in 2019.
Austin Nola has limited time in the majors so far in his career. He's not quite at the level of Will Smith, but you could see him have an impact similar to Smith and some of the others at the top fo the rankings who are part of lineups that are loaded with quality hitters. Even though Christian Vazquez is less than a year younger than Nola, he has seen a lot more playing time in his career, as the Red Sox have been rebuilding over the last few years. The two catchers are on different coasts but should put up similar numbers.
Rounding of the top-10 is James McCann, who signed with the New York Mets in the offseason. After a breakout season in 2019, McCann had a hard time finding a rhythm in 2020. Now that he won't have to share time with Grandal, McCann will now set his sights on passing Realmuto and d'Arnaud in the conversation as the best catcher in the NL East.
Closing out the top-20 catchers
11) Sean Murphy - Oakland Athletics
12) Mitch Garver - Minnesota Twins
13) Buster Posey - San Francisco Giants
14) Carson Kelly - Arizona Diamondbacks
15) Jorge Alfaro - Miami Marlins
16) Yadier Molina - St. Louis Cardinals
17) Wilson Ramos - Detroit Tigers
18) Max Stassi - Los Angeles Angels
It's a common practice to load up on offense and as many top tier starting pitchers early in fantasy baseball drafts.
It's not until the mid rounds do you start to see relief pitchers coming off the board. The purpose of this article isn't to persuade you to reach on the top closers available, but rather to give you a different strategy to utilize during your draft if things start to fall apart.
Most people will play in a standard Yahoo! weekly head to head format. Meaning managers will play opponents for a week at a time, accumulating points in a variety of categories. Most leagues will include categories such as wins, losses, ERA (earned run average), WHIP (walks and hits per nine innings pitched), strikeouts, saves and a newer category we've been seeing more of is the combination of saves and holds into one category.
This is due to the fact that many people don't like having to draft and keep up with closers. There are only a handful of closers that have enough job security warrant a mid round selection in fantasy drafts. By combining the saves and holds category it allows fantasy managers to worry less about grabbing a closer and instead on getting quality relievers who don't necessarily have to get saves.
Most leagues will still run with a more traditional setup though and that means either splitting saves and holds into two separate categories or not having a holds category and only including a saves category for relief pitchers (as this has always been the equivalent to "wins" for starting pitchers).
For the purposes of this article we are looking at pitching stat categories of Wins, Losses, Saves, Strikeouts, ERA, and WHIP.
Obviously starting pitchers will be who you turn to in order to make up most of your wins and strikeouts. Closers are going to get your saves. You hope that all your pitchers help to limit your weekly losses. ERA and WHIP are categories that are representative of how consistently your players perform.
If a starter goes out in the first inning and gives up four runs and gets replaced he ends the day with a 36.00 ERA. But if that starter goes eight innings not allowing another run, he finishes the day with a 4.5 ERA. A player like Gerrit Cole or Max Scherzer is going to be given the opportunity to overcome bad starts. A backend rotation guy that happened to land on your roster may not.
Gerrit Cole gets Didi on three pitches: 83 mph curveball 98 mph fastball 90 mph changeup (!!) https://t.co/If9H2gaWda— Talkin' Yanks (@Talkin' Yanks) 1615488218.0
If you are a fantasy manager that is lucky enough to land some top end starters early in the draft, you know that you have the ability to turn to building your offense in the mid rounds and are probably putting getting relievers on the bottom of the priority list.
That's good for you if you are one of the managers that missed on the Jacob deGrom's and Yu Darvish's of the world.
Jacob deGrom faced 9 Astros tonight. He struck out 7 of them. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/qQGFwupF6m— SNY (@SNY) 1615509255.0
I've never personally prioritized getting starting pitching when playing in a head to head format. The reason for this is, I instead focus on getting strong relievers to pad my teams' stats. This also allows me to be adding bats to my roster with my first few (usually four or five) picks giving me an edge offensively in my matchups.
Okay that's step one. Gain an offensive advantage by ignoring starting pitching early.
Now even though this is about using bullpen guys to help you win, after adding a few top tier position players I typically will grab one or two starting pitchers here. Get the best available that will help you in at least three categories. A guy like Dallas Keuchel is a perfect example. In 2020, Keuchel, went 6-2 in 11 starts with a 1.99 ERA, 1.09 WHIP. But only accounted for 42 strikeouts over 63 and 1/3 innings.
Lucas Giolito. Dallas Keuchel. Lance Lynn. You absolutely love to see it. https://t.co/ipf8Hx0cCO— Chicago White Sox (@Chicago White Sox) 1607814006.0
This is the opposite of a sexy fantasy pick. It is so boring that you may want to shotgun a Red Bull before hitting the draft button on him. But it's laying the foundation for building the rest of your pitching staff up.
After grabbing a few starters, now you may want to start picking off relievers in rounds 7-10. This seems really early, I know. But remember this is a different strategy and you've got four studs on offense already in the draft.
So here's a quick snap shot of how I break down the relief pitcher "tiers".
Tier 1
Liam Hendriks looks like the kid on your little league team who slept in his uniform the night before picture day b… https://t.co/60NTBTHxm2— Jessica Kleinschmidt (@Jessica Kleinschmidt) 1615424914.0
Josh Hader MIL
Liam Hendriks CWS
Aroldis Chapman NYY
Brad Hand WSH
Kenley Jansen LAD
Tier 2
Fun fact: James Karinchak had the 7th highest BB% among qualified relievers last season. However, since he punches… https://t.co/rcWyYsj5Yn— The Stable (@The Stable) 1615477383.0
Edwin Diaz NYM
James Karinchak CLE
Drew Pomeranz SD
Raisel Iglesias LAA
Craig Kimbrel CHC
Kirby Yates TOR
Next Best (it's pretty early to really know enough about a lot of these guys)
Get to know the guys on the 40-man roster! RHP Ryan Pressly had an impressive Spring Training debut, striking out… https://t.co/J3QxCkw3TT— Houston Astros (@Houston Astros) 1615328454.0
Ryan Pressly HOU
Rafael Montero SEA
Archie Bradley PHI
Greg Holland KC
Richard Rodriguez PIT
Jake Diekman OAK
Jose Leclerc TEX
Will Smith ATL
Joakim Soria ARI
Daniel Bard COL
Matt Barnes BOS
So from this list you can see there aren't a lot of closers with clearly defined roles. There are far more options that might be the closer or that are hanging on by the thinnest of threads. I try to seek out three of what I consider to be top 10 relievers. They can be non-closers. I drafted Josh Hader before he was a closer in this spot and would draft someone like Devin Williams in this spot now. Just make sure that the players you're getting here are consistent and can get you saves if he isn't the primary closer.
Most important is that these relievers will consistently lower your team's weekly ERA, WHIP, and contribute to strikeouts. Some weeks your best starter only pitches once. If three of my best pitchers are relievers they are going to have much more exposure to playing throughout the course of a week and thus giving my fantasy team more chances for my best pitchers to rack up stats for me.
Step two complete. Gain an advantage in relief pitching against opponents.
Considering in fantasy baseball there's really only three ways to score: offensive stats, stats that starting pitchers primarily get, and stats that relief pitchers primarily get, you've put yourself in a good mathematical situation to win on a week to week basis.
Try this strategy in a few mock drafts and see how the roster shakes out. Keep checking back for more things fantasy baseball before your draft happens this month.
Now that the Super Bowl has concluded, it's time to start looking towards Spring, which means baseball is right around the corner.
The hot corner to be exact.
The return of the MLB also means that it's time to start doing your research for your fantasy baseball league. We will get what should feel more like a normal baseball season in 2021 after the truncated 2020 campaign, which saw the L.A. Dodgers defeat the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series. We saw some star players deal with some significant struggles in 2020, including recently traded third baseman, Nolan Arenado, who will hope to rebound in his new home of Saint Louis this year.
Yadi says he's been friends with Nolan Arenado for a while now ("I've been talking to him since the two years") and… https://t.co/Zs9GhbvJP3— FOX Sports Midwest (@FOX Sports Midwest) 1612917074.0
It is difficult, however. to hold any poor performances against any player considering the length of the season and the conditions they were playing under. As we know, baseball is a game of hot steaks and cold streaks and considering the MLB only played 60 regular season games last year, nearly two-thirds of the season wasn't played. Players can go through a cold streak of that length and then turn it around in the second half of the season.
We have seen perennial MVP candidate, Jose Ramirez do just that in 2019. In the first half of the 2019 season Ramirez hit for just .218, seven home runs, and 35 runs batted in over 85 games. After the all-star break Ramirez slashed .327, 16 home runs, and 48 runs batted in over 44 games.
The Cleveland Indians a 9-2 winner over KC today. Jose Ramirez 2 HR. The feel good story is Cookie 🍪 Carrasco’s ret… https://t.co/bfQfYfGKdJ— Tom Brunswick (@Tom Brunswick) 1595796385.0
As fantasy managers we know that talent always shines through, so there will certainly be some players to target in your upcoming fantasy baseball drafts that may slip farther than they should based on last year's stats. Don't be the one that loses out on a league winner because of one down year.
Let's look at three players looking to have big bounce back seasons in 2021 that should help you win your league this season.
J.D. Martinez Boston Red Sox DH
So this is the lowest hanging fruit here. Martinez had a flat out terrible 2020. J.D. hit just .217 with seven homers and 27 RBI over 54 games. The entire Red Sox organization felt off last year, and Martinez may have been the biggest example of that. Usually one of the most consistent power hitters in the game, and someone that was coming off draft boards in the first three rounds of drafts last year, was possibly the biggest fantasy disappointment in baseball in 2020.
JD Martinez when he sees this news https://t.co/vbmDYg6bE3 https://t.co/yG7RlEgxSu— Fitzy Mo Peña (@Fitzy Mo Peña) 1612883114.0
In 2019 Martinez hit for .306, 34 HR, and 105 RBI. In 2018 he slashed a line of .330, 43 HR, and 130 RBI and finished fourth in the American League in MVP voting. Boston's roster isn't quite as good as it was during those years, but they do still have Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers to help provide some protection in the lineup for their DH. Considering Martinez is a power hitter that you can likely grab in rounds 6-8 this offseason, if you are lacking power after your first few picks J.D. Martinez will be worth adding in the mid rounds.
Joey Gallo Texas Rangers OF/1B
Gallo has always been a polarizing commodity when it comes to fantasy baseball. His power has always been undeniable, but his batting average has never topped .253 in a season. In 2020 Gallo still wasn't able to hit for average, but his power also betrayed him leaving him with a final line of .181, 10 HR, and 26 RBI in 57 games. This has caused Gallo to be all but forgotten about until the end of drafts heading into 2021.
Kris Davis & Joey Gallo in the same lineup👀 https://t.co/XFXFHH4XqL— Uncle Jay$ell (@Uncle Jay$ell) 1612646139.0
But if you go back to the 2019 season, Gallo was having another fantastic power hitting season and was on pace to have his best statistical season before a wrist injury ended his season halfway through the season in July. Gallo had a .986 OPS, 22 HR and 49 RBI through 70 games before hitting the injured reserve list. Now you can't ever expect Gallo to become a .300 hitter, but at just 27 years old, you should expect Gallo to return to his home run hitting ways before this season is over.
Gallo is projected beyond the tenth round in most formats currently, and if you target him around there you can stack up on pitching or focus on filling out other stat categories with other players before snagging your power hitter in Gallo late.
Carlos Carrasco New York Mets SP
Carrasco will likely be drafted ahead of the other two players on this list, but depending on who's in your league and the depth of their baseball IQ, Carrasco could also fall a lot farther than he should be in this year's draft. If you remember, Carrasco dealt with battling leukemia in 2019 while he was with the Cleveland Indians. He returned in 2020 and started 12 games, going 3-4 with 82 Ks and a 2.91 ERA.
Now with the New York Mets, Carrasco will be behind Jacob deGrom and ahead of Marcus Stroman in the rotation. Last season we saw Carrasco pitch beyond the sixth inning in nine of his 12 starts, which is important as his stamina and effectiveness were in question once he returned.
He's always been a work horse pitcher that is expected to carry a big innings workload, so to see he was able to do that in short order after his return gave the Mets confidence to sign him, and it should give you confidence he will flourish in this new rotation.
Look I get the frustration to a point, anyway, but any offseason where you add Francisco Lindor AND Carlos Carrasco… https://t.co/Jrwj5m7qgM— Christopher Crawford (@Christopher Crawford) 1612557689.0
Not only do the Mets have a formidable rotation, but they have a dangerous lineup and the addition of Carrasco's former teammate in Cleveland, Francisco Lindor, gives the Mets a middle of the lineup that includes Lindor, Michael Conforto, and Pete Alonso. The Padres, Dodgers, and Cardinals have all considerable improvements as well this offseason, and the NL will be hotly contested. But if you want to run away with your fantasy league, drafting Carrasco to be your first or second pitcher will help get you there.