Fantasy Sleepers: 3 Options at Catcher in 2016

In fantasy baseball, finding sleepers are key to a successful season. Here are three catcher sleeper candidates that could make you a winner.

The catching position is routinely one of the shallowest positions in all of fantasy sports, offering very little value in the later rounds. If you are like many fantasy baseball players and don’t select catchers until the 20th round, here are some sleepers to look for that don’t crack the top ten in rankings on Yahoo! or ESPN.

Blake Swihart

Swihart went into 2015 as a top prospect, where an injury to Christian Vazquez meant Swihart was due for an early promotion. Rushed to the major leagues, he really showed the ability to make quick adjustments against pitchers who took advantage of his inexperience early in the year.

In the second half of 2015, he slashed .303/.353/.452. Swihart isn’t a prototypical catcher, with more speed than possibly any catcher in the league. Swihart has a real chance to be a 15 HR, 15 SB guy and led the league in AVG from the catcher position. He just needs to continue to drive the ball and keep his LD% near the top of the league at his position.

Currently, Swihart is going undrafted in Yahoo! mock drafts and ESPN places him at 21st among options at catcher for the 2016 season. As you plan your draft strategy, make sure you monitor the catching situation in Boston. With Vazquez set to come back at some point in the season and Ryan Hannigan still in a Boston uniform, any platoon role for Swihart could diminish his value.

Projected 2016 Season Stats

Yan Gomes

Yan Gomes made a huge fantasy impact for players in 2014 but had a fall from grace in 2015 as an injury to his MCL early in the season forced him to miss nearly six weeks. As he battled through the injury, you could see that the injury affected his performance, sapping some of his power. 

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With Michael Brantley projected to be out for 1-2 months, Gomes figures to play an integral role as a run producer in a lineup without its best bat in the early going. Indians are expected to have an improved offense in 2016 as well, with Francisco Lindor manning shortstop for the entire season and Bradley Zimmer on the cusp of a promotion. Two aspects of Gomes’ game that need to return are his contact rates and hit types.  His hard and medium contact rates were very favorable at his position, and his 39.3% groundball rate was third best at his position from 2013-2014.

Gomes is not getting much love in the Yahoo! mock drafts, going 13th overall among catchers. The story is much of the same among ESPN experts, where his 17th overall rank sandwiches him between names like Francisco Cervelli and Yadier Molina.

Projected 2016 Season Stats

 J.T. Realmuto

Realmuto came in the clutch last year during the late stretch of the season, providing a waiver wire catcher that was producing at an elite level. From September 1st on, Realmuto batted .338/.353/.538 with three HRs and two SBs.

Just like with Swihart, Realmuto is a different breed of catcher, with a nice blend of speed and power. Not many catchers can hit seven triples in season and using BaseballSavant.com‘s spray charts, Realmuto used all parts of the field for those three-baggers. When you draft Realmuto, you’re drafting someone to give you production in a category that others at his position can’t replicate; and there is a lot of value in that.

Realmuto favors well on the ESPN rankings, clocking in at 12th overall. However, the opinions of journalists and experts with the fantasy baseball community don’t always mesh; Realmuto is just the 22nd ranked catcher so far in Yahoo! mock draft ADP. Given his perceived value, you have a chance to let Realmuto sit on the waiver wire and monitor his performance before making the savvy add.

Projected 2016 Season Stats

Next: Pittsburgh Pirates 2016 Fantasy Preview

If you are in shallow mixed leagues, these names may not mean much to you during draft day. Keep an eye on these potential gems throughout the season to grab some great production.