Fantasy Baseball 2017 Tier Rankings: Catcher

Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports /

The catcher position is growing by the year. With rookies and veterans contributing, you can certainly wait until later to draft a catcher.

Over the last couple of seasons, the catcher position has grown in talent depth. For years, it was one or two guys worth drafting early and then the rest of the group. Now, there is value to be found all throughout the draft.

In most fantasy leagues, you only draft one catcher. There are the two-catcher leagues, but it’s not commonplace. You only need one catcher. I think the pool at this position is much deeper that you can wait and focus on other positions.

Will it be nice to have the production of Buster Posey in the eighth round? Sure. But, will it better to draft someone like Matt Wieters 13 rounds later and then pair him up with someone else? I think so.

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There were a few catchers with good 2016 seasons and owners are looking for them to continue that success in 2017.

Those are the players you wait on. The same goes for any position, you don’t want to draft a question mark earlier than you need to. I only have one catcher ranked inside my top 100.

Unlike last year, I will be doing one post for each position. It doesn’t help the readers to reference four or five different posts when trying to develop their own rankings. This year, I will be doing tier rankings for the positions.

Each tier for each position will be different. Depending on the position, you may have one or two guys or five or six guys in tier 1. The lower tiers will be grouped with multiple levels of talent, but they have one thing in common, they have little value in most leagues.

For the catcher position, I have 19 players broken up into five different tiers. Most of them will be worth drafting, it just depends on how you value them and your roster construction.

A quick reminder, Kyle Schwarber does not qualify at catcher to start the season. As the backup, he may gain eligibility throughout the year.

Honorable mention: James McCann (DET), Cameron Rupp (PHI), Jason Castro (MIN)

Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports /

My bottom tier of catchers is home to some interesting names. They have some value in NL or AL only leagues or two-catcher leagues.

I wrote about these players in their respective team’s previews, but I didn’t talk about these six players in any significant manner.

Derek Norris (WSH) – Norris will be the backup catcher in Washington. The Nationals traded for him in December and things looked good. Then, the team signed Wieters last month. I don’t get the idea to have both as they can be starters for two separate teams. This doesn’t bode well for fantasy owners because platoons are the death for one’s fantasy value. Do not draft Norris if you need a starting catcher.

Francisco Cervelli (PIT) – In his second season in Pittsburgh, Cervelli declined greatly. In 101 games, he hit one home run, 33 RBI, and .264. He’s never been a huge power hitter, career-high seven homers. Looking at his numbers, he’s better in a backup role.

Mike Zunino (SEA) – Zunino played in just 55 games. As a result, the Seattle Mariners traded for Carlos Ruiz in November. Zunino is still the starter, but the leash is a little shorter. He hit 12 home runs, 31 RBI, and .207 last season. If he ever plays a full season, then there’s a 25-home run hitter waiting in the shadows. If he has that year this season, then Zunino will get a huge value in 2018.

Stephen Vogt (OAK) – Similar to Cervelli, Vogt declined from 2015 to 2016. In ’15, he hit 18 HR/71 RBI/.261 in 136 games. Last season, Vogt hit 14 HR/56 RBI/.251 in 137 games. I think some of the decline is due to Oakland’s lack of supporting cast. At 32 years old, this is a make-or-break season for Vogt. He is a bench player this season.

Wilson Ramos (TB) – In his last year with the Nationals, Ramos had his best season to date. He played in a career-high 131 games and hit 22 home runs, 80 RBI, and .307. The downside is that he underwent surgery in October to repair his torn ACL. Until he is ready, Curt Casali will take his place. Ramos will be a top-15 catcher when he returns. Drafting him late is a steal.

Tom Murphy (COL) – Any batter in Colorado gets a boost in value. While Murphy isn’t the Rockies starter, he is a better option than Tony Wolters. In 21 games, Murphy hit five home runs, 13 RBI, and .273. Wolters hit 3 HR/30 RBI/.259 in 71 games. I think Murphy will take over the job sooner rather than later. He is a top sleeper pick.

Yadier Molina (STL) – Molina has been one of the most consistent options behind the plate for at least 10 seasons. The strange thing is that he’s never reached 150 games played. He hasn’t reached double-digit home runs in three straight seasons bu he hit .307 last year. Molina will enter this season at 34 years old. I think he should reach 10 home runs and 60 RBI this year.

Matt Wieters (WSH) – My colleague Brad Kelly wrote about the Wieters signing here. In 124 games, he hit 17 homers, 66 RBI, and .243. He will face worse pitching in the NL East and that could benefit his value. But with Norris behind him, he won’t get a full season’s worth of stats.

Evan Gattis (HOU) – I get that having Gattis this high is questionable. With the moves the Houston Astros made this offseason, there doesn’t seem to be a spot for him in the starting lineup. Gattis will likely spend time both behind the plate and as the DH but reaching 400 at-bats is unlikely.

Welington Castillo (BAL) – Kelly also wrote about Castillo signing here. The move from Arizona to Baltimore in the AL East will greatly increase Castillo’s value. He has a better supporting cast and more hitter-friendly stadiums. I think he can reach 20 to 22 home runs, 75 RBI, and .270 this season.

Russell Martin (TOR) – The Blue Jays losing Edwin Encarnacion took a big chunk out of the offense. Martin contributed his fair share of power production, 20 home runs and 74 RBI. While the average is not ideal, .231, as a 21st round pick, he could be a solid option.

Yasmani Grandal (LAD) – I recently wrote about Grandal here. He will now be looked at as the team’s No. 1 catcher. This will boost his value greatly with the extra playing time. He is perfect for the later rounds when everyone else reached for their catcher.

Salvador Perez (KC) – Perez is the most overlooked catcher in fantasy. He posted good numbers in three straight seasons. In 139 games last year, he hit 22 home runs, 64 RBI, and .243. While a 13 point drop in average and 37 more strikeouts aren’t great, the small increase in OBP is nice.

Brian McCann (HOU) – Many say that leaving the AL East may hurt McCann but the young surrounding cast should offset that. As the team’s starting catcher, he will hit another 20 home runs and 60 RBI. Just be aware that he may lose a start or two per week to Gattis.

J.T. Realmuto (MIA) – I will continue to sing the praises of Realmuto. He is the only catcher to hit at least 10 home runs and steal at least 10 bases. Steals are very common nowadays, 28 players stole at least 20 base and 19 more had at least 15. Having an extra 10 bases from your catcher is invaluable.

This tier features one catcher with a few seasons of playing time and two with 453 combined career at-bats.

Willson Contreras (CHC) – Contreras played in just 76 games last season. Yet, in that short time, he showed off what he can do in a full year. He hit 12 home runs, 35 RBI, and .282. With the strength of the Cubs lineup, Contreras will have plenty of opportunities to get on base and drive in runs as the No. 7 hitter.

Jonathan Lucroy (TEX) – The move from Milwaukee to Texas benefitted Lucroy and his fantasy value. I wrote about Lucroy possibly being the top catcher at the end of the season. In 47 games, he hit 11 homers, 31 RBI, and .276 with Texas. The AL West doesn’t feature the best pitching staffs, so Lucroy will hit well in a full season with the Rangers.

Gary Sanchez (NYY) – I’ve said not to reach on Sanchez, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have him as my No. 2 catcher. In just 201 at-bats, he hit 20 home runs, almost becoming the team leader in that category. In 15 Spring Training at-bats, he already has two home runs. I like Sanchez’s upside, but he played in just 55 games.

There was clearly no other option for the No. 1 spot. Buster Posey has been the best fantasy catcher for years.

Looking at the numbers, though, Posey had a down year in 2016. He hit just 14 home runs, 80 RBI, and .288. The power numbers fell a little, but the 30 point drop off in average is eye-opening.

He did walk more than 2015, 56 to 64. Posey stole a career-high six bases. So, maybe we see him challenge Realmuto for a 10 HR/10 SB season. I kid.

Posey is in my top-75 overall players. Yet, there will be one owner that drafts him in round six or seven. Don’t be that owner. Having the consistency of Posey in your lineup is nice, but as I’ve mentioned, there are plenty of other options with similar stats that you can draft later.

However, in two-catcher leagues, Posey’s value skyrockets. Just like in fantasy football with two quarterbacks, having at elite option is necessary.

The catcher position is one of the few positions that you can wait on. Drafting the 10th-best catcher will not hurt your team like having the 10th-best shortstop as your starter will.

Posey will be drafted earlier than I like and I’m okay with that. It locks a team from drafting one of the other catchers later unless they need a backup for some odd reason.

There are catchers I’m interested in from each tier, which shows just how deep this position is this season.

Next: Can you trust Jonathan Schoop?

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