The term sleeper is always relative, but in an effort to hit on all league types, we are looking at some catchers going late or undrafted in a few different formats. Some are for more shallow leagues, and others are going in the deepest of leagues, like mono-leagues, two-catcher leagues, or other deep formats. Regardless of your league, we hope you find a few names to snag and wish you good luck this draft season!
7 Sleeper Catchers for 2024
Shallow League Sleepers
Bo Naylor (C – CLE) and Logan O’Hoppe (C – LAA)
I lumped these two together because both of these guys are fringe starters in one-catcher leagues, especially if you play in 10- or 12-team leagues. If you do play in those leagues, these guys are fantastic options to take as a starter if you want to wait on the position.
Bo Naylor can be J.T. Realmuto-lite. He has power and speed, and the power plays up given the approach. He pulled the ball in the air via line drive or fly ball 53.4% of the time. This is a strong rate and pulling the ball in the air typically leads to power production. It also helps identify players who can, or will, outproduce what the metrics suggest. Over Naylor’s 127 games last year, he stole 7 (caught twice) but 5 of 7 came after his call-up. He took advantage of the rules and was not caught on his MLB-level attempts. His splits were rough in a small sample, but Naylor has found success in the minors against LHP, so a platoon should not occur right away, but his planned days off could come against LHP more often than not.
Logan O’Hoppe was off to a strong start before landing on the IL with a shoulder injury early in the 2023 season. He returned and over the final month of the season, O’Hoppe reminded us of how good he can be. Over that final month, he hit .258/.317/.581 with nine home runs and 31 runs + RBI. This came with a strong .376 wOBA and 139 wRC+, as well as a 47.8% hard hit rate and a 20.9% barrel rate. Given the numbers he flashed, there is good reason for optimism. Pair that with a path to everyday playing time and there is a lot of upside with O’Hoppe.
Deeper League Sleepers
Campusano is one of my favorite catchers to target for a second straight season. Early in the year, he was derailed by injury, but after returning, he took on the starting role and ran with it. Since returning on July 19 last year, Campusano hit .331/.375/.500 over 152 PA. This came with just six home runs, but there is room for growth there. He also showed an elite Z-Contact rate of 91.3%. Now, he enters 2024 as the starter with no competition for playing time.
Ryan Jeffers has flashed in the past, but now he enters 2024 as the starting catcher. We have waited for this to happen. He consistently puts up great barrel rates (career rate of 13%) and hard-hit rates (career rate of 42.9%). The batting average will likely come down, but he is a catcher with 20-plus home run upside, and that is hard to find late in drafts.
Dart Throws
Nothing special here, but Gomes is a starting catcher on a competitive team. He hit 10 home runs and .267 over 419 plate appearances in 2023. If he continues to hit that well, he could land a similar line in 2024.
Pinto came up for the Rays late and hit six home runs over his 39 games. He flashed power with good quality of contact, including a 15.9% barrel rate and 40.6% hard hit rate. He did have issues with making contact, which could lead to struggles offensively if that continues into 2024. But given where he goes in drafts, you are looking for playing time and upside, and Pinto checks those boxes.
Herrera could end up with more playing time than we expect. Between Willson Contreras playing DH and getting hurt, there will be a role for Herrera on day one. In the minors, he flashed good plate discipline and some power. At the MLB level, albeit on a very small sample, he put up a strong Z-Contact of 88.9% while limiting chases (25.6% O-Swing rate) and had an above-average SwStr rate of 9.5%. He hit for a good average at both stops last year, and he also has sneaky speed; as he stole 11 bases in Triple-A in 2023.
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