The catching position has vacillated between being shallow and deep over the last few seasons in fantasy baseball, with 2026 being about as deep as it has been. It is a position that is rich at the top with good depth until you get outside of the top 30.
The strategy with drafting catchers is pretty simple, but dependent on the depth of your league and roster structure. In a standard one-catcher league, you can just wait. There are more than 15 usable catchers this season. Unless you have one you covet well above the rest, it is in your best interest to just wait and take one late.
The opposite is true in deeper two-catcher formats. The bottom end of the pool tends to give back negative value, so it is important to get catchers that provide volume stats and won’t hurt you in a particular category. It is a lot more difficult in two-catcher formats to find usable players at the position, so I want to grab at least one early catcher and then another one in the middle rounds.
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Fantasy Baseball Catchers Primer: Rankings & Tiers
Here are my catcher rankings and tiers for 2026.
Tier 1 & Notes
Cal Raleigh stands alone at the catcher position after a historic season where he hit the most home runs ever by a catcher and was the No. 2 player overall in fantasy.
There is nowhere to go but down. However, even with regression, Raleigh should be the first catcher off the board. He is a great bet for power and counting categories, but the contact skills give him an average floor that is much lower than what we saw in 2025.
Tier 2 & Notes
- William Contreras (C, DH – MIL)
- Shea Langeliers (C – ATH)
- Ben Rice (C, DH, 1B – NYY)
- Hunter Goodman (C, DH – COL)
- Drake Baldwin (C – ATL)
- Agustin Ramirez (C, DH – MIA)
- Salvador Perez (C, 1B, DH – KC)
William Contreras took a step back in 2025, but some of that regression can be blamed on a finger injury that he played through and has now been surgically repaired. He offers a very safe floor, and the upside is that he takes a step, building off of what we saw in 2024.
We always knew Shea Langeliers had power, and he did not disappoint in that department, but what he did do was make nice gains in his hit tool over the last two seasons. He went from a well-below-average hitter to a league-average z-contact without sacrificing power. Hitting in Sacramento for another season will help as well.
There is an argument to be made that Rice should be higher on this list, considering he should be playing every day in the heart of the Yankees’ lineup, but the fact that the Yankees brought back Paul Goldschmidt takes a bit of the shine away. He has a unique blend of power and contact ability, along with the ability to play other positions, giving him the upside to be the No. 1 catcher in fantasy.
Hunter Goodman has elite power, but the terrible approach and strikeouts hold him back somewhat. Hitting in Colorado will always help because of the batting average on balls in play (BABIP) inflation and the lack of competition for the role. However, the batting average downside is real, and there is more risk to him than most in this tier.
Drake Baldwin may have the lowest upside of this group, but also has one of, if not the, safest floor. He has a great approach and a hit tool. While he does hit the ball hard, he doesn’t elevate it enough to turn it into home runs. Baldwin is still young and could do that, but for the most part, he is just a very safe top-tier catcher.
This may be the last season of Agustin Ramirez being catcher eligible because he is dreadful behind the plate, but he can flat-out hit. His hit tool is better than some give him credit for, and he has a unique blend of power and speed.
Tier 3 & Notes
Yanier Diaz has yet to recapture the power he displayed in 2023, but there are reasons to believe he still has it. He does have a good hit tool, but is overly aggressive and has a bad approach, which makes him riskier than players in the above tiers.
If Will Smith were on the Braves or another team not named the Dodgers, he would be in the above tier right next to Drake Baldwin. He runs into issues of having Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman blocking off at-bats at designated hitter and first base. The floor is about as safe as they come, but the upside is limited in Los Angeles.
Adley Rutschman has struggled with health the last couple of seasons, but the promise we saw from him prior to that is still there. There is a great approach, a hit tool and raw power. If he can stay healthy, he could be a massive bargain.
Tier 4 & Notes
Alejandro Kirk has a good hit tool, but there isn’t a lot else in the profile. He is good for low double-digit home runs and a good average on a good team, but the ceiling isn’t as tantalizing as other options.
Gabriel Moreno never lived up to the expectations some had for him after his insane 2023 postseason, but he is a very good defensive catcher with a good hit tool. There is some pop in the bat, but the upside is lower than a lot of other catchers in the above and below tiers.
Tier 5 & Notes
- Samuel Basallo (C – BAL)
- Francisco Alvarez (C – NYM)
- Austin Wells (C – NYY)
- J.T. Realmuto (C – PHI)
- Ryan Jeffers (C, DH – MIN)
Samuel Basallo is one of the top prospects in baseball, and it is purely due to his offensive upside. He hit 23 home runs with a .270/.377/.589 triple slash in Triple-A before hitting four home runs in 118 plate appearances in the Majors. If he can keep the strikeouts in check, the sky is the limit for him.
Francisco Alvarez has a ton of power and upside, but has struggled to stay on the field due to injuries. If he can stay healthy, there is 25-30 home run upside in the bat, but there is a risk that he continues to get hurt.
Austin Wells has a perfect swing for Yankee Stadium, where his flyball, pull-happy approach can take advantage of the short porch in right field. He has struggled with strikeouts, but there is a better hit tool than he has shown. There is a nice bit of upside in Wells’ bat.
Tier 6 & Notes
- Tyler Stephenson (C – CIN)
- Carter Jensen (C – KC)
- Logan O’Hoppe (C – LAA)
- Carlos Narvaez (C – BOS)
- Carson Kelly (C – CHC)
- Dillon Dingler (C – DET)
If not for getting hurt, Tyler Stephenson would have had a very similar line to his 2024 season. He has never quite lived up to his prospect hype, but when healthy, he is a safe floor catcher in a great ballpark on an improving team.
Carter Jensen is a top prospect who came up for a brief cup of coffee last season and mashed three home runs in a 32-plate-appearance sample. He has a ton of upside, but the problem is playing time with Salvador Perez still the primary catcher and several options at designated hitter.
Carlos Narvaez was great at the start of the 2025 season before hurting his knee and playing through it for the second half. He had it repaired with surgery in the offseason. Narvaez is having a hot spring, which makes him an intriguing pick at his average draft position (ADP).
Tier 7 & Notes
- Freddy Fermin (C – SD)
- Keibert Ruiz (C – CWS)
- Edgar Quero (C, DH – CWS)
- Bo Naylor (C – CLE)
- Victor Caratini (C, 1B, DH – MIN)
- Kyle Teel (C – CWS)
- Sean Murphy (C – ATL)
- Patrick Bailey (C – SF)
There isn’t a lot of upside in Freddy Fermin’s bat, but he has shown he can be a high-floor accumulator when given playing time. Now that he has escaped Kansas City and moved to San Diego, he should just get that.
Edgar Quero will get more playing time at the beginning of the season with Kyle Teel out. Once Teel returns, Quero may become a reserve player unless he hits well enough to carve out a regular role as the team’s designated hitter.
Kyle Teel is a very interesting catching prospect, but he hurt himself in the World Baseball Classic and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. He is more of a waiver wire target until he is back on the field.
Patrick Bailey is an elite catcher, but a terrible bat, making him only useful in the deepest of leagues.
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