Some fantasy managers refuse to "pay" for catchers in a similar way to how some refuse to "pay" for saves, but J.T. Realmuto is the one catcher worth the price on draft day. The 31-year-old smacked 22 home runs and stole 21 bases while slashing .276/.342/.478 for the National League Champions. His oWAR of 5.4 was eighth in the NL overall and first for catchers by a wide range, and he is in the 86th percentile in sprint speed among ALL players. The best part is that none of these numbers are outliers with expected regression. He has never played fewer than 125 games in a full season, including the six years before the arrival of the NL DH, where he got some extra at-bats on days off. He should give fantasy teams consistent production from a position where that is almost impossible to find.

Will Smith is the catcher you draft when you want productivity from the position but don't want to pay J.T. Realmuto's price. He bats in the middle of a stacked Dodgers lineup, driving in 87 runs and swatting 24 home runs. He is a solid producer who doesn't strike out a ton and makes good contact when he swings. Dave Roberts used him strategically as a DH, which gave the 27-year-old 578 plate appearances without him wearing down like catchers often do. Expect more of the same in 2023.

Willson Contreras signed a 5-year, $87.5 million deal with the Cardinals and will presumably bat in an advantageous position in their lineup. He shaved seven percentage points off his K-rate, which will probably revert to somewhere in the middle in 2023. The 30-year-old has always had good on-base skills and 20-HR power, and his RBI total should hover in the 60-70 range. While he is a significantly worse pitch framer than the Hall of Famer he is replacing, St. Louis will find a way to keep his bat in the lineup. The only concern is the continued leg and ankle injuries that he experienced last year, but he comes at a discount and remains a C1 in this draft.