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2023 Fantasy Baseball Rankings (NL)

Expert Consensus Ranking (52 of 58 Experts) -

Rank Player (Team, Position) Overall Notes
1 J.T. Realmuto (PHI - C) 25 22.0 -3.0
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.
2 Will Smith (LAD - C,DH) 38 30.0 -8.0
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.
3 Willson Contreras (STL - C,DH) DTD 56 48.0 -8.0
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.
4 Sean Murphy (ATL - C,DH) 67 59.0 -8.0
 
5 William Contreras (MIL - C,DH) 75 63.0 -12.0
 
6 Tyler Stephenson (CIN - C) 78 75.0 -3.0
 
7 Keibert Ruiz (WSH - C) 107 98.0 -9.0
 
8 Gabriel Moreno (ARI - C) 120 119.0 -1.0
 
9 Travis d'Arnaud (ATL - C) 138 103.0 -35.0
 
10 Joey Bart (SF - C) 201 192.0 -9.0
 
11 Elias Diaz (COL - C) 193 214.0 +21.0
 
12 Nick Fortes (MIA - C) 205 224.0 +19.0
 
13 Francisco Alvarez (NYM - C,DH) MiLB 206 147.0 -59.0
 
14 Austin Nola (SD - C) 280 203.0 -77.0
 
15 Carson Kelly (ARI - C) IL10 292 210.0 -82.0
 
16 Gary Sanchez (SF - C,DH) MiLB 238 172.0 -66.0
 
17 Omar Narvaez (NYM - C) 283 253.0 -30.0
 
18 Luis Campusano (SD - C) 229 271.0 +42.0
 
19 Blake Sabol (SF - C,LF) 198 260.0 +62.0
 
20 Yan Gomes (CHC - C) 293 212.0 -81.0
 
21 Endy Rodriguez (PIT - C) MiLB 303 261.0 -42.0
 
22 Jacob Stallings (MIA - C) 295 347.0 +52.0
 
23 Austin Hedges (PIT - C) 354 294.0 -60.0
 
24 Andrew Knizner (STL - C) 493 306.0 -187.0
 
25 Tucker Barnhart (CHC - C) 491 266.0 -225.0
 
26 Tomas Nido (NYM - C) 567 270.0 -297.0
 
27 Austin Barnes (LAD - C) 396 235.0 -161.0
 
28 Henry Davis (PIT - C) MiLB   427.0  
 
29 Brian Serven (COL - C) 380 412.0 +32.0
 
30 Victor Caratini (MIL - C) 361 371.0 +10.0
 
31 Garrett Stubbs (PHI - C) 581 284.0 -297.0
 
32 Ivan Herrera (STL - C) MiLB 463 411.0 -52.0
 
33 Roberto Perez (SF - C) 511    
 
34 Riley Adams (WSH - C) 563    
 
35 Curt Casali (CIN - C) 524    
 
36 Tres Barrera (STL - C) MiLB 675    
 
37 Diego Cartaya (LAD - C) MiLB   397.0  
 
38 P.J. Higgins (ARI - C,1B) MiLB 533 417.0 -116.0
 
39 Luke Maile (CIN - C) 594    
 
40 Luis Torrens (CHC - C) 568    
 
41 Pedro Severino (SD - C) MiLB 570    
 
42 Kevin Plawecki (WSH - C) MiLB 587    
 
43 Jason Delay (PIT - C) 655    
 
44 Jose Herrera (ARI - C) 630    
 
45 Austin Wynns (SF - C) MiLB 660    
 
46 Tyler Heineman (PIT - C) MiLB 658    
 
47 Willie MacIver (COL - C) MiLB 659    
 
48 Israel Pineda (WSH - C) IL10 666    
 
49 Austin Allen (MIA - C) MiLB 663    
 
50 Chadwick Tromp (ATL - C) MiLB 664    
 
51 Brett Sullivan (SD - C,LF) MiLB 665    
 
52 Miguel Amaya (CHC - C,DH) MiLB 673    
 
53 John Hicks (PHI - C,1B) MiLB 667    
 
54 Rafael Marchan (PHI - C) IL60 668    
 
55 Dom Nunez (CHC - C) MiLB 674    
 
56 Aramis Garcia (PHI - C) MiLB 670    
 
57 Payton Henry (MIL - C) MiLB 676    
 
58 Patrick Mazeika (LAD - C) MiLB 677    
 
59 Joe Hudson (ATL - C) MiLB 672    
 
60 Michael Perez (NYM - C) MiLB      
 
61 Grayson Greiner (COL - C) MiLB   283.0  
 
62 Chuckie Robinson (CIN - C) MiLB