2019 Fantasy Baseball ROS Rankings

Sanchez is in the clear-cut top tier of catchers with Realmuto, Contreras and Grandal. Although he won't help in batting average much, his power and the RBIs that will follow are what sets him apart as potentially the best fantasy catcher in baseball.

Grandal in enjoying life in Milwaukee, as the move from LA has provided him with regular playing time and an excellent hitting environment. His production has slowed a bit since his terrific April, and he has been known to have some prolonged slumps, but he should still be a top-five catcher when all is said and done.

Realmuto may be struggling so far compared to expectations, but he certainly hasn't hurt you with a BA over .270 to go with double-digit homers and a handful of steals. He may not be the top overall fantasy catcher but he could be in the secound half.

A rising star came crashing down when Contreras cratered to .249/.339/.390 with 10 homers in 544 plate appearances. He again hit grounders on over half of his batted balls, but this time it came with fewer hard hits (28.9%) and more pop-ups (10.3%). A terrible second half (.264 wOBA) derailed this season, so it wasn't even a full year of regression. He has pressed reset to start 2019, batting .286/.381/.556 with 18 homers and far more fly balls through the All-Star break. Without too much competition, Contreras re-earned his spot as a top-five catcher before landing on the IL with an arch strain. He's not expected to miss much more than the minimum 10 days, so hang on tight.

It is hard to imagine that anyone saw this coming, but Narvaz has been tremendous to open the season with a batting average near .300 and a dozen homers. While it may not continue at this pace, there is no doubt that he is a top 12 catcher from this point forward.

The Mets haven't gotten as much out of Ramos in the first half as they may have expected but he is an extremely streaky hitter so it would be no surprise if his BA jumps from 270 to 300 in the second half to go with a dozen more homers. He is still a C1 without question.

Garver has been absolutely terrorizing pitchers with a .295 average and 13 homers in just 156 at-bats. If he played every day, Garver would be a top 5 fantasy catcher without a doubt, but because he doesn't, he is merely a fringe top-10 guy for now.

The Red Sox saw enough in Vazquez to jettison Blake Swihart, and the 28-year-old has rewarded their trust by batting .294/.332/.517 with 15 homers through 78 games. Rises in walks and hard hits give this the look of a legitimate breakthrough; he certainly wouldn't be the first catcher to need a few years before figuring things out at the plate. Consider him a top-12 option worth starting in single-catcher mixed leagues.

Chirinos will hurt you in batting average, although not as bad as someone like Zunino. With that said, he is a reliable source of power and since he plays in such a strong Astros' lineup, you can bank on him piling up RBIs and runs as well.

James McCann has been raking for the White Sox with a .320 batting average through the first half to go with some power and even the most steals among all catchers in fantasy. He is due to regress some, but is still a no-doubt top 12 catcher in the second half.

Alfaro was not technically a top 12 catcher in the first half, but he was right on the cusp and his underlying numbers suggest he will climb well into the top 10 over the rest of the season. Don't hesitate to add him and start him if you need a catcher.

Molina spent two weeks on the injured list with a strained tendon in his right thumb. A little more than a month after returning, he's back on the shelf. This time, he's expected to miss around three weeks. Managers clearly can't count on the 37-year-old to stay healthy, and he was only hitting .261/.268/.368. It's fair to cut him in one-catcher leagues with limited IL slots.

Feel free to drop Buster at this point. He isn't likely to finish the season with double-digit homers and doesn't play in a good enough offense to tally up runs and RBIs like the top 15 fantasy catchers in baseball.

Jansen's underlying stats have been screaming positive regression all season and over the last few weeks, it has started to turn around. While he isn't quite a top 12 catcher, he should be on your radar as a future waiver wire add if he keeps hitting.

Perez has already mashed 16 homers through the first half for Cleveland. His batting average isn't useful, but won't kill you either so you could certainly do much worse than Perez even if he does take a step back toward expectations in the second half.

 

Kelly has hit .309/.403/.618 with 10 home runs from May 1 to the All-Star break. A well-regarded prospect is no longer blocked from playing time in Arizona, so he's worth a flier in two-catcher leagues even if he never displayed so much power in the minors. The 24-year-old could even be working his way into a top-12 catcher.

Sisco should play every day for the Orioles in the second half and he has plenty of talent so you'll want to keep a close eye on him as a potential catcher pickup off waivers.

 

A red-hot Mitch Garver appeared to displace Castro before landing on the IL. Castro has responded with his own hot streak, homering five times in seven May starts. A below-average hitter since 2013's breakout, he now has 11 barrels and a .775 xSLG in 67 plate appearances. Playing time will be hard to come by once Garver returns, but Castro is well worth adding as a short-term replacement.

 

Suzuki isn't playing every day quite yet, but when he does play, he'll be helping your fantasy squad with both power (11 HR in 163 AB through the first half) and batting average which is sitting at .270. That is enough to warrant a starting catcher spot in 12-team leagues.

Mike Zunino has been a bust this season and can safely be dropped in all formats. Don't hesitate to scoop him up if he starts to catch fire in the second-half, however.

Mejia struggled mightily to begin the season, earning himself a demotion to the minor leagues. But he's back now and playing fairly regularly. There are very few catchers with his level of upside, so he's worth taking a chance on if you're hurting at the position -- and maybe even if you aren't.

Astudillo missed two weeks with a hamstring strain, but when healthy he has continued to look like a legitimate threat to hit .300 thanks to his prodigious contact rate. He's unlikely to provide much in way the of power, but he doesn't really need to in order to be a helpful fantasy player at a weak position.

Even if he continues to split time with Russell Martin all year, Barnes is one of the few catchers out there who is capable of delivering double digit HRs, a decent batting average, and handful of stolen bases.

Gomes' 2018 (.266, 16 HR, 48 RBI, 52 runs) was enough to make him a top-10 catcher last season. Yet he's splitting time in Washington with Kurt Suzuki, who posted similar numbers (.271, 12 HR, 50 RBI, 45 runs) in a timeshare for the Braves. That makes both of them solid second catchers who can fill is as a one-catcher stopgap if the other one gets hurt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barnhart doesn't have the best bat, but his elite defense will keep him on the field for nearly 500 at-bats again. In a killer Red's lineup, that should be plenty to get him the counting stats he needs to be draftable.

An avalanche of injuries led to Castillo posting a middling .308 wOBA in 49 games, but he clobbered 53 homers over the previous three seasons. The career .259/.318/.427 hitter could combine a solid average with 15 long balls. He should eventually wake up from a treacherous start to 2019, but the early returns have already cost him some playing time to the red-hot James McCann. That could make him a top-20 catcher rather than a top-10 choice going forward.

 

Iannetta has been getting only 30% of the playing time for Colorado, and while he is playing well, that isn't enough to warrant rostering him in fantasy.

 

 

Among all catchers with 200 plate appearances, Cervelli corralled the second-highest wOBA (.355) behind Wilson Ramos. His modest 12 homers comfortably cleared his previous high of seven, but concussions limited him to 404 plate appearances. While he looked like a fine placeholder to start the season, he quickly wore out his welcome with a .226 wOBA through 26 games. Move on in mixed leagues, but monitor his status in case he regains last year's form.