RADIO
It's your resident catcher advocate here, with my weekly defense for baseball's most maligned position. Instead of giving into easy narratives about the lack of talent at the catcher position and how they're the kickers of fantasy baseball, I'm here to create a place where catchers are celebrated for how they can help our teams.
Each week, I will take a look at the upcoming schedule ahead and give you my favorite streaming options at catcher. By looking at lineup trends, amount of games ahead, the location of the games, and potential pitching matchups, I'll try to guide you towards catchers that I think can be most useful for you in the upcoming week. For each catcher listed, I'll also add a chart that will provide you with data about the potential opposing pitchers that I think are meaningful in terms of allowing potential fantasy production. Plus, I'll also give a short explanation about why this catcher made the list. Every week I'll also look back at my previous recommendations so that we can have some transparency about what's working or not.
Since many fantasy managers will pay no attention to the catcher spot, your ability to constantly look for the best matchups will be a good way to get an advantage over your competition.
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Last Week Check-In
Not including Sunday's games (7/4):
- Omar Narvaez (5 starts) 7-25, 5 Runs, 2 RBI (WIN - It wasn't pretty, but it'll do)
- Luis Torrens (4 starts) 2-18, 1 HR, 1 Runs, 1 RBI (LOSS - He got cold fast)
- Tyler Stephenson (3 starts) 5-15, 2 RBI (WIN - not great but the average helps)
- Max Stassi (4 starts) 4-16, 3 Runs, 1 RBI (WIN - As a streamer, this is actually good enough)
- Dom Nunez (1 start) 1-4, 1 Run (LOSS - Played the matchups and picked the wrong Rockies catcher)
SEASON STREAMING RECORD: 34-29
All matchup projections are made in conjunction with Roster Resource
Week Fifteen Catcher Waiver Wire (7/5 - 7/11)
For the purposes of this article, we are considering a "streaming catcher" one who is rostered in under 50% of Yahoo! leagues. Whether or not these catchers will be useful for you will depend entirely on your league size and the number of catchers you need to play. In order to help, I will keep a weekly list of "Untouchables," meaning catchers who, in my opinion, should NOT (if healthy) be dropped for a streaming option.
Untouchables: Catchers who shouldn't be dropped for these streamers in any format: J.T. Realmuto, Salvador Perez, Yasmani Grandal, Willson Contreras, Will Smith, Christian Vazquez, and Buster Posey.
Mike Zunino, Tampa Bay Rays
36% Rostered
Zunino is on a hot streak again, hitting .333 with five home runs, nine RBIs, and a .960 slugging percentage over his last two weeks. In fact, his 251 wRC+ is the third-best among all catchers over that span. When that happens, we want to be buying in because the home runs can come fast and furious and the RBI opportunities are clearly there with Tampa's offense beginning to heat up. Another feather in Zunino's cap this week is that he gets to face three left-handed pitchers and even the best arms he'll see are prone to giving up the long ball. I mean, look at the green in that column with Robbie Ray leading the way, even with his low ratios this season. I wouldn't be surprised if Zunino hit two or more home runs this week, which is always solid from a streaming option.
Tyler Stephenson, Cincinnati Reds
15% Rostered
Tyler Stephenson continues to hold his own at the major league level, enough so that the Reds frequently get him at-bats at 1B as well, which is why he has 39 at-bats over the last two weeks and Tucker Barnhart only has 23. Stephenson has hit .294 over that span with six runs and four RBIs and hits in the middle of a talented Reds lineup whenever he is playing. He also gets the benefit of facing three lefties in the schedule next week and playing a four-game series in Milwaukee in a plus-hitting environment. The final two matchups of the week against Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff aren't great, but I think he can do enough damage early in the week to carry a win through Sunday.
Max Stassi, Los Angeles Angels
24% Rostered
The Angels had a rough week this week, getting rained out what felt like every other day. As a result, Stassi didn't play much or get into much of a rhythm when he did. However, the team is still putting up strong offensive numbers even without Mike Trout, and Stassi hits in the middle of their lineup, which has given him ample RBI opportunities. He continues to hit the ball exceptionally hard, with an 8.8% barrel rate and 56% hard-hit rate, and this week stacks up well for him when it comes to matchups. He'll face four lefties in Martin Perez, Eduardo Rodriguez, Marco Gonzales, and Justus Sheffield, and the only bad matchup he has is against Nathan Eovaldi, who is also prone to a blow-up performance even with his HR/FB% (which is not sustainable).
Eric Haase, Detroit Tigers
12% Rostered
Don't look now, but Eric Haase is heating up. He has the second-best wRC+ among catchers over the last two weeks, hitting .350 with three home runs (yes, even though the inside-the-park one was a big bogus), seven RBIs, and a .800 slugging percentage. What's most important is that Haase has cut his strikeout rate down to 22.7% over that span, which might seem high but is a big improvement for him. I'm not sure he's "fixed" his strikeout issues, but much like Zunino, when hitters like this start to get hot, you want to ride the wave. The matchups next week aren't ideal as Kyle Gibson and Jose Berrios will be tough to mount much offense against and Kenta Maeda is always capable of waking up and twirling a gem. However, I don't believe in Kolby Allard's success so far and J.A. Happ and Dane Dunning have proven to be very hittable. The low HR/FB% numbers on the chart are disappointing, but I still think it's good enough to roster Haase in two-catcher leagues.
Reese McGuire, Toronto Blue Jays
6% Rostered
Danny Jansen is back and Alejandro Kirk is on a rehab assignment in Triple-A but, for now, Reese McGuire is still holding his own and not relinquishing the catching job anytime soon. The lefty has the 9th-best wRC+ among catchers over the past two weeks, hitting .385 with seven runs and three RBIs. The RBI opportunities aren't plentiful because everybody gets knocked in by the ferocious hitters in front of him, but the average and runs are super helpful, especially in deep leagues. Then you look at his matchups for the week and it's easy to get excited, even though he has no home games. Hitting in Baltimore in the summer is always fun, and facing Matt Harvey, Keegan Akin, and Jorge Lopez will make for some exceptionally high-scoring games there. The Tampa series will be a bit tougher, but Rich Hill hasn't been close to the same pitching since the crackdown on "sticky stuff," allowing 13 ER in 20.2 innings over his last four starts. Facing three left-handed pitchers is the only potential issue for McGuire, who is a .125 career hitter versus lefties, but I don't see Akin and Hill lasting long in those games, which means the handedness might not matter.
If You're Desperate...
Just a note that Jonah Heim has taken over the starting catcher job in Texas with Jose Trevino on the IL with a forearm contusion. Over the last two weeks, Heim has hit .350 with five RBIs and two runs scored. It's not going to make you super excited, but he has only a 13.6% strikeout rate over that span, so he's making consistent contact and in the lineup often. In deep two-catcher leagues, that may be all you need.
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