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It's your resident catcher advocate here, preparing my 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 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. The charts will provide you with data about the potential opposing pitchers that I think are meaningful in terms of allowing potential fantasy production, but 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 matchup will be a good way to get an advantage over your competition.
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Week Two Catchers Waiver Wire (4/5 - 4/11)
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 NEVER be dropped for a streaming option.
Note: Since pitchers haven't thrown enough innings yet this season, the stats below are from 2020.
Untouchables: Catchers who shouldn't be dropped for these streamers in any format: J.T. Realmuto, Salvador Perez, Yasmani Grandal, Willson Contreras, Will Smith, Travis d'Arnaud, Christian Vazquez, Gary Sanchez, James McCann, Wilson Ramos, Isiah Kiner-Falefa (if eligible).
Danny Jansen, Toronto Blue Jays
6% rostered
Toronto is the only team with seven games next week, which immediately makes Jansen an intriguing option. I know that everybody is ready for Alejandro Kirk to take over in Toronto, but Jansen started the first two games of the year for the Blue Jays, so it's clearly not Kirk's job yet. A couple of weeks ago I discussed how I think we're writing off Jansen too quickly, and while he won't hold off Kirk forever, I don't expect him to just fade away.
Even if Jansen only starts four or five of the seven games next week, that's more at-bats than you'll get from most streamer catcher options, and look at those matchups. We haven't seen the bottom of the Rangers rotation yet, but they've given up tons of runs in their first series against the Royals and Kyle Gibson got absolutely plastered on Opening Day. The Angels will present a couple of harder matchups but Alex Cobb and Jose Quintana aren't arms you run from. Plus, the Blue Jays will play these four games at their temporary home in Dunedin, which is expected to play very hitter-friendly given its smaller dimensions.
Tucker Barnhart, Cincinnati Reds
1% rostered
Barnhart is another veteran that is being overlooked because we are waiting for his rookie backup to take over. However, Barnhart changed his swing mechanics over the offseason and, while he's only hitting .250 through the first two games, he does have one long ball.
Perhaps most importantly, Barnhart has started both of the Reds' games and has perhaps the best set of matchups of any catcher next week. Look at all the green on this chart. The only sprinkles of red come from J.T. Brubaker, who I like but doesn't really scare me, and Caleb Smith, who gave up three runs in three innings while also walking three during his first start against the Padres. Since Barnhart is also a lefty, he would likely sit against Smith and then potentially feast in these other plum matchups. If the Reds are scoring a bunch of runs, which I expect them to, then Barnhart should have solid chances for runs and RBIs to help your counting categories.
Pedro Severino, Baltimore Orioles
7% rostered
Severino has two straight serviceable seasons as part of Baltimore's catcher duo and is off to a solid start in 2021, going 4-for-8 in the first two games against the Red Sox. Perhaps most importantly, he started both of the first two games against the Red Sox, both of which were against right-handed pitchers, which means the left-handed-hitting Chance Sisco is the clear backup catcher.
Looking at his upcoming schedule, Severino will be hitting in two hitter-friendly environments in Yankee Stadium and Camden. He will certainly start against left-hander Jordan Montgomery, which means he may actually get to avoid Gerritt Cole if the Orioles decide to start Sisco. The only other matchup with much red above is Tanner Houck, but that was a really small sample size. He looked solid against the Orioles on Saturday, striking out eight in five innings, but Severino also went 2-for-2 with a double against Houck in that start. None of the rest of the matchups inspire any fear, which makes for an enticing week of games.
Victor Caratini, San Diego Padres
3% rostered
With Austin Nola on the IL with a broken finger, Victor Caratini has taken over as the starting catcher for the Padres, starting two of the first three games, while going 2-for-8. A starting job in a lineup as potent as the Padres immediately makes Caratini a streaming option, and perhaps one of the top ones for as long as Nola is out.
However, there are two things working against him this week. For one, Luis Campusano went 1-for-3 in his one start for the Padres and is an interesting young catcher in his own right, so I wouldn't be surprised if this operated as a relatively even timeshare until Nola is back (the lineup for Sunday has yet to be announced). The second thing working against Caratini this week is that the opposing schedule isn't ideal. Sure, the three games in Texas look like plum matchups since the Rangers have been getting pummeled by the Royals, but all three arms the Giants will throw at the Padres have the ability to shut down an opposing offense when they're on.
They're not good enough to scare me away from Caratini, but if Caratini is only going to get three starts, with one of them coming against Kevin Gausman, it might not be as exciting a week as guys like Severino and Jansen. However, if we see Caratini behind the dish on Sunday and feel more confident in him starting four or more games next week, you can bump him up as possibly the top streamer on this list.
Max Stassi, Los Angeles Angels
3% rostered
Max Stassi has started two of the first three games for the Angels, which places him pretty squarely at the front of the catching competition with Kurt Suzuki. I covered in the article linked above that Stassi had offseason hip surgery before last season and then had a great year, hitting .278/.352/.533 triple-slash with 7 HR and 20 RBI. The Statcast metrics support the quality of contact, as he compiled an 11.1% barrel rate and 91.6 MPH exit velocity. With another offseason hip surgery under his belt, Stassi came into Spring Training feeling even better and looked good to start the year.
While he does, likely, get a tough matchup against Zack Greinke, he also sees a bunch of pitchers who are prone to getting lit up. Steven Matz looked better in Spring Training, but the HR/FB rates for the Toronto starters are salivating for Stassi, especially since he gets to play those four games in Dunedin, which, as I mentioned above, is likely going to be a boon for hitters. Stassi already has one HR on the year, and I wouldn't be surprised if he added a couple more to his total by the end of the week.
Jacob Stallings, Pittsburgh Pirates
1% rostered
Stallings makes this list, and likely will for much of the season, because he is not in a pronounced timeshare. The veteran started 42 of the Pirates' 60 games last year and is clearly in front of Michael Perez in 2021 starting the first two games of the season. When we're choosing streaming options at catcher, locking in at-bats is the most important thing, even if they come from Pittsburgh's lineup.
You also want to make sure you get good pitching matchups to attack, and Stallings gets that as well, for the most part. With the exception of the one projected start against Luis Castillo, there isn't an arm here that makes you nervous. Zach Davies pitched well last year, but he does give up hard contact and the rest of the arms on this list are prone to giving up big games. To add a cherry on top, Stallings gets to play three games in the hitter haven that is Great American Ballpark before returning home for three more.
Stephen Vogt, Arizona Diamondbacks
0% Rostered
If you're in really deep leagues or are playing in a two-catcher format and only drafted $1 catchers, I think Vogt could be an option for you this week. He started two of the first three games for the Diamondbacks and pinch hit for Carson Kelly against a right-handed reliever in the only game he didn't start.
With added pinch-hit opportunities and the fact that he operates as Madison Bumgarner's personal catcher, Vogt will likely start three of the six games for the Diamondbacks next week and potentially steal another at-bat or two from Kelly late in games. That's intriguing considering the Diamondbacks play three games in Coors and then face the unproven back-half of the Reds rotation. Vogt already has a HR on the season, so there is some offensive upside with the former All-Star, but he remains a deep league option for now.
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