Today we discuss our consensus #11 – #30 Catchers!

#11 – #20

The 2025 crop of catchers is a deep one, and there are intriguing players up and down our 11-20 ranks. There’s always a tension with ranking catchers for fantasy baseball, as bat-first catchers get a boost up the rankings, but also tend to be the most likely to move off of the position due to the defensive demands. With that in mind, I’ll start off by going through the players on this list who are either already on their way off the position, or who are projected to move to another position in the near future.

At the very top of this group is Willson Contreras, whose transition from catcher to first base is already scheduled for 2025. Contreras struggled through a host of injuries in 2024, including a broken forearm in early May that cost him a good chunk of the season, and a broken finger at the end of August that ended his season prematurely. While he only managed 84 games, under the hood everything looked nearly identical to previous years so there aren’t any major regression flags for the soon-to-be 33-year-old. The Cardinals are hoping the move to first will keep Contreras healthier across a whole season while keeping his bat in the lineup for the long haul, as the veteran is signed through 2027. Losing catcher eligibility for fantasy will hurt somewhat, but Contreras remains a very reliable bat, and a big help in OBP leagues.

Other players to watch who are likely or at risk to move off of catcher long-term in this group are Dalton Rushing, Tyler Soderstrom, Moises Ballesteros, and Thayron Liranzo. Soderstrom, like Contreras, seems on the move to first base, while Ballesteros and Liranzo may be in danger of ending up as designated hitters if they can’t stick behind the plate. Rushing is the most exciting hitter in this group, as he made easy work of Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City in 2024, hitting a combined .271 with 26 home runs and 85 RBI over 114 games. The Dodgers seem determined to find space for Rushing in their always-bursting lineup sooner rather than later and are trying the 23-year-old wherever they can. He spent some time in left field to close out the 2024 season, and as spring training gets underway there are reports that Rushing is working out at first base as well. While his final position remains uncertain, his bat is one any dynasty manager would be glad to have.

This group also includes two young catchers, Austin Wells and Kyle Teel, who appear to have secured a future behind the plate. Wells is heading into his second full year in the big leagues, with the Yankees giving him every opportunity to be the top backstop in the Bronx. Wells has boasted double-digit walk rates throughout the minors and majors, boosting his value in OBP leagues, and could touch 20 home runs as he continues to adjust to big-league pitching. Teel went from being the Red Sox catcher of the future to a much murkier playing-time picture, as he is now in the same organization as another top-catching prospect, Edgar Quero. Teel excelled in Double-A Portland last year and should begin 2025 in Triple-A Charlotte. It remains to be seen how the White Sox plan to get both of their young catchers into the lineup, but as Teel was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Garrett Crochet to the Red Sox, the White Sox clearly regard him very highly.

And that leaves the three veterans in our 11-20 group, J.T. Realmuto, Sean Murphy, and Tyler Stephenson. Realmuto has put together an incredible career, but age appears to be limiting his future outlook, with the Phillies already saying they plan to limit his playing time in 2025 in hopes of maximizing his production when in the lineup. Murphy represents a nice bounce-back candidate for 2025, after following up his incredible 2023 season with a disappointing 2024 campaign marred by injury. And Tyler Stephenson had his best season as a pro in 2024, improving his offensive metrics in just about every category. Stephenson’s underlying metrics suggest he might have gotten a bit fortunate with the balls he put in play, but the former first-round pick should have a real shot to top 20 home runs per year in each of the next few seasons as he continues to play half of his games at Great American Ballpark, one of the top hitters’ parks in all of baseball.

(David Gofman)

#21 – #30

Agustín Ramírez was acquired by the Miami Marlins as the main player that sent Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the Yankees at last season’s trade deadline. Ramírez is a thumper at the plate. He produced a 112.6 mile-per-hour maximum exit velocity and a 90^th percentile EV of 106.3 at Triple-A last season with the respective Yankee (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) and Marlin (Pensacola) affiliates. His batted ball profile is not ideal, however, and despite his success at the plate, over half of his batted balls were on the ground, according to Fangraphs. Ramírez had a more reasonable yet still high ground ball rate of 42% in Double-A Somerset in 2024, but a 10% rise after his promotion is the reason for a 100-point drop in slugging in Triple-A.  His defense isn’t great, but if he can lift the ball more often it’s easy to see him becoming the short side of a catching time-share who also gets plenty of plate appearances at designated hitter. Ramírez is already on the Marlins’ 40-man roster, and his spring training competition in 2025 is underwhelming. He could be up quickly this year.

Iván Herrera is a rising player on our updated dynasty catcher rankings. I highlighted him in this article. The short version: I think he can be a catcher who hits for average as a 350-400 plate appearance type of guy. Unlike most catchers, he won’t weigh down batting average or on-base percentage. Click the link to see the details.

Gabriel Moreno is another young catcher who just completed his age-24 season. His production is very similar to what I expect from Herrera, meaning a high average and on-base percentage, but few home runs. The difference is in exit velocities. Herrera hits the ball hard, just on the ground. Moreno features a high degree of contact with average exit velocities and a very patient approach. He is still young, and his barrel rate, exit velocities, and launch angle have all improved each year. One more step forward in those metrics and we can likely expect a big rise in his dynasty rankings next offseason.

The Chicago White Sox have traded for two high-end catching prospects in the last two seasons. This past offseason it was Kyle Teel, but in 2023 it was Edgar Quero. Quero is a bat-first catcher who is starting to hit the ball very hard. In 101 games with the Angels’ and White Sox’ Double-A affiliates, he produced an isolated power of .095. In 2024 Quero’s isolated power was .183, which is a huge leap forward. Quero is just 21 and outside of sub-par exit velocities, the rest of his metrics look solid. It’s possible that a big breakout is in store for 2025 as he gets another year older and stronger. If Quero’s power develops, then Teel’s presence becomes less threatening to dynasty owners. Quero can be the designated hitter at times even if he’s only catching 90 games and can get to 400 plate appearances because his bat can be that valuable.

I don’t care what his production has been to this point, barring injuries, Ethan Salas is going to be a good Major League catcher for a long time. He finished his 2024 season at High-A Fort Wayne at the age of 18.  Most 18-year-olds are hitting against pitchers who won’t even play baseball at the college level. Salas will get stronger as he matures, and power will come with it. He already makes a lot of contact and has a great feel for the strike zone. He’s also an elite defender which will help get him to the Major Leagues someday regardless of his bat. His body and swing are going to change a lot over the next few seasons, and I’m not sure that his current exit velocities (low, as expected) or batted ball profile reflect the player he ultimately will become. The Padres’ handling of him so far indicates extreme confidence in him and makes his bat very difficult to evaluate using metrics. There aren’t many direct comparisons. If someone is down on him in your league, I think he’s worth a pickup.

Eduardo Tait is a young catcher in the Phillies organization who has already turned heads with his offense. He was in the same international free agent class as Ethan Salas but has followed a more traditional path. In two seasons Tait has a career slash line of .313/.377/.497, reaching Single-A Clearwater last year at age 17. He features an excellent batted ball profile, and thanks to the implementation of Statcast in the Florida State league we know that his 90^th percentile exit velocity is a terrific 104.1 miles per hour. Tait hits the ball in the air and has an 83% contact rate on pitches in the strike zone. His strikeout rate doubled to 29% when he reached Clearwater, and his chase rate was almost 40% in a small sample. Tait will likely start his season at Clearwater again, and I’m excited to see how his bat plays in a larger sample.

Ryan Jeffers is a solid catcher who will start for the Twins without much competition. He had a very solid 2023 season to win the majority share of the catching duties in 2023, slashing .276/.369/.490 with no platoon splits. He came back to earth a little bit in 2024 but still hit 21 home runs in 122 games. He has above-average bat speed and at age 27 is just entering his prime. His exit velocities, barrel rates, and hard-hit rates all dipped in 2024. Projection systems all rate him very similar to Sean Murphy for the next three years, and he is likely cheaper to acquire. If you’re looking for a catcher with some punch, you can do worse than acquiring Jeffers.

The best news that I can give to Bo Naylor managers is that he has no competition for playing time in 2025. He should get 400 or more plate appearances on the strength of his defense. Do you really want those plate appearances from Naylor? Perhaps not. He hit 13 home runs but slashed .201/.264/.350 in a disappointing 2024 season. Naylor’s bat speed dipped nearly two miles per hour from 2023 to 2024. His walk rate dropped 6.5% in 2024, and his strikeout rate went up 8.1% to 31.4%. Despite a 5% increase in ground balls, he still hits them at a rate that is below league average. One mile per hour of bat speed correlates to six feet of batted ball distance in the air, so his drop in bat speed costs him an estimated average of 12 feet of distance on flyballs. He hits a lot of flyballs, so that distance is costly. If you’re hunting for optimism, time is on Naylor’s side as he is only 24-years-old. His glove and a lack of competition will give him the opportunity to get his bat straightened out.

Atlanta Braves prospect Drake Baldwin had a great 2024 season at Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett. Every single metric from his 23-game sample at Gwinnett is at least above average. In the cases of his hard-hit percentage and exit velocities, they are elite. Baldwin makes a ton of contact and is a patient hitter. In his 23 Triple-A games, he slashed .298/.407/.484 and hit 12 home runs. He is regarded as a sound defensive catcher but has a below-average arm. He still throws out roughly 20% of runners attempting to steal.  Baldwin could begin to push incumbent catcher Sean Murphy for playing time in the next year or so. I believe he’ll start the year in Triple-A again, but if Murphy struggles or gets hurt Baldwin could be their first choice to replace him.

The Blue Jays’ Alejandro Kirk is very similar to the other young Major League catchers in this tier. He’s entering his age-26 season, he hits for average, does a decent job of getting on base, and has a large role because he’s a good defender. He also does not hit for power. Kirk’s contact rates are elite, making contact at a 90% rate on strikes, and 71% on pitches out of the zone. It doesn’t seem like he has a great eye at the plate, as he still chases at a higher rate than average and only swings at 46% of pitches in the strike zone. Despite his low home run totals, he can put a charge into the ball, with a maximum exit velocity of 113 miles per hour. His 90^th percentile EV is 103.5, which is below average. It looks like Kirk’s role with the Blue Jays is going to be static for the next few years, playing the large portion of a 2/3 timeshare with a second catcher. I don’t see any reason for his production to change as long as he stays healthy, and he should remain a solid lower-tier option for the next several seasons.

(Brandon Ring)