Here at the TDG Headquarters, we’ve been busy looking for “The Next Big Thing.”  Just like you, we want to know who’s going to be the prospect that will become the core of our fantasy team, or be the trade piece that lands us the players who put us over the top. With that in mind, we’ve assembled a team of prospect prognosticators and developed a set of tiered rankings for each position. And once they’re all posted, we’ll wrap up with our Top 200 Overall Prospects, putting it all together.

Be sure to listen to the Join the Ranks podcast for more discussion about these prospects.

Today, we bring you the catcher prospect tiers 3 and 4, which include prospects #9 – 33.

Tier 3

Our third tier of catching prospects brings a slew of players without a single unifying definition. Youthful players (even by prospect standards) Eduardo Tait and Ethan Salas are two of the youngest catchers on our entire list. Tait thumped 11 homers last year stateside as a 17 year old. His K-rate almost doubled between the Complex and Single-A Clearwater, so I’m not jumping in head first yet. The power looks special though, so in leagues with more than 200 prospects rostered, I’d check to see if he’s available.

Salas had some struggles at High-A Fort Wayne himself, but the Padres don’t seem phased. Despite the aggressive debut assignment in ‘23, the organization has been more deliberate since (h/t Drew for your thesaurus). All signs point to him sticking behind the plate. So as long as he’s close to league-average offensively I’d expect the Padres to continue the slow and steady promotion pace. Further, because he’s so young and at a defense-premium position, I’m not focusing on his offensive performances. Personally, I don’t see Salas as a dominant fantasy force in his prime. His bat will be solid across the board and as mentioned, he’ll stick at catcher. Those both give him a great floor for a risk-averse fantasy roster.

I’m close to referring to St Louis as “Backstop U”, as Jimmy Crooks is quickly looking like another MLB-level talent developed by their org. For the position, he’s somewhat a complete package of both offensive ceiling and defensive prowess. Crooks improved upon a strong ‘23 campaign with an even better ‘24: .321/.410/.498 with 11 homers and 100 R+RBI in 90 games! His defense appears to be improving as well and he’s known for having an accurate and strong arm for throwing out runners. While hard to compare anyone to Yadier Molina, Crooks has been trying his best to start that comparison. There are two young catchers above him on the Cardinals depth chart, so playing time won’t come cheap. Continue to watchlist Crooks, as the hype and his performance may start adding up. (Chris Knock)

As you are reading this, Harry Ford is somewhere waiting for his pitch. Considering that he has one of the lowest swing rates in the country, his pitch isn’t coming any time soon.  Ford was drafted in the first round in 2021 and expectations were high. Although he put up decent numbers in High-A Everett in 2023, his production suffered after a promotion to Double-A Arkansas in 2024. Wait and see before tying up a spot on your rosters in all but the deepest leagues.

One player in this group who may be poised for a breakout is Jeferson Quero. After playing in Single-A Carolina and High-A Wisconsin in 2022, he was promoted to Double-AA Biloxi as a 20-year-old in 2023. That year, he increased his home run output from 10 to 16. He missed 2024 with an injury and may have fallen off your radar, but keep an eye on him this year.

Blake Mitchell is raw, both at bat and behind the plate. His defense has been improving and he has the athleticism to stick at the position. He struck out 30% of the time last year, which is a real turn-off. When he does hit the ball, he hits it hard and far. He’ll be 20 years old this season and has a lot of time to develop a better hit tool. He’s a low-floor high-ceiling player, and that profile is a lot of fun in the game we play. (Drew Klein)

Tier 4

In our final tier, we have 3 catchers from the ‘24 draft class. All three represent 3 generic archetypes of fantasy profiles as well. Malcolm Moore is the ‘average across the board’ prospect. Solid hit and power tools, the defense is somewhat questionable but the work ethic is not. The Rangers took him at the end of the first round, so they’re believers. Walter Janek is the best to stick behind the plate long-term. The question with him (and others in his mold) is whether the bat is good enough for MLB pitching. His post-debut performance did not answer that question, but those can be deceiving especially with college catchers where fatigue is a factor. The Astros will support their first-round pick as best they can, I’d continue to watch him in all but the deepest of leagues. The third catcher profile to mention is the athletic, fantasy-friendly player with questionable defensive skills that Caleb Lomavita provides. Washington took him in the second round, hoping that Lomavita’s chase rates will improve alongside his defense. The average power/speed combo his bat teases is enough to put him on our radars for now, but I’d continue to watchlist outside of the leagues with 400+ prospects rostered.

Unlike those three new names, Diego Cartaya feels like he’s been around forever. After he debuted professionally in 2019, the prospect world quickly became enamored with his plus power potential. He hit double-digit home runs as a 19-year-old in ‘21 and followed it up with 22 homers in High-A Great Lakes the following year. But while the power, approach, and defense were good, his long swing resulted in far too inconsistent at-bats. The Dodgers moved him over the winter to Minnesota where it could be a good change of scenery for the young man. The Twins added him to their 40-man roster where he’s now their top-catching prospect without an extensive list of names above him. Fantasy-wise, he’s still in Watchlist Territory, but I’d be quickest to claim him with a good start at Triple-A St. Paul. I’d almost treat him as a top-15 prospect at the position if he starts hot in 2025. (Chris Knock)

Cooper Ingle is the name to watch for me in this group. He favors hit over power and is a very patient hitter at the plate who walks more than he strikes out.  I’m anxious to see him be a little more aggressive with the bat without sacrificing the solid contact rates. There’s also an organizational bias here, Cleveland has been successful with their prospect development lately.

On the other hand, Drew Romo is very aggressive at the plate and swings at almost 40% of pitches out of the zone. He has decent contact rates and has hit .300 in the minors, but his walk rates are very low so he won’t do much for a fantasy team’s OBP. He is a good catcher and seems destined for a back-up role, but if he can keep up his contact rates playing in Colorado, he might surprise us.

Creed Willems is a good news/bad news situation. The good news is he is a power-hitting catcher/first base prospect, the bad news is that he’s in the Baltimore system. It’s difficult to say a 22-year-old who will be playing in Double-A Chesapeake this year is blocked, but Rutschman and Basallo aren’t going anywhere soon. Still, it’s early days and trades, injuries, and position shifts happen, so don’t you forget about Creed. (Drew Klein)