The Dynasty Guru Annual Ranking Season is upon us!  Up next, the catchers!  The rankings presented here are the composite rankings of all the writers at The Dynasty Guru, and after healthy debate and only a little name-calling, we are ready to share them with you. The comments below each tier are the work of the writer cited at the end of the section.  Don’t forget to check out Chris and Drew’s analysis of each position on the Join the Ranks podcast.

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What can we say about Cal Raleigh that hasn’t been said? Aside from all the accolades, I took a look to see what changed in his profile from last year. In most categories, he’s been incredibly consistent the past three years, including his contact rates and hard hit rates. There was an uptick in his launch angle and barrel percentage, which created more fly balls and naturally, more home runs. But an increase from 38 to 60 home runs would need more than that. A close look revealed that in just six more games, he had 77 more plate appearances. In 2024, he mostly hit third or fourth in the batting order (450 PA combined), with only 38 PA in the second spot in the order. In 2025, he had 262 plate appearance in the second spot and 349 in the third, and only 92 at cleanup. In total, at his HR/PA rate last year of 8.5%, the extra plate appearances account for 6.5 home runs. Clearly that’s not the total difference, the launch angle was likely a bigger factor, but we can’t ignore the impact of the batting order. Like we don’t already have enough stats to look at…

William Contreras is the model of consistency. Put him in your lineup and you’ll get over 600 PA, 20 home runs, and an OBP over .350. He’s entering his age 28 year, so we’re likely to see this level of production for five more years at least, not sure we can ask much more from the catching position.

Samuel Basallo is one of the most talked about prospects this ranking season, and for good reason. He climbed through the minors exhibiting above average hit tool and power combinations and is poised to do the same in the majors. With the Alonso signing, it’s apparent Basallo will primarily be the DH at the start of the season, but he will spell Rutschman behind the plate often enough to maintain catcher eligibility. At this point, that’s the only real question about his staying power this high in our rankings.

A quick check of the leader board for last year shows that among players whose primary position was catcher, the second most home runs were hit by none other than Shea Langeliers (tied with Hunter Goodman). That was a slight increase over 2024’s output of 29 home runs, and there was a significant increase in his batting average, up from .224 in 2024 to .277. If only a few more Athletics would get on base in front of him, he’d contribute a healthy dose of RBI to your fantasy counting stats.

The Baseball Fortunes have smiled on fantasy managers three times in this grouping. Although the signing of Paul Goldschmidt may cut into Ben Rice’s plate appearances, it will likely guarantee that Rice maintains catcher eligibility as he spells Austin Wells behind the plate in order to get in the lineup. And after a season of 26 home runs, a .255/.337/.499 slash line, 55% hard hit rate, 89% zone contact rate, and low 8.5% swinging strike rate, rest assured that his bat will get into the lineup. In Colorado, the Baseball Fortunes have blessed the Rockies with one, and only one, catcher. After Hunter Goodman, the next best catcher in the system may be Cole Messina who is slowly working his way through the system. Goodman’s fantasy value in the outfield was positive, but it is much more positive as a catcher. Goodman has better power numbers than Rice, while Rice has better contact skills and plate discipline. As long as they both maintain catcher eligibility, they will be ranked next to each other for the foreseeable future. A year ago, we were encouraging managers to trade for Drake Baldwin while the cost would be low, since he was blocked by Sean Murphy. We take no joy in the fact that Baldwin’s good fortune came at the expense of Murphy’s bad fortune, injuries are never a reason to celebrate, but it can’t be ignored that Baldwin made the most of his opportunity. He lacks the power of Rice and Goodman, but has contact skills that fall between the two. Murphy’s contract may force Atlanta to work him into the lineup when he returns later this season, but if Baldwin keeps hitting well, it shouldn’t cut down on his opportunities too much.

For the past several years, Will Smith was the catcher I’ve rostered most often in dynasty leagues, and I haven’t been sad about that. Like Contreras, Smith has been a consistent producer with excellent OBP rates and plays in a lineup that lets him drive in runs. He also plays in a lineup that doesn’t offer a DH option on Smith’s rest days, which has cut into his plate appearances since Ohtani’s arrival in LaLa land. That said, I’ve also been accumulating catching prospects where I can because the time has come to have the transition plan in place. Smith has had some missed time due to injury and power numbers are starting to show a decline.

Iván Herrera is a solid hitter with some pop in his bat (19 home runs and .464 SLG last year) who is continuing to improve. Unfortunately for fantasy managers, he is unlikely to maintain catcher eligibility if he even still has it depending on your league settings. Agustín Ramírez has been a favorite prospect of mine and I was excited when he was traded to Miami from the Yankees in 2024. I don’t know how long he’ll keep stealing double-digit bases, but it’s a nice bonus while he does. His power is developing as he works on lifting the ball more.

(Drew Klein)