Like many other sports, Major League Baseball is delayed in 2020. With this, fantasy baseball is also not operating as planned. However, there is still a possibility of the season happening, even if it is different than the typical major league season. Should the fantasy baseball season happen this year, a lot of participants will be doing research prior to their draft. Position rankings are a way for people to get an idea of who they might want to target in their fantasy baseball draft. Here is a ranking of catchers for the 2020 fantasy baseball season.
20.) Danny Jansen (Toronto Blue Jays)
Danny Jansen got to play in 107 games last season for the Blue Jays. However, he never really broke out. He hit 13 homers and 12 doubles, but only had a .360 slugging percentage considering he had 347 at-bats on the year. The Blue Jays also have Reese McGuire, who has raked in the 44 games he’s been in the bigs as he has a career .882 OPS. Jansen may have to perform better to get more playing time in 2020.
19.) Tom Murphy (Seattle Mariners)
Tom Murphy played in 75 games last season, splitting time with Austin Nola and Omar Narvaez. All three guys put up some solid offensive numbers. Narvaez is now on the Brewers, so Murphy and Nola may both get playing time this season. Murphy got 281 plate appearances in 2019, where he had an .858 OPS with 18 home runs and 12 doubles.
18.) Austin Romine (Detroit Tigers)
Austin Romine slashed .281/.310/.439 with the Yankees in 2019. He played in 72 games and hit eight long balls as well as a dozen two-baggers. He is now with the Detroit Tigers. This could up his fantasy value since he should be the starter and is no longer on the same roster as Gary Sanchez.
17.) Sean Murphy (Oakland Athletics)
Sean Murphy could be higher in the rankings in a few years, but with only 20 regular-season games and a playoff at-bat, it could be hard to tell how he will do this season. In those 20 games, Murphy had eight RBI, nine extra-base hits and 14 runs scored. Taking him late in the draft could help a fantasy team, especially if he has a breakout season.
16.) Buster Posey (San Francisco Giants)
After 11 seasons in the majors, 2012 National League MVP Buster Posey is still contributing with the San Francisco Giants. His numbers have declined some over the past few seasons, and he even missed the All-Star game for the first time since 2011. In 2019, Posey slashed .257/.320/.368 in 114 contests.
15.) Travis d’Arnaud (Atlanta Braves)
Travis d’Arnaud hit 16 dingers last season, tying his career high. He matched that with 16 doubles as well. That was with the Tampa Bay Rays. Now, d’Arnaud is with the Atlanta Braves. With Brian McCann retiring, he could find himself getting some solid time behind the plate. Tyler Flowers is also on the roster, so being the everyday starter might not be a guarantee for d’Arnaud.
14.) Roberto Perez (Cleveland Indians)
Roberto Perez showed some pop at the plate, belting 24 homers last season. Perez also drew 45 base on balls and racked up 63 RBIs. His slash line was .239/.321/.452 on the year. Perez hasn’t put up numbers like this consistently, so he could be a risky pick.
13.) Yadier Molina (St. Louis Cardinals)
Yadier Molina had 113 hits last year, giving him 12 years in-a-row of at least 110 hits. He had 34 extra-base hits and 57 RBIs. Molina finished the regular season with a .270/.312/.399 slash line in 2019. Year after year he has shown the ability to compete at the major league level.
12.) Jorge Alfaro (Miami Marlins)
Jorge Alfaro had a hefty number of games played with 130 last season. That could be appealing to a fantasy baseball player. Alfaro hit 18 homers, 14 doubles and had 57 RBIs. He has potential and can have an All-Star caliber year. Alfaro could be an efficient pick if he falls far enough in a draft.
11.) Omar Narvaez (Milwaukee Brewers)
Omar Narvaez had a productive season for the Mariners in 2019. He picked up 55 RBIs and 22 homers in 132 games played. His slugging percentage was .460 last season. Narvaez is currently on the Brewers and should continue to get a high amount of innings played.
10.) Christian Vazquez (Boston Red Sox)
Boston Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez had one of his best seasons in 2019. He had a career high in games played (138), extra-base hits (49) and RBIs (72). Another component could be a switched schedule. If the divisions are changed for 2020, Vasquez may not have to face the Yankees and Rays pitching as much this season, which could bump up his fantasy value.
9.) Carson Kelly (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Last year was Carson Kelly‘s first season with the Diamondbacks. He played in 111 games and easily had the best season of his career thus far. Kelly slashed .245/.348/.478. Something that sticks out is his OBP being over 100 points higher than his batting average. He also hit 18 homers and 19 doubles. A combination of slugging and getting on base can provide a solid catcher in fantasy baseball.
8.) Salvador Perez (Kansas City Royals)
After missing all of 2019 due to Tommy John surgery, Salvador Perez should be ready to go once the MLB gets going. Prior to the surgery, Perez has hit at least 20 homers every season from 2015-through-2018. He also had at least 20 doubles every year from 2013-through-2018. Perez’s slugging percentage has finished over .400 in all eight of is big league seasons.
7.) Will Smith (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Will Smith played 54 games last year as a rookie. He had a .907 OPS from his slash line of .253/.337/.571. He had 15 homers and nine doubles in the short time frame. On a team like the Dodgers, Smith should be able to get a solid amount of plate appearances if their offense puts up numbers.
6.) Wilson Ramos (New York Mets)
In his first season with the Mets, Wilson Ramos slashed .288/.351/.416 in 2019. He played in 141 games and totaled 136 hits. Ramos also had 33 extra-base hits and 73 RBIs. Some of his numbers were down a little in 2019, such as his slugging percentage. However, he’s had enough seasons in the league for people to see what he can do at the plate.
5.) Willson Contreras (Chicago Cubs)
Whenever the next MLB season is, Willson Contreras will be entering his fifth. He had a career high OPS of .888 in 2019. The Cubs catcher hit 24 long balls and 18 doubles in 105 games played. That was his third season in-a-row with at least 35 extra-base hits.
4.) Yasmani Grandal (Chicago White Sox)
Yasmani Grandal has joined the White Sox during the offseason. He spent the 2019 season with the Brewers, playing in 153 games. He launched 28 home runs and 26 doubles. The switch-hitter also had 77 RBIs and scored 79 times. Last season was his third in-a-row with at least 20 doubles and 20 home runs.
3.) Mitch Garver (Minnesota Twins)
Like multiple other Twins, Mitch Garver hit over 30 homers last season, 31 to be exact. He only played in 93 games, so it makes since that his slugging percentage was up at .630. His OPS was .995. If Garver can continue to hit like he did last season, he could be picked early in some fantasy baseball drafts.
2.) Gary Sanchez (New York Yankees)
Gary Sanchez raked last season. He hit a career high 34 homers. Add in his 12 doubles and one triple, and just over half of his hits 92 hits were for extra-bases. At the catcher spot where there isn’t typically as much pop as some other positions, taking Gary Sanchez in the first few rounds may not be a bad idea.
1.) J. T. Realmuto (Philadelphia Phillies)
J. T. Realmuto hits a lot of doubles. He’s hit over 30 in each of the last four seasons. The number of home runs hit by him have increased each of those years. Last season, he hit 25 long balls. Realmuto got a lot of playing time as well, which is another factor into his ranking. He played in 145 games and slashed .275/.328/.493.
Feature Image Courtesy of Fox Sports 2.
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