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The catcher position in fantasy baseball is like the green vegetables on a dinner plate — even on a good day, they aren’t the main attraction. Still, the 2025 pool of backstops is a respectable group. Most managers will draft in leagues that require just one starting catcher, and in those formats, there are plenty of useful options to go around. Although the position still includes a few all-or-nothing sluggers, fantasy managers will be happy to know that there are several men who could help or at least maintain a squad’s overall batting average.
William Contreras towers above the competition at this premium position, and in one-catcher leagues, he is the only player who warrants early-round consideration. But the likes of Adley Rutschman, Salvador Pérez, Yainer Díaz and Will Smith form a large second tier that can provide nearly every manager in a standard 12-team league with a helpful catcher.
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The newfound depth at the position is a direct result of an increasing willingness from MLB managers to allow their catchers to log a heavy workload. A dozen catchers accumulated more than 440 at-bats last year, which had last occurred in 2007. And five men exceeded 540 at-bats, which would have been a league-leading total at the catcher position in many recent seasons. Since Major League Baseball instituted the universal DH in 2022, many teams have recently chosen to share the DH position rather than having one man in the role. These changes have enabled managers on teams with offensively skilled catchers to keep them in the lineup without adding to their workload behind the plate.
Proactive Targets
William Contreras, Milwaukee Brewers (Yahoo ADP: 47.9)
Simply put, Contreras is worth the premium draft pick as the No. 1 catcher off the board. The 27-year-old is in the prime of his career, logs a heavy workload, hits in the middle of the lineup and offers high marks in home runs and batting average. He even chips in a few steals. Contreras also has room for power growth by improving his 29.0% fly ball rate from last season.
Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners (Yahoo ADP: 107.7)
A strong case can be made to rank Raleigh a couple spots higher than the fifth catcher off the board. The 28-year-old has unmatched power among his positional pool, having gone deep 91 times in the past three seasons. And despite the pitcher-friendly nature of T-Mobile Park, there is no end in sight for Raleigh’s home runs, as his barrel rate (96th percentile) and hard-hit rate (86th percentile) are elite marks. He also scores plenty of runs thanks to drawing most of his plate appearances from the top-four spots in the lineup.
J.T. Realmuto, Philadelphia Phillies (Yahoo ADP: 160.4)
Drafting speedy players who are entering a contract year is often a good plan. And that plan makes even more sense when the players is eligible at a position where steals are otherwise mostly unavailable. Such is the case with Realmuto, who averaged 17 steals from 2021-23 before swiping just two bags while dealing with a nagging knee injury last season. Even with the ailment, Realmuto’s sprint speed was mostly unchanged from previous years. The guess here is that the three-time Silver Slugger produces 20 long balls and a dozen swipes on his path to the open market.
Fades
Yainer Díaz, Houston Astros (Yahoo ADP: 103.8)
Díaz leads off a deep tier at his position, and starting a positional run is usually a bad plan for drafting. Diaz has strong contact skills, which annually leads to a high batting average. However, his rate of run scoring will never be elite since he rarely draws walks. And last year, his fly-ball rate cratered to 26.3%. Unless Diaz makes significant changes to his launch angle, he will continue to fall short of 20 home runs.
Francisco Alvarez, New York Mets (Yahoo ADP: 190.2)
Alvarez is just 23 years old and should eventually enjoy a breakout season. I’m just not sure that a major uptick is coming in 2025. The youngster cannot be counted on for a respectable batting mark, as his xBA in each of his two full seasons was .220 or lower. And his power potential took a major dip last year when he logged a 31.7% fly ball rate and an 88.8 mph average exit velocity. One could argue that a 2024 thumb injury hampered Alvarez, but he returned on June 11 and struggled for the rest of the season.
Sleepers at the catcher position
Although there are plenty of catchers to go around, many managers will choose to search for a sleeper in the final rounds of drafts. Here are a few options to consider:
Austin Wells, New York Yankees
Wells took over as the Yankees’ No. 1 catcher in the second half of 2024 and was further cemented in that role when Jose Trevino was traded to Cincinnati. Wells draws plenty of walks (11.4% in 2024) and last year logged a .244 xBA which was notably higher than his .229 average. The 25-year-old could hit .250 with 20 homers and plenty of RBI by virtue of playing in a productive lineup.
Sean Murphy, Atlanta Braves
Murphy is an excellent bounceback candidate who is coming off an injury-impacted season but hit .250 with 39 homers and 134 RBI over the previous two years. There is no doubt that Murphy’s skills regressed last year, but he was one of many Atlanta players who were major disappointments, and there is a good chance that the 30-year-old and a few of his teammates get back on track this season. The Braves also lost Travis d’Arnaud via free agency, which opens the door for Murphy, who played 148 games in 2022, to log a heavy workload.
Joey Bart, Pittsburgh Pirates
Bart got his career on track after joining the Pirates, posting an .802 OPS while playing sparingly in the first half and logging a .798 OPS with a larger role after the All-Star break. His next challenge will be to prove that he can maintain his effectiveness over a larger workload, and the former elite prospect still has plenty of upside. Like Wells and Murphy, Bart could hit 20 homers and avoid being a drain on the batting average category.
Gabriel Moreno, Arizona Diamondbacks
Gabriel Moreno was limited by injuries to just 97 games last season, but he continued to show growth with his plate skills by posting vastly improved marks in walk rate (11.7%) and strikeout rate (14.8%). And although he hit just five homers, he may have laid the path for power growth by boosting his fly ball rate to 32.0%. Moreno is one of the few late-round catchers who can log a helpful batting average, and he can make up for a modest home run total by swiping a few bases.
Iván Herrera, St. Louis Cardinals
With Willson Contreras moving to first base, Iván Herrera gets a chance to run with the No. 1 catcher role in St. Louis. The 24-year-old is a line drive machine who hit .301 last season while logging a .293 xBA. Herrera’s fantasy profile is similar to that of Moreno; a young, improving catcher who should hit fewer than 15 homers while producing a solid batting average and 7-10 steals.
More Fantasy Baseball analysis
Top-12 Catcher Draft Rankings for 2025
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1. William Contreras, Brewers
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2. Adley Rutschman, Orioles
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3. Cal Raleigh, Mariners
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4. Salvador Pérez, Royals
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5. Willson Contreras, Cardinals
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6. Will Smith, Dodgers
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7. Yainer Díaz, Astros
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8. J.T. Realmuto, Phillies
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9. Shea Langeliers, A’s
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10. Logan O’Hoppe, Angels
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11. Tyler Stephenson, Reds
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12. Austin Wells, Yankees
Yahoo consensus catcher rankings