Mid-Round Catcher (C) Fantasy Baseball Draft Values and Targets in 2025

Welcome back to another edition of our 2025 fantasy baseball draft values and target series. Today, we review the catcher position. Elite production from catchers is valuable, but it largely depends on whether your league requires starting one or two backstops. There isn't much depth at the position, which can be an issue in deep league formats.

Here are some middle-round catchers for you to consider drafting in your season-long leagues this season, especially if you are in two-catcher formats. Are their ADPs undervalued? Will they make significant fantasy contributions and become a priority mid-round draft target? Read on to see our take.

Our editors have handpicked these specific MLB players for your draft prep enjoyment. Usually only available to Premium subscribers, the five outlooks below are meant to give you a taste of the in-depth analysis you receive with our industry-leading 2024 Draft Kit. Be sure to subscribe today to start reading all of our in-depth 2025 player outlooks and many other premium articles and tools, including Team Sync, the Live Draft Sync assistant, Custom Rankings Service, and so much more -- available exclusively in our 2025 Draft Kit.

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Shea Langeliers, Athletics

When it comes to catchers, only Cal Raleigh has hit more home runs over the last two seasons than Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers has. In 534 plate appearances last season, Langeliers smacked a career-best 29 home runs while driving in 80 and slashing .224/.288/.450.

Shea Langeliers of the #Athletics is coming a career-best 29 home run season playing in one of the worst hitting parks

Now he plays in a minor league stadium that will boost his power production

After holding a hard-hit rate of at least 44% and barrel rate of at least 13% in… pic.twitter.com/3WVEr3CeL5

— Andy Smith (@A_Smith_FS) January 2, 2025

Sure, that average and OBP are on the lower end, but Langeliers' zone (80.3 percent) and overall (70.8 percent) contact rates weren't terrible, and he'll be moving to a better hitter's park in Sacramento in 2025. The average and OBP will likely never be impactful, but it wouldn't surprise me to see Langeliers increase the average to the .240 range to pair with around 25 home runs again.

The power breakout over the last two seasons is backed up by a barrel rate above 12 percent, AVG EV above 90 mph, and a hard-hit rate above 44 percent in both 2023 and 2024.

-- Eric Cross - RotoBaller

Logan O'Hoppe, Los Angeles Angels

As someone who followed Logan O'Hoppe through his time in the minor leagues, he's become a different player than expected. O'Hoppe has become more aggressive in the majors and finished 2024 with a 6.3 percent walk rate and a 29.7 percent strikeout rate, both worse than the major league average.

But at the same time, O'Hoppe has shown that he can be one of the top power bats at the catcher position with a 12 percent barrel rate, 90.4 mph AVG EV, 46.3 percent hard-hit rate, and 20 home runs in 522 plate appearances last season.

Logan O'Hoppe - LAA

Key Stat: 42.9 SwSp%

O'Hoppe's batted ball data is absolutely elite. If he could slightly improve the strikeout and walk rates we can see him turn into one of the top offensive catchers in the sport. pic.twitter.com/UX0ZELnLC1

— Data Driven Stats (@mlb_advanced3) February 20, 2025

Given his aggressive approach and below-average contact rates, O'Hoppe might stay down in the .240-.250 range, but he could still provide top-10 value at the catcher position if he's also providing more than 20 home runs. ATC projections are on board with O'Hoppe mashing 20 long balls, predicting the 25-year-old to hit 22 home runs in 2025.

-- Eric Cross - RotoBaller

Francisco Alvarez, New York Mets

New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez had a disappointing 2024 season and should be considered a risky No. 1 catcher in standard leagues heading into 2025. Alvarez showcased high power upside during the 2023 season as he went deep 25 times and held a .437 SLG through 123 contests.

Under the hood, he generated a 45.1 percent hard-hit rate and 12.8 percent barrel rates, which were promising metrics in his first full big league campaign. However, last summer, the former top prospect had a disappointing season as he hit just 11 home runs across 100 games. He posted a mere .237/.307/.403 slash line.

Alvarez saw his power metrics drop significantly. He generated an underwhelming 42.0 percent hard-hit rate and 6.7 percent barrel rate. In addition, the backstop generated a low .358 xSLG, which placed him in the 21st percentile among qualified hitters. The 23-year-old also did not provide much value in points leagues, given his hefty 25.1 percent K rate.

However, he did draw walks at a solid 8.8 percent rate. While Alvarez missed time due to a torn UCL, he struggled to remain consistent in the batter's box when he was healthy. The one positive for Alvarez is that he is the clear No. 1 catcher in Queens, as both options behind him, Luis Torrens and Luis De Los Santos, have not had any extended success in the major leagues.

This means that the young backstop will continue to have starting opportunities in the starting nine. Fantasy managers should be careful when targeting him as a No. 1 catcher at his 150.17 ADP on NFBC, especially given the stark drop in power production.

However, given his young age and the power upside he has shown in the past, he does have a path to return to form in 2025 but does carry some inherent risk, given the underwhelming metrics.

-- Andy Smith- RotoBaller

Gabriel Moreno, Arizona Diamondbacks

Many baseball fans will remember Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno's playoff heroics in 2023 when he hit four home runs in just 70 plate appearances. Always an elite bat-to-ball hitter, Moreno unfortunately has never consistently accessed that kind of game power in the regular season (13 HR in 804 plate appearances).

He hits a ton of grounders (52.7 percent career) and has never had an average launch angle above 8.8 degrees. That's the bad. The good: Moreno hits the ball fairly hard (90 mph avg. EV, 41 percent hard-hit rate), makes contact at elite rates (83.5 percent last year), does not chase (26.5 percent) or whiff much (6.8 percent SwStr%), and has great patience (11.7 percent walk rate).

He's a career .280 hitter and has even sprinkled in a few steals at times. Moreno's also a great defender (+10 defensive runs saved last season), so he should get consistent at-bats. ATC projects him for a .277 average with nine homers and five steals over 452 PA. That makes Moreno a rare later-round pick who adds positive value to the batting average -- even rarer coming from the catcher position.

Moreno's hit tool and defense give him a solid floor for fantasy as a second catcher in rotisserie leagues. There is even some upside here if Moreno, still just 24 years old, can add some loft to his swing and access his power more often in games.

-- Michael Cecchini - RotoBaller

Austin Wells, New York Yankees

New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells had an up-and-down rookie campaign in 2024, but with fellow backstop Jose Trevino now in Cincinnati, Wells will have New York's starting catcher job all to himself. Last season, Wells slashed a pedestrian .229/.322/.395, which led to the 25-year-old being on the bench more frequently than fantasy managers would like.

Despite his poor ratios, Wells belted 13 homers in 115 games played, and he posted healthy run (42) and RBI (55) totals, thanks to New York's potent lineup. The Yankees should have a good offense again, and Wells' lefty swing is tailor-made to hit homers in Yankee Stadium, so last year's numbers should be the baseline expectation this season.

Austin Wells homers on his first swing of the year at Yankees Spring Training pic.twitter.com/NZs2hnyVDV

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) February 20, 2025

However, there's room for growth in his game as the bat is typically slow to develop for catchers. A look under the hood suggests Wells could be much better this season as his .429 xSLG and .339 xwOBA were both better than his actual marks.

Additionally, his 111.2 max exit velocity suggests he's got plenty of raw power to work with entering his age-26 season. He won't be the sexiest fantasy selection on draft day, but those who wait to draft a catcher may find Wells to be good value as a late-round selection. He's got sleeper potential as RotoBaller's 13th-ranked catcher with a recent NFBC ADP of 189.

-- Mike Schwarzenbach  - RotoBaller

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