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Jeremy's catcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 4 of 2025 (April 21 - April 27). His top catcher streamers and free-agent adds to target on waivers.
Week 4 is almost here, and there’s once again a good variety of catching options that are available in the majority of Yahoo leagues.
Whether you’re looking for a catcher to stream for one week or someone to potentially stay on your roster for the rest of the season, there is probably someone available who is worth an add. Sean Murphy made this list in each of the past two weeks, and he’s rewarded fantasy managers who picked him up by hitting four home runs through his first nine games.
Below, we’ll take a look at catcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 4 of the 2025 season - April 21 through April 27. There are good options for shallow leagues (30-49 percent rostered) and deeper formats (0-29 percent rostered). In addition, we’ll look at one very low-owned catcher who could be worth monitoring.
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Fantasy Baseball Catcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Francisco Alvarez, New York Mets (32% rostered)
Francisco Alvarez was being drafted as a top 12 catcher early in the offseason before suffering a fractured hand in early March. The injury was set to sideline him for six to eight weeks, and luckily, he’s recovered on the early end of that time frame.
He has been playing in rehab games over the past week and is expected to be activated off the injured list at some point before the Mets' current homestand ends on April 23.
Francisco Alvarez homers in Reading! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/Ej3liF4oaY
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 15, 2025
He had a bit of a down year in 2024, hitting just 11 home runs in 100 games. Interestingly, his batting average and on-base percentage actually improved to .237 and .307 last season, compared to .209 and .284 in 2023.
However, his 2023 was much better for fantasy purposes, as he posted a .403 slugging percentage with 25 home runs. That type of power is rare to see for a catcher, especially considering he was only 21 years old at the time.
He simply possesses too much upside to let sit on the waiver wire if you don’t already have a solid option at the position. He has a top-five upside if he can put it all together, but he still would have a clear path to a top-12 finish at the position even if he doesn’t take a step forward. His power will be above average, and he should rack up plenty of counting stats as part of the Mets’ explosive lineup.
Gabriel Moreno, Arizona Diamondbacks (42% rostered)
This is the first week that Gabriel Moreno has dropped below the 50% rostered threshold, and it makes sense as to why. In 10 or 12-team one-catcher leagues, it makes sense to stream and play the hot hands. Moreno has gotten off to a pretty slow start in 2025, slashing .234/.333/.255 with just one extra-base hit so far this season.
I’m not ready to completely give up on him, though. We’re still early enough in the year that just a few good games could completely change the outlook of a player. The catcher is a career .277 hitter who was red hot in his final 36 games of 2024, batting .325 with a .418 OBP.
He is only 25 years old and was a former elite prospect. There’s still time for him to take another step forward, and a breakout similar to Yainer Diaz last year isn’t completely out of the question at some point.
There’s no telling if this year will be the year of that breakout or not, but either way, he has a good shot of finishing as a top-12 catcher by season’s end. Batting average is one of the hardest categories to find contributors for, and it’s even harder to find a catcher who will have a positive impact on your team's average.
This gives him a very high floor, and he’s worth an add if you’re looking for someone consistent instead of trying to play the matchups with a new guy every week.
Fantasy Baseball Catcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Carson Kelly, Chicago Cubs (29% rostered)
Carson Kelly is the move if you’re looking to ride out a hot streak. He started the year as the clear second fiddle to Miguel Amaya, but his performance thus far has made it a near 50/50 split behind the dish.
In 11 games this season, he’s slashed a ridiculous .419/.578/1.097 with six home runs, 18 RBI, and 12 runs. He’s even walked 12 times for an astronomical 26.7% walk rate while striking out just four times at an 8.9% clip.
THIS GAME!
Carson Kelly hits his second homer of the game 💪 pic.twitter.com/taWb5GhzaO
— MLB (@MLB) April 18, 2025
Is Kelly breaking out and becoming an elite hitter? Most likely not, but he’s clearly seeing the ball extremely well right now and is worth starting until he comes back down to earth. For weekly leagues where you’re looking for a streaming option specifically Week 4, he’s not the best bet in one-catcher leagues due to poor matchups.
The Cubs only play five games against two very good rotations in the Phillies and Dodgers. However, with how hot he’s swinging the bat, just a few games of him will probably be a worthwhile stream in leagues that require two starting catchers.
Edgar Quero, Chicago White Sox (1% rostered)
Edgar Quero was called up by the White Sox on Thursday and is expected to serve as their primary catcher moving forward. He is a consensus top 100 prospect who was slashing .333/.444/.412 through 15 games at Triple-A this season. Looking at a bigger sample size, he slashed .280/.366/.463 with 16 home runs, 70 RBI, and 41 runs in 98 games between Double-A and Triple-A in 2024.
Those are very good offensive marks for a catcher, although it’s unlikely that that level of success will translate to the major league level right away. Catchers typically adjust more slowly to big league pitching than other positions, having to focus so much energy on learning how to catch their own pitchers.
Still, any type of upside at catcher is worth taking a chance on in deep two-catcher leagues. If you don’t have a reliable option as your second catcher, there’s no downside in taking the chance.
Fantasy Baseball Catchers Waiver Wire Watch List
Drake Baldwin, Atlanta Braves (2% rostered)
Drake Baldwin seemed to be an afterthought with the return of Sean Murphy, but that may not be the case. He launched his first career home run on Wednesday and had a 2-for-3 day in the game before that.
While his .237/.310/.368 slash line through 10 games doesn’t look all too impressive, his underlying metrics tell a different story. He has posted a 70.4% hard hit rate (100th percentile) and 95.7 mph average exit velocity (98th percentile), and his .490 xSLG looks much better than its actual counterpart.
Baldwin obviously isn’t going to continue to be the best hitter in the entire league at hitting the ball hard, but it’s safe to say he’s been unlucky in the early going.
The presence of Sean Murphy will make it tough to want Baldwin in one-catcher leagues, but the situation is worth keeping an eye on. He could definitely carve out enough of a role to make him a nice addition in two-catcher leagues if he starts to produce more in line with his expected stats.
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