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Week 20 Waiver Wire: Catchers

By EricEnfermero (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Michael Griffin recommends catchers (C) who can be valuable waiver wire targets or adds to help fantasy owners for Week 20 of the 2017 fantasy baseball season.

Baseball's a rough sport, especially for catchers. They are constantly being dinged by foul balls, they have to squat for nearly three hours a game, and catching those pitches have to be hard on the hands. So, it's no surprise that they may be hurt a little more than other players. Still, sometimes when I look at the injury reports, I feel like this kind of warning should be scrawled on it:

Still, grit your teeth and check those injury reports. There will be people coming back soon, like Evan Gattis. Gary Sanchez returned, too, so all is not totally lost. If you can get one of these people, you won't be shuffling around like those zombies on "The Walking Dead."

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:

 

10-12 Team League Catcher Pickups

Here are some catcher waiver wire pickups for Week 16, to consider adding to your teams. We'll show you three players to snag in 10-12 player leagues, and also three to look out for in two-catcher leagues. All of these players are just at or below 50% ownership in Yahoo! fantasy leagues.

Wilson Ramos (TB) 24 % owned

Wilson Ramos is the latest catcher to be grabbed in a general frenzy by the Yahoo! fantasy population. Why? Hitting home runs on consecutive days is a good way to get those hearts a'flutterin.  Thousands of people have added him in the past day or so. Perhaps they think he's finally rounding back into the form that made him a fantasy stud before he got hurt last year. Here's hoping.

Tyler Flowers (ATL) 36% owned

 Tyler Flowers started off like a house on fire, though he must have started feeling the heat in July, since his production fell off. He's still hitting near .300, though his power has been lacking. With the rash of injuries that have befallen a lot of the catching options, he's also someone to grab to just fill the lineup slot.

Right now he's hitting .294/9/37, and while he lacks the base-stealing speed to make him a threat like J.T. Realmuto, he's still a very solid option to hold you over for the rest of the season if need be. There are a lot worse choices out there.

James McCann (DET) 35% owned

James McCann has been a hot property lately, with thousands of leagues snapping him up like he's the next coming of Mike Piazza. Well, maybe that's a little bit of hyperbole, but the fact that he drove in five runs on Aug. 12 seems to have sent a lot of fantasy owners into a tizzy.  That and the fact that there seem to be more catchers on the disabled list than actually on the field. It's been so bad that even Matt Wieters is back in favor.

Right now, a lot of owners are just grasping at straws when it comes to catchers, and McCann's .259/11/37 line might not be the most impressive, but right now, if you don't have a top tier catcher that's still injury-free, you're going to want a semi-competent warm body up there and McCann fills the bill. For now.

 

Two-Catcher League Pickups

Manny Pina (MIL) - 16% owned

While Manny Pina isn't hitting .300 anymore,  that's probably a byproduct of his getting more at-bats than usual. He's still had a pretty good past week, having seven RBI in that span.  While he's not up to snuff in a 12+ player league,  he makes a fine addition in a two-catcher league.

Tucker Barnhart (CIN) 15% owned

Tucker Barnhart is another one of those catchers who has seen a somewhat significant increase in ownership numbers. This time, though... it was a pretty good bump, from 1% to 15%. Not exactly an amount that you'd want to hang your hat on as a full-time catcher in a 12-team league. The situation hasn't gotten THAT dire yet... though if a few more catchers get hurt, you might want to reconsider that thinking and promote him to first-string.

Barnhart is getting a lot of playing time because Devin Mesoraco tends to get hurt, and he has done a not-so terrible job, though his .267/5/29 stat line isn't going to bowl anyone over. He's still worth a shot in the two-catcher format, though.

Mike Zunino  (SEA) - 28% owned

Mike Zunino has been moved to the Two-Catcher table because he's cooled off a lot since earlier this year. He does have two homers in the past week, but his batting average is pretty low and he hasn't been consistent enough to warrant being the main catcher on anyone's roster. If he keeps hitting though, we could see him in the other group in a couple of weeks.

 

More Waiver Wire Pickups and Adds




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REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Pius Suter

to Miss at Least Four Weeks
Pyotr Kochetkov

Likely Done for the Season
Josh Morrissey

Expected to Play Monday
Jay Huff

Available Versus Rockets
Karel Vejmelka

Moved to Injured Reserve
Rasmus Dahlin

Expected to Rejoin Sabres Lineup Monday
T.J. McConnell

Available on Monday
Yegor Chinakhov

Penguins Acquire Yegor Chinakhov From Blue Jackets
Al Horford

Back on the Sidelines Monday Night
Ryan Dunn

to Miss Second Straight Game with Knee Injury
Justin Herbert

Won't Face Broncos in Week 18
Jose Alvarado

Serving Suspension on Monday Night
Jerami Grant

Achilles Injury Continues to Sideline Jerami Grant
Jakob Poeltl

Continues to Miss Time with Back Issue
RJ Barrett

Sitting Out Second Night of a Back-to-Back
Marcus Mariota

Considered "a Stretch" to Play in Week 18
Geno Smith

Dealing With Significant Ankle Injury
Mark Williams

Suspended for One Game, Won't Face Washington
Dak Prescott

Will Play in Week 18
Mitchell Robinson

Sidelined Against New Orleans
Jalen Johnson

Under The Weather, Ruled Out on Monday
Lamar Jackson

Week 18 Status "to be Determined"
Khris Middleton

Resting Versus Phoenix
Kyshawn George

Out Again on Monday
Isaiah Hartenstein

Won't Suit Up On Monday
Alperen Sengün

Alperen Sengun Sitting Out Another Game Monday
Trae Young

Ruled Out Monday
Joe Mixon

Won't Return This Season
T.J. Watt

a Long Shot to Play in Week 18?
CFB

Penn State Working to Hire D'Anton Lynn as Next Defensive Coordinator
Joe Burrow

Will Play in Week 18 Against the Browns
CFB

Omar Cooper Expected to be Full-Go for Rose Bowl
CFB

Marcus Freeman Staying with Notre Dame for 2026 Season
CFB

Star Wideout Cam Coleman Entering Transfer Portal
Luther Burden III

Set to Undergo Additional Testing on Quad Injury
Trae Young

Questionable Monday With Quad Contusion
Kirill Marchenko

Scores Twice in Sunday's Win
Josh Giddey

Expected to Suit Up Monday
Alperen Sengün

Alperen Sengun Could Miss Another Game Monday
Justin Brazeau

Pots First Career Hat Trick Sunday
Anthony Davis

Listed as Questionable for Monday
Juraj Slafkovsky

Collects Season-High Three Points in Sunday's Loss
Jalen Suggs

Poised to Miss Seventh Straight Game
Eeli Tolvanen

Continues Scoring Surge With Three-Point Effort
Jack Eichel

to Remain Out Monday
Adam Fox

Nearing Return, Considered Day-to-Day
Josh Morrissey

Considered Day-to-Day After Missing Practice
D'Andre Swift

Finds End Zone Twice in Sunday Night Loss
Luther Burden III

Posts Season-High 138 Yards, Touchdown in Loss
Christian McCaffrey

Racks Up 181 Total Yards, Touchdown in Win Over Bears
Brock Purdy

Delivers Second Straight Five-Touchdown Performance
Parker Washington

Leads Jaguars in Targets, Receptions, and Receiving Yards
Wan'Dale Robinson

Posts Season-High 11 Receptions in Week 17
Josh Allen

Seen Limping From X-Ray Room, Says Foot Injury Didn't Affect Him
Geno Smith

Diagnosed With High-Ankle Sprain
Trey McBride

Sets All-Time Tight End Receptions Record
Geno Smith

Exits Early With Ankle Injury
DJ Moore

Suiting Up Against 49ers on Sunday Night
Ricky Pearsall

Officially Active for Week 17 Against Bears
Matthew Tkachuk

Returns to Practice
Linus Ullmark

Takes Leave of Absence
Travis Sanheim

Good to Go Against Kraken
Nick Foligno

Set to Return Sunday
William Nylander

Out Against Red Wings
Jared McCann

Available Sunday
Vince Dunn

on Track to Return Sunday
Blake Lizotte

Activated From Injured Reserve
CFB

Jay Hill Expected to be Next Michigan Defensive Coordinator
CFB

Michigan Targeting Kyle Whittingham as Next Head Coach
CFB

Texas Leading Rusher Quintrevion Wisner Set to Transfer
Pete Fairbanks

Marlins Agree on One-Year Deal
Brooks Koepka

Leaving LIV Golf
Ryan O'Hearn

Pirates Agree on Two-Year Deal

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