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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

Coby White

Could Make Season Debut Sunday
Josh Giddey

Set to Return Sunday
Zion Williamson

Tagged as Questionable for Sunday
Ja Morant

Exits With Calf Injury Saturday
Alex Caruso

Injures Hand, Won't Return Saturday
Domantas Sabonis

Considered Questionable for Sunday
Paolo Banchero

Out Again on Sunday
Anthony Davis

Listed as Doubtful for Sunday
Aaron Nesmith

Ruled Out for at Least Four Weeks
Victor Wembanyama

Questionable for Sunday
Tari Eason

to Miss 4-6 Weeks
Julian Strawther

Will Play on Saturday Versus the Timberwolves
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Out With Illness Saturday
Cameron Johnson

Ruled Out on Saturday Evening
Rui Hachimura

Won't Play on Saturday
Giannis Antetokounmpo

Officially Available Versus the Lakers
Jeff Skinner

Placed on Injured Reserve
Nikola Jokić

Nikola Jokic Available on Saturday Night
Matt Duchene

Continues to Sit Saturday
Thomas Harley

a Game-Time Call Saturday
Kaapo Kakko

Out Week-to-Week
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Starts on Saturday
John Carlson

Out on Saturday
Rasmus Dahlin

Rejoins Sabres Lineup Saturday
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to Miss Eight Weeks After Finger Surgery
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Will Return Versus Charlotte
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Remains Out on Saturday Night
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Available Against Cleveland
Sam LaPorta

Placed on Injured Reserve
J.K. Dobbins

Will Undergo Season-Ending Surgery to Repair "Significant" Foot Injury
Tyler Bertuzzi

a Game-Time Call Saturday
Andre Burakovsky

Available Saturday
Alex Nedeljkovic

Available for Saturday's Action
Filip Hronek

Pulled by Concussion Spotter Friday
Jesperi Kotkaniemi

Hurts Ankle in Friday's Win
Seth Jarvis

Not Expected to Be Out for Long
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Garrett Nussmeier Doubtful vs. Arkansas On Saturday
Edwin Díaz

Blue Jays Interested in Signing Edwin Diaz?
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Edwin Díaz

Edwin Diaz Named NL Reliever of the Year
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Bill Belichick Won't Pursue NFL Head-Coaching Vacancies
Khalil Shakir

in the Clear to Play in Week 11
Bam Knight

Considered Questionable for Week 11
Brian Thomas Jr.

Tagged as Questionable for Week 11
Calvin Ridley

Listed as Questionable for Week 11
John Gibson

Fine for Saturday
Kaiden Guhle

Ruled Out for 8-10 Weeks
Justin Thomas

Will Miss Start Of 2026 After Undergoing Back Surgery
Alex Newhook

to Miss Four Months With Broken Ankle
Marco Rossi

Out Week-to-Week
J.K. Dobbins

Out in Week 11 and for "Foreseeable Future"
Zach Hyman

Set for Season Debut Saturday
Jack Hughes

Sustains Non-Hockey Hand Injury
Quinn Hughes

a Game-Time Decision Friday
Rashod Bateman

Ruled Out for Week 11
Sam LaPorta

Ruled Out for Week 11 With Back Injury
Isiah Pacheco

Officially Ruled Out for Week 11
Trey Hendrickson

Shemar Stewart Both Out for Week 11
Jaxson Dart

Officially Ruled Out for Week 11 Due to Concussion
Darius Slayton

Ruled Out for Sunday
Davante Adams

Questionable for Sunday but Expected to Play
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Michael Morales

Looks To Remain Undefeated
Lamar Jackson

Ready to Roll for Sunday
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Sean Brady

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Quentin Johnston

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Aaron Judge

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Raisel Iglesias

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Pete Alonso

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Kodai Senga

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Paul Skenes

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Tarik Skubal

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CFB

Still No Update on Jermod McCoy's Return Timeline
Sami Valimaki

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Matthieu Pavon

Struggling Through a Rough Season
Taylor Montgomery

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Ben Martin

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Mark Hubbard

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Lee Hodges

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Stephen Vogt

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Patrick Fishburn

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Eric Cole

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Tommy Edman

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Ketel Marte

Diamondbacks Unlikely to Trade Ketel Marte
Roman Anthony

to Have a Normal Offseason
Sahith Theegala

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Sam Stevens

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RANKINGS

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