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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

Nic Dowd

Out Against Lightning
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Good to Go Saturday
Gavin Brindley

to Sit Out at Least Two Games
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Available Against Sharks
Roman Josi

Returns From 12-Game Absence
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Out Saturday
Kawhi Leonard

Anticipated to Return on Sunday
J.T. Miller

Won't Play Against Mammoth
Brenton Strange

Activated Off Injured Reserve, Will Play vs. Arizona
Chris Godwin

Expected to Play in Week 12
Kawhi Leonard

Sidelined for Saturday's Game Against Hornets
Joe Burrow

Won't Be Activated This Week
Tre Mann

Dealing With Ankle Soreness
Jaden Ivey

Could Make Season Debut Soon
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Listed as Questionable for Saturday
Aaron Gordon

Expected to Miss Time With Hamstring Injury
Matas Buzelis

Leaves Friday's Game Early With Ankle Issue
Gabriel Vilardi

Has Two Goals in Losing Effort
Jordan Staal

Provides Two Goals in Friday's Win
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Shuts Out Penguins Friday
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Pots Two Goals Friday Night
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Ruled Out Against Pelicans
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Cleared to Play Friday with Planned Minutes Limit
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Cleared to Face Phoenix
Coby White

Ruled Out for Friday's Game Against Miami
Jarrett Allen

Ruled Out on Friday
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Doubtful as Grizzlies Face Mavericks
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Rangers Non-Tender Adolis Garcia on Friday
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Cleared to Play on Friday, Expected to See Limited Action
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to Miss Friday's Game Against Raptors
Auston Matthews

Doubtful for Saturday
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Ruled Out for Week 12
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Ruled Out for a Second Straight Game
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Could Return Saturday
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Out for Six Months After Surgery
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Officially Questionable for Week 12
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Expected to Play Through Groin Issue Saturday
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Available for Friday's Matchup
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Labeled as "Day-to-Day"
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Available Friday
Connor Hellebuyck

to Miss 4-6 Weeks
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Cleared From Injury Report Ahead of Week 12
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Ruled Out for Week 12
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Josh Jacobs

Officially Questionable to Play in Week 12
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Cleared to Return From Hamstring Injury in Week 12
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"Good to Go" for Week 12
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Officially Questionable to Play in Week 12
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"Trending in the Right Direction," Officially Questionable
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Drake London

Officially Ruled Out for Week 12
CFB

Beau Pribula Expected to Start Against Oklahoma
Aaron Rodgers

Questionable to Play Against Bears
Rhamondre Stevenson

Expected to Return in Week 12
Dan Hooker

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Arman Tsarukyan

Looks To Extend His Win Streak
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A Favorite At UFC Qatar
Belal Muhammad

Looks To Bounce Back
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Looking to Regain Form at RSM Classic
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Joel Dahmen

Trying to Find Form at the RSM Classic
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Garrett Nussmeier Doubtful to Play Against Western Kentucky
Michael Thorbjornsen

Hopes to End 2025 Campaign With Another Solid Finish
Andrew Novak

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Harry Higgs

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PGA

Nico Echavarria has the Potential to Contend at the RSM Classic
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Cameron Champ

on the PGA Tour Card Bubble
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Taylor Ward

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Brandon Woodruff

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Si Woo Kim

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Mackenzie Hughes

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Islam Makhachev

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Zhang Weili

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Valentina Shevchenko

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