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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

Davante Adams

Not Expected to Play in Week 18
Stephon Castle

Active on Wednesday
Tyler Kolek

Elevated to Available on Wednesday
Tari Eason

Questionable Versus Brooklyn
Tobias Harris

Not Expected to Suit Up on Thursday
Ariel Hukporti

Available For Wednesday
Alperen Sengün

Alperen Sengun Questionable Versus Brooklyn
Mason Plumlee

Undergoes Groin Surgery
Zach Collins

Out at Least 10 More Days
Jerami Grant

Unavailable Again on Wednesday
Geno Smith

Won't Play in Week 18
Aaron Rodgers

Considering Playing Beyond 2025?
Sean Monahan

Sits Out Wednesday's Game
Zach Werenski

Misses Fourth Straight Game Wednesday
Dougie Hamilton

Questionable Wednesday
Radko Gudas

Expected to Remain Out Wednesday
Stefon Diggs

Expected to Play in Week 18
Ilya Lyubushkin

Back From One-Game Absence Wednesday
Alex Lyon

to Miss "Bit of Time"
Erik Cernak

Rejoins Lightning Lineup Wednesday
Christian McCaffrey

Trending to Play in Week 18
Kon Knueppel

To Make Return For Charlotte On Wednesday, In Starting Lineup
Jalen Hurts

Eagles Expected to Rest Jalen Hurts, Most Starters in Week 18
George Kittle

49ers Will be "Very Surprised" if George Kittle Doesn't Play on Saturday
Marvin Harrison Jr.

Ruled Out for Regular-Season Finale
CFB

Lane Kiffin Interested in Sam Leavitt, Brendan Sorsby at LSU
Shakir Mukhamadullin

Questionable Wednesday
Adam Gaudette

Unavailable Wednesday
Darcy Kuemper

Activated From Injured Reserve
Alex Lyon

Nursing Lower-Body Injury
William Karlsson

to Miss Olympics
Jack Eichel

a Game-Time Decision Wednesday
Jason Dickinson

Hurt Versus Islanders
Mitchell Robinson

Sits Out Wednesday's Game
Grayson Allen

Listed as Doubtful Wednesday
Mason Plumlee

Ryan Kalkbrenner, Mason Plumlee Remain Out Wednesday
Kon Knueppel

Likely to Return Wednesday
Miles Bridges

Listed as Questionable Wednesday
Isaiah Hartenstein

Misses Second Straight Game
Devin Vassell

Ruled Out for Wednesday
Stephon Castle

Iffy for Wednesday
Josh Giddey

Sidelined "at Least a Few Weeks"
Desmond Bane

Might Miss Wednesday's Game in Indiana
Jalen Suggs

on the Injury Report Again for Wednesday Night
Connor Dewar

Available Tuesday
TOR

Chris Tanev to Miss Time With Lower-Body Injury
Dakota Joshua

Out With Kidney Problem
MON

Samuel Montembeault Returns to Canadiens Crease
Erik Karlsson

Good to Go Tuesday
William Nylander

Misses Second Consecutive Game
Auston Matthews

a Game-Time Call Tuesday
CFB

Deuce Knight Officially Entering Transfer Portal
CFB

Kewan Lacy Expected to Be Full-Go Against Georgia
Stefon Diggs

Facing Strangulation, Assault Charges
CFB

Chip Kelly Named Northwestern Offensive Coordinator
Riley Leonard

Will Start Against the Texans
Bijan Robinson

Explodes for 229 Total Yards, Two Touchdowns on Monday Night
Davante Adams

Officially Out on Monday Night
Drake London

Active Against Rams
Justin Herbert

Won't Face Broncos in Week 18
Marcus Mariota

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

Dealing With Significant Ankle Injury
Dak Prescott

Will Play in Week 18
Lamar Jackson

Week 18 Status "to be Determined"
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
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

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