As we enter the final stretch for drafting it is time to take a look at the latest iteration of points leagues rankings from our amazing hard working rankings staff. Few things in fantasy baseball are more miserable for many than discussing catchers, with perhaps just injuries and suspensions taking the crown. However, getting the right catcher can be important as there can be wild swings in the points to plate appearance ratios among the position. Fortunately, in most points leagues you only need to go 12 deep because this is a position where it gets extremely messy once you get past the top-10.
Points leagues are always tough to assess because there are so many different variations that can be used. Many leagues use fairly similar settings, with slight variations when it comes to stolen bases or walks. However, some leagues really like to put a twist on certain elements. Therefore, it is crucial to know your league and then to use these rankings as a base to adjust off to optimize them for your draft.
Keep an eye out for all other positions to follow and without any more delay, let's take a look at the 2019 catcher points league rankings for March.
Catcher Tiered Ranks - H2H Points Leagues (March)
In case you missed it, our very own "Big Pick Nick" Mariano was recently named the #1 overall most accurate industry expert ranker for the 2018 season. You can see his secret sauce below! Additionally, industry legend Scott Engel recently joined the RotoBaller team and provides his insights as well. Scott is an FSWA Hall Of Famer and award winner.
Ranking | Tier | Player Name | Position | Nick | JB | Bill |
1 | 1 | J.T. Realmuto | C/1B | 93 | 88 | 114 |
2 | 1 | Gary Sanchez | C | 99 | 112 | 122 |
3 | 2 | Wilson Ramos | C | 139 | 163 | 176 |
4 | 2 | Yadier Molina | C | 182 | 175 | 170 |
5 | 2 | Buster Posey | C/1B | 232 | 162 | 152 |
6 | 2 | Yasmani Grandal | C | 204 | 182 | 185 |
7 | 3 | Willson Contreras | C | 205 | 180 | 200 |
8 | 3 | Danny Jansen | C | 263 | 248 | 326 |
9 | 4 | Welington Castillo | C | 274 | 293 | #N/A |
10 | 4 | Tucker Barnhart | C/1B | 308 | 307 | #N/A |
11 | 4 | Francisco Cervelli | C | 307 | 312 | 324 |
12 | 4 | Yan Gomes | C | 366 | 285 | #N/A |
13 | 4 | Mike Zunino | C | 360 | 300 | #N/A |
14 | 5 | Jorge Alfaro | C | 362 | 305 | 335 |
15 | 5 | Francisco Mejia | C | 419 | 279 | 330 |
16 | 5 | Willians Astudillo | C | 485 | 272 | 337 |
17 | 5 | Robinson Chirinos | C | 440 | 319 | #N/A |
18 | 5 | Isiah Kiner-Falefa | C/2B/3B | 475 | 342 | 323 |
19 | 5 | Austin Hedges | C | 452 | 325 | #N/A |
20 | 5 | Kurt Suzuki | C | 402 | 377 | #N/A |
21 | 5 | Austin Barnes | C | 490 | 373 | 352 |
22 | 5 | Omar Narvaez | C | 468 | 372 | #N/A |
23 | 5 | John Hicks | C/1B | 466 | 382 | #N/A |
24 | 6 | Jonathan Lucroy | C | 517 | 385 | #N/A |
25 | 6 | Tyler Flowers | C | 554 | 357 | #N/A |
26 | 6 | Brian McCann | C | #N/A | 458 | #N/A |
27 | 6 | Russell Martin | C | #N/A | 461 | #N/A |
28 | 6 | Grayson Greiner | C | #N/A | 469 | #N/A |
29 | 6 | Elias Diaz | C | 556 | 390 | #N/A |
30 | 6 | Chris Iannetta | C | 568 | 387 | #N/A |
31 | 6 | Blake Swihart | C/OF | #N/A | 498 | #N/A |
32 | 6 | Carson Kelly | C | 593 | 424 | #N/A |
33 | 6 | Jason Castro | C | #N/A | 528 | #N/A |
34 | 6 | Mitch Garver | C | 624 | 432 | #N/A |
35 | 6 | Manny Pina | C | #N/A | 529 | #N/A |
36 | 6 | Christian Vazquez | C | 604 | 457 | #N/A |
37 | 6 | Chance Sisco | C | 615 | 472 | #N/A |
38 | 6 | Max Stassi | C | #N/A | 545 | #N/A |
39 | 7 | Austin Romine | C | #N/A | 548 | #N/A |
40 | 7 | Martin Maldonado | C | 571 | 530 | #N/A |
41 | 7 | Kevin Plawecki | C | #N/A | 554 | #N/A |
42 | 7 | Tom Murphy | C | #N/A | 555 | #N/A |
43 | 7 | James McCann | C | #N/A | 558 | #N/A |
44 | 7 | Matt Wieters | C | #N/A | 565 | #N/A |
45 | 7 | Travis D'Arnaud | C | #N/A | 575 | #N/A |
46 | 7 | Nick Hundley | C | #N/A | 580 | #N/A |
47 | 7 | Victor Caratini | C/1B | #N/A | 585 | #N/A |
48 | 7 | Austin Wynns | C | #N/A | 588 | #N/A |
49 | 7 | Cam Gallagher | C | 588 | #N/A | #N/A |
50 | 7 | Taylor Ward | C | 598 | #N/A | #N/A |
Catcher Rankings Analysis - H2H Points Leagues (March)
Tier One
Realmuto is maybe the safest catcher this season, and Sanchez may be the one with the most upside. Realmuto's value is spread evenly across all of the elements that make up scoring points in this format. He does not excel at any one thing but he is also not dreadful at anything. Sanchez's power makes him the big upside play here. However, some of that power is negated but having the highest strikeout percentage at the position (24%). Whether they are a tier to unto themselves is a question mark for me.
Tier Two
This tier should arguably be one big tier with the group above. Ramos has the batting average and power upside, but just needs to stay on the field. Molina is much like Realmuto in that he just does everything well without excelling at any one thing. By the same vein he also does not have anything that lets him down either.
Posey might be the surprise candidate to jump back to the top of the rankings. His BB:K ratio is good enough that it negates the negative effect of his waning power. Grandal is the lowest of the bunch as he will likely rival Sanchez for strikeouts, but does not have the same huge power upside that Sanchez has. If anyone of these six should be in a separate tier then it may be Grandal.
Tier Three
Contreras is certainly interesting but his lack of true power upside combined with a strikeout rate which ranks among the worst at the position limits his upside. Jansen is an unknown commodity, but he plays in a good hitters park and comes into the majors having posted a 12.5% walk rate and just a 13.5% strikeout rate in Triple-A last season.
Tier Four
Barnhart, Cervelli and Castillo are all fairly similar in their value. All have some injury risk but all should give fairly good returns on a per PA basis. The odd one out for me is Gomes. The Nationals catcher doesn't strikeout out as much as the others in this tier. but he also does not really walk and he lacks power or doubles upside.
Tier Five and below
The stand out names once we reach this point are Suzuki, Narvaez, Lucroy and Chirinos. Suzuki has value thanks to his low strikeout rate, while Narvaez and Lucroy should have decent BB:K ratios. Chirinos is the power contributor of this group, and he plays in the best lineup. However, his strikeout floor keeps him down in tier five and away from the safer guys in the tier above.
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