Catchers to Stream - Week 19 Waiver Wire

It's your resident catcher advocate here, with my weekly defense for baseball's most maligned position. Instead of giving into easy narratives about the lack of talent at the catcher position and how they're the kickers of fantasy baseball, I'm here to create a place where catchers are celebrated for how they can help our teams.

Each week, I will take a look at the upcoming schedule ahead and give you my favorite streaming options at catcher. By looking at lineup trends, amount of games ahead, the location of the games, and potential pitching matchups, I'll try to guide you towards catchers that I think can be most useful for you in the upcoming week. For each catcher listed, I'll also add a chart that will provide you with data about the potential opposing pitchers that I think are meaningful in terms of allowing potential fantasy production. Plus, I'll also give a short explanation about why this catcher made the list. Every week I'll also look back at my previous recommendations so that we can have some transparency about what's working or not.

Since many fantasy managers will pay no attention to the catcher spot, your ability to constantly look for the best matchups will be a good way to get an advantage over your competition.

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Last Week Check-In

This does not include stats from Sunday 8/1

• Alejandro Kirk (4 starts) 4-13, 1 Run (LOSS - hasn't hit the ground running off the IL)
• Mitch Garver (3 starts) 3-14, 1 HR, 2 Runs, 5 RBI (WIN - hold if you can but this week will be tough)
• Jacob Stallings (4 starts) 3-16, 1 Run, 1 RBI (LOSS - never again)
• Daulton Varsho (4 starts) 3- 14, 1 HR, 4 Runs, 1 RBI (WIN for the power and runs)
• Austin Nola (2 starts) 3-10, 1 RBI (PUSH - the average was good but not enough ABs)

SEASON STREAMING RECORD: 39-35

All matchup projections are made in conjunction with Roster Resource Probables Grid

Week Nineteen Catcher Waiver Wire (8/2 - 8/8)

For the purposes of this article, we are considering a "streaming catcher" one who is rostered in under 50% of Yahoo! leagues. Whether or not these catchers will be useful for you will depend entirely on your league size and the number of catchers you need to play. In order to help, I will keep a weekly list of "Untouchables," meaning catchers who, in my opinion, should NOT (if healthy) be dropped for a streaming option.

Untouchables: Catchers who shouldn't be dropped for streamers in any format: J.T. Realmuto, Salvador Perez, Willson Contreras, Will Smith, Omar Narvaez, Christian Vazquez, Eric Haase, and Buster Posey.

Daulton Varsho, Arizona Diamondbacks

44% Rostered

Daulton Varsho is second among all catchers in wRC+ over the last two weeks, which simply means what we all know: he's hitting the ball very well. Over that span, the rookie is hitting .375/.487/.844 with four home runs, 11 Runs, nine RBI, and a stolen base for good measure. Considering his ability to also play outfield, Varsho is in the lineup pretty much every day, which makes him more valuable than your average catcher considering he gets more plate appearances to accrue more counting stats.

So, while the schedule above isn't overly enticing, I think Varsho is still a clear play at the catcher position given his hot bat and locked-in lineup spot. Then, you have to take a look at the fact that many of these pitchers - Kevin Gausman, Yu Darvish, Alex Wood - have been inconsistent of late, so we can't guarantee that Varsho is going to get a top-notch effort against him. Chris Paddack has also recently been battling injury, so his start might wind up being a bullpen game or a AAA call-up, which would mean that Varsho could end the week strong.

Max Stassi, Los Angeles Angels

25% Rostered

Stassi is 7th among all catchers in wRC+ over the last two weeks, hitting .313/.389/.594 with two home runs and five RBI. He also benefits from the fact that the Angels wound up not selling at the deadline; however, the lineup figures to be without Mike Trout, Jared Walsh, and Anthony Rendon next week. That obviously hurts what Stassi can bring you in the counting categories, but the man swings a potent bat, which is not something you can say for most of the catchers available in under 50% of leagues. The Angels also get seven games next week, which is a big bonus and will play four of them against a pretty mediocre Texas Rangers rotation.

Without Kyle Gibson, who was pitching over his head anyways, Stassi gets a cushy lineup of starters to face, including two lefties. He will also get two lefties when he faces the Dodgers and figures to avoid Max Scherzer, Walker Buehler, and Clayton Kershaw, who suffered a slight setback in his return to the mound. While the Dodgers aren't a great matchup, facing Tony Gonsolin, David Price, and Julio Urias isn't something that makes you run for the hills. I'll trust Stassi's bat and run him out there this week.

(UPDATE: With Tony Gonsolin also finding his way to the IL, we don't yet know who will start for the Dodgers in that Friday game). 

Elias Diaz, Colorado Rockies

7% Rostered

This one is pretty simple, Diaz plays six games in Coors and against that schedule you see above. Diaz has been quietly having a great month, hitting .279 in July with seven home runs, 11 Runs, 12 RBIs, and a .961 OPS. That makes him the 6th-best qualified catcher, according to wRC+ in the month of July. So now you take a top-10 offensive catcher (for now) and put him in Coors Field against this slate of arms? How could you not be interested?

Sandy Alcantara is certainly not a pitcher we want to attack, and Jesus Luzardo has always had immense potential, but it's hard to believe the Marlins have fixed what ailed Luzardo already, and the Cubs series is a gift to Diaz. Alec Mills has begun to pitch better of late, but Jake Arrieta and Zach Davies have been subpar for most of the year, and the HR/FB% issues amongst this group are real. I'm expecting a multi-homer week for Diaz this week.

If you're thinking long-term... 

My final recommendation is to stash Keibert Ruiz. The catcher has found his power stroke, hitting .311 with 16 home runs and a .631 slugging percentage this season, and now has nobody blocking him since he was traded from the Dodgers to the Nationals. As of this writing, there has been no indication of when he will be called up, so I can't make him a full-on recommendation, but I think he's somebody who could be a real difference-maker down the stretch.

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