Nick Mariano's 2023 Fantasy Baseball Catcher Rankings

March 14, 2023

2023 fantasy baseball tiered catcher rankings and analysis for 5x5 roto mixed leagues, featuring ranks from RotoBaller's rankings expert Nick Mariano.

While catcher fantasy baseball rankings aren't the flashiest around, they're still a puzzle piece to consider when composing your championship artwork. The landscape changes mightily between one- and two-catcher formats, or for those who play in AL/NL-only leagues.

The majority of you play with one catcher and don't need to wade into the mud of lower-tier speculation, but it's still good to familiarize yourself with potential midseason risers!

Many teams are prioritizing defense and are open to platooning, with the universal designated hitter providing a few more avenues for playing time. Okay, let's start this ranking series with our field generals and get on with a tiered table and analysis.

Catcher Fantasy Baseball Rankings - Roto Leagues

Tier One - Catcher Rankings

The top tier of J.T. Realmuto and Daulton Varsho can provide both power and speed, it’s as simple as that. Realmuto has a likely advantage in batting average, being the only true five-category stalwart at the backstop. But Varsho gets to play the outfield and doesn’t require as much rest as a result.

Whether Toronto utilizes him as such is another story. Varsho had a .553 OPS against lefties in 2022 compared to a .801 mark versus righties. It was only 129 plate appearances and his 90 PAs vs. LHP in ‘21 provided a .819 OPS so I’m hoping Toronto lets him prove he can handle all pitchers.

Tier Two - Catcher Rankings

Salvador Perez battled through a Grade 2 thumb sprain suffered in May that eventually tore completely in June. The will to stay on the field wound up doing some damage, but he came back on July 29 and hit .297 with 12 home runs and 42 RBI over 57 games. That’s roughly 35% of the season and provides ~35 HRs with 100+ RBI over a full 162. I won't be scared off by the full-season .254 average rather than just evaluating his healthy window and the greater body of work.

I won’t have much Will Smith this year. I didn’t last year either. Smith is a good hitter, but the Dodger premium is present and they’ve clogged the DH slot with J.D. Martinez. Instead of DHing on his rest days from catching, Smith will simply sit. He’ll benefit from being their No. 3 hitter, but hovering around 130 games and ~550 PAs can only supply so much. He’s still my No. 4 C, but his overall ADP is usually too rich for me.

Roberts doesn’t “expect J.D. to DH 162. But he’s gonna be the guy who is gonna be in that position 99.9% of the time.”

99:9% x 162 = 161.8. So look for Martinez to DH around 87% of the time, or 141 games, with Will Smith getting most of the rest. #Dodgers

— Howard Cole (@Howard_Cole) February 19, 2023

Tier Three - Catcher Rankings

I like Adley Rutschman and dynasty/keeper teams should love to have him, but I wager he needs a full year of MLB seasoning to hit his stride. Camden Yards doesn’t do any bat favors and plenty of Rutschman’s value comes via defense.

Willson Contreras hitting in a juicy Cardinals lineup helps offset the move to pitcher-friendly Busch. His .224 ISO in 2022 was his best since ‘19 and the 21.1% strikeout rate was his lowest ever. Chipping in 4-5 steals is most welcome too.

Alejandro Kirk in Toronto’s growing offense is mighty valuable, while MJ Melendez could put his foot down on KC’s leadoff spot with a strong April. I'm not holding No. 1 aspirations for either but they're well worth their current ADPs.

Tyler Stephenson is a career .296 hitter over 605 MLB PAs, so it shouldn’t shock anyone that Reds skipper David Bell wants to play him in 140-150 games. Some of that will come at catcher, others at first base and DH. Sniffing 600 PAs with hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark as his home is well worth a mid-round pick.

William Contreras now has the keys to Milwaukee’s catcher job after blossoming into an All-Star in ‘22. He socked 20 home runs in just 97 games, but the floor is lower than some might like with his big-swing approach. I’m comfortable at his usual ADP. And the man stepping into his Atlanta uni, Sean Murphy, is also a strong value. I’d be happy with anyone from this tier as my C1.

Tier Four - Catcher Rankings

Here is where the range of outcomes gets a bit frightful you can still get healthy contributions but you’re likely making sacrifices. For catchers, that usually means do you target power and eat a low average? Guys like Cal Raleigh and Jonah Heim fit that Gary Sanchez-in mold. Or you could find more consistent playing time with Travis d'Arnaud and Danny Jansen.

TdA won’t burn your average alongside modest pop and solid Atlanta R+RBI opportunities, while Jansen socked 15 home runs with a .260 average in just 215 at-bats last year. But how often will the Braves give the DH slot to one of d’Arnaud or Murphy? It depends on the resurgence attempts by Marcell Ozuna and Eddie Rosario. Jansen and Alejandro Kirk can’t simply bounce between C and DH, as a healthy Brandon Belt will be in that rotation. Plan accordingly.

Tier Five - Catcher Rankings

If you’ve waited at catcher then about now is when you decide between an upside dart or mediocre-yet-steady floor production. Will young players such as Francisco Alvarez, Logan O'Hoppe, Gabriel Moreno, and Bo Naylor get an early opportunity to earn a job?

Gabriel Moreno, who was just traded to the Diamondbacks for Daulton Varsho, literally impaled the wall with a baseball once 🤯pic.twitter.com/7f4d223wBV

— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) December 23, 2022

They’re good fliers to stash in one-catcher formats where you can replace them with the “boring” vets. These are your Christian Vazquez, Elias Diaz, and Jose Trevino types. They’re not bad and they’ve got a path to playing, but you know it’s a low-ceiling maneuver.

Tier Six and Below

Those still reading are either in AL/NL-only leagues or deep 2C formats such as NFBC Draft Champions. I salute your insanity. My two favorite late-round C darts are Miami’s Nick Fortes, Tampa Bay’s Christian Bethancourt, and San Diego’s Luis Campusano.

Fortes is the better hitter, runner, and defender compared to Jacob Stallings so I’m hoping they just accept their lot and flip their 1A/1B roles. Fortes had nine home runs and five steals in 217 ABs and could give us a 15/10 season with 350-400 trips to the plate in ‘23.

Bethancourt also had five steals last year, hitting .252 with 11 home runs in 318 ABs. We know Tampa won’t just let one guy run with everyday play, but his limited looks supply worthy numbers. And Campusano could pull a significant chunk of starts away from Austin Nola after Nola slid to a career-worst .649 OPS in ‘22.

Campusano has performed well at Triple-A in ‘21 and ‘22, hitting roughly .300 with 29 home runs over 162 games. But a .510 OPS in 92 MLB PAs dangles the ugly Quad-A moniker, though such a small sample cannot confer that label. San Diego needs to see if he can make the jump in ‘23, making him a good jump in drafts as well. Let's hope for more 450-foot tanks this year!

#Padres 5 @ AZ 4 [T8-1o]:

Luis Campusano homers (1): fly ball to CF (2-run)

Hit: 447ft💣, 109.7mph, 26°🚀

Pitch: 83.2mph Slider (LHP Kyle Nelson, 1)

— Home Run Tracker (@DingerTracker) March 4, 2023

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