It’s time to kick off our yearly preseason fantasy baseball rankings.

The catcher position is quite intriguing. Many of the top catchers are young. You still have guys like Yadier Molina, but the position has gotten younger. There are catchers you can get late in the draft that still have upside.

Defense is en vogue, but teams will still lean on an offensive-minded catcher over a guy who can frame pitches well, but bat doesn’t have much pop.

My rankings are based on a standard 5×5 league. If you have any specific questions about a different league, email me BobbyMcrib@gmail.com.

1. Gary Sanchez – New York Yankees – The guy is hitting homers at an alarming rate. He knocked 33 last season in only 471 at-bats. He was right up there with Mike Trout and Josh Donaldson in home run per attempt last season. It’s hard to believe anyone else would even rate any other catcher #1 this preseason.

2. Buster Posey – San Francisco Giants – If you’re looking for consistency at catcher, Posey is your guy. He’s never going to have a bad season at the plate. Also, barring injury, he’s an automatic 500 at-bats a year since he also plays some first base. The Giants acquired a lot of offense this offseason, so he may even see his offensive numbers jump up a bit. He should see better pitches hitting in a lineup with newly-acquired Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen.

3. Salvador Perez – Kansas City Royals – Starting here is where you will see some differences in ranking fantasy catchers. I went with Perez here due to him playing nearly every day. You’re going to get 20-something homers and he will hit better than .260. Even though the Royals appear to be going into rebuilding mode, I think Perez offensive numbers will stay the same.

4. Willson Contreras – Chicago Cubs – If Contreras was slated to get 500 at-bats a season, he could be as high as #2 on this list, but he will only catch in 75% to 80% of games for the Cubs. He smashes the ball when he makes contact, but his groundball rate is 54.9%. If he can get under a few more balls, his offensive numbers could exceed expectations.

5. J.T. Realmuto – Miami Marlins – I’m a little higher on Realmuto than most. He helps you in nearly every category. He will even steal around ten bags a season, which is great for a catcher. He will play almost every day for the Marlins, who will need his offense to stay competitive. There is a risk they could trade him at some point this season, but since he has an affordable contract, a trade may not be imminent. 

6. Evan Gattis – Houston Astros  – Gattis may not catch a single game this season, but he still has catcher eligibility from last year. Due to Carlos Beltran’s retirement, he is expected to get a lot more at-bats than the 300 he received last season. He is slated to be their primary DH, but that could change at various points in the season. Gattis is extremely streaky and could need a day off here and there as a slump buster. 

7. Yadier Molina – St. Louis Cardinals  – Molina is a safer pick than the next few guys on my list. He had a power explosion last season with 18 homers (the last time he had double-digit homers was 2013). His increased fly ball rate came with a decrease in overall batting average. He still hit .273, but it was his worst average since 2010 and well below his career average. I expect few homers this season and a slight rise in his batting average. He’s 35 years old and having caught 1747 regular season games, he will need to take a few more games off this season.

8. Jonathan Lucroy – Free Agent – How does a guy who is still a free agent land in at #8? Well, I’m a big believer in Lucroy. He did not have a very good season, but I’m writing it off as having bad luck as his BABIP was absurdly low. His bat did have a lot of life in it with the Rockies. I expect him to land somewhere like the A’s who have questions at catcher or a contender like the Mets or Astros could upgrade the position defensively and offensively.

9. Wilson Ramos – Tampa Bay Rays – I’ve had Ramos on many of my past fantasy teams. He’s always been a guy you could stream in and out of your lineup. He bounced back from an ACL injury last season and appeared in 64 games last season. He made his 208 at-bats count by hitting 11 homers. I expect him to have even better numbers with a full season of games.

10. Mike Zunino – Seattle Mariners – If you think Evan Gattis is streaky, Zunino has him beat. He started out last season so poor that he ended up in Triple-A. He corrected his contact issues and once promoted, he hit .270 with 25 homers in only 100 games. He’s a risky pick . The upside is there, but he could start the season slow and never rebound. He was drafted #3 in the 2012 MLB Draft, ahead of guys like Addison Russell and Corey Seager. Scouts have been waiting on him to peak, but there’s still a ton of risk with him. He could easily tank your team batting average in Roto. Thanks to last season’s .251 season batting average, he padded his career average to an almost Mendoza-level .209.

11. Welington Castillo – Chicago White Sox – Castillo has all the tools to be an outstanding catcher in fantasy, but he hasn’t done it for an entire season. The most games he’s played in a season was 113, which was two years ago with Arizona. He will exceed that this season on a bad White Sox team. Will he hit a wall? That’s a question mark you will need to as yourself before selecting Castillo to be your starting catcher or a high-level backup.

12. Brian McCann – Houston Astros – McCann was almost an automatic 450+ at-bat player, but due to concussion issues, he only had 349 at-bats last season. He still nearly hit 20 homers, so his bat still has some power left in it. I do worry about his batting average taking another hit. He’s been a .230 to .242 hitter since leaving the Braves. McCann should find his way into the lineup five or six times a week, so the volume should be there for fantasy owners.

13. Austin Hedges – San Diego Padres – Hedges worked on his swing this offseason. He has never been much of a contact hitter in the Majors, but his new modified swing should let him hit the ball with more consistency. He hit 18 homers last season, so let’s hope his swing improvements won’t be a power killer. He should be the primary catcher for the Padres, so he’s a worthy backup in fantasy.

14. Yasmani Grandal – Los Angeles Dodgers – If Grandal was the primary catcher for the Dodgers, he would be a top-ten fantasy catcher, but the Dodgers are planning on splitting time at catcher with youngster Austin Barnes. The Dodgers have Cody Bellinger at first base, so there’s no plan on getting Grandal reps there on non-catching days. He will end up with around 350 at-bats and double-digit homers.

15. Russell Martin – Toronto Blue Jays – Martin is showing signs of wear and tear at the plate. His contact rate has taken a nose dive. He still has double-digit power, but I wouldn’t expect a 20 homer season from Martin. He’s a good backup, but his batting average could be a deterrent.

16. Austin Barnes – Los Angeles Dodgers – The upside is there with Barnes, but since the Dodgers are favorites in the West, I don’t see them making any huge moves to shakeup chemistry. Barnes will serve as backup unless Grandal is injured or the Dodgers decide to move him. Barnes is definitely the future, but I’m not sure if they are ready for him right now. They said the same about Cody Bellinger last season, but an injury forced their hand and he was a stud rookie for them. Barnes could even end up with eligibility at other positions as they used him in the field a little last year.

17. Travis d’Arnaud – New York Mets – d’Arnaud is trying his best to shake off the shame of not living up to his ridiculous prospect expectations. He has taken strides to make better contact and even hit .264 in the second-half last season. He is expected to be in a split with Kevin Plawecki, but d’Arnaud is battling him for only a slight edge in playing time.

18. Robinson Chirinos – Texas Rangers – Chirinos starts out the season as a fringe backup catcher in fantasy, but has a lot of upside. He’s been a pretty darn good hitter when he’s healthy. Also, after the Rangers traded Lucroy midseason, he turned himself into a contact hitter. He still has some power in his bat, but made some adjustments midseason to become a better overall hitter. He’s an interesting backup in fantasy and could pay dividends if he stays healthy.

19. Matt Wieters – Washington Nationals – I think the days of Wieters being a rostered catcher in fantasy could be near their end. He struggled at every aspect of the game last season. He will still start off the season as the Nationals primary catcher, but Miguel Montero and Pedro Severino are breathing down his neck. He’s a risky pick late in drafts, but he could have one or two more decent good seasons left in him. Will he be a fantasy zombie?

20. Yan Gomes – Cleveland Indians – He’s battling Roberto Perez for the primary catcher role. Gomes struggled mightily to start off the year last year. He did bounce back, but still only managed a .232 average on the year. He is expected to beat Perez out for the starting role, but it will still only be a 60/40 playing advantage. Gomes does have experience at first base, so he could find some extra at-bats there if Perez or prospect Francisco Mejia takes over the role. 

21. Chris Iannetta – Colorado Rockies
22. Alex Avila – Arizona Diamondbacks
23. Francisco Cervelli – Pittsburgh Pirates
24. James McCann – Detroit Tigers
25. Jason Castro – Minnesota Twins
26. Martin Maldonado – Los Angeles Angels
27. Stephen Vogt – Milwaukee Brewers
28. Tyler Flowers – Atlanta Braves
29. Tucker Barnhart – Cincinnati Reds
30. Jorge Alfaro – Philadelphia Phillies

The ten catchers above all fall under the umbrella of ‘serviceable catchers, but little upside.’ I would say Cervelli might be the guy in that group that has the most upside of regaining his past form. Vogt, Flowers and Barnhart are all the primary catchers for their teams, but they have veterans breathing down their necks.

31. Manny Pina – Milwaukee Brewers
32. Chance Sisco – Baltimore Orioles
33. Kurt Suzuki – Atlanta Braves
34. Christian Vazquez – Boston Red Sox
35. Cameron Rupp – Philadelphia Phillies
36. Nick Hundley – San Francisco Giants
37. Devin Mesoraco – Cincinnati Reds
38. Bruce Maxwell – Oakland A’s
39. Roberto Perez – Cleveland Indians
40. Caleb Joseph – Baltimore Orioles

The group of ten above all have question marks about their playing time. Chance Sisco and Bruce Maxwell should win the role of starting for their teams, but Sisco has serviceable guys behind him and Maxwell was hit with a gun charge. He could find himself suspended for a period of time. I’d love to see Mesoraco bounce back, but after two major hip injuries, I don’t think he would hold up as a primary catcher.

41. Tony Wolters – Colorado Rockies
42. Sandy Leon – Boston Red Sox
43. Mitch Garver – Minnesota Twins
44. Miguel Montero – Washington Nationals
45. Carson Kelly – St. Louis Cardinals
46. Kevin Plawecki – New York Mets
47. Tom Murphy – Colorado Rockies
48. Jesus Sucre – Tampa Bay Rays
49. Josh Phegley – Oakland A’s
50. Derek Norris – Detroit Tigers

The final ten guys are players you need to know exist. All of these guys are backups, but someone like Leon, Montero or even Sucre could find themselves with a larger role due to injuries or ineffectiveness. As you can see, if Chris Iannetta lands on the DL, the Rockies have a couple options that could step in.

I hope you enjoyed our 2018 Fantasy Baseball Top 50 Catchers rankings. We are planning on doing this for every position (the outfielder and pitcher rankings will be massive).

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About the Author…

Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.