Top 20 Catchers for 2025 Fantasy Baseball, A Recap

Please don’t ask if this is a ranking for next year. It’s not a ranking for next year. It’s me recapping last season. Please, for the love that all is holy, understand this. It’s all I ask of you. Well, that and shower me with praise. The latter isn’t hard, the former is. Also, remembering which is the ‘latter’ and which is the ‘former’ is hard too. Quibbles and semantics, my good man and six lady-mans (we gained one this year!). It wouldn’t be fair for me to preseason rank the players, then rank them again in the postseason based on my opinion, so these postseason top 20 lists are ranked according to our Fantasy Baseball Player Rater. It’s cold hard math, y’all! Anyway, here’s the top 20 catchers for 2025 fantasy baseball and how they compared to where I originally ranked them:

1. Cal Raleigh – It came right down to the final weekend to decide which catcher would be the best catcher this year in fantasy. The final weekend of April. Sometime during the final weekend of the season, I decided Cal Raleigh should be the AL MVP (in real baseball). Are Judge’s stats better? Yes. So, give him a Best Stats Award. Congrats on the BSA! Hope you hang your BSA next to your other MVP awards! Why did I land on Cal being the MVP like a fly lands on his big, soft, pillowy butt? Time is fleeting and I became an old-timer with a giant heart the shape of a butt — one of the best Nirvana songs! — and The Ass Man’s narrative is better than Judge’s. First division win for the Mariners in a generation; 60 homers; first non-Yankees player to hit 60 homers in the AL (that’s insane alone) and he was a catcher. Dump! Dump! Dump! Give Dumper the MVP! Though, Judge’s stats were better. As for my projections vs. what happened, Raleigh hit twice as many homers as I projected, and that is so ludicrous. It’s not like I projected him for five and he hit ten. It’s always crazy who excels their previous numbers with an insane year, we should call that The Brady Anderson, and Cal’s insane year might be the Bradiest. As I’ve been saying all year, if you drafted Raleigh, that is the ultimate You Lucked Out. Sure, you might’ve wanted him in drafts, but zero people entered their draft like, “I have to get Cal Raleigh, no matter the cost.” He was merely one catcher amongst about ten of them you would’ve been fine drafting. The Ass Man stands alone. Preseason Rank #4, 2025 Projections: 71/30/87/.234/3 in 527 ABs, Final Numbers: 110/60/125/.247/14 in 596 ABs

2. Hunter Goodman – So, I will say this a lot in my recaps, but the spirit of the law says I was completely wrong on Goodman — preseason rank 26? That’s way off! — but my general sentiment with catchers is draft whomever, or pick up whomever in shallower leagues, and I drafted Goodman in numerous leagues and picked him up the first week in my RCL, dropping Logan O’Hoppe, who O’Hopped off a cliff, not even making this top 20. And that, boys and six girls, is how you can be wrong about a preseason rank and projections but pretend you’re right. Preseason Rank #26, 2025 Projections: 49/17/56/.203/1 in 366  ABs, Final Numbers: 73/31/91/.278/1 in 540 ABs

3. Shea Langeliers – I told you to draft him at 170 overall instead of The Badongadong’s ADP of 100, and spiritually I was right again, and I only cost you about $30 in Player Rater, or the difference between Andrew Benintendi and JRod. Preseason Rank #8, 2025 Projections:  59/27/71/.236/3 in 444 ABs, Final Numbers: 73/31/72/.277/7 in 481 ABs

4. William Contreras – He was not that far off from my projections and what happened. Unfortch for him, catchers had got a huge (butt) injection. Catchers were officially better at the top four than 2nd basemen. 2nd basemen were pathetic, though, so don’t take it as a compliment for catchers. Preseason Rank #1, 2025 Projections: 86/20/74/.286/7 in 559 ABs, Final Numbers: 89/17/76/.260/6 in 566 ABs

5. Salvador Perez – His lack of runs should be studied in a lab. Feed a hamster a plate of spaghetti and meatballs, then see how well it runs on its little wheel. Preseason Rank #3, 2025 Projections:  56/25/91/.266 in 572 ABs, Final Numbers: 54/30/100/.236 in 597 ABs

6. Willson Contreras – Wow, nailed his preseason ranking and projection! Show me what I win…[the box from the end of the movie Seven is wheeled in front of me]…what’s in the box?! C’mon! Tell me! Preseason Rank #6, 2025 Projections: 68/20/71/.251/6 in 504 ABs, Final Numbers: 70/20/80/.257/5 in 490 ABs

7. Ben Rice – Don’t feel remorse about not ranking Rice in the preseason. He was pickupable (totally a word!) in most leagues and his role as a catcher was not knowable in the preseason. So, I missed on him, but it was reasonable why I did. Aaron Boone didn’t even know Rice was his catcher, and he’s the Yankees manager! Well, Boone not knowing something is actually not a reason to not know something. Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 74/26/65/.255/3 in 467 ABs

8. Agustin Ramirez – I talk above and below about being spiritually right like I’m Whoopi in the movie Ghost and take no responsibility for missing on guys, but I missed on Ramirez. Still remember frequent commenter, Oaktown Steve, drafting Ramirez in one of our NFBC leagues and me being confused as to why. Was not on my radar at all. Mea culpa. Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 72/21/67/.231/16 in 537 ABs

9. Ivan Herrera – Talking about Herrera together with Drake Baldwin to say, there was no way of knowing their playing time in the preseason. I had better feelings for Herrera than Baldwin, but not this good. This shows you that if you get around 400 ABs as a catcher, it’s hard to not be a top ten catcher, as long as you’re not completely fall on your face bad. Preseason Rank #15, 2025 Projections: 56/10/49/.282/10 in 389 ABs, Final Numbers: 54/19/66/.284/8 in 388 ABs

10. Drake Baldwin – Pretty much covered him in the Herrera blurb, but I will add specifically about Baldwin, I still don’t know his playing time when Sean Murphy returns next year. Preseason Rank #29, 2025 Projections: 33/9/34/.241/1 in 293 ABs, Final Numbers: 56/19/80/.274 in 405 ABs

11. Will Smith – He actually had a better season than his stats reflect, because he missed time with injuries and only had 362 ABs. This isn’t me justifying my projections and rankings this time. Okay, of course it is! If it’s not clear, there were 11 catchers this year worth rostering. There’s a huge difference between this point and Yainer to the end. Preseason Rank #7, 2025 Projections:  73/22/78/.257/2 in 461 ABs, Final Numbers: 64/17/61/.296/2 in 362 ABs

12. Yainer Diaz – See, unlike not taking blame on some rankings and projections and talking about being spiritually correct, I was spiritually incorrect on Yainer. His statline was basically a Spirit Halloween. I loved Yainer and he did nothing all year, and I kept believing he’d come out of it. I even think he can bounce back next year. Confirmation bias is a dangerous drug. Preseason Rank #2, 2025 Projections: 76/22/88/.291/2 in 556 ABs, Final Numbers: 56/20/70/.256/1 in 542 ABs

13. Alejandro Kirk – Cal Raleigh hit 30 more homers than his projections, but I’d argue I was closer to what he’d do than Kirk, who I only missed by nine homers. He even stole a base! It was One Free Steal At The Park Day, but still. Preseason Rank #34, 2025 Projections: 36/6/41/.258 in 359 ABs, Final Numbers: 45/15/76/.282/1 in 451 ABs

14. Austin Wells – Here’s a guy who basically nailed his ranking, but I didn’t think he would return his value in any way that he actually did, i.e., I knew where he’d end up, but not how he’d get there, i.e., all’s Wells that ends Wells. Preseason Rank #13, 2025 Projections: 56/15/61/.239/1 in 396 ABs, Final Numbers: 51/21/71/.219/5 in 401 ABs

15. Dillon Dingler – If a catcher had 12+ homers and .250+, they were a top 20 catcher, and that’s why I said the top four catchers were better than the top four 2nd basemen, but I didn’t say catchers were deeper, in general. As for Dingler, well, he had a great fan club. Dillion’s Dingers, dressed as poop emoji, stomping their feet, “One of us! One of us!” Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 54/13/57/.278 in 435 ABs

16. J.T. Realmuto – Frightening how close I came to nailing Realmuto’s preseason projections and even more frightening if you relied on Jerry Tomato for your catcher slot. Preseason Rank #12, 2025 Projections: 57/12/54/.256/6 in 414 ABs, Final Numbers: 57/12/52/.257/8 in 502 ABs

17. Carson Kelly – Pretty sure there were more catchers who came out of nowhere this year to land in the top 20 than had in some time, but also, shrugs, whatever. If you wanted Kelly, you could’ve picked him up in just about any league. Carson Kelly appearing here does show us one thing: Never trust Miguel Amaya. Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 48/17/50/.249/2 in 369 ABs

18. Carlos Narvaez – Connor Wong’s walk-up song should’ve been Detachable Penis, because he was gone from the number one catcher spot pretty quickly when he had something like one RBI through his first 100 ABs. Narvaez was fine, whatever, but I do want to say again how awful Connor Wong’s season was: HIDEOUS. Reese McGuire never would’ve been arrested if that was the Wong he was relying on to get excited. Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 51/15/50/.241/1 in 403 ABs

19. Ryan Jeffers – In the preseason, I pointed out how stupid it was Baldelli batted Jeffers everywhere in the lineup. How there was no actual strategy to batting a guy around 20 at-bats in nine different spots in the order. And? He did it again this year. Thankfully, Baldelli was fired by the Twins. I’d rejoice but he’ll likely get hired by another team before December. I can see it now, Rocco’s Rockies! Preseason Rank #10, 2025 Projections: 53/18/58/.242/3 in 409 ABs, Final Numbers: 47/9/47/.266/1 in 406 ABs

20. Gabriel Moreno – His end-of-the-season stats are so yawnstipating if you would’ve promised his stats and told me he was a top 20 catcher in March, I still wouldn’t have drafted him. Preseason Rank #14, 2025 Projections:  51/7/54/.286/6 in 401 ABs, Final Numbers: 44/9/40/.285/2 in 277 ABs