Sometimes it is easy as a fantasy baseball writer to get caught up in creative writing puns. However, this week as we frame up our hitter profiles, this is going to be a serious column. As we sit in mid-May, we finally have enough data to really understand what is signaling results of our favorite fantasy hitters. This week, we dig into what once was a thin position behind the plate but has in recent years become a sneaky spot to receive value. We are of course talking about the catcher position spanning the spectrum from aging veterans like Salvador Perez and young stars like Adley Rutschman. As we dig into our hitter profiles this week, we are digging for the underlying signs of change that may have been masked by early season sample sizes. There is the good, the bad and those that have crossed us up so far this season. Let’s get to the run down in this rendition of our Hitter Profiles before the puns get away from us.
Shea Langeliers
Tied for the league lead at the catcher position, Shea Langeliers is having a strong start to the season delivering nine homers, 24 RBI with a rough .212 average. The power and run production have been very welcome considering he is playing for the Oakland Athletics. However, the batting average has definitely been a drain on fantasy production. Digging under the covers, this might be one of those true ‘buy high’ situations.
This season, Shea has shown some true improvement in his approach. A strikeout rate that was 35% as a rookie and 29% in 2023 has dropped all the way below 22%. His contact rate when in the zone is up to 84% which is better than average in the league and a large step forward individually. Add in all the fun statcast measures such as barrel rate, hard hit rate, and exit velocity showing improvements and there is so much to like. The batting average will hopefully give owners pause as it sits in line with his past season, but a xBA of .268 tells us there is more there. Go buy and reap the rewards!
Mitch Garver
On the opposite end of the player rater spectrum, Mitch ‘Garv Sauce’ Garver sits at number 31 on the rater so far this season. Hitting .141 with a 31% strikeout rate and trading line drives for ground balls is the recipe for anything but success. Sure, we are seeing this with an unfortunately low .221 BABIP compared to a career rate of .292. His home run per fly ball rate is also the lowest point in the last six seasons. So is this bad luck or do we need to downgrade our expectations for Garv for the rest of the season with some recent displays of power?
Oppo-tacos are delicious any day of the week ? #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/fNPehEITbU
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) May 9, 2024
Over the last week or so, we have seen him start to hit the ball a bit better with a .292 average and some of the power we expect. However, at the same time, he still appears out of sorts at the plate. Comparing his plate approach in the last few successful seasons to 2024 show us that he is swinging less and making less contact when he does swing. That is not necessarily bad if the pitch selection is better, but he is also chasing more and doing less with pitches down the middle. I still believe Garver is a talented hitter, but with the current approach, he is best served on the bench until he figures things out. Just watch closely as Garver can be streaky and you don’t want to be left behind when that does occur.
Cal Raleigh
Staying in Seattle, our next catcher is Cal Raleigh who sits at number eight on the player rater. This season, Raleigh has tied Shea Langeliers for the catcher home run lead. He also has 22 runs batted in with 18 scored and his standard poor batting average sitting at .212. However, over the last 15 games, Raleigh has looked downright dreadful. Across 55 plate appearances, he has a total of six hits and a single extra base hit. That is good for a .125 batting average and a woefully painful 44% strikeout rate across those few weeks. Overall, the power is real and not much else is. This is the same profile from last season with top of the league power and zero speed or batting average. Is one plus enough to overcome a few minuses? Probably not. Seattle catchers are all on hold and Cal is worth shopping around based on his overall season line before the current cold streak continues.
Tyler Stephenson
The last player in our catcher discussion today is Tyler Stephenson. Stephenson clocks in at number 17 in the player rater so far this season. He has hit four homers and combined for 25 runs plus those batted in. In addition, he has continued today’s column trend of batting average drains at .226. So is there anything to be excited about for Stephenson? Absolutely, first of all, he is actually sixth in the league this year for barrel rate leading all catchers in that metric with Shea Langeliers only slightly behind. It should be no surprise then that his exit velocity is the best of his career by far and in the top 10% of the league. It would be nice to see a low BABIP rebound as well as the ball get in the air a bit more for Tyler which would really shot his stock through the roof. If the Reds realize what they have and stop playing Luke Maile as much, then fantasy owners will reap the rewards. The buying window is open here, don’t miss out.
