Good morning, afternoon or evening, depending on where you are or when you are reading this. And if you are a regular, welcome back.
The last two weeks I have run down the Top 50 Dynasty Relievers and Top 100 Starting Pitchers for 2027 Fantasy Baseball. This week we start our trip around the infield and our first position is catcher.
Let’s be honest, this is not an overly deep position. Once you get out of the top 10, things start to drop quickly. Once you are outside the top 20, it is almost time to blindly throw darts at the pictures of catchers on the wall and selecting the player the dart landed on. Part of this is just the lack of great hitting catchers. It has always been a demanding position, so the top catchers are highly coveted and then it is just a matter of mixing and matching.
But another reason for the drop in quality as we move down the rankings is due to the fact that many teams basically play two catchers, meaning you don’t get one guy that you can plug in every day and be happy. You may have a decent catcher, but he’s out there only 100 games, meaning you have to find a second catcher or have no one starting at catcher the day yours is on the bench.
So the strategy is simple when it comes to the catcher position – get the top catcher who plays nearly every day! Simple, right? I know, everyone in your league is trying to do that. But if you do have an everyday catcher who helps you in at least two categories, you are ahead of most others in your league.
Now, let’s get on with the rankings.
Just Missing The Cut
- Jesus Rodriguez, Giants
- Austin Hedges, Guardians
- Christian Vazquez, Astros
Out of these three, obviously the player with the most upside at this point in their career is Jesus Rodriguez. In his 51 at-bats over 22 games with the Giants he slashed .235/.316/.412 with two homers and eight RBI. Rodriguez can also play all over the field, appearing in games at second base, left field and right field for San Francisco.
Tier 5
*Age as of March 1, 2027
| RANK | PLAYER | 2026 TEAM | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | Daniel Susac | SF | 25 |
| 49 | Drew Cavanaugh | SF | 25 |
| 48 | Miguel Amaya | CHC | 27 |
| 47 | Luis Torrens | NYM | 30 |
| 46 | Yohel Pozo | BAL | 29 |
| 45 | Connor Wong | BOS | 30 |
| 44 | Nick Fortes | TB | 30 |
| 43 | Henry Davis | PIT | 27 |
| 42 | Mickey Gasper | BOS | 31 |
| 41 | Edgar Quero | CWS | 23 |
Someone Will Be The Catcher, Right?
In addition to Rodriguez, the Giants also have Daniel Susac and Drew Cavanaugh who can play catcher. It may be a case where Susac and Cavanaugh split time equally with Rodriguez getting in some starts here and there when not playing in the field. A platoon hurts the value of all three of these players. Cavanaugh didn’t play well enough to be the easy choice to be the starter as he slashed .229/.315/.292 with one homer and 12 RBI in 59 games. Susac had the better numbers, slashing .243/.289/.375 with three homers and 22 RBI in 53 games.
No matter what, they are depth options only at this point.
He Is Who He Is
Henry Davis was the first overall pick of the 2021 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates, and with that selection came huge expectations. But in 283 career games over four seasons, Davis has yet to live up to those expectations. This year he slashed .172/.272/.313 with 10 homers and 38 RBI. Love the power potential, but that is all he has shown. His career slash line is .178/.265/.300 and his 162-game average is 14 homers and 51 RBI. There are way too many questions surrounding Davis to rank him any higher.
Unknown Future
Edgar Quero is a former top 100 prospect who is already at a crossroads with his career in Chicago. The White Sox have Kyle Teel set to be their catcher of the present and future, leaving Quero fighting for backup duty. Since backup catchers get more playing time than backups at other positions, they are still useful. But for Quero to be useful, he is going to have to improve at the plate.
He showed he could be a useful catcher in 2025 when he hit five homers and drove in 36 runs while slashing .268/.333/.356 in 111 games. But his season he appeared in only 69 games and slashed .203/.284/.257 with three homers and 19 RBI. It is way too soon to give up on him, but he can’t be counted on as more than a depth piece right now.
Tier 4
| RANK | PLAYER | 2026 TEAM | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | Bo Naylor | MIL | 27 |
| 39 | Jonah Heim | A’s | 31 |
| 38 | Victor Caratini | MIN | 33 |
| 37 | Harry Ford | WSH | 24 |
| 36 | J.T. Realmuto | PHI | 35 |
| 35 | Eduardo Valencia | DET | 27 |
| 34 | Austin Wells | NYY | 27 |
| 33 | Moises Ballesteros | LAA | 23 |
| 32 | Brandon Valenzuela | TOR | 26 |
| 31 | Leo Bernal | STL | 23 |
The Vets
Jonah Heim, Victor Caratini and J.T. Realmuto never were or are no longer top catchers who can carry your team. Heim is a solid backup catcher who had a great season in 2023 but has never matched those numbers since. He can be helpful in a pinch, but that is about it right now.
Caratini knows his role and does it about as well as expected. He can play first base in addition to catch, giving him some extra value as he has appeared in 114 and 106 games the last two seasons. As a depth player in deep leagues with deep rosters, he is a very good player to have.
Realmuto’s time as a top catcher has come to an end. He will be 36 for most of next season and his production has declined over the last few seasons. This season he hit only 11 homers and drove in 51 runs while slashing .205/.283/.331. Since 2024 his OPS+ has been 107, 91, 65. That is the wrong trend to see for a catcher who is not getting any younger.
Chance To Bounce Back
Over the last three seasons, Austin Wells has provided decent power for the Yankees, hitting 13, 21 and 14 homers. But Wells took a step back this season when it came to overall production. After driving in 71 runs in 2024, he had only 32 RBI this year and slashed .186/.292/.332, way below his career numbers of .213/.294/.397. If he can at least return to slashing that career slash line and get back to 20 homers, he is a solid catcher to then have (I have low expectations for catchers and their slash line). He is just entering his prime, so there is time for him to rebound and return to 2025 form.
The Youngsters
Moises Ballesteros and Leo Bernal will both be 23 entering the season in 2027, and both have nice upside. The good news for Ballesteros is there really is no one blocking his path to more playing time while Bernal is stuck behind one of the top up-and-coming catchers in Ivan Herrera.
Ballesteros has the wide open path to being a full-time catcher for the Angels. They traded Logan O’Hoppe away and acquired Ballesteros from the Cubs with the full intention of making him their No. 1 catcher. Ballesteros struggled with the Angels after the trade, slashing .199/.260/.280 after posting a slash line of .231/.303/.385 with the Cubs. But Ballesteros is young and has plenty of upside.
As for Bernal, he is not going to be the No. 1 catcher for the Cardinals. But he can also play first base and of course be slotted in at DH, giving him some ability to gain at-bats there. In his 24 games with the Cardinals this past season, he hit five homers, drove in 21 runs and slashed .284/.333/.474 after hitting .278/.363/.474 with 16 homers and 77 RBI at Triple-A Memphis.
Tier 3
| RANK | PLAYER | 2026 TEAM | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Logan O’Hoppe | TEX | 27 |
| 29 | Patrick Bailey | CLE | 27 |
| 28 | Salvador Perez | KC | 36 |
| 27 | Will Smith | LAD | 31 |
| 26 | Dalton Rushing | LAD | 26 |
| 25 | Endy Rodriguez | PIT | 26 |
| 24 | Rafael Flores | PIT | 26 |
| 23 | Kyle Teel | CWS | 25 |
| 22 | Joe Mack | MIA | 24 |
| 21 | Agustin Ramirez | MIA | 25 |
A Forgettable 2026
I like Logan O’Hoppe, but I was glad I traded him ahead of the 2026 season. The Texas catcher had a season to forget. He started slowly, then suffered a fractured wrist and could never get going once he returned and was traded to the Rangers. O’Hoppe played in only 85 games this season and finished with only four homers and 24 RBI with a .219/.275/.578 slash line. After joining Texas he appeared in only 10 games and got 17 at-bats and had only one RBI.
Before 2026 O’Hoppe had hit 14, 20 and 19 homers from 2023-2025, though he has always had a below average slash line. For him to have value, he has to return to hitting home runs because that is the only area of his game where he really helps.
Just Keeps Going
Age is catching up to Salvador Perez, just not as fast as it does with other players. The longtime Royal hit 21 homers and drove in 78 runs this past season, which are two very solid numbers for a catcher. But the slash line continues to regress. In 2024 he slashed .271/.330/.456. Then it fell to .236/.284/.446 in 2025 and this year it was .229/.274/.383. He will play the majority of 2027 at age 37, so the end of the line is coming. But as a depth catcher (and first baseman), you could do a lot worse.
The Pirates
I already wrote about Henry Davis and what I think of him. But the Pirates have two other players who offer more than Davis. The problem is who is going to be the catcher for the Pirates? Endy Rodriguez appeared in 45 games and hit seven homers with 20 RBI while slashing .267/.373/.467. His walk rate of 14.5% is great and he hits the ball hard, with an average EV of 91.8 mph. However, Rodriguez underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left hip and may or may not be ready for Opening Day.
That leaves the door open for Rafael Flores. In 47 games he slugged 11 homers and drove in 25 while slashing .264/.331/.527. During the final month of the season he was outstanding as he slashed .313/.361/.537 with four homers and eight RBI. He can play first base, so that allows some flexibility and added value.
The Marlins
Like the Pirates, the Miami Marlins have an interesting decision to make at catcher in 2027. Agustin Ramirez was the hot, young catcher to have entering 2026 after hitting 21 homers and driving in 67 runs in 2025 to finish fifth in the ROY voting. But 2026 was not a repeat of what we saw the previous year. Ramirez got off to a horrible start, was optioned to the minors in May and didn’t return to the Marlins until August. When he was sent down he was slashing .230/.318/.345 with two homers and 14 RBI in 31 games. When he returned, those numbers were .239/.317/.363-3-10.
With Ramirez in the minors, Joe Mack stepped in and hit 14 homers with 52 RBI while slashing .234/.282/.403 in 105 games. A left-handed hitter with solid power, Mack’s Statcast numbers are average, with only his bat speed ranking better than average, but he is a very good catcher behind the plate. That may work against Ramirez as far as seeing time at catcher, who saw more time at DH than catcher. I think Ramirez can rebound and be closer to his 2025 version than 2026 version moving forward. But I won’t bet the house on that.
Tier 2
| RANK | PLAYER | 2026 TEAM | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Adley Rutschman | BOS | 29 |
| 19 | Tyler Stephenson | CIN | 30 |
| 18 | Yainer Diaz | HOU | 28 |
| 17 | Alejandro Kirk | TOR | 28 |
| 16 | Carson Kelly | CHC | 32 |
| 15 | Keibert Ruiz | WSH | 28 |
| 14 | Ryan Jeffers | MIN | 29 |
| 13 | Liam Hicks | TB | 27 |
| 12 | Ethan Salas | SD | 20 |
| 11 | Cal Raleigh | SEA | 30 |
Which Player Is Diaz?
Yainer Diaz had Houston fans excited after his rookie campaign in 2023 when he smashed 23 homers, drove in 60 runs and slashed .282/.308/.538 in only 104 games. But since that season, Diaz has been up and down. His final numbers were solid in 2024 and 2025 (16 homers, 84 RBI in 2024, 20/70 in 2025) but this season his production fell to 14 homers and 45 RBI in 98 games as he split time with Christian Vazquez, who missed most of May with an oblique strain.
But Diaz looked like the 2023 version over the final two months of the season. Over his final 46 games, he slashed .317/.349/.503 with six homers and 19 RBI. If he can return to that form over a whole season, he is ranked too low here.
A Bright Future
The catcher position is one of the more speculative positions on the field when it comes to fantasy baseball. Veterans are nice, but as they age they play fewer and fewer games. So that leads one to go after the younger catchers. But most of the younger catchers are sharing time with the vets outside of a few. Ethan Salas should be in the category of “outside of a few” in 2027.
Salas just turned 20 back in June and has appeared in only 16 major league games. In those games he slashed .256/.275/.462 with two homers and five RBI. The Padres obviously love what they see in him; otherwise, they would not have promoted him and have him on their postseason roster. In Double-A and Triple-A this year he slashed .296/.374/.448 with 10 homers and 61 RBI while adding 17 steals.
Back To Normal
Cal Raleigh has always hit for power, slugging 27, 30 and 34 homers before going nuts in 2025 with 60 dingers. This season he came back to earth by hitting 23 homers while driving in 69. His slash line also fell back to earth at .182/.296/.368. Raleigh was a mess all season, and the only saving grace was his nine-homer outburst in the month of August. Do I think he is going to hit .182 again next year? No. That is why I ranked him at No. 11. If he can return to his 2024 form and hit 35 homers while slashing .220/.320/.430, I can live with that thanks to the power he provides at a position that is not deep.
Tier 1
| RANK | PLAYER | 2026 TEAM | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Francisco Alvarez | NYM | 25 |
| 9 | Ivan Herrera | STL | 26 |
| 8 | Dillon Dingler | DET | 28 |
| 7 | William Contreras | MIL | 29 |
| 6 | Shea Langeliers | A’s | 29 |
| 5 | Samuel Basallo | BAL | 22 |
| 4 | Gabriel Moreno | ARI | 27 |
| 3 | Carter Jensen | KC | 23 |
| 2 | Hunter Goodman | COL | 26 |
| 1 | Drake Baldwin | ATL | 25 |
Shuffle The Deck
You can pretty much put Francisco Alvarez, Ivan Herrera, Dillon Dingler and William Contreras in any order when it comes to ranking them and be happy with the result. Alvarez doesn’t even turn 25 until next month and is coming off a solid, but not spectacular, season. He is ranked here based as much on what he can do as on what he has done. He has yet to match his 25 homer, 63 RBI season from his rookie year in 2023, but all the tools are there for him to do so.
Herrera has produced back-to-back seasons of 19 homers with 66 and 69 RBI. His slash line took a dip this season, but he is just entering his prime and should be good for a host of 20 homer, 70 RBI seasons to come.
Dingler had an outstanding season for the Tigers, hitting 27 homers with 91 RBI while slashing a decent .243/.302/.446. His OPS and OPS+ were similar to his 2025 figures, when he hit 13 homers and drove in 57 runs in 126 games, compared with 145 games this season. I’m not 100 percent sure Dingler is a consistent 27-homer player, but his minor league career suggests he could be as he had a .459 SLG and .803 OPS.
Contreras is Mr. Consistent behind the plate for the Brewers and fantasy players. Over the last five seasons, he has hit between 17 and 23 homers with a .275/.357/.444 slash line and over the last four years he has 78, 92, 76 and 94 RBI. His OPS+ has dipped over the last two years, going from 130 in 2024 to 111 and 108, but he plays in 140 or more games per year and delivers consistent numbers.
Get Back To Health
Shea Langeliers was having a really good season before being sidelined by a knee injury and required surgery, forcing him to miss the month of August while playing half the month of July and September. Before the All-Star break this season he had 21 homers and 46 RBI with a .257/.324/.483 slash line in 83 games. In the second half he appeared in only 20 games and hit two homers with 12 RBI. After returning from the knee injury, he didn’t hit a single dinger in 13 games.
With Langeliers being fully healed for 2027, I expect a return to his first half form from this year. As a catcher, he won’t play in 162 games, but his 162-game average is outstanding at 33 homers and 88 RBI with a .240/.299/.466 slash line and OPS+ of 112.
Ready For Takeoff
When you look at the numbers Samuel Basallo posted this year, you tilt the head a little and wonder why is he ranked fifth. I understand that as he slashed .222/.291/.406 with 18 homers and 54 RBI. But then you have to realize that he just turned 22 this past August, meaning he played most of the season against major league pitchers instead of dominating the minor league or college ranks.
He slumped horribly over the second half, but his potential is there. He has played a total of 143 career games and hit 22 homers and driven in 69 with a .209/.277/.388 slash line. That is pretty much a Cal Raleigh season right there, and Basallo is eight years younger. An added bonus is Basallo played 12 games at first base, giving him eligibility there in many leagues.
A Surprise At No. 4
When I was putting my rankings together, I wasn’t expecting Gabriel Moreno to be ranked this high. But the more I looked at him, the more I liked him here. Yes, this was a career year for Moreno in everything – games played, at-bats, homers, RBI and slash line. But he broke in with Toronto when he was 22 and he is just now entering his prime. Since 2023, his OPS+ has been 103, 104, 119 and 143. That is slow and steady improvement.
His batting average and OBP ranked first among catchers and .486 SLG ranked second thanks to 33 doubles to go with his 16 homers. Those doubles were second most among catches while the homers ranked 10th and his RBI total of 83 ranked fourth. Moreno is a former top 100 prospect who appears to have just needed time to live up to the early hype that surrounded him.
Age Plays A Factor
There are a number of catchers who could be ranked at No. 3, but a big reason why Carter Jensen landed here is due to the fact that he is only 23 years old on Opening Day next year. Jensen gave a taste of what he was going to do this season when he slashed .300/.391/.550 with three homers and 13 RBI in 20 games in 2025. In 149 games this season, he slugged 27 homers and drove in 81 while slashing .239/.323/.467.
His 28.2 strikeout percentage is a little high, but he had a 10.8 walk percentage and his ISO of .228 blows away the MLB average of .158. His career slash line in the minors is very similar to what he did this year, but the power should aways be there and with catchers, a good slash line is just an added bonus.
Could Be No. 1
Since becoming a regular member of the Colorado batting order in 2025, Hunter Goodman has hit 72 homers and driven in 179 runs in 282 games. Last season he slashed .278/.323/.520 with 31 homers and 91 RBI. This year those numbers were .245/.310/.529-41-88. That slash line is more in line with his career numbers, and while he has more power than the man ranked at No. 1, he doesn’t have the same average and OBP with an OPS+ of 120 and 114 the last two years.
Great Encore Season
In 2025, Drake Baldwin earned the ROY after finishing with a .274/.341/.469 slash line to go with 19 homers and 80 RBI in 124 games. All Baldwin did this past season was slash .284/.358/.459 with 25 homers and 79 RBI in 138 games. His OPS+ the last two years have been 125 and 124.
Baldwin ranked first among catchers in hits, fourth in HR and seventh in RBI while finishing second in AVG, third in OBP and fourth in SLG. That is pretty solid production across the board and there is plenty of room for growth.
Thank You
I know some of you will agree with this list for the most part and others will strongly disagree, but no matter what, thanks for reading. Come back again next week when I unveil the Top 50 Dynasty First Basemen for 2027 Fantasy Baseball.
If you missed previous posts, you can find them here:
Top 50 Dynasty Relievers for 2027 Fantasy Baseball
Top 100 Dynasty Starting Pitchers for 2027 Fantasy Baseball
