These five catchers have a chance to spur fantasy offenses as undervalued finds.
Finding undervalued players or “sleepers” as they’re often referred, can be key to winning fantasy leagues. These five catchers have a chance to provide significant profit in 2025 based on their early average draft positions.
Willson Contreras, St. Louis Cardinals
No hitting position has more risk than catcher, and that risk became a reality for Contreras last season. He was limited to only 84 games after fracturing his forearm behind the plate early in the year, and then fractured a finger during an at-bat later in the season. After averaging 122 games and 488 plate appearances the previous three years, a healthy dose of playing time for a catcher, Contreras was sidelined more than he’d ever been during his career.
There are two reasons to think Contreras will have better health luck this season. First, the fluky nature of his injuries was obvious for anyone who saw them occur. Second, with the departure of Paul Goldschmidt and emergence of Ivan Herrera, Contreras is expected to take over as the Cardinals primary first baseman. That means far less risk of getting injured defensively, and hopefully he can maintain his career of strong power output as he enters his age 33 season. While the age risk remains, the possibility that Contreras will actually reach his projection is safer than most of his competition at the position with the assumed lower risk of wear and tear. An NFBC ADP near 80 since January 1 leaves some room for profit in two-catcher leagues.
Shea Langeliers, Sacramento Athletics
Langeliers is ascending as one of the top power options at the catcher position, hitting 22 home runs in his first full season in 2023 and 29 home runs last season. The production has also come with improving trends, as Langeliers’ strikeout rate dropped to 27% last year and his exit velocity increased. Langeliers is a rare catcher who performed better in the second half of last season than the first half with an OPS more than 90 points higher, proof of the durability that was already evident in his 135-plus games played over the last two seasons.
The kicker for Langeliers and a true reason for optimism is the move from the Oakland Coliseum to Sacramento. While it’s unclear how exactly the new home stadium will play relative to broad MLB environments, Langeliers has consistently hit far better on the road during his brief MLB career (.643 OPS home vs. .770 OPS road) and it’s assumed the new home will be more favorable for hitters than Oakland. Langeliers is the eighth most expensive catcher in early NFBC drafts with an ADP near 128, but that price could still make him a bargain relative to other early power-hitting catchers.
Keibert Ruiz, Washington Nationals
Fantasy managers who are burned by a player often move on the next year, as is human nature. Ruiz is coming off a very disappointing season after his breakout 2023 campaign, as he lost weight due to the flu early in the year and struggled to get on track after that point. As a result, Ruiz’s ADP stands just outside the top 200 through the end of January.
For all the disappointment, there’s some reason to give Ruiz a pass after his poor season both due to health and a consideration of his age. Ruiz has been the regular catcher for three consecutive years in Washington, yet he’s still only entering his age 26 season. Many of his trends also remain strong, including an elite 11% K% and sharp launch angle. There’s no imminent threat to Ruiz’s starting job in the middle of an eight-year contract, and the upside remains for him to be a top 12 catcher at a small price.
Alejandro Kirk, Toronto Blue Jays
After a great 2022 season in which Kirk won the Silver Slugger after hitting .285-14-63, he’s underachieved in two straight years. He shared playing time with Danny Jansen for a good portion of the first four months of 2024, but saw a surge in the second half with more regular playing time hitting .269-3-30 in 51 games.
There are rightfully questions about the diminutive Kirk’s power potential given his lack of size and launch angle, but the elite batting average potential remains. He’s consistently had an elite contact rate during his MLB career, providing reason to believe he will be a batting average asset this season. Toronto’s overall lack of big moves this offseason also gives Kirk a chance to hit in a strong spot for RBI and runs, as he did during the stretch last season hitting between 4-6 in the batting order. A price as the 20th drafted catcher creates a nice profit opportunity.
Hunter Goodman, Colorado Rockies
Goodman was a power-hitting find late last season for fantasy managers, especially after he gained catcher eligibility. He launched five home runs over the final month, and hit 13 home runs in only 224 plate appearances in the season. There might not be a path to playing time behind the play for Goodman behind the plate after the Rockies re-signed Jacob Stallings, but that doesn’t mean he won’t play.
An extremely quiet offseason in Colorado might be an indication they’re being realistic about their chances in 2025. Goodman got most of his work last season in the outfield corners, as well as some time at first base. The retirement of Charlie Blackmon opens up more opportunities for Goodman, especially considering that the Rockies have been unable to count on Kris Bryant to stay healthy. With an ADP outside the top 300, it won’t take much for Goodman to emerge as a profitable catcher find this season.
--Seth Trachtman