One of the central keys to drafting well is doing research and having a plan. One element of pre-draft planning is ranking players into tiers by position. This allows you to see weaknesses in depth and should help you avoid waiting too long, while also identifying value. With catchers, the quality starts to drop after the first two tiers. Even so, there are plenty of catchers that you can feel comfortable rostering. Beyond tier three, though, things start to get bleak. Do not wait too long on catchers.
Catcher Tiers
Tier 1: Superstars
Adley Rutschman
William Contreras
What sets Adley Rutschman and William Contreras above the rest of the catchers is their ability to not only accrue runs, home runs, and RBI but to hit for average as well. They also have great plate discipline that sets them apart.
Only two catchers project to be top-10 in 2025 in runs, home runs, RBI, AVG, and OBP according to Steamer projections. Take a guess at who they are.
Tier 2: Stars
Salvador Perez
Will Smith
Cal Raleigh
J.T. Realmuto
Yainer Diaz
Yainer Diaz blossomed in 2023 but saw a slight drop in his home run total last season despite playing in more games. That was likely due to a launch angle change that also led to more groundballs. If he can get that figured out this season, and take his home run total back into the 20s, he could be a great value here.
Diaz hits for average, posting a career .291 AVG, though he does not possess the power potential of Cal Raleigh or Salvador Perez. So for fantasy managers deciding on drafting one of the tier two catchers, it comes down to your team context and what you need. You can draft Perez or Raleigh if you need power, go with Diaz if you need AVG, or select Will Smith or J.T. Realmuto to provide you with a little bit of everything.
Tier 3: Last Starters I’m Comfortable With
Logan O’Hoppe
Willson Contreras
Shea Langeliers
Sean Murphy
Tyler Stephenson
Keibert Ruiz
Ryan Jeffers
Jonah Heim
Kyle Higashioka
David Fry
Mitch Garver
Travis d’Arnaud
Connor Wong
Logan O’Hoppe is an interesting option in tier three. He broke out last season, with 20 home runs, 60 runs, 54 RBI, and a .244 AVG, but he has the potential to be better.
O’Hoppe clearly has power in his bat – he has averaged a 12% barrel rate and a 45% HardHit rate across his 192 professional games. Among 129 qualified batters last season, his 2024 barrel and HardHit rates ranked 34th and 35th respectively. He also drives and pulls the ball well, which should lead to an improvement in average if he can get his 29% strikeout rate down.
I also like Shea Langeliers, Willson Contreras, and Tyler Stephenson here, in particular. They each possess some upside that could vault them into tier two next season.
Tier 4: Solid Depth
Hunter Goodman
Francisco Alvarez
Bo Naylor
Luis Campusano
Austin Wells
Korey Lee
Joey Bart
Kyle Teel
Alejandro Kirk
Freddy Fermin
Patrick Bailey
Danny Jansen
Gabriel Moreno
Miguel Amaya
Nick Fortes
Carson Kelly
Elias Diaz
Victor Caratini
Christian Vazquez
Gary Sanchez
Eric Haase
I am admittedly low on Austin Wells, despite him playing for (what should be) a good team and in a hitter-friendly park. While he should end up racking up the power-related roto stats, I worry about his ability to hit for average. In 134 games for the Yankees, Wells has hit .229, with a 20% K rate. He owns some modest hard contact ability, which should play in Yankee Stadium, but his contact ability is worrying. Despite a low chase rate, he rarely makes contact on pitches he swings at outside of the zone, at a 51% clip for his career. That is 11% worse than league average. His Z-contact, overall contact, and swinging strike rates are all worse than league average too.
I like Francisco Alvarez here more, who has similar contact issues, but much more power in his bat. Alvarez will hit in a potent Mets lineup and should end up bouncing back from his 11 home runs last season, after notching 25 in the season prior. He dealt with a thumb injury in 2024 that clearly hampered him, so he should be able to give you some great value here if he is injury-free.
Tier 5: Deep League Depth Pieces
Christian Bethancourt
Pedro Pages
Jake Rogers
Jacob Stallings
Adrian Del Castillo
Edgar Quero
Jose Trevino
Ben Rortvedt
Jose Herrera
Kyle McCann
Luis Torrens
Austin Barnes
Garrett Stubbs
Matt Thaiss
Rafael Marchan
Tomas Nido
Ivan Herrera
Riley Adams
Drew Millas
Cesar Salazar
Rene Pinto
Austin Hedges
Curt Casali
Tucker Barnhart
Moises Ballesteros
This tier is full of players who should see time and could give you some moderate roto production but will kill your batting average. That includes players like Jake Rogers, Jacob Stallings, and Pedro Pages.
There are also players here who have some upside and could be an injury or two away from getting some significant time and being fantasy-relevant. Jose Trevino, Ben Rortvedt, Kyle McCann, Luis Torrens, Austin Barnes, Garrett Stubbs, Matt Thaiss, Ivan Herrera, and Drew Millas all could be productive with playing time.
Tier 6: Dart Throws
Austin Winns
Chadwick Tromp
Alex Jackson
Blake Sabol
Luke Maile
Jason Delay
Hunter Feduccia
Logan Driscoll
Jhonny Pereda
James McCann
Yasmani Grandal
Tier 7: Super Deep Dart Throws
Yan Gomes
Brett Sullivan
Drew Romo
Andrew Knizner
Dillon Dingler
Seby Zavala
Jakson Reetz
Ali Sanchez
Tom Murphy
Carlos Narvaez
Brian Serven
Andrew Knapp
Martin Maldonado
Sam Huff
Tyler Heineman
Jair Camargo
Omar Narvaez
Grant Koch
Rob Brantly
Henry Davis
Aramis Garcia
Chuckie Robinson
Reese McGuire
Tiers six and seven are full of players you are only considering if you are in the deepest of leagues. Outside of 12-15 team, two-catcher leagues, you probably will not have to worry about drafting these guys.
Of the players here, Chadwick Tromp could end up with some playing time in Atlanta. Seby Zavala is another candidate who could outperform his projections if circumstances go right for him this season. If Henry Davis figures out how to hit in the majors, he could be a steal late in drafts. Dillon Dingler could also end up being productive with Detroit this season and provides great value here.
Think we should rearrange any players into different tiers? Share it in the comments below. For more of the great fantasy baseball rankings and analysis you’ve come to expect from FantraxHQ, check out our full 2025 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit! We’re here for you all the way up until Opening Day and then on into your championship run.