Catchers to Stream for Week 25: 9/18 – 9/24

Streaming catchers can be a Sisyphean task. Unless you have one of the top catchers, you are left guessing what to do with the position.

Catchers are similar to kickers in fantasy football; you don’t think about your catcher slot as much as the other high-scoring positions, but if you’re looking for an advantage over your competition it makes sense to monitor what is happening. Why wouldn’t you research every position on your team?

We have all been on the losing end of a matchup when we needed just one more hit or one more steal so that deep-cut catcher you just picked up and who homered on Sunday – that guy could deliver you to victory.

So join me gluttons of fantasy baseball punishment and without further ado – let’s kick off this week in streaming catcher land!

Reviewing Last Column’s Picks

Here are the established guidelines from last season for determining whether or not streaming was a “win”, and I’ll leave these up here each week as a reminder.

1. When we stream a catcher, we’re not expecting multiple home runs, so a guy hitting .250 is helpful, and I’ll consider that a plus. Anything over .300 is a super plus and a near-automatic win. We must keep in mind the number of plate appearances — under 10 PA diminishes that boost.
2. Home runs have a significant impact. If you get two homers from the catcher position, it’s a guaranteed win unless the catcher bats under the Mendoza line. However, if other factors exist, a catcher can still be a streaming win without home runs.
3. Counting stats (R+RBI) is the lowest stat consideration because you’re not expecting them from your catcher, and they’re a nice bonus.

I write this column every other week, so as a reminder, these were my streaming picks from the week of September 4 – September 10:

12-Team Streamer

Gabriel Moreno

First let’s congratulate Moreno, who went on the paternity list last week. He then returned on Thursday and had a nice four-hit game on Friday. Unfortunately during the week of September 4, when he was the suggested 12-team streamer, he hit only .200 and managed just two RBI. That is not enough for a streaming win.

Overall, Moreno is having a nice first season in the desert with the Diamondbacks hitting .286 with 43 RBI, seven home runs, and five steals this season (good for an OPS+ of 105). Moreno is also great behind the plate for the Snakes, with a league-leading Caught Stealing% of 41.2 and with a Defensive WAR of 2.7, which leads all of baseball.

15-Team Streamer

Bo Naylor

Naylor was a streaming win during the week of September 4, as he prevailed with a slash line of .273/.471/.546 that week. In 17 PA, Naylor came away with a home run, four RBI, four walks, two runs, and wait for it…….. he even threw it a steal. Naylor is up to eight home runs and three steals for the season.

He’s someone I would keep an eye on going into drafts next spring.

Nate Kosher’s Streaming Record for 2023 Season: 10-10

Notes & Transactions From Last Week

• The Padres moved Gary Sánchez from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL after he fractured his right wrist. Sanchez has already been ruled out for the rest of the year. It will be interesting to see what happens next year for Sanchez. After burning through chances with the Giants and Mets earlier this season, he put up 19 home runs and 46 RBI in 72 games with the Padres. He’s shown enough that he’ll earn a starting chance somewhere in 2024.
• The Royals called up Logan Porter from Triple-A Omaha and designated Tyler Cropley for assignment. At age 27, Porter makes his big league debut after hitting 13 home runs and 48 RBI in 110 games in Triple-A this season.
• The Giants reinstated Patrick Bailey from the 7-day concussion IL. Bailey will slot back in as the number one catcher in the Bay.
• Henry Davis was activated from the 10-day IL by Pittsburgh after recovering from a right hand injury. Davis is hitting .213 with five home runs and 18 RBI.

Have more questions? “Catch” up with me on Twitter @NathanielKosher!

This Week’s Streamers

Each week, we highlight a streaming option for a 12-team league and a 15-team league each week.  Here are the potential streaming targets for the week of August 21st – August 27th:

12-Team Streamer

Logan O’Hoppe

O’Hoppe started out the season hot to tune of four home runs and 13 RBI through the season’s first 16 games, before a shoulder injury slowed him down. However, O’Hoppe has now re-emerged with the hot bat we saw in the beginning of the season. In the past week, he has hit .304 with four home runs and seven RBI and an OPS of 1.174.

If you need a catcher, O’Hoppe should definitely be in your lineup and I would start him right now over all but the top 3-to-5 fantasy catchers in the game. It’s clear that O’Hoppe can hit. He looks like a potential long-term starter for the Angels and maybe even a potential All-Star someday.

15-Team Streamer

Luis Campusano

Campusano is a rookie for the Padres this season and is hitting .301/.338/.478 for the year. He’s also added six home runs, 25 RBI, and 22 runs. In September, Campusano seems to really be figuring out major league pitching as he is hitting .324 this month with 11 RBI in 11 games. With Gary Sánchez shelved for the rest of the season, he should also have the opportunity to start most every day.

This week San Diego travels to LA for a three-game set against the Dodgers before an enticing three-game series against Oakland’s pitching. Except Campusano’s big month to continue.

Catcher List

A 10-player list of potential streamers by weekly rank is added to each week. To qualify, the catchers must be 50% rostered or less. For example, if Travis d’Arnaud is already rostered in your 12-team league, the next in line would be Gary Sánchez and so on down the list. Also, 15-team leagues are much deeper, so attention to Roster% is added to the process. The Roster% is based on Yahoo leagues.