Whether you’re in a two-catcher league, drafted Sean Murphy, or punted on drafting a backstop, you’ve come to the right place to find all the catchers that are fit to stream. I’ll be focusing on catchers that are under 40% rostered on Yahoo unless there are premium options above that threshold that deserve a mention.
Since the season is young and the depth charts are still working themselves out, I’ll be focusing more on early-season adds who have a chance to stick around rather than one-week fill-ins.
10- and 12-Team Options: Between 20% and 40% Rostered
These players are probably on the wire in most 10- or 12-team leagues, and each has a shot to lock down your catcher spot this season if you’re still on the hunt.
Connor Wong (35% Rostered): Wong’s best fantasy asset is his availability – he played in 126 games each of the last two years, and his job is as safe as could be in a (hopefully) improved Boston lineup. He impressed with a .280 average in 2024, bringing his career average to a solid .254. Wong’s strikeout rate dropped from 33% in 2023 to 23% in 2024, and if he can maintain something similar this year, he should be a solid if not flashy asset. He put up an acceptable 13 homers last year and had eight stolen bases, second only to William Contreras‘ nine among catchers. Wong bats eighth for the Sox, which limits his other counting stats a bit, but you could certainly do worse if you need someone to play every day who won’t tank your average while adding a few steals.
Francisco Alvarez (33% Rostered): Alvarez is starting his season off on the IL but should be off the shelf by the end of April. In his 2023 season, he put up 3.0 WAR in 123 games, racking up 25 homers to bolster his .207 average into a respectable 97 wRC+. His 2024 was less impressive – it was interrupted by a UCL injury early in the season – but he had a strong finish to the season. He managed 5 homers in 20 games in September and October with a .254 average, good for a 150 wRC+. There is clearly risk here, but if things break right for Alvarez he has one of the most enticing profiles of any catcher on the wire. If you have space to stash him on your IL, and like to chase upside as much as I do, Alvarez is a no-brainer.
Iván Herrera (33% Rostered): Herrera won the primary catching job in St. Louis in the wake of Willson Contreras‘ shift to first. He had a strong rookie showing in 2024, where he put up a .301 average with a 127 wRC+. He doesn’t quite have big home run power – he put up only 5 in 72 games last year – but he’s only 24 and he could easily add a touch more power. Herrera and Wong have similar profiles with high averages, 10-15 home runs, and 10 or so steals. But Herrera hit the ball harder with a 112.4 mph max EV last year (12th-highest for a catcher) compared to Wong’s 109.1 mph (34th among catchers). Unless you’re scared of a sophomore slump, Herrera looks like a better version of Wong.
Ryan Jeffers (26% Rostered): Jeffers had a quietly impressive 2024. He was among the top 10 catchers for Home Runs (5th with 21), Runs (10th), and RBIs (9th). He ended the season as the 11th-best catcher of the year on Yahoo. He held a .226 average, good for a wRC+ of 107. Jeffers played the most games of his career last year with 122, after maxing out at 96 in his first four seasons. I’d expect similar numbers from him this year as he’s batting fifth in the Twins lineup – though he won’t find his way into the DH spot too often until Byron Buxton makes his annual trip to the IL. Jeffers played 34 games there last year, so unless he’s drawing those extra starts on his rest days, he might struggle to match his numbers from 2024.
I would take Herrera first out of this group, followed by Jeffers, then Wong. Alvarez is tricky due to the injury but any catcher with 30 homer potential is hard to turn down and I’m a sucker for risky players with upside.
Deeper Leagues: 20% Rostered and Below
There are plenty of options in the murky depths of the waiver wire. Since we’re so early in the season, I’m highlighting a few at different ownership levels who might prove to be more than just streaming options.
Keibert Ruiz (16% Rostered): Ruiz had a sterling spring with 3 homers, a .289 average, and even 2 steals in 15 Spring Training games. He’s been held back by a lack of power, but he’s already hit his first homer of the year off of none other than Zach Wheeler. He had the best K% among catchers last year at 11.1%, and if he can add just a touch of power, he should improve his average and all of his counting stats along with it. He has a lock on Washington’s starting job and should get a handful of looks at DH as well. Is it a hot streak or a breakout? Now’s the perfect time to hop on the train and find out. Keep an eye on him, even in shallower leagues.
Hunter Goodman (7% Rostered): The Rockies are a mess and seem to be doing anything to keep Zac Veen off the field (check out his latest blurb on Yahoo). Goodman may stand to gain from the situation. He had a killer spring with 3 homers, a .444 average, and a 239 wRC+ in 19 Spring Training games, which won him the job behind the plate for Opening Day. Goodman went 2 for 4, and if he keeps hitting, he will see time at DH or even in the outfield, where he’s already eligible.
Danny Jansen (3% Rostered): Jansen had a down year in 2024, where he held a .206 average with only 9 homers in 94 games. His year was good for only 89 wRC+, but the two years prior he managed over 15 homers and a wRC+ of 141 in 2022 and 115 in 2023. He should get the bulk of the starts behind the plate in Tampa. Jansen hits almost everything to the left side, so he won’t benefit as much from Yankee Stadium Jr.’s short porch, but it could be an improvement to Rogers Centre. I like him in deep leagues mostly for his hold on the starting job, but there’s potential for a bounce-back year.
Dillon Dingler (0% Rostered): Dastardly Dillon Dingler drills deep dinger (off of Yoshinobu Yamamoto). Dingler is the clear backup to Jake Rogers, but he’s starting the second game of the year, which indicates it could be a fairly even split. He hit 17 homers with a .308 average in 71 games at AAA last year, so he could find something, and Rogers isn’t exactly the catcher of the future for Detroit. If you’re after a 0% rostered catcher, there’s no one with a better name.
Luis Torrens (1% Rostered): Torrens should see plenty of playing time with Alvarez out for at least the next month. Don’t expect him to set the world on fire – his career-best wRC+ was 101 back in 2021 – but he has a hit in his last two games and figures to be the go-to guy for the Mets for the foreseeable future.
Patrick Bailey (6% Rostered): Though he hasn’t hit more than 8 homers in a year in his two seasons in the bigs, with a very consistent .234 average for his career, Bailey has an iron grip on the starting job. He should be a solid streaming option all year long. Maybe this year holds something better for him – he had a strong spring with 2 homers, a .300 average, and a wRC+ of 125 in 16 games – though he never showed anything along those lines in his minor league career. There’s not a ton of upside here, but he’s a respectably average catcher who will get a ton of playing time.
Wrap-Up
Hopefully, you managed to find the perfect catcher now that you’ve spent all of your FAAB on Dillon Dingler. Let me know in the comments if this was a good mix of options for you or if you’d like more of a focus on deeper or shallower leagues.
