Whether you’re in a two-catcher league or punted on drafting a backstop, you’ve come to the right place to find all the catchers that are fit to stream.
Here’s a look at each team’s schedule and their starting and backup catcher options. Make sure to scroll to the right to see the full week’s worth of matchups. See below for an explanation of the “Streamability” column.
Playing Time Winners
No one has shifted into a starting role this week. We have some new backup catchers in Edgar Quero (CWS), Tomás Nido (DET), Rob Brantly (MIA), Henry Davis (PIT), and potentially Braxton Fulford (COL), who got the most recent start — though it may still be Jacob Stallings. Drake Baldwin (ATL) got his first start at DH, which could increase his playing time.
Best Matchups
I’m trying something to short-hand the best schedules for each team, which I’m calling “Streamability.” For each pitcher, I took their rank on the List (those left off of it were all ranked at 100) and averaged the List rating of all the pitchers each team would face in the coming week. “1” is assigned to the team with the easiest spread of matchups, and a “30” is given to the team with the worst schedule. This is a silly stat by design, but it passes the eye test surprisingly well.
Some standout matchups for teams with widely available catchers:
Dillon Dingler (DET): Dingler has been playing well already with a wRC+ of 140, and now he has a full week of easy pitching matchups. The hardest matchup is today’s Michael Wacha, and then it’s smooth sailing through next Sunday. Dingler is available in 94% of Yahoo leagues, so this would be my first stop.
Jose Trevino (CIN): Since Tyler Stephenson is still a week away from a rehab assignment, Trevino will get to feast off the coming week’s matchups. He’s hitting much better than his 1% ownership rate would indicate, with a wRC+ of 120. The only tough matchup comes against Sandy Alcantara on Wednesday, and the rest of the spread is great. He’s out there in 99% of Yahoo leagues, so he’s the perfect streaming candidate.
Carlos Narváez (BOS): Like Trevino, Narvaez is typically the backup but has been holding his own in Connor Wong’s absence. Wong is hitting off a tee in his rehab, but he’s still likely more than a week away. Narvaez slates to face Bryan Woo on Thursday, but the rest of his matchups look much kinder. Narvaez is struggling at the plate more than the two above him in this list, with a wRC+ of 41 in 13 games, but he should get a boost from an easy slate of games.
Patrick Bailey (SFG): Bailey gets the full seven games this week, and his schedule is in the middle of the road. His 64 wRC+ isn’t anything to write home about, but if you need a boring volume play, you could do worse.
