Early 2026 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Prime 20 at catcher reveals unbelievable surplus at sometimes weak place

1 How might anybody else declare the highest spot? Raleigh had one of many all-time nice house run seasons, and he did it on the place with probably the most pure boundaries to accumulating such totals. He is at all times excelled within the counting stats, getting extra constant at-bats than the typical catcher due to his defensive prowess, and now that he is raised his threshold for all of these counting stats, there’s even much less cause to sweat the low batting common. 2 Arguably the largest shock at a place stuffed with them, Goodman went from having a bit position as a bat-first backup to being the center of the Rockies lineup. He shifts over to DH on his “off” days, distancing himself from different catchers in run and RBI manufacturing, and his month-to-month breakdown is as regular as they arrive, exhibiting that his numbers weren’t inflated by some impossibly scorching stretch. 3 Contreras’ streak of being the highest catcher in Fantasy ended with a yr through which he tried to play by a damaged finger, placing him in an early gap. It was a non-issue by the second half, when he received again to delivering his ordinary numbers, however for pretty much as good of a hitter as he’s general, the house run output now appears somewhat pedestrian at a place with so many rising sluggers. 4 A good venue shift and marked discount in strikeout fee each contributed to career-best numbers for Langeliers, who might need exceeded 35 homers if he hadn’t missed most of June with a strained indirect. He is clearly a tier behind, although, since he is the primary of those catchers who does not routinely slot in at DH on his off days. Additionally, Statcast estimates he ought to have hit about 25 % fewer house runs than he truly did. 5 Rice charges within the ninetieth percentile or higher in all the main Statcast measurements, so it is a surprise that he — a left-handed hitter with good pull-air tendencies enjoying half his video games at Yankee Stadium — is not an absolute monster. Perhaps that is coming in 2026, when he’ll presumably have free rein at first base. My rating has to safeguard towards the opportunity of a platoon and/or continued underachievement, however Rice could have the second-highest ceiling of anybody with catcher eligibility. 6 A sluggish begin gave Perez the looks of being cooked at age 35, however then he rebounded to ship a few of the greatest house run and RBI totals of anybody not named Cal Raleigh, with no noteworthy modifications to his underlying knowledge set. Sooner or later, it will come to an finish, but when he is capable of spend extra time at first base and DH with the emergence of Carter Jensen , it might not be for a pair years but. 7 Groups normally discover a method to hold catchers who hit like Smith within the lineup even after they want a break day from catching, however that is not an choice for the Dodgers with Shohei Ohtani occupying DH. So Smith is at an actual enjoying drawback that pushes him this far down the rankings though the chances say he isn’t a lot worse than William Contreras . 8 The Marlins appear to know what they’ve in Ramirez, making use of the DH spot to maintain his bat within the lineup day by day at the same time as he endured a few of the ordinary rising pains for a rookie. No matter flaws exist in his hitting profile are minor — too many floor balls, possibly, and never sufficient walks — and to that time, Statcast marks him as one of many largest underachievers in batting common. He additionally affords uncommon steals potential for a catcher, modest although it’s. 9 Baldwin presents an almost flawless hitting profile, full with premium exit velocities, a low strikeout fee, an all-fields method, and no drastic platoon splits. He would most likely rank a minimum of three spots increased if not for the presence of Sean Murphy , who will nonetheless demand his share of at-bats coming off hip surgical procedure. Until the DH position is left vacant in order that each Braves catchers can play often, Baldwin’s at-bats determine to be probably the most restricted of anybody ranked to this point. 10 It could be simpler to dismiss Rutschman’s depressing 2025 as a misplaced season, given the repeated IL stints, if he did not crash so arduous to finish the 2024 season as nicely. Nothing within the underlying knowledge would clarify what’s gone flawed for him — he is as disciplined as ever and has anticipated stats far exceeding his precise ones — so between that and his glowing pedigree, you will wish to give him the advantage of the doubt nonetheless. The excess of catcher expertise makes it more durable to do, although. 11 Arguably the highest hitting prospect on the time of his promotion, Basallo appears destined to maneuver off catcher finally however has secured one other yr of eligibility there due to Rutschman’s accidents. For all of the upside he affords, notably with regard to house runs, there is no rating him increased than this at a place the place so many different younger hitters have confirmed their value already, and it isn’t completely clear he’ll have a job all to himself anyway. 12 Diaz’s 2025 exhibits how little margin for error gamers who scarcely stroll have in Fantasy. His core attributes have not modified, however as a result of the outcomes have been just a little off — most likely extra as a matter of variance than the rest — his season felt like a catastrophe. This rating is supposed to reasonable expectations for him, but he nonetheless looks as if one of many higher bets for batting common on the place. 13 It is tempting to rank Moreno even increased than this given the expansion he confirmed after getting back from a fractured finger in late August — particularly, a vastly elevated launch angle to faucet into his latent energy. He already possesses a few of the greatest bat abilities on the place, excelling in Head-to-Head factors leagues due to his strikeout-to-walk ratio, and if he can eke out 20 homers as nicely, he’ll be a standout in all codecs. 14 Although it did not get the identical fanfare as Drake Baldwin’s or Agustin Ramirez’s, Teel had a powerful rookie exhibiting of his personal. He did not hit the ball notably arduous on common, however he impressed along with his peak exit velocities and angled the ball nicely for house runs, all whereas strolling at an elite fee. There are enjoying time considerations associated to his left-handedness and the presence of Edgar Quero, however of the 2 White Sox catcher call-ups, Teel made the stronger impression. 15 Jensen received solely a 20-game pattern to finish 2025, however he did every part proper in it, not solely slashing .300/.391/.550 (which modeled his .290/.377/.501 slash line within the minors) but additionally delivering premium exit velocities and exhibiting superlative plate self-discipline. You do not wish to make an excessive amount of of too little, notably given all the opposite thrilling choices at this place, however Jensen appears to be like like the true deal. 16 We’re to some extent the place seeing is believing with Alvarez, who will solely be turning 24 within the offseason however has left ample room for doubt along with his all-too-frequent accidents over the previous couple years. There’s nonetheless quite a bit to love concerning the one-time No. 1 catcher prospect, who made a few of the hardest contact of any catcher in 2025 and was particularly productive after getting back from a minor league stint in July. 17 Realmuto’s decline has been so gradual that it has been simple responsible on variance or well being issues the previous couple years, however now there will be no denying that he is on the downswing as he enters free company. It is not clear that 20 homers continues to be inside attain for the will-be 35-year-old, who could discover the enjoying time much less prevalent along with his new membership, presuming he isn’t again with the Phillies . 18 If Ben Rice is certainly the Yankees ‘ main first baseman subsequent yr, then it is going to even be excellent news for Wells, who was compelled to sit down extra within the second half as a means to supply further at-bats to his knowledge darling teammate. Wells sort of introduced it on himself, although, shedding about 50 factors from his 2024 OBP even whereas bettering his house run output. He is trying one-dimensional as a hitter, however that one dimension, energy, is what’s most coveted in a low-dollar second catcher. 19 Now not compelled to separate catcher duties with Danny Jansen, Kirk appeared poised for a breakout in 2025 and received off to that sort of begin, however his exit velocities and ground-ball fee normalized within the second half, pulling his batting common again under .300. His five-category projection is not so completely different from Dillon Dingler’s (see under), however he is much better in factors leagues, the place his stellar strikeout-to-walk ratio truly counts for one thing. 20 The breakout catcher nobody is speaking about, Dingler did his greatest Yainer Diaz impression in 2025, inserting within the 98th percentile for xBA with a line-drive fee that will rank first amongst qualifiers, in keeping with FanGraphs. Sadly, enjoying at Comerica Park places his precise batting common nearer to good than nice, leaving us wishing he’d faucet into energy just a little extra, and his poor stroll fee makes him all however ineffective in factors leagues.