2015 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Catchers (C)

As with our first base, second base, third base and shortstop fantasy baseball rankings, we've asked nine of our esteemed writers to submit their own rankings for Catchers in 2015, and we have calculated composite scores to showcase RotoBaller's site average. Rankings from one person represent just one opinion, so the goal of these composite fantasy baseball rankings is to give you a good sense of how we as a site view these players. We'll be releasing the rest of our positional rankings this week before updating them in February and finalizing them in March.  Enjoy!

Editor's Note: Be sure to check out all of RotoBaller's 2015 fantasy baseball rankings articles & rankings analysis to prepare for your drafts. Let's win some leagues!
 

2015 Fantasy Baseball Catcher Rankings

Brad Johnson (Lead MLB Editor)

My peers are down on Brian McCann for good reason. The shift is killing his ability to hit for any kind of average, and his attempts to defeat it have largely sapped his power. But with Yankee Stadium's short right field porch, I'll take a shot on McCann's 30-HR upside-- even if it comes with a .210 average.

Harris Yudin (MLB Writer and Editor)

A key point with catchers is that some of them don't actually catch most of the time. Carlos Santana and Evan Gattis are the two that jump off the page. Both players are listed on their respective teams' rosters at a position other than catcher. They maintain catcher eligibility for 2015 without the physical duress of crouching behind the plate for 1,200 innings a year. In your search for a CA2 or a backup, I'd suggest settling for a low-risk, low-reward guy-- someone who may smack just 10 home runs and knock in just 50 runs, but who can post a .340 OBP. Miguel Montero and Chris Iannetta come to mind in terms of sleepers to grab as your second catcher. Trying to squeeze a few extra home runs out of a Mike Zunino will only hurt your team in most leagues.

Kyle Bishop (MLB Writer and Editor)

I've already given you my thoughts on Travis d'Arnaud, so instead let's talk about Matt Wieters. I've never been a huge fan, at least not enough to pay the price his services always seem to require in my leagues. I get that he's been a reliable source of power, but that power has been accompanied by middling batting averages, and like most catchers, limited R and RBI totals. Now he's coming off Tommy John surgery. I'll once again let others duke it out for Wieters.

Justin Berglund (MLB Writer)

Just like fellow Oriole Machado, I love Wieters to bounce back, assuming he is healthy. Having him outside the top 10 isn't fair to his potential and the career year he was having before his injury. Brian McCann looks like he is in for another year of regression after a down 2014. Travis d'Arnaud should be a top 10 guy this year, but could be taken too early in some drafts. Kurt Suzuki and Tyler Flowers are two guys I like as possible sleepers, solely due to their flashes of excellence last season, but both are really small sample sizes, and I could be very wrong there.

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Kyle Braver (MLB Writer)

I've long been a fan of Wilson Ramos. It might surprise you to learn that Ramos has the 12th-highest distance-per-fly-ball ratio of any qualified hitter in the major leagues, higher than sluggers like Justin Upton and Nelson Cruz. This isn't a one-year fluke either. In 2013, Ramos had the fourth-highest average-fly-ball distance in the game.

Injuries have always been what has held Ramos back. Last year for example, a foul tip on the hand during the first game of the season derailed him from the get-go. He was further limited by hamstring injuries throughout the year. Despite the risk, however, Ramos has the potential to be a very scary slugger, if he's able to put together a full season. For a position as often starved for impact talent as catcher, Ramos makes a no-brainer addition to my top-10 for as long as he manages to stay on the field. I will be drafting him as such.

Jeff Kahntroff (MLB Writing)

Willin Rosario as the 10th best catcher?  C’mon man.  First, Rosario doesn’t have a spot to play with Hundley behind the plate and Morneau at first.  Even if he’s traded, he’s had a career .690 OPS outside of Coors Field.  If he finds a spot as a DH on an AL team, there’s a good chance he’s a platoon bat.

I would much rather take Wieters, Grandal, or Vogt, all of whom are ranked lower.  Matt Wieters has a career .743 OPS, and if he can recover from Tommy John near the start of the season, he will be a steal at 11.  Grandal is 26 and had a .728 OPS last year despite playing in a pitchers’ park but is ranked 14th.  Vogt had a .752 OPS last year, and even though it is dangerous to project platoon players, the Athletics traded away Jaso and Norris, freeing up time for him; he is ranked 21st and should outperform that ranking.