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Jeremy's catcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 5 of 2025 (April 28 - May 4). His top catcher streamers and free-agent adds to target on waivers.
It’s hard to believe that April is already coming to a close, with Week 5 here in just a couple of days. As always, there are plenty of good catching options available in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues.
There’s a good mix of available players, including guys returning from injuries, recently recalled prospects with huge upside, and streaming options with great upcoming matchups. Whether you play in a one-catcher or two-catcher league, some potential gems are sitting out on the waiver wire that could be fantasy difference-makers.
Below, we’ll look at catcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 5 of the season -- April 28 to May 4. There are recommended adds for shallow leagues (30-49 percent rostered) and deep leagues (0-29 percent rostered), along with one very low-owned catcher to keep an eye on.
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Fantasy Baseball Catcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Sean Murphy, Atlanta Braves (42% rostered)
Sean Murphy has certainly made up for lost time since being activated from the injured list on April 8, launching six home runs in his first 14 games played of the season. He immediately stepped back in as the Braves' everyday catcher and gave their offense a boost that it desperately needed. He is only four home runs away from the 10 he put up in 72 games in 2024, making last year seem like an outlier.
Sean Murphy has slugged 6 home runs through his first 12 games of the season 🤩 pic.twitter.com/l4eK3PnGpk
— MLB (@MLB) April 23, 2025
This looks much more like the 2023 version of Murphy, who slashed .251/.365/.478 with 21 home runs in 108 games as one of the best offensive catchers in the league. Many people are still sleeping on him due to his injury at the beginning of the season, with his 42 percent ownership rate still being too low. He’s shown enough already to be ranked in the back end of the top 12 at the position, so go get him if he’s available.
He also makes for a solid streaming option for Week 5, thanks to three games in Coors Field against a weak Colorado pitching staff. Things do get tougher later in the week against the core of the Dodgers staff, but Murphy could make streaming him worthwhile with just one big game at Coors.
Francisco Alvarez, New York Mets (33% rostered)
Francisco Alvarez was featured on this list last week in anticipation of his activation off the injured list, but he ended up rehabbing for a bit longer than expected. He was finally activated on Friday, though, making him an immediate option for Week 5 and possibly the rest of the season.
He was somewhat of a letdown in 2024, batting .237 with 11 home runs in 100 games. The young catcher packed much more of a punch in 2023 when he launched 25 home runs with a .437 slugging percentage in 123 games. His barrel rate during that season ranked in the 84th percentile at 12.8 percent, and he looked like one of the best power-hitting catchers in the league.
We shouldn’t give up all hope in Alvarez after one down year, especially considering he is still only 23 years old. He still possesses immense offensive upside for the position and could become a must-start catcher if he gets back to his old ways.
He also works as a streaming option for Week 5, specifically, with a seven-game schedule against the Nationals, Diamondbacks, and Cardinals. He should be able to take advantage of pitchers such as Trevor Williams, Eduardo Rodriguez, Erick Fedde, and Steven Matz to get off to a hot start in 2025.
Fantasy Baseball Catcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Agustin Ramirez, Miami Marlins (29% rostered)
Agustin Ramirez got the call to the big leagues on Monday and immediately showed what made him such an enticing prospect. In his first three games in the majors, he went 7-for-10 with one home run, four doubles, two walks, three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base.
Agustín Ramírez cracks his first major league homer!
The 23-year-old is 7-for-10 to start his career 👀 pic.twitter.com/0OFDndbIVS
— MLB (@MLB) April 26, 2025
It’s just a three-game sample, but it’s promising to see an immediate impact after dominating in the minors. Through 19 games at Triple-A this season, he was batting .254 with three home runs and five stolen bases.
His skills were even more apparent in a full 2024 season split between Double-A and Triple-A, where he slashed .267/.358/.487 with 25 home runs, 93 RBI, 80 runs, and 22 stolen bases in 126 games played. Only two catchers in major league history, J.T. Realmuto and Ivan Rodriguez, have put up 20 home runs and 20 steals in the same season, and Ramirez has the tools to become the third.
Doing it in the big leagues is much harder than doing it in the minors, but he doesn’t need to put up that pace immediately to be useful for fantasy. He is rostered in 29 percent of leagues, and that number is bound to keep rising as he plays in more games. He’s worth an add, even in shallow one-catcher leagues, with real potential to be a top-12 option from here on out.
Ryan Jeffers, Minnesota Twins (16% rostered)
Ryan Jeffers was viewed as a mid-tier second catcher during draft season, and that’s about where his value has stayed during the early going of 2025. However, that could be about to change. He was in a 50/50 timeshare with fellow catcher Christian Vazquez to begin the season, but Vazquez’s poor offensive numbers have begun to change that.
Jeffers recently received seven straight starts over the past week, and manager Rocco Baldelli confirmed the change in playing time, saying that Jeffers will operate as more of an everyday catcher moving forward.
This is big news for the 27-year-old who slashed .226/.300/.432 with 21 home runs in 122 games in 2024. He is historically a very streaky player, but he'll likely end the year with a great final stat line for a catcher. Especially in two-catcher leagues where finding consistent playing time at the position is hard enough, Jeffers just got a big boost in value with these recent developments.
The Twins have some of the most favorable matchups for Week 5, featuring seven games at Cleveland and Boston. He’ll get to face uninspiring pitchers such as Ben Lively, Logan Allen, and Sean Newcomb.
Fantasy Baseball Catchers Waiver Wire Watch List
Edgar Quero, Chicago White Sox (2% rostered)
Edgar Quero was featured in the deep league portion of this article last week and has risen from 1 percent rostered to 2 percent rostered this week. The lack of enthusiasm is surprising considering he put up a pretty solid first week of games.
Through eight games in the majors, he has batted .333 with a .429 OBP with only two strikeouts compared to three walks. This is essentially a continuation of the .333/.444/.412 slash line that he posted in Triple-A to begin the season.
The power might be lacking for now, but he offers great on-base skills that make him worthy of owning in two-catcher leagues. He did hit 16 homers in 98 games in the minors in 2024, so there could still be some upside there, too.
Since he is still pretty much universally unowned, he’s a great guy to add to your watch list if you’re happy with both of your catchers at the moment. He could make a great add down the line as an injury replacement or streaming option when needed.
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