X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Join the Best Live Fantasy Chat Community!

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Player Comparisons
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Catchers Set to Break Out in 2017

Catcher is a position that is in severe need of a breakout from some guys in 2017. While last season did give us a nice breakout like Yasmani Grandal and an eye-popping debut like Gary Sanchez, it’s a still a light position that is pretty much Buster Posey and everyone else.

Since only one team in your fantasy league is going to draft Posey and the chances are it will be someone else, it’d be nice if you can score on one of the breakout catchers. Some of these guys won't be drafted until the later rounds if even at all, so you can even grab one of these guys as your backup catcher and see what happens.

This year's list of potential breakout catchers include an up-and-coming youngster getting a full time big league job for the first time, a catcher who had a mini-breakout last season and a power hitter who has struggled with other parts of his game but is looking like he's ready to put it together. Here are the three catchers who I believe have a good chance to break out for fantasy owners in 2017.

Featured Promo: Get ANY MLB Premium Pass for 10% off the regular price with code BALLER. Exclusive access to our Draft Kit, Nick Mariano's #1 accuracy rankings, Ariel Cohen's #1 accuracy ATC projections, customized advice in the Team Sync platform, Live Draft Assistant, 15 in-season lineup tools, customized rankings and much more! Go Premium, Win More!

 

2017 Catcher Breakouts

Austin Hedges, San Diego Padres

Austin Hedges has long been regarded as an elite defensive catcher, but he didn’t really reach top prospect status until he started tearing up the high minors at the plate in 2015. In two seasons at Triple-A in 2015 and 2016, he slashed .326/.361/.583 in 413 plate appearances, after hitting just .225/.272/.314 in 532 plate appearances in Double-A from 2013 to 2014. His ISO went from .112 before 2016 to .255 in 2016, and he started driving the ball more, with a groundball rate of 35 percent, down from 45 percent in years prior.

That was so big of a jump that the offense-friendly Pacific Coast League couldn’t possibly explain all of it. This looks to have all the makings a guy making adjustments and figuring things out at the plate, taking his offense to the next level. Hedges earned eventual call-ups to the big leagues in 2015 and 2016, and has only hit .161 in 64 games at the major league level, but that didn’t stop the Padres from clearing the way for him to become their starting backstop this season and trading veteran Derek Norris to the Nationals.

Now it’s Hedges’ chance to show the fantasy world what he can do with an everyday big league gig. I’d hesitate to call him a sleeper at this point as the expectations for him are not exactly flying under-the-radar. Everyone loves the idea of getting a young up-and-coming player and pairing him with a veteran catcher on your fantasy roster could pay dividends if Hedges’ power translates to the major league level in 2017.

 

Cameron Rupp, Philadelphia Phillies

Cameron Rupp has been around the big leagues for a while, muddling through the last few years on last place Phillies teams, but last year as the team got an infusion of young talent and didn’t finish in the N.L. East cellar for the first time in three seasons, Rupp had himself a mini breakout, hitting .252/.303/.447 with 16 homers and 54 RBI in 419 plate appearances.

There is reason to believe we haven’t seen Rupp’s ceiling as far as counting stats and he could be in for a true breakout in 2017. He improved his HR/FB rate in 2016, with 16.8 percent of his fly balls leaving the park, and he saw an increase in exit velocity as well. He hit more ground balls last year than he did in previous years, but if he can turn that around back to his career average, the stars could align for 25+ bombs and turn Rupp into a top 10 fantasy catcher.

Rupp also reportedly played through an arm injury much of last season, which mostly affected his work behind the plate throwing out runners. But a guy on an upward trend and fully healthy going into 2017 is a good recipe for a breakout candidate.

 

Mike Zunino, Seattle Mariners

The Mariners aggressively promoted Mike Zunino, whom they drafted in the first round in 2012, pushing him to the bigs by 2013 after just 96 minor league games, so he has been taking the trial by fire path to the fantasy relevance, and it really hasn’t been pretty most of the time. Fantasy owners have shuddered at his batting average, which was as low as .174 in 2015, but he’s always held some intrigue as a home run hitter and is still only 25 years old. After a cringe-worthy 2015, Zunino improved in a lot of areas last season that shows that he has made some adjustments to his game, giving us reason for optimism that he is close to finally figuring it all out.

In 2016, Zunino showed improved plate discipline, swinging at fewer pitches and – more importantly – swinging at fewer pitches outside the zone, cutting down his swing percentage on those pitches from 33.7 percent in 2015 to 27.7 percent in 2016. This helped get his walk rate up from just 5.4 percent in 2015 to 10.9 in 2016, and he improved his OBP from .230 in 2015 to .318 in 2016. His HR/FB rate jumped up to a likely unsustainable 23.1 percent in 2016, but his home run rate of a homer every 13.7 times at bat is closer to what he’s shown at the minor league level.

And, despite the addition of veteran catcher Carlos Ruiz to the squad this winter, he is still very much the Mariners’ starting catcher, as he’s well regarded for his stellar defensive work behind the plate. Ruiz will provide a veteran presence on the team and could spell Zunino if he goes into slumps, but fantasy owners can expect Zunino to get around 120 games in 2017. If the new and improved Zunino we saw last year is the real Zunino, 120 games could result in 25+ homers, and even 30 is not that outrageous of an idea.

 

More Potential Breakouts




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Player Comparisons
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Nick Senzel6 hours ago

Expected To Miss 3-4 Weeks
Jon Gray6 hours ago

To Start On Sunday
Justin Steele6 hours ago

Likely To Go On Injured List
Anfernee Simons8 hours ago

Out Against The Heat
Max Kepler9 hours ago

X-Rays Come Back Negative On Max Kepler
Keldon Johnson9 hours ago

Questionable For Friday
Justin Steele9 hours ago

Has Left-Hamstring Tightness
Matisse Thybulle9 hours ago

Questionable For Friday
Davis Bertans9 hours ago

Listed As Probable For Friday
Jusuf Nurkic9 hours ago

Questionable Against Oklahoma City
Dario Saric9 hours ago

Listed As Questionable For Friday
Noah Clowney9 hours ago

Probable For Nets Friday
Jonathan Kuminga9 hours ago

Questionable For Warriors Friday
Jerami Grant9 hours ago

Considered Doubtful For Friday
Dennis Smith9 hours ago

Jr. Probable For Friday
Lauri Markkanen10 hours ago

Questionable Against Houston
Toumani Camara10 hours ago

Will Not Play Friday
Justin Steele10 hours ago

Exits Thursday's Start
Richaun Holmes10 hours ago

Out Versus Pistons
Cameron Johnson10 hours ago

Out Against Chicago On Friday
Luka Doncic10 hours ago

On The Injury Report For Friday
David Bednar10 hours ago

Still Dealing With Lat Injury
Deandre Ayton10 hours ago

Is Questionable For Friday
Rudy Gobert10 hours ago

Might Miss Friday's Game
Tyus Jones10 hours ago

Unavailable For Friday
Zeke Nnaji10 hours ago

Ruled Out Against Minnesota
Jaden Ivey10 hours ago

Listed As Questionable For Friday
Rhys McKee10 hours ago

Searching For First UFC Win
Anthony Edwards10 hours ago

Uncertain For Friday Night
Chidi Njokuani10 hours ago

Drops Back Down To Welterweight At UFC Atlantic City
Kyle Nelson10 hours ago

An Underdog Again At UFC Atlantic City
Bill Algeo10 hours ago

Eyes Sixth UFC Win
Joaquin Buckley11 hours ago

Gets Ranked Opponent At UFC Atlantic City
Vicente Luque11 hours ago

Gets Short-Notice Opponent At UFC Atlantic City
Eduardo Rodriguez11 hours ago

Could Throw Off Mound In 5-7 Days
Max Kepler11 hours ago

Leaves On Opening Day With Injury
Nick Senzel12 hours ago

Suffers Broken Thumb
Jason Foley12 hours ago

Earns The Save For Tigers
Tarik Skubal12 hours ago

Tosses Six Scoreless Innings On Opening Day
Corbin Burnes13 hours ago

Pitches A Gem On Opening Day
Royce Lewis13 hours ago

Exits With Quad Injury
Max Scherzer14 hours ago

Throws Bullpen Session
Clayton Kershaw15 hours ago

"Ahead Of Things" Timetable-Wise
Walker Buehler15 hours ago

Ahead Of Schedule
Corey Seager15 hours ago

Active On Opening Day
Oneil Cruz15 hours ago

Batting Sixth On Opening Day
Bryan Reynolds17 hours ago

In Opening Day Lineup
Jordan Romano19 hours ago

Not Expected To Be Out Long
Aaron Ekblad20 hours ago

Returning To Panthers Lineup Thursday
Nikita Kucherov20 hours ago

Establishes New Career High With 42nd Goal
Shane Pinto20 hours ago

Collects Career-High Four Points
Valeri Nichushkin20 hours ago

Nursing A Lower-Body Injury
Samuel Girard20 hours ago

Battling An Illness
J.K. Dobbins20 hours ago

Visiting With Chargers On Thursday
Oskar Sundqvist20 hours ago

To Miss Rest Of Season With Torn ACL
Ethan Bear20 hours ago

Enters Player Assistance Program
Mark Hubbard2 days ago

Coming Off A Career Performance
Davis Thompson2 days ago

Looking To Pay Off A Stellar Run Of Ball-Striking
Akshay Bhatia2 days ago

Coming Into Houston With Confidence
Thorbjorn Olesen2 days ago

Still Trying To Find Footing On U.S. Soil
Patrick Rodgers2 days ago

Fighting Inconsistencies Heading Into Houston
Malik Nabers2 days ago

Shines At Pro Day
Carolina Panthers2 days ago

Jadeveon Clowney Signing Two-Year Deal With Panthers
Wyndham Clark2 days ago

Battling Back Injury Ahead of Houston Open
San Francisco 49ers2 days ago

Talanoa Hufanga Expected To Return At Training Camp
Jayden Daniels2 days ago

Raiders To Meet With Jayden Daniels
Tank Bigsby2 days ago

Jaguars Want Tank Bigsby More Involved
Josh Reynolds2 days ago

Signs Two-Year Deal With Broncos
Doug Ghim2 days ago

Looks To Bounce Back At Houston Open
PGA2 days ago

Cameron Davis Seeking Consistency Ahead Of Houston Open
Thomas Detry2 days ago

A Gamble At Houston Open
Ryan Fox2 days ago

Lacks Upside Heading Into Houston Open
Andrew Novak2 days ago

Will Be Chalk At Houston Open
Josh Doan2 days ago

Scores Twice In His NHL Debut
Filip Forsberg2 days ago

Makes History In Big Comeback Win
Jamie Benn2 days ago

Scores In Fifth Consecutive Game
Sidney Crosby2 days ago

Collects Three Points Versus Carolina
Artemi Panarin2 days ago

Continues Scoring Tear With Three Assists
Joey Daccord2 days ago

Shuts Out Ducks
Sahith Theegala2 days ago

Showing Consistency This Season
Wyndham Clark2 days ago

Working Toward Star Status
Scottie Scheffler2 days ago

Heads To Houston At His Best
Sam Ryder2 days ago

Putting The Lights Out Of Late
Joel Dahmen2 days ago

All Systems Go For Joel Dahmen In Houston
Kurt Kitayama2 days ago

Ready For Houston Debut
Ben Griffin2 days ago

Finding Form Heading To Houston
Taylor Moore2 days ago

Continues Made-Cut Streak Heading To Houston
Adam Svensson2 days ago

Hoping For Consistency In Houston
Taylor Montgomery2 days ago

Looks To Bounce Back In Houston
Amon-Ra St. Brown2 days ago

Discussing Extension With Lions
Jared Goff2 days ago

Lions Discussing New Deal
J.K. Dobbins2 days ago

Cleared For Football Activities
Los Angeles Rams2 days ago

Tre'Davious White To Join Rams
PIT3 days ago

Sam Poulin Recalled From AHL
Jack Quinn3 days ago

Could Return Wednesday
Scott Mayfield3 days ago

Undergoes Season-Ending Surgery
TOR3 days ago

Mitch Marner Skates On His Own Tuesday
Trevor Zegras3 days ago

To Return Tuesday
Justus Annunen3 days ago

Inks Two-Year Extension
Nick Chubb3 days ago

Expected To Start Load Running Next Month
D'Andre Swift3 days ago

Bears View D'Andre Swift As Receiving Weapon
Cordarrelle Patterson3 days ago

Signing With Steelers
Sam Howell3 days ago

Seahawks Believe Sam Howell Can Be A Full-Time Starter
Tennessee Titans3 days ago

L'Jarius Sneed Agrees On Four-Year Contract With Titans
Dak Prescott3 days ago

No Indication A Deal Is Coming For Dak Prescott
Calvin Ridley3 days ago

To Have Big Role In Tennessee
Josh Jacobs3 days ago

To Be Used More In Passing Game
Brandon Saad3 days ago

Gets Another Goal In Monday's Loss
Logan Thompson3 days ago

Stretches Winning Streak To Three Games
Pittsburgh Steelers3 days ago

Cameron Heyward Expected To Be Healthy For Training Camp
Zach Wilson3 days ago

Jets Could End Up Keeping Zach Wilson
Amanda Ribas4 days ago

Takes Decision Loss
Rose Namajunas4 days ago

Snaps Losing Streak
Edmen Shahbazyan4 days ago

Scores Vicious Comeback Knockout
AJ Dobson4 days ago

Knocked Out In The First Round At UFC Vegas 89
Fernando Padilla4 days ago

Gets Back On Track With Submission Win
Luis Pajuelo4 days ago

Submitted In UFC Debut
William Byron4 days ago

Dominates For Victory At COTA
Ty Gibbs4 days ago

Grabs Another Solid Finish At COTA
Chris Buescher4 days ago

Texas Native Chris Buescher Finishes Eighth At COTA
Christopher Bell4 days ago

Kyle Busch Confronts Christopher Bell Following A Top-10 Finish At COTA
Justin Haley4 days ago

Disqualified After Strong COTA Run
Martin Truex Jr4 days ago

. Rounds Out Top Ten At COTA
NASCAR4 days ago

A.J. Allmendinger Worms Way Up To Sixth At COTA
Shane Van Gisbergen4 days ago

Shane van Gisbergen Comes Down to Earth After Mediocre COTA Run
Ross Chastain4 days ago

Ran Well at COTA as Usual Despite Late-Race Fade
Christopher Bell4 days ago

Furious Charge Falls Just Short at COTA
Tyler Reddick4 days ago

Scores Strong Finish of Fifth at COTA
Chase Elliott4 days ago

Finishes 16th at COTA After Lackluster Performance
Billy Quarantillo5 days ago

Suffers Submission Loss At UFC Vegas 89
Youssef Zalal5 days ago

Gets Submission Win In Return To The UFC
Cameron Saaiman5 days ago

Gets Knocked Out At UFC Vegas 89
Payton Talbott5 days ago

Scores KO Win At UFC Vegas 89
Justin Tafa5 days ago

Drops To .500 In The UFC
Karl Williams5 days ago

Remains Undefeated In The UFC
Kyle Larson5 days ago

Is One Of The Optimal DFS Options For COTA
Denny Hamlin5 days ago

Should Denny Hamlin Be Rostered For DFS Lineups At COTA?
Kaz Grala5 days ago

Is A Serviceable DFS Play For COTA
Shane Van Gisbergen5 days ago

Will Start 12th In First COTA Cup Start
Todd Gilliland5 days ago

Is A Sneaky DFS Play With Upside For COTA
William Byron5 days ago

Is One Of The Top Favorites To Win At COTA
Christopher Bell5 days ago

Is A Comfortable DFS Play For COTA
Tyler Reddick5 days ago

the Favorite to Win at COTA
Ty Gibbs5 days ago

Looking for First Career Win at COTA
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF