X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

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
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Deeper Draft Sleepers - Catcher

It's never easy to find quality fantasy baseball sleepers at catcher, especially given the state of the position in 2020. Todd Salem identifies under-the-radar players who have the skills and/or opportunity to vastly outperform their current ADP.

When we do analysis here for deeper leagues there is some semblance of universal acceptance on the parameters. While there is no definitive rule on what constitutes a "deep league", that isn't really the point. This series aims to highlight players not normally drafted but can offer value in leagues where more than roughly 300 players rostered.

The position of catcher is an outlier that rests outside of the rules of engagement, compared to the other positions. According to NFBC ADP, there are only 22 catchers considered to be top-300 players, and just three of them are ranked inside the top 100. You can see the issue almost immediately.

Every team needs to start at least one catcher, which means only three owners will get a good one (hyperbole added for the sake of argument). And if the league in question is a two-catcher league, there aren't even enough worthy catchers to fill the daily starting lineup across 12 owners. That leaves catcher in a dark place when it comes to finding deep draft sleepers, so let's get out our flashlights.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:

 

Deep League Issue

The other issue with the catcher position in deep leagues is a bit self-fulfilling. Every team needs a catcher or two. That means those players must be drafted before the draft concludes, forcing them inside the top 300 rankings whether their talents are worthy of that spot or not.

For example,  Tom Murphy (241 ADP) is not a better player than Daniel Murphy (250 ADP), in a vacuum, but teams are going to often need a catcher more than the 25th first baseman on the board. It's like looking at the ADP of kickers in fantasy football. Each team needs to draft one eventually, meaning those players' ADP will be higher than a load of more useful players.

That said, we are going to stick with deep sleepers referring to anyone outside of the top 300. But know that a deep sleeper catcher could be considerably deeper than at other positions. In other words, the bar is far lower to find value here. For catchers, the potential values we are looking for usually fall into one of two camps. Either they're set to play a lot and thus rack up counting stats, or they're skilled enough to earn a profit even while in a time-sharing situation.

 

Mike Zunino, Tampa Bay Rays (490 ADP)

There is no hidden meaning to find in his .165/.232/.312 slash line; Mike Zunino was very bad at the plate last year. However, two things are working heavily in his favor in 2020, with the first being that 2019 seemed more like an aberration for the veteran backstop.  Zunino has never made a lot of contact but what contact he did make was usually hard. His 36.9% hard-hit rate was the lowest since 2015 and represented an eight-point drop from 2018.  His barrel-rate was also down after being in the 94th percentile in both 2017 and 2018.

His 19.2-degree launch angle wasn't out of line with previous seasons but Zuninio exchanged too many lines drives for pop-ups in 2019. While his overall fly-ball rate was up two points, Zunino's line-drive rate dropped five points and his 18.2 % infield fly-ball rate was a five-point increase from 2017.

If Zunino can again find the power zone he had for much of his time in Seattle while getting appropriate playing time, he'll be a 20+ home run hitter again. This brings us to the second thing working in his favor; while Tampa Bay may have a lot of moving pieces and flexibility in their lineup, the catcher position is not one of those areas. With Travis D'Arnaud now with Atlanta, no other Rays catcher on the 40-man outside of Zunino has more than 46 major league games played in his career, meaning he should see the field more than he ever has before - relative to the percentage of games played in a shortened season. With there being a good chance of a bounce-back coming at the plate and oodles of playing time likely in store, Zunino is in prime position to flourish as a deep sleeper.

Stephen Vogt, Arizona Diamondbacks (554 ADP)

Vogt only played in 98 games last year, returning to action in May after missing all of 2018 recovering from rotator cuff surgery. That time away caused most people to forget about the talented - if past-his-prime - backstop. Vogt had a .804 OPS and 111 OPS+ in those 99 games, more reminiscent of his All-Star days previously in Oakland. With Carson Kelly in front of him now in Arizona, he isn't guaranteed full-time duties, but he should make the most of all the at-bats he does get.

There were some notable changes in Vogt's return year, both positive and negative. Vogt's 36.1% chase-rate was the highest of his career and he subsequentially posted a career-high 23.6% K-rate to go with it. But Vogt was also hitting the ball harder, with an 89.4 mph average exit-velocity that was also a career-high - and a 4.6 mph increase from 2017. That resulted in Vogt posting a 41.1% hard-hit rate that was 11-points higher than his previous best.

And he wasn't just hitting the ball harder, his batted-ball profile had changed dramatically as well. Some of these changes may have been due to a 22.4-degree launch angle that was up five degrees from the 17.1 LA he posted in 2017. Along with the angle raise, Vogt posted a 35.2% FB% (according to Baseball Savant, which does not include pop-ups) and 39.9% Pull% that were both career-highs, and his 27.5% ground-ball rate was a career-low, representing a 10-point drop from 2017.

It's also worth mentioning that Carson Kelly has just one full season under his belt in the majors, and has played in just 111 games as the "starter." Given his relative inexperience, there should be loads of opportunities for Vogt as Kelly's backup, especially if his improvements from 2019 carry over to 2020.

 

Reese McGuire, Toronto Blue Jays (602 ADP)

(Necessary, non-fantasy caveat: Reese McGuire was arrested over the off-season, and we still await any update on whether this incident will impact his standing with Toronto.)

For the past two seasons, it has been everyone's assumption that Danny Jansen would be Toronto's top catcher, and McGuire would slot in as nothing more than a backup. After an impressive 2019, however, year, it seems clear that McGuire has proved himself worthy of splitting duties behind the plate, even if his and Jansen's roles don't completely flip.

McGuire was stellar in very limited duty, but just as importantly, Jansen was awful. Jansen should bounce back, but he has opened the door for McGuire to see more playing time, especially since the latter rates as a high-quality defender. With the bat, McGuire shows a batting profile that aligns heavily with an interesting group of up-and-comers, including Tommy Edman and Oscar Mercado. Though this group makes poor contact rather often, they make up for it with a high flare rate. It helps explain his high BABIP and may be a sign that it can continue.

 

Conclusion

It won't be easy to find quality, deep sleepers at the catcher position. Heck, it won't be easy to find catchers to use every day in a standard league either. But it could be worth using one of your last draft picks on one of these players as they have the skills and/or the opportunity needed to vastly outperform their current ADP.

More 2020 Fantasy Baseball Advice




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Jaylen Johnson

Chargers Place Jaylen Johnson on PUP List
Dereck Lively II

Undergoes Right-Foot Surgery Tuesday
Kendrick Bourne

Kayshon Boutte Fighting for Final Spots
Isaiah Collier

Logs a Double-Double in Summer League Action on Monday
DeMario Douglas

Kyle Williams "Locks" for Receiving Corps
Trey Smith

Chiefs, Trey Smith Finalizing Massive Extension
Anthony Richardson Sr.

Colts Expected to Ease Anthony Richardson Sr. Back in
Devin Carter

Posts 17 Points Versus Suns
Bronny James Jr.

Scores 17 Points in Summer League Loss
Terry McLaurin

Undecided on Whether he Will Report to Training Camp
Colston Loveland

Says his Shoulder is 100 Percent
Harrison Ingram

has Impressive Outing Against Jazz
Sam Williams

has Potential to be Elite Edge Rusher
Shemar Stewart

Considering Going Back to College?
Jahmyr Gibbs

Lions Want Jahmyr Gibbs "More Involved" in Passing Game
Jordan Addison

Could be Facing Three-Game Suspension
PGA

Chris Gotterup Punches Ticket to Royal Portrush With Win at Scottish Open
Bryson DeChambeau

Hopes to Reverse Links Golf Struggle at the 153rd Open
Keegan Bradley

Needs to Find The Weekend at Royal Portrush for Ryder Cup Hopes
Kyle Filipowski

Records 35-Point Double-Double Against Spurs
Kel'el Ware

Dominates Against Celtics
Kon Knueppel

Gets Going Monday
Matas Buzelis

Puts Up 28 Points in Win Over Pacers
Reed Sheppard

Shut Down for Rest of Summer League
Paul George

Undergoes Arthroscopic Knee Surgery
Oneil Cruz

Ties Home Run Derby Distance Record
Cal Raleigh

Wins 2025 Home Run Derby
Najee Harris

Likely to Miss Time at Start of Training Camp
Justin Thomas

Finishes Tied For 22nd at Genesis Scottish Open
Scottie Scheffler

Finishes Tied For Eighth at Genesis Scottish Open
Jon Rahm

Finishes in Second at LIV Andalucia
Collin Morikawa

Misses The Cut at Genesis Scottish Open
Hideki Matsuyama

Finishes Tied For 13th at Rocket Mortgage Classic
Brooks Koepka

Finishes Tied For 32nd at LIV Andalucia
Tommy Fleetwood

Finishes Tied For 34th at Genesis Scottish Open
Jason Day

Misses The Cut at John Deere Classic
Ludvig Aberg

Finishes Tied For Eighth at Genesis Scottish Open
Cam Taylor-Britt

has Benefited From Addition of Al Golden
Rome Odunze

Could Take Off in Year 2
RJ Harvey

to Get "Significant" Work in Broncos' Passing Game
Jackson Powers-Johnson

More Comfortable Heading into Year 2
Luke McCaffrey

In Line for Larger Role?
Braelon Allen

Jets Viewing Braelon Allen as Long-Term Starter?
Joel Embiid

Participating in Partial Basketball Activities
Victor Wembanyama

Officially Cleared to Return After Blood-Clot Recovery
Mike Williams

Heading to PUP List
Garrett Wilson

Lands Historic Deal
Colston Loveland

Shoulder "Good" After Surgery
Tallison Teixeira

Suffers First-Round TKO
Derrick Lewis

Scores First-Round TKO
Michael Lorenzen

Royals Put Michael Lorenzen on Injured List With Oblique Strain
Stephen Thompson

Loses Controversial Split Decision
Gabriel Bonfim

Wins Controversial Split Decision
Calvin Kattar

Gets Outclassed At UFC Nashville
Steve Garcia

Extends His Win Streak
Nate Landwehr

Gets Knocked Out
Morgan Charrière

Morgan Charriere Scores Third-Round Knockout
Kel'el Ware

Collects 21 Points in Summer League Loss on Sunday
Austen Lane

Suffers Submission Loss
Vitor Petrino

Scores First-Round Submission In Heavyweight Debut
Cam Spencer

Contract Being Restructured
Drew Timme

Scores 30 Points in Summer League Loss to Wizards
Tuco Tokkos

Earns His First UFC Win
Alexandre Sarr

Logs Impressive Outing in Summer League Action on Sunday
Junior Tafa

Unsuccessful in his Light-Heavyweight Debut
Kyle Filipowski

Scores 21 Points in Summer League Loss to Warriors
Cody Williams

Collects 22 Points in Summer League Loss on Sunday
Chase Elliott

Charges to A Finish of Third At Sonoma
Chase Briscoe

Finishes Second With his First Career Road-Course Top-Five at Sonoma
Christopher Bell

Rollercoaster Day Ends With Top-5 Finish at Sonoma
William Byron

Maintains the Regular-Season Points Lead
Kyle Busch

Earns A Hard-Fought Top-10 Finish At Sonoma
Alex Ovechkin

Not Thinking About Retirement
PIT

Penguins Acquire Arturs Silovs
NHL

Nikolai Kovalenko Returns to Russia
Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Tosses Gem Against Giants
Shota Imanaga

Shuts Down Yankees on Sunday
Nathan Eovaldi

Dominant Again in Seventh Win
Tyler Reddick

Evades Near Upset to Remain Alive in In-Season Challenge
Ty Gibbs

One of Three Tylers to Make In-Season Challenge Semifinals
Kyle Larson

Curiously Mediocre at Sonoma Before Late-Race Crash
NASCAR

John H. Nemechek Edges Out Teammate to Make In-Season Challenge Semifinal
Alex Bowman

Ty Dillon Bumps Alex Bowman to Advance to In-Season Challenge Semifinal
Chicago White Sox

Billy Carlson Goes 10th Overall to White Sox
Cincinnati Reds

Steele Hall Selected Ninth by Cincinnati
Toronto Blue Jays

Blue Jays Select JoJo Parker with Eighth Overall Pick
Boston Celtics

Damian Lillard Drawing Interest from the Celtics
Miami Marlins

Marlins Select Aiva Arquette With Seventh Overall Pick
Pittsburgh Pirates

Pirates Select Seth Hernandez with Sixth Overall Pick
Kyle Stowers

Punishes Former Team with Three-Homer Game
St. Louis Cardinals

Cardinals Select Liam Doyle with Fifth Overall Pick
Daniel Gafford

Agrees to Contract Extension with Dallas
Colorado Rockies

Rockies Select Ethan Holliday Fourth Overall
Seattle Mariners

Kade Anderson Selected Third Overall by Seattle
Ha-Seong Kim

X-rays on Ha-Seong Kim's Foot Come Back Negative
Los Angeles Angels

Tyler Bremner Selected Second Overall by Angels in 2025 MLB Draft
Washington Nationals

Nationals Select Eli Willits First Overall
Jake Meyers

to Miss More Than Three Weeks With Calf Injury
Edward Cabrera

Hopeful to Avoid Injured List
Oneil Cruz

Absent on Sunday
Shane Van Gisbergen

Can Anyone Beat Shane van Gisbergen at Sonoma?
Tyler Reddick

Better at Sonoma Than Record Shows
Chase Elliott

a Prime DFS Option at Sonoma
Michael McDowell

Struggling a Bit at Sonoma
NASCAR

Christopher Bell Has Never Finished Better Than Ninth at Sonoma
Ryan Blaney

Has Top-10 Upside at Sonoma
NASCAR

Sunday at Sonoma Will Likely Be a Long Race for Bubba Wallace
Kyle Larson

Is A Likely Top-Five Contender for Sonoma
Ryan Preece

Points Position Could Affect Race at Sonoma
Todd Gilliland

Struggling to Find Speed at Sonoma
Ty Gibbs

May be an Underrated Favorite to Compete for the Win at Sonoma
Erik Karlsson

Open to Move Away From Pittsburgh
Zach Hyman

Hopes to be Ready for Start of Next Season
SJ

Jeff Skinner Joins Sharks on One-Year Contract
Ryan Reaves

Traded to Sharks
Vladislav Kolyachonok

Moves to Dallas
Matt Dumba

Lands in Pittsburgh
Mackie Samoskevich

Re-Signs with Panthers on One-Year Deal
Josh Manson

Inks Two-Year Extension with Avalanche
EDM

Isaac Howard Signs Three-Year, Entry-Level Contract With Oilers
Tallison Teixeira

Set For His First UFC Main Event
Derrick Lewis

Set To Headline UFC Nashville
Gabriel Bonfim

Looks For His Third UFC Win
Stephen Thompson

Returns At UFC Nashville
Steve Garcia

Looks To Extend His Win Streak
Calvin Kattar

In Dire Need Of Victory
Morgan Charrière

Morgan Charriere A Favorite At UFC Nashville
Nate Landwehr

Aims To Bounce Back
MMA

Austen Lane Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF