RADIO
Later-round catcher (C) fantasy baseball sleepers, breakouts predictions for 2026. These cheap catcher draft values with upside make for great late-round picks.
RotoBallers, we are back with some more late-round fantasy baseball values and sleepers for your upcoming 2026 fantasy baseball drafts. Today, we focus on catchers. Although the catcher position has been deep in recent years, it can still be volatile, and every year viable catchers emerge as waiver wire options or later-round picks. Below we have five later-round catcher fantasy baseball sleepers and values to consider drafting.
The later rounds are where you can shoot for the moon and select players with league-winning upside, take a chance on an injured star, or even an emerging top prospect. If fantasy managers miss out on taking a top 12 catcher in their upcoming fantasy drafts, we have some late-round options who could pay off and be a tremendous value. Are their ADPs undervalued? Will these hitters provide a big return on their draft day cost? Read on to see our takes.
The five catcher fantasy baseball outlooks for 2026 below are meant to give you a taste of the in-depth analysis you receive with our industry-leading 2026 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit. Be sure to save 30% on any MLB Package today to start reading all of our in-depth 2026 player outlooks and many other premium articles and tools, including Team Sync, the Live Draft Sync assistant, Custom Rankings Service, and so much more. Let's win some leagues in 2026!
Featured Promo: Save 50% the regular price with discount code SPRING, for a limited time. Exclusive access to our Team Sync platform, DFS cheat sheets, Lineup Optimizers, betting/prop picks, and exclusive content from Nick Mariano and Eric Cross! GAIN ACCESS NOW
Later-Round Values: Catcher Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
Carter Jensen, C, Kansas City Royals
After a breakout 2024 season in the Minors, Carter Jensen followed it up with an even better 2025 season. Jensen started 2024 in High-A but finished last year in the Majors as he impressed at each stop and became the Royals' top prospect along the way. Jensen also looked the part in the majors. In 20 games for the Royals, Jensen hit .300/.391/.550 with three home runs.
It's important not to get too carried away with such a small sample. But given he hit .292/.360/.420 with six homers at Double-A (68 games) and .288/.404/.647 with 14 homers at Triple-A (43 games) before his promotion last year, we can safely say his MLB numbers weren't a fluke. A .300 batting average might be a bit too big of an ask over a full season, but his bat looks major league-ready.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro on MLB's No. 18 prospect Carter Jensen:
“He's a rat. He's going to do everything in his power to be as good as he can be... you've gotta think sky is the limit [for him].”
MLB Network + @SageUSAmerica pic.twitter.com/0Bl2NrktJp
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 24, 2026
With Salvador Perez spending less time behind the plate, Jensen has a route to ample playing time, either catching or as the Royals' designated hitter. With the hitter-friendly changes to Kauffman Stadium, 2026 is set to be a productive year for hitters in Kansas City. Even with the catcher pool being deeper than ever in fantasy, Jensen should not be overlooked and could easily end the season as a top 10 fantasy catcher.
-- Jamie Steed - RotoBaller
Francisco Alvarez, C, New York Mets
New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez flashed improved offensive numbers despite being limited by injuries in 2025. In 76 games played, Alvarez registered 11 home runs, 32 RBI, and posted a triple slash of .256/.339/.447. The 24-year-old catcher attacked opposing pitchers harder than ever with career-highs in Average EV (93.1) and Hard-Hit Rate (54.3%), leading to career-bests in batting average and on base percentage.
Alvarez missed the beginning of the 2025 season after fracturing his left hamate bone during live batting practice in March and made his debut in late April after recovering from surgery. The New York catcher was then demoted to the minors after offensive struggles in late June and then returned to the majors in late July after a .299 batting average and 11 home runs in 19 Triple-A games. Towards the end of September, it was announced that Alvarez would spend the offseason recovering from surgery for a UCL tear in his right thumb.
Will Sammon and Tim Britton of The Athletic reported in mid-February that the Mets' plan for Alvarez was to limit his spring training activities, including missing the first week of the Grapefruit League, and easing him back into catching. Alvarez is expected to be the Mets' primary catcher and is expected to be ready to go for opening day. ATC projections forecast Alvarez to hit 19 home runs with 57 RBI and 51 runs scored, and a triple slash of .233/.312/.419 in 429 plate appearances.
NFBC players are drafting Alvarez at an ADP of 169 in March. RotoBaller.com ranks Alvarez as No. 247 overall and No. 17 among all catchers. Although Alvarez has intriguing fantasy upside in the power categories, his injury history remains a major concern.
-- Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Alejandro Kirk, C, Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk turned in the best season of his big league career in 2025, posting a .282/.348/.421 (116 wRC+) slash line, along with career highs in home runs (15) and RBI (76). In addition, the 27-year-old catcher had the best quality of contact of his career with a 50.8% hard-hit rate and 10.1% barrel rate.
Kirk's calling card at the plate is his elite contact ability with a career 11.6% strikeout rate. There could also be untapped power potential with Kirk, as he ranked in the top 15 in the gap between his actual SLG (.421) and xSLG (.480).
Kirk provides a high floor at batting average that is hard to find at the catcher position, though it will likely come with somewhat underwhelming counting stats. Kirk offers no value in the stolen base category due to his poor speed, but he remains a solid option in the mid-100s of drafts as a third-to-fourth tier catcher with a strong batting average and moderate power upside.
-- Kyle McCarthy - RotoBaller
Samuel Basallo, C, Baltimore Orioles
The number of all-star caliber catchers for the Baltimore Orioles is about to double from one to two with Samuel Basallo set for his first full major league season in 2026. The powerful 21-year-old rookie backstop cranked 23 home runs in just 76 Triple-A games before adding four more in 31 games with the Orioles.
The quality of contact metrics truly stands out here with Basallo, who registered an impressive 56.9% hard-hit rate and 94.2 mph AVG EV in Triple-A last season, both of which ranked near the top of the Triple-A leaderboard. He also walked at a 13.7% clip while keeping the strikeout rate in check at 23.7%.
Even if his below-average contact rate keeps the batting average in check, Basallo's level of impact could allow him to keep the average in the .260 range while possibly pushing 25-30 home runs as a rookie. He's a great upside play if you want to wait on a catcher in your fantasy drafts.
-- Eric Cross - RotoBaller
Logan O'Hoppe, C, Los Angeles Angels
Los Angeles Angels catcher Logan O'Hoppe was a popular breakout candidate last year. That didn't materialise. In 119 games, the Angels catcher hit .213/.258/.371 with 19 home runs, 43 RBI, 35 runs, and two stolen bases. A significant drop off from his .244/.303/.409 slash line in 2024 (136 games) and 2023 emergence when O'Hoppe hit .236/.296/.500 in 51 games.
O'Hoppe's quality of contact last year was similar to 2024. His 13.3% Barrel% ranked in the 83rd percentile, and 46.9% HardHit% ranked in the 72nd percentile. O'Hoppe also had a solid .425 xSLG (expected slugging percentage), which ranked in the 52nd percentile. It's unlikely O'Hoppe will hit for a good average, given his .228 xBA in 2025. O'Hoppe also had a .318 BABIP in 2024, which will have helped him hit .244.
Logan O’Hoppe with a solid start to ST:
.333 AVG
2 HR
6 RBI
2 BB
1.467 OPS
pic.twitter.com/7hEeCD6P5p— SleeperAngels (@SleeperAngels) March 2, 2026
The power is legitimate, and even though catcher is a position of more depth than we've seen for many years, only nine catchers hit more home runs in 2025 than O'Hoppe. The Angels' backstop played fewer games than all nine of them. In two catcher leagues, O'Hoppe is an ideal second option. Especially as ~20 catchers are being drafted before him. In deeper one-catcher leagues, if you skip on the top options, O'Hoppe should still be on your radar in the last couple of rounds.
-- Jamie Steed - RotoBaller
Who Should I Draft Fantasy Baseball Tool
Not sure who to draft? Use our free Who Should I Draft tool.
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to draft...
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four MLB players at once, and then click the Who To Draft? button to see who the recommended draft picks are based on fantasy baseball rankings, projections and more.
Improvements For Who Should I Draft? We have lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your 2026 fantasy baseball drafts. You'll see MLB player tiles with stats and projections, ADPs, and news -- enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their preseason fantasy baseball rankings and projections based on their research, and update it constantly throughout the preseason. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players that are ranked.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy baseball managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's roto leagues (rotisserie) scoring, or points leagues scoring. The second thing you want to do, is to select the scoring format. There are two small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Draft Searches. Curious to see some tough draft decisions for 2026? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Draft? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at, including recent trending player names who are seeing increases or decreases in their draft values. Click any of the links to see the results and recommendations.
Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Draft
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Draft tool for 2026 drafts:
No matching players.More Fantasy Baseball Analysis
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy baseball app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, sleepers, prospects & more. All free!
