3 years agoCincinnati Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson opened up some eyes in 402 plate appearances during his first full season in the majors, slashing .286/.366/.431 with 10 HRs, 45 RBI, 56 runs, and no stolen bases. He showed impressive discipline at the dish with a 10.2 BB% and 18.7 K%. And now, with Tucker Barnhart out of town, nothing's stopping Stephenson from starting 100 games if healthy. Despite this, there are some concerns. He hit the ball on the ground 50% of the time, and his batting average was inflated by a .333 BABIP. Stephenson hit .493 on fly balls and line drives, even though he was in the 34th percentile for HardHit%. He outperformed his actual batting average by 29 points, with Statcast giving him a .257 xBA. Playing at Great American Ball Park will continue to play up his power, but his 5.4% barrel rate put him in just the 24th percentile, and he slugged .390 during his minor league days, hinting at a home run ceiling of around 15. The Reds lineup still looks respectable, so Stephenson's on-base ability will prevent him from being a slouch in run-scoring, but the young backstop won't reach 70 RBI while hitting near the bottom of the order. He's being drafted at pick 156 and is the seventh catcher off the board. Fantasy managers should hold off on the 25-year-old and wait for another mid-tier catcher like Mitch Garver or Mike Zunino, who have ADPs of 212 and 249, respectively.--Spencer Seguin