When you're putting your rankings for the 2021 Fantasy baseball season together, you should always wait until the very end to do catcher. Because, while positional scarcity isn't really a big factor in Fantasy these days -- the explosion in home run rates and team's willingness to use lesser defenders at tougher positions thanks to the shift means you have guys like Mike Moustakas playing second base -- catcher is still by far and away the worst position in the game for hitters.
In 2020, there were only four catchers who finished among the top 100 hitters in Roto scoring, and none were inside of the top 40. Compare that to a historically weaker position like second base, where seven players finished in the top 100; shortstop had 13 players in the top 100, including more in the top 20 (five) than there were catchers in the top 100.
In my rankings for the 2021 season, I'm taking it even further: J.T. Realmuto is my only top-100 catcher, while Will Smith, Willson Contreras, Salvador Perez, and Yasmani Grandal are the only ones inside the top 200 overall. If positions didn't matter and you just had to start 13 batters in a Roto league, Realmuto might be the only one I even considered a starter; Smith, Contreras, and a few others have the potential to be that good, but Realmuto is the only one I'm confident will be that kind of difference maker.
This means, I'm either paying up for Realmuto or I'm waiting a long time to take a catcher. There are a few available in the late rounds who could give you similar production from the likes of Perez or Contreras, so I'm OK waiting for that.
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Age (on opening day): 23Where he played in 2019: Rookie, short-season Class A, low Class A2019 minors: .254 BA (130 AB), 4 HR, 8 2B, .774 OPS, 20 BB, 27 K While the threshold for becoming an impact catcher in Fantasy baseball is high, the top pick in the 2019 draft is the rare sort of generational talent you can bet on meeting it. His defense won't be an impediment to his playing time, and his bat could be MVP-caliber, getting compared to some of the all-time greats at the position.Scott's 2021 Fantasy impact: midseason hopeful
Age (on opening day): 24Where he played in 2019: high Class A, Double-A2019 minors: .278 BA (313 AB), 16 HR, .824 OPS, 21 BB, 71 K2020 majors: .233 BA (103 AB), 2 3B, 5 2B, .609 OPS, 3 BB, 41 K Given how little minor-league experience Bart had at a position that requires more than most, it's not surprising he didn't rise to the occasion after Buster Posey chose to opt out. He'll go back down for some more development time this year and still profiles as a big bat at a position mostly devoid of them.Scott's 2021 Fantasy impact: midseason hopeful
Age (on opening day): 22Where he played in 2019: high Class A2019 minors: .325 BA (422 AB), 15 HR, 31 2B, .906 OPS, 52 BB, 57 K2020 majors: 1 for 3, HR, 0 BB, 2 K Campusano's one appearance at DH in 2020 actually cost him catcher eligibility, but it will be short-lived now that Francisco Mejia's departure makes him the heir apparent at the position. Few catchers are capable of winning a batting title, as Campusano did in 2019, and few hitters of any kind are capable of swinging a 40-ounce bat, which he has been known to do on occasion.Scott's 2021 Fantasy impact: midseason hopeful
Age (on opening day): 19Where he played in 2019: Rookie2019 minors: .312 (157 AB), 7 HR, 10 2B, .916 OPS, 21 BB, 37 K Catchers are notoriously difficult to project, especially so far out from the majors, but in becoming the youngest player in the Appalachian League in 2019, Alvarez put himself on the short list of those worth the price of admission. He barrels up balls with impressive regularity and just needs for his glove to keep up with his bat as he climbs the ladder.Scott's 2021 Fantasy impact: don't count on it
Age (on opening day): 23Where he played in 2019: low Class A, high Class A2019 minors: .278 BA (475 AB), 28 HR, 22 2B, .845 OPS, 33 BB, 154 K2020 majors: .355 BA (31 AB), 3 HR, 3 2B, 1.136 OPS, 2 BB, 11 K Huff looks ready to step in as the Rangers' regular catcher, his power playing up as expected in his first big-league look. Striking out one-third of the time of course presents a thin margin for error, especially at a position where he's liable to split time, but he does produce the sort of elite exit velocities that would allow him to excel anyway.Scott's 2021 Fantasy impact: fighting this spring huge breakout last season, and find out.
