To help with your fantasy baseball draft prep, Dalton Del Don will examine potential draft bargains at each position. He kicks off his series with the catchers.
Garver is two seasons removed from swatting 31 homers over just 93 games, when his 155 wRC+ easily led all catchers. After a forgetful 2020, Garver bounced back last year with 13 home runs over 207 at bats, including a .256 xBA and a 137 wRC+ that was better than Salvador Perez’s. If he qualified, Garver would’ve ranked in the top 5% of the league (among all hitters not just catchers) in Barrel% and in the top 3% in Hard Hit%. Injuries remain a concern, but his bat is plenty good enough to warrant DH time as well. Garver could easily finish as a top-three fantasy catcher this season, yet his Yahoo ADP is in Round 20.
Nola is an afterthought in drafts, although it was injuries solely to blame for his poor 2021. He admittedly has durability concerns, but he also sports a higher career wRC+ (114) than J.T. Realmuto (109)….