On the heels of our release of the top 50 catchers for dynasty baseball in 2024, Geoff Pontes and Dylan White go into more details about some names on the list that stand out.
We’ll provide some targets who will likely improve their value by next offseason, some sleepers who may or may not be rostered in your leagues but are worth taking a shot on before they increase their value substantially, and a fade who is someone who might be at the peak of their value right now.
You can find our 2024 dynasty rankings here. We will unveil new position rankings and corresponding targets, sleepers and fades each week.
Prior to the 2023 season, we ranked Alvarez among our top-five fantasy prospects with a prime projection akin to an elite hitter, let alone someone at the catcher position. After his age-21 debut, Alvarez showed he can manage the pitching staff of a contender while also slugging home runs, all while dealing with the intense scrutiny and pressure of Big Apple media coverage and a demanding Mets fan base. In other words, nothing has changed in our evaluation. If anything, he has added more objective evidence that he will attain those lofty heights.
Bo Naylor, Guardians
Although they recently signed Austin Hedges this offseason, I still expect Naylor to get the bulk of the playing time for the Guardians. He’s most certainly still their catcher of the future. Although it was only 230 plate appearances, Naylor put up 2.4 fWAR at 23 years old courtesy of his 123 wRC+ and above-average framing and pop times. With his advanced approach and contact skills, expect him to be a consistent 20-homer threat with great OBPs.
– Dylan White
Sean Murphy, Braves
Murphy looked like a no-doubt top-five catcher over the first half of the season, hitting .306/.400/.599. Murphy’s season came undone in the second half as he hit .159/.310/.275 over the final 40 games. Why did his production drop off so precipitously? On June 17, Murphy was pulled from a game with hamstring tightness and his numbers dropped after that point. Expecting Murphy healthy this season, I’m willing to buy back in on the first-half surge and get a low-cost piece of the Braves potent lineup.
– Geoff Pontes
Samuel Basallo, Orioles
The Orioles’ embarrassment of riches in the minor leagues has never been as clear as it is right now. While they have the best young catcher in the major leagues in Adley Rutschman, they may have the best catching prospect, too. Basallo is…