Fantasy Baseball 2019: How To Build A Top 5 Catcher At The End Of The Draft

Catcher is a weak position, so many might be inclined to reach a bit in the early rounds for J.T. Realmuto or Gary Sanchez, especially when the ranks became even thinner thanks to Salvador Perez’s season-ending injury. That’s not an unwise move, unless you truly reach too early. There is, however, another path to a top catcher. It’s possible to piece it together with two cheap players, as long as they’re on the same team. I’ve done it before, and I believe I’ve spotted some tandems that can Frankenstein you high-end production at the scarcest position in fantasy. Remember, at-bats are king at the catcher position, and this is a cheap way to get those plate appearances.

All ADP data is courtesy of FantasyPros.com.

Francisco Mejia (ADP: 256) & Austin Hedges (ADP: 282), Padres: Mejia could wind up being a Top 5 catcher in his own right, if you believe the hype. Unfortunately, Hedges is a former top prospect himself, who once smacked 21 home runs in Triple-A and last season was excellent defensively behind the plate in addition to a respectable 14 home runs in 91 games. Hedges’ defense is important for the Padres as a real life club, and that is going to limit Mejia’s opportunities, at least in the early going. There is a silver lining though; Hedges has real pop, swatting 18 bombs in 2017 in 120 games before hitting 14 last year in fewer appearances.

Mejia is a big-time prospect as well, and his hideous .179 batting average in 21 MLB games is due in large part to an equally hideous .206 BABIP. Mejia was consistently in the high .200s to mid-.300s in the minors, with solid power. He also posted significantly lower strikeout rates throughout his tour of the minors, so while he could have been overmatched in his first look at MLB pitching, it’s foolish to think he won’t adjust and improve. If he lives up to his potential, he’ll likely be an everyday fantasy asset. If Hedges keeps absorbing plate appearances, you’ll have a Top 5 catcher in terms of home runs between the two of them, with Mejia likely helping to offset Hedges’ batting average deficiencies. This pairing is my favorite duo.

Yan Gomes (ADP: 243) & Kurt Suzuki (ADP: 319), Nationals: After three straight lousy campaigns since a breakout 2014, Yan Gomes slashed .266/.313/.466 with 16 home runs in 120 games for Cleveland last year. That’s pretty damn pedestrian, but for a catcher it is probably going to land him in the Top 10. Gomes’ power numbers are consistent, and you can pretty much bank on him swatting around 15 homers. He carries the risk of being an utter sinkhole on your batting average though, and his walk rate is extremely low, so he could drain your OBP or OPS depending on league scoring. That’s where Kurt Suzuki comes to the rescue.

Suzuki has some pop in his own right, with his 19-homer season in 2017 measuring up against Gomes’ golden 2104. He’s also batted better than .250 in four of his last five seasons, and his double-digit homers in back-to-back campaigns. On their own these are forgettable players, but together in the National League they could combine for close to 30 home runs with Suzuki  lifting their combined batting average into respectable territory.

Brian McCann (ADP: 425) & Tyler Flowers (ADP: 428), Braves: McCann was one half of the birth of this theory, so how can I not include him, especially when he’s back where his illustrious career started? McCann is a very diminished player at this point; he posted an ugly .212/.301/.339 slash line with seven home runs last year across 63 injury-plagued games in Houston. It wasn’t long ago, however, that McCann was a sneaky source of power against right-handed pitching. McCann smoked 13 homers vs. righties in 2017, and 17 in 2016. He’s in a righty-lefty platoon with Tyler Flowers here, so he’ll almost always be in an advantageous position whenever he’s actually in the lineup. He’ll also get the lion’s share of at-bats in this arrangement, as the lefty bat of this platoon.

Flowers, meanwhile, is actually a fairly interesting player. He was a dud last season, batting just .227 with eight home runs over 92 games. There’s no excusing it, as it was a flat out bad season that justifiably killed the lowkey sleeper buzz he’d kinda sorta been generating. He’d hit .270 and .282 in the previous two seasons, though, in similar playing time, with 12 home runs in 2017. He also had a 15-homer campaign in 2014 with the White Sox. Chances are he isn’t worth owning in 2019 on his own, but if you pair him with McCann, there’s a decent chance for excellent (for catcher) power numbers. The batting average may pleasantly surprise you as well, as long as both players are exclusively hitting against opposite-handed pitching.