Sport: MLB<\/p>\n
It\u2019s better to be too early than too late. By no means am I suggesting that the catchers I\u2019ll be discussing, especially Cal Raleigh, shouldn\u2019t be rostered in fantasy baseball leagues. In fact, we are dealing with some of the best, including the best catchers in the game.<\/p>\n
In dynasty leagues, though, we are trying to play the long game. Catchers have a more difficult aging curve than other positions, and it\u2019s better to get out too early as opposed to too late. Of course, we also want to win, and having someone like Raleigh gives you a real advantage, but we need to look towards the future.<\/p>\n
What?! Your fantasy baseball league wasn\u2019t hosted on Fantrax last season? Preposterous! Check out what the Fantrax MLB Commissioner<\/a> has to offer and we think you\u2019ll be singing a different tune for the 2026 MLB season.<\/p>\n Getting younger when and where we can always should be done. It\u2019s also best to sell high, and that\u2019s what we are looking to do. Now, let\u2019s dig into some dynasty catchers I\u2019m looking to maximize value on.<\/p>\n Dynasty Catcher Sell High Options At some point, Salvador Perez has to slow down, right? He\u2019s entering his age 36 season, but the catcher was still playing winter ball in Venezuela. While Perez did injure his thumb this winter, it doesn\u2019t appear to be anything major that will slow him down for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n Last year, Perez hit .236 with 30 home runs and 100 RBI. By any stretch, that doesn\u2019t sound like anyone who\u2019s slowing down. It also came with a .209 ISO and the second-best barrel rate of his career at 14.7%. Perez had a slugging percentage of .446, but an xSLG of .522 points to potentially more upside. At the very least, it allows us to believe in Perez\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n The problem, though, and I may be overly cautious here, is that it has to fall off at some point. As we look at Perez through the lens of a redraft league in 2026, it\u2019s hard not to feel confident in a repeat. But there is going to be a day, or a season, when Perez does slow down.<\/p>\n From a dynasty perspective, it\u2019s easier to trade Perez before that occurs. Doing so on the heels of a successful 2025 season, with the metrics to match, might make things easier.<\/p>\n Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners<\/p>\n Alright, time to call me crazy. Cal Raleigh is entering his age-29 season and is coming off a historical season. So what are we doing here?<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think I\u2019m going out on a limb by saying that Raleigh will not repeat his 2025 performance. Raleigh is never going to hit 60 home runs again. It\u2019s also likely he never finishes with 125 RBI or 110 runs scored again. A large part of that is based on the at-bats, and while 38 games at DH helped, Raleigh had 705 plate appearances last season.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the last piece that could be the biggest issue. The Seattle Mariners are clearly going to do everything necessary to keep Raleigh\u2019s bat in the lineup, but the aging curve is generally not kind to catchers.<\/p>\n With that being said, we can\u2019t question Raleigh\u2019s power. He had a .342 ISO last year that came along with a 19.5% barrel rate and .589 slugging percentage (.534 xSLG).<\/p>\n Raleigh isn\u2019t someone I\u2019d rush to trade for the sake of trading. However, his value is at it\u2019s peak and will never be higher. Exploring a trade package for Raleigh, and potentially pulling the trigger, is the prudent strategy.<\/p>\n Will Smith, Los Angeles Dodgers<\/p>\n As he enters his age-31 season, Will Smith has peaked. While he\u2019s still a solid option, there\u2019s also a fair share of name recognition present, and we can make the argument that he\u2019s peaked.<\/p>\n In the past four seasons before 2025, Smith has played between 128 and 137 games. That makes him more of a compiler than anything else, but not much really stands out. Smith hit .296 in 110 games last season with 17 home runs and 61 RBI.<\/p>\n While the production is solid, Dalton Rushing is also looming. At this point in Smith\u2019s career, I\u2019m looking for ascending options with more upside.<\/p>\n JT Realmuto, Free Agent<\/p>\n While JT Realmuto currently is without a team, he\u2019s likely going to be heading back to Philadelphia. From a fantasy perspective, Realmuto is more valuable to the Phillies than. When it comes to dynasty leagues, that becomes even more true.<\/p>\n Realmuto\u2019s ISO dropped to .127 last season, and his barrel rate also fell to 8.8%. That helps to explain the decreased production as Realmuto finished last season with just 12 home runs and 52 RBI while batting .257. With his days of being a stolen base threat on the decline, Realmuto finished with only eight last season.<\/p>\n Although it seems likely he\u2019ll be back in Philadelphia, the closer it gets to Spring Training, it\u2019s not great that Realmuto\u2019s unsigned. Regardless, his days of making a fantasy impact have come to an end, and I\u2019d move on from a dynasty perspective.<\/p>\n Fantrax is one of the fastest-growing fantasy sites in the fantasy sports industry, and we\u2019re not stopping anytime soon. We are the most customizable, easy-to-use, and feature-rich platform in the industry, offering the greatest fantasy experience for your dynasty, keeper, redraft, and best ball leagues. Fantasy sports doesn\u2019t sleep, and neither does Fantrax, with seasons running 365 days a year. Take your fantasy leagues to the next level now at Fantrax.com<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sport: MLB It\u2019s better to be too early than too late. 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\nSalvador Perez, Kansas City Royals<\/p>\n