{"id":621566,"date":"2026-03-13T10:21:39","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T10:21:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/621566\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T10:21:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T10:21:39","slug":"2026-fantasy-baseball-catcher-and-ut-only-targets-sleepers-risks-and-prospects-to-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/621566\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 fantasy baseball catcher and UT-only targets, sleepers, risks and prospects to watch"},"content":{"rendered":"

The catcher position looks deep in 12-teamers that require one starting C slot, as ATC\u2019s aggregate projections<\/a> have 14 earning double-digit dollars in auction value. However, the position becomes arguably the thinnest in two-catcher leagues, especially in 15-team formats like NFBC. ATC\u2019s No. 30 catcher is valued at $1. Fantasy managers can treat catcher similarly to quarterback in football, as it\u2019s plenty deep to wait patiently on the position in standard leagues, but it becomes more of a priority in two-catcher formats (like QB in Superflex).<\/p>\n

Cal Raleigh became the first catcher, switch-hitter and Mariner to record 60 homers last season, and he added 14 steals while playing in baseball\u2019s worst hitter\u2019s park. He can regress plenty and still be worth his new ADP, which sits inside the top 15. No other catcher has a composite ADP inside the top 50, but there\u2019s a strong middle tier that extends 8-14 deep (especially in leagues where Ivan Herrera remains C-eligible). There\u2019s a major drop-off around catcher No. 25 for those in deep formats.<\/p>\n

As for Utility-only players, Shohei Ohtani remains the top pick in fantasy drafts, while Kyle Schwarber and Yordan Alvarez typically go in Rounds 2 and Round 3, respectively. Both Schwarber and Alvarez get a boost in Yahoo leagues, where they are outfield-eligible. Christian Yelich, Herrera (waiting until C-eligible) and Marcell Ozuna are the only other UT players drafted outside of deeper formats (although fantasy managers should keep their eye on Bryce Eldridge<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Value targets Yordan Alvarez, HOU<\/p>\n

Alvarez has been a heightened injury risk during his MLB career, but he enters 2026 fully healthy<\/a>. Moreover, manager Joe Espada plans to have most of Alvarez\u2019s at-bats come at designated hitter this season to help keep his bat in the lineup every day<\/a>. Alvarez\u2019s 162-game average over his career is .297-103-41-118. He offers no steals, but batting average has never been more important in fantasy leagues. The injury and position discounts have gone too far. Tying up your UT spot early isn\u2019t ideal, but getting Triple Crown upside in the third round more than makes up for it.<\/p>\n

Drake Baldwin, ATL<\/p>\n

Baldwin had a slash line of .274\/.341\/.469 last season at a position that\u2019s historically tougher on rookies. His low K rate should result in a strong batting average, which catchers frequently destroy. Baldwin\u2019s Statcast page<\/a> is red like the league\u2019s elite hitters, and he was the only player last season with a bat speed higher than 74 mph and a K% less than 20<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Atlanta will ease Sean Murphy back into action (hip surgery) once he eventually returns around May, and Baldwin\u2019s plus bat is good enough to see time at DH when he\u2019s rested behind the plate. Baldwin is slated to bat second in Atlanta\u2019s lineup, between Ronald Acu\u00f1a and Matt Olson, and the Braves\u2019 catcher is going 30-60 picks after others at the position with similar profiles.<\/p>\n

Will Smith, LAD<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s 2026 stats suffered slightly because an injury kept him out for the last few weeks, yet his 153 wRC+ would have ranked sixth among all qualified hitters. His BABIP will drop some this season, but Smith will compile counting stats while batting toward the middle of baseball\u2019s best lineup. Moreover, Dodger Stadium has increased homers for righties an MLB-high 27% over the past three seasons. He\u2019s an elite hitter at a premium position in a terrific situation. Like Baldwin, Smith goes multiple rounds later than other catchers with whom he shares a tier.<\/p>\n

Sleepers J.T. Realmuto, PHI<\/p>\n

Realmuto lacks upside at this stage of his career, but he\u2019s one of only a handful of catchers who won\u2019t be a negative in batting average. His counting stats could improve this season if he\u2019s moved to cleanup, which is wide open in Philadelphia<\/a>. Realmuto has the sixth-most plate appearances (2,065) among catchers over the past four seasons, so he provides volume at a scarce position. THE BAT X projects Realmuto as fantasy\u2019s No. 12 catcher<\/a> in 2026, but he\u2019s been the 18th backstop off boards in early NFBC Main Events.<\/p>\n

Ryan Jeffers, MIN<\/p>\n

Jeffers is one season removed from finishing as the No. 11 fantasy catcher despite a .238 BABIP that would\u2019ve ranked third-lowest among qualified hitters. Jeffers\u2019 home run production dropped last season, but he recorded career-best marks in BB% (10.8) and K% (19.6). Jeffers actually owned a higher expected slugging percentage when he hit nine homers last season than when he clubbed 21 in just six more at-bats in 2024. He should see increased playing time this year with Christian V\u00e1zquez now a free agent. Jeffers is the No. 15 fantasy catcher in ATC\u2019s aggregate projections<\/a>, but he\u2019s the C24 in composite ADP<\/a>.<\/p>\n

OvervaluedAgust\u00edn Ram\u00edrez, MIA<\/p>\n

Ram\u00edrez hit 21 home runs and stole 16 bases (the most among catchers) as a rookie, so it\u2019s easy to get excited about his fantasy outlook. However, there are some concerns; he hit just .219\/.285\/.352 (76 wRC+) after the All-Star break when pitchers adjusted. He was also one of baseball\u2019s worst defensive catchers. Ram\u00edrez can improve\u00a0in Year 2<\/a>, and the Marlins would likely move him to DH or first base should prospect Joe Mack prove ready, so defense may not cost him playing time. However, his price isn\u2019t right. It would be a mistake to draft him ahead of Baldwin and Smith. Ram\u00edrez is in a worse situation, as Miami\u2019s ballpark suppresses righty power, and the Marlins are projected to be among the lowest-scoring teams this season.<\/p>\n

Prospects to watch Samuel Basallo, BAL<\/p>\n

Basallo is MLB\u2019s top catching prospect, and he\u2019s slated to play DH in Baltimore to open the season. He hit 23 homers with a 151 wRC+ over 76 games as the youngest player in Triple A (age 20) last year before struggling during his brief MLB debut (which was accompanied by a .187 BABIP). Basallo will likely experience some growing pains given his age, but there\u2019s real power upside. He\u2019ll catch when Adley Rutschman needs a break, but playing mostly DH should help keep Basallo healthier. His ADP will be much higher in 2027.<\/p>\n

Carter Jensen, KC <\/p>\n

Jensen was terrific during his brief MLB debut late last season, when he displayed strong plate discipline and clubbed the fourth-longest homer (482 feet) of 2025 during his 20-game audition. He\u2019s slated for a regular role in Kansas City\u2019s lineup in 2026, when he\u2019ll split time between catching with Salvador Perez and filling the DH role. Jensen could see a slight uptick in power after Kauffman Stadium moved in its fences during the offseason, and the rookie can swipe double-digit bags. He\u2019s a sleeper in two-C formats.<\/p>\n

Catcher has traditionally been tough on rookies, but last year gave us Baldwin and Ram\u00edrez. The pool will get a couple more impressive new talents in 2026.<\/p>\n

Bold prediction Christian Yelich is a top-15 fantasy hitter <\/p>\n

Yelich missed about half of 2024, but his 600-AB pace was .315-98-25-93-47 despite playing through a chronic back injury that eventually required season-ending surgery. Yelich was fantasy\u2019s No. 21 hitter in 2023, and he was quietly the No. 27 fantasy hitter<\/a> last season \u2014 he posted a .600 OPS over the first 48 games but hit 22 homers with an .884 OPS over the final 103. While it\u2019s dangerous to use arbitrary endpoints, it makes sense Yelich would improve the further removed from back surgery.<\/p>\n

The move to DH helped keep Yelich healthy last season, and he\u2019s going too late in fantasy drafts. He\u2019s being drafted equivalent to the OF27 in composite ADP<\/a> and going even lower in NFBC leagues (~150 overall) where he\u2019s UT-only. Yelich finishes as a top-15 fantasy hitter in 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The catcher position looks deep in 12-teamers that require one starting C slot, as ATC\u2019s aggregate projections have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":621567,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2290],"tags":[5,28],"class_list":{"0":"post-621566","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baseball","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-fantasy-baseball"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116221370906858489","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=621566"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621566\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/621567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=621566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=621566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=621566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}