Fantasy Baseball 2014: Catcher Projections

If you nab a top player at any position, you don’t have to worry too much about finding a backup barring an injury to your star starter. At catcher, you need at least two players since routine days off and higher potential for injury can cost you serious stats. This is especially problematic since catcher is one of the most shallow positions in fantasy.

Below you’ll find our full fantasy baseball 2014 catcher projections. While you don’t need a Buster Posey or a Carlos Santana to succeed, it would be wise not to wait too long to draft a backstop. I would highly recommend drafting one of the top 10 ranked catchers below as your No. 1. After that, the pickings get slim and there is more potential for injury or lack of production.

Once you have your main starter, however, there are a ton of potential value picks that can be had late in the draft. Since you already have a starter, you don’t have to worry too much about injury or inefficiency since your backup catcher isn’t going to bury your team. But a backup catcher can certainly improve it and even prove to be your starter down the stretch.

Someone like Wilson Ramos is a perfect example. His injury risk is very high but his potential, should he manage to play 120+ games, is off the charts, especially at a position that doesn’t offer much pop.

Young catchers like Travis d’Arnaud and Mike Zunino also come with the inherent risk of underachieving and we don’t know much about them. Still, it’s hard to look at d’Arnaud’s .311 batting average, 21 homers, 78 RBI, 72 runs, and 33 doubles in 114 Double-A games in 2011 and his .333 average, 16 home runs, and 52 RBI in just 67 Triple-A games in 2012 and not get excited about his potential. He was ranked the No. 6 prospect in all of baseball last season and has a chance to provide monster value with little risk.

Zunino might not have d’Arnaud’s ability to hit for a high average but Baseball America’s No. 17 prospect in 2013 rocketed through the minors, posting a .286/.365/.571 line with 24 home runs, 86 RBI, and 73 runs in just 96 minor league games. He can be had very late in drafts and could prove to be a real steal. At worst, he doesn’t and you can easily replace him on the waiver wire.

With that said, let’s take a look at our top 25 catchers. Be sure to also check out our first base projections, second base projections, shortstop projections, and third base projections.

Igor Derysh

Igor Derysh is Editor-at-Large at XN Sports and has been featured in The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Boston Herald, Baltimore Sun, Orlando Sun-Sentinel, and FantasyPros. He has previously covered sports for COED Magazine, Fantasy Alarm, and Manwall.com.

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