This week I want to focus on the catcher position and the way it’s changed this season. There have been so many good options that have emerged at the position that there is plenty to go around in one catcher leagues, but the one I’m most excited about isn’t even 50% rostered in CBS leagues, and that would be Drake Baldwin. It’s been obvious to everyone paying attention that Baldwin is good, and has obvious maturity in his approach at the plate for a rookie. Baldwin was a top prospect for the Braves, so he’s hardly come out of nowhere either. It’s all about playing time and getting volume out of the position in a points league. 

It’s also why I’m moving away from Ben Rice of the Yankees even though I love his skillset as well. He is my current catcher, but he’s losing playing time in a crowded Yankees lineup. I believe he’s too good not to play every day, but it’s clearly not what they’re doing. Rice hits for good power and blends it with great plate discipline. If playing time was the same I’d prefer Rice slightly, but Baldwin is now finally playing every day and even is the DH when he doesn’t catch. He’s still available in my league, so I’m planning on making the swap. I’d prefer Rice since he’s a left-handed power hitter in Yankee stadium who can take full advantage of a hitter-friendly home park. I think he’d be set up to score more points, even though Baldwin also has good power and great plate discipline.

For a few months now I’ve seen Baldwin as a must add if he started playing almost every day, and now that he is I view him as a top 5 catcher that is going to make a real impact down the stretch from a fantasy baseball perspective. I’ve changed up my PLEI metric to be more forward thinking, and my top 6 ranked catchers are Will Smith, Cal Raleigh, Carson Kelly, Ben Rice, Ivan Herrera, and Drake Baldwin. In the last month I’ve kind of rotated between Rice, Kelly, and Baldwin but don’t see Kelly as having the same upside. It’s really come out of nowhere for Kelly, but he’s had a really good fantasy season and has almost walked as much as he’s struck out. If the playing time was the same I’d rank them Rice, Baldwin, then Kelly. I’m still deciding if I want to drop Rice or just have him and Baldwin both, and I’m more tempted to do that now. The underlying metrics are just so good for Ben Rice, and when you consider how hard he hits the ball and how often he pulls it in the air, if he gets hot at Yankee stadium I don’t want to miss out on that. He’s probably a hot streak away from more playing time and playing at least as much as the average catcher does. He’s not really even a catcher, but once he gained eligibility there he was a player I really targeted and wanted, and traded Aranda for him before his playing time started to dwindle. Everything about his profile is a player I really like, and he has real keeper potential if there are no playing time concerns going into next season. Baldwin is probably the better all around and more consistent hitter, so I like them both for different reasons. In a points league I think they’re very close to even, and the biggest similarity would be their plate discipline as it’s elite for both players. Also, for a catcher Rice is still on pace for more than 350 points, which is really good for a catcher, and even as it currently stands he plays about as much as Will Smith does, with underlying metrics that show a very similar profile as well. There is no shortage of good catching options this season, but I’d say Rice and Baldwin are the most likely to become elite catchers in fantasy baseball next season.