Top 40 Catcher Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Rankings For 2026

Baseball America is continuing dynasty ranking season with positional breakdowns of the top fantasy baseball players heading into the 2026 season.

Cal Raleigh, who this year hit a record-setting 60 home runs with 125 RBIs as a switch-hitter for the Mariners, heads up our ranking of the top 40 catchers available for next season.

It’s important to note the rankings below do not measure past 2025 value or projected 2026 value. Instead, our rankings look at a three-year window in an attempt to balance a variety of scoring types, with MLB proximity and performance peaks highly weighted in our analysis.

Top 40 Catcher Dynasty Rankings

1. Cal Raleigh, C, Mariners

Coming into the 2025 season, Raleigh had a career .218 batting average but 32 home runs per 600 plate appearances. Well, the Mariner backstop took a big dump on the notion he is empty power who will harm your batting average by hitting .247 (with a .244 xBA) and a Ruthian total of 60 home runs. He finished as the third-highest ranked player in 2025. Because he has averaged 660 plate appearances the past two years, expect 40 home runs or so with counting stats that far surpass anyone else at the position. The flip side is that the heavy workload may eventually take its toll on his production, and he’ll actually be a liability for your teamâ€s batting average. Donâ€t take that as us being down on him, though.

2. Samuel Basallo, C, Orioles

The Orioles’ top prospect made his debut in August and struggled over 31 games, hitting .165/.229/.330 with four home runs. Despite some early bumps in the road, Basallo still projects as a perennial top five catcher in fantasy. Blessed with prodigious power, Basallo can power the ball out to any part of the park. Heâ€s not an all-or-nothing power hitter based on his minor league track record, however, as he’s hit .283/.366/.498 with a 21% strikeout rate and 11.1% walk rate. Basallo will need to rein in his swing-happy approach in 2026 to get results, because his 40.8% o-swing is certainly too high for success. Youâ€re buying into the immense power that yielded 79 career minor league home runs before his 21st birthday. Â

3. William Contreras, C, Brewers

After two straight seasons in which he accrued over 600 plate appearances while averaging 20 home runs, 93 runs, 85 RBIs and a .285 batting average, Contreras was, rightfully, a highly-ranked catcher, especially in two-catcher leagues. Unfortunately, Contreras battled a hand injury all season and had a down year. The good news is that he was still the fourth-ranked catcher. He just had finger surgery in the offseason, and the expectation is that he will be back to being a top three catcher in dynasty (and redraft).

4. Ben Rice, C/1B, Yankees

In spring training, Rice was showing a huge 2 mph increase in bat speed and became an immediate sleeper despite the questions about his role with the Yankees. Well, Rice lit up his Statcast lollipops so red that the Yankees had no choice but to play him as much as they could, so much so that he even earned catcher eligibility for 2026. Heading into his age-27 season, the only real question mark keeping his value suppressed is whether he will remain primarily a strongside platoon, capping his ceiling. Still, on a per-PA basis, his production is essentially on par with Vinnie Pasquantino and Josh Naylor, but with catcher eligibility. If he can keep that, expect him to be higher on this list next year.

5. Shea Langeliers, C, Athletics

In 2024, Langeliers hit 29 home runs with a .224 batting average (.241 xBA). In 2025, Langeliers hit 31 home runs with a scintillating .277 batting average (.263 xBA). Heading into his age-28 season, it doesnâ€t take a math genius to project 30 home runs with a batting average somewhere around .250. And in a much-improved Athletics lineup, the counting stats should also be better. He could be Cal Raleigh-lite.

6. Agustin Ramirez, C, Marlins

A rookie catcher hitting 21 home runs and stealing 16 bases while hitting in the middle of a lineup at age 23? That alone anchors Ramirez in the upper tiers of a dynasty list. However, there are some caveats. For one, after a first half in which he had a 103 wRC+ and 14 home runs, he swooned a bit in the second half with a 76 wRC+. Whether thatâ€s the league catching up to him or the rigors of a full season in the major leagues or just variance or some combination of factors remains to be seen. Also, his defense is below average, and his 2025 season ended at exactly 0.0 fWAR as a result. With Joe Mack looming, Ramirez may end up losing catcher eligibility over the next few years, drastically cutting his dynasty value. That said, if youâ€re cooling on Ramirez, read the first sentence again.

7. Drake Baldwin, C, Braves

The only thing stopping us from having Baldwin, someone we had been touting for the last couple years as having excellent underlying minor league Statcast data, as a sleeper or target for 2025 was our hedging that he would be the backup to Sean Murphy, capping his ceiling. In that scenario, Baldwin would have shown his potential in, say, 300 plate appearances, and we would target him for 2026 suggesting he might even be able to surpass Murphy on the Braves depth chart. Well, none of that happened, because Murphy was injured to start the year, and Baldwin exploded onto the scene with 19 home runs and a .274/.341/.469 slash line while being the permanent cleanup hitter for Atlanta in the second half. Heading into his age-25 season, thereâ€s a nonzero chance Baldwin enters the top three catcher conversation. We might be being too conservative here.

8. Rainiel Rodriguez, C, Cardinals

The Cardinals power-hitting teenager is the heir apparent to Samuel Basallo for the title of the best hitting catcher in the minors. The 2024 Dominican Summer League standout made his stateside debut in 2025, hitting .373/.513/.831 over 20 complex league games and earning promotion to Palm Beach after a month. Rodriguez proceeded to post an .870 OPS over 60 games with the Cardinals’ Low-A affiliate before earning a late-season promotion to High-A Peoria. Rodriguez combines average bat-to-ball skills with above-average swing decisions, plus raw power and very good angles on contact. Itâ€s a fully optimized power-hitting profile at 18 years old and a bat that will play even if he moves off catcher.  Â

9. Will Smith, C, Dodgers

The Game 7 World Series hero had the highest batting average and on-base percentage of his career in 2025, resulting in a .296/.404/.497 slash line over 436 plate appearances. And therein lies the rub: Injuries forced him to miss 52 games for his lowest playing time since the pandemic-shortened season. Smith is now in his 30s and in his decline phase, dinging his long-term value, but for 2026, expect 20 home runs and .260/.350 production with good counting stats. Although he still throws out would-be base stealers at an elite rate, his blocking and framing is near the worst in the league. His heir apparent, Dalton Rushing, isnâ€t much of a better blocker and framer thus far in his career either—and the DH slot is already filled on the Dodgers—so, Smith is a good bet to continue to be the team’s primary catcher for at least for the next few years if not over the duration of his extension through 2033.

10. Ivan Herrera, C, Cardinals

Although technically not eligible to be a catcher at the beginning of 2026, itâ€s expected he will reclaim the eligibility in the first few weeks as he returns from various lower body ailments that caused him to miss nearly two months of the 2025 season. Over his 777-plate appearance major league career, the Panamanian has a .286/.370/.436 slash line with 24 home runs and essentially 100 runs and 100 RBIs. Heading into his age-26 season, we project him to be a 20-home run bat with a .280 batting average—excellent fantasy production from the position. The defense isnâ€t great, but he, along with Carter Jensen, is a solid example of RoboScout predicting a bat that might be special enough to transcend fringe-average defense.

11. Francisco Alvarez, C, Mets

Who is a perennial sleeper pick but with two questionable thumbs? This guy. In 2024, Alvarez had a torn ligament and later surgery in his left thumb, causing him to miss the first third of the season. Just before 2025 started, he required surgery on his hamate bone, then sprained the UCL in his right thumb. Despite these injuries, he’s averaged over 20 home runs per 450 plate appearances in his major league career with a 105 wRC+ and is still in his early 20s. In other words, assuming that these injuries are external to his “true talentâ€, we still project him to have one of the higher peak projections of any of the catchers on this list.

12. Alejandro Kirk, C, Blue Jays

After signing a contract extension prior to the season, Kirk followed it up by putting himself squarely on the public map with an all-star appearance, post-season excellence, a 2 mph gain in bat speed and a .282/.348/.421 slash line with 15 home runs and 76 RBIs. Heading into his age-27 season, Kirk is firmly entrenched as the primary catcher and middle-of-the-order bat on what should be an excellent offensive Toronto lineup in 2026. He should, at a minimum, put up similar numbers to 2025 when he was a top 10 fantasy catcher.

13. Adley Rutschman, C, Orioles

Ever since his 134 wRC+ debut in 2022, Rutschmanâ€s wRC+ has declined every year, culminating in last yearâ€s 91 wRC+ with an anemic .220/.307/.366 line. Granted, he got beaned in the head in May, then missed a month with a left oblique injury before missing anothermonth with a right oblique injury. Since then, the Orioles gave Samuel Basallo an extension and there have been murmurs of them potentially trading Rutschman—something that would have been an inconceivable idea a couple years ago—so his future outlook is murky. Still, he will only be 28 years old in 2026, and he has a career 115 wRC+ with excellent defense. A bounce-back in 2026 is not only possible, but plausible.

14. Carter Jensen, C, Royals

Two years ago, we identified Jensen as an underrated hitting prospect to target for 2024, noting that “his contact rate, barrel rate, 90th percentile exit velocity and chase rate have all been above-average or better for the level over the last two years. Thatâ€s even more impressive considering how young he is at each level.†In 2025, he got promoted to Kansas City after a .290/.377/.501 slash line as a 21-year-old across 492 plate appearances in Double-A and Triple-A. Although it was only 69 plate appearances in the majors, Jensen had a 159 wRC+ with three home runs, hitting against both lefties and righties and often as the DH, indicating they want his bat in the lineup as much as possible. The Royals just extended Salvador Perezfor two more years, so 2026 might not be the year Jensen takes over the catcherâ€s role in a full-time capacity. But being only 22 years old and with a RoboScout peak projection of .260/.345 with 20-25 home runs, it should only be a matter of time.

15. Gabriel Moreno, C, Diamondbacks

Moreno, along with Alejandro Kirk, is forever linked as being bat-first catching prospects in the Blue Jays organization who showed a preternatural ability to put the ball in play with below-average home run power. Over his 1113 career plate appearances, Moreno has a .281/.349/.404 slash line. He just had his best season, despite only accruing 309 plate appearances, with a .285 batting average, 3 fWAR (due mostly to excellent defense) and an excellent 117 wRC+. Still only 26, Morenoâ€s 2026 projection looks a lot likeKirk’s.

16. Hunter Goodman, C, Rockies

Goodmanâ€s first full season in the major leagues was a resounding success, as he finished with 31 home runs and a .278 batting average. Perhaps the most significant for dynasty managers, he retained his catcher eligibility for 2026, something that was up in the air after a 2024 season that included stints in the outfield and first base. It doesnâ€t seem like he will move off of catcher in the near-term, as he blocked and framed at a fringe-plus level while also throwing out would-be base stealers at a league-average rate. You might be asking why a 30-home run catcher in Coors isnâ€t ranked higher. Weâ€re a bit worried he chases and whiffs at a rate in the bottom tenth percentile of the league, implying his batting average is expected to be closer to .240 than .270. Considering his first and second halves were nearly identical and that he crushed all pitch types, it’s possible we are probably being more risk-averse in this ranking than we should be.

17. Kyle Teel, C, White Sox

In 297 plate appearances in 2025, the 23-year-old had a .273/.375/.411 line with eight home runs. With a 26% strikeout rate, his expected batting average should have been more like .250,and his defense was below average. Still, heading into his age-24 season, an average-to-above average bat with 15 to 18 home runs isnâ€t an improbable outcome. For those who were worried, it seems like he has passed Edgar Quero as primary catcher for now.

18. Austin Wells, C, Yankees

For the second year in a row, Wells was in the top 10% of the league in framing and earned 3+ fWAR. The worrying news for dynasty managers is that his hitting has been woeful, with a career batting average of .224. With the short porch in Yankee Stadium, the power should still be in the 20-25 home run range as he enters his age-26 season, but donâ€t expect the batting average to ever be an asset. As one of the better defensive catchers in the league, his role should be safe.

19. Yainer Diaz, C, Astros

After a 2024 season in which he hit .299 with 16 home runs and 84 RBIs in 600 plate appearances as a 25-year-old, Diaz was a popular catcher for 2025. Although he hit another 20 home runs, the batting average dropped to .256. Diaz will never be an asset in on-base percentage leagues—he has a career walk rate below 4% and one of the worst chase rates in the league over the past two years—but 18-20 home run power with a good batting average is a solid asset. The fact that he is ranked just inside the top 20 is more a testament to the strength of the position in dynasty than to his individual value.Â

20. Josue Briceño, C, Tigers

As an 18-year-old at the complex in 2023, Briceño showed better-than-average contact and barrel rates with excellent exit velocities, leading him to be a sleeper heading into 2024. Although the contact and exit velocities improved, an injury-plagued season led to 2024 being a year in which the 6-foot-4 catcher accrued only 176 regular season plate appearances before impressing in the Arizona Fall League. Healthy for 2025, Briceño made it all the way to Double-A, with a Futures Game appearance along the way. RoboScout had him as the third-highest ranked hitter at Double-A with a peak projection of .275/.355 and 30 home runs. Even if he canâ€t stick behind the plate—though optimism is quite high that he can—that type of performance would definitely play, even at first base. He is only ranked this low because he is still at least a year away from full-time plate appearances in the major leagues, but his ceiling is amongst the highest at the position. Depending on your teamâ€s window of contention, feel free to move him way up.

21. Dalton Rushing, C, Dodgers

In a spotty 2025 season in which he managed to accumulate only 155 plate appearances at catcher and first base, Rushing disappointingly had a 62 RC+. With Will Smith signed through 2033 and Freddie Freeman through 2027, it might not be any time soon that Rushing gets full time at bats in the Dodgers’ lineup. The bat is special enough to force the issue and challenge the incumbents, but we had optimistically thought that that might have happened in 2025. Now, the concerns are that it wonâ€t happen until 2027.

22. Logan O’Hoppe, C, Angels

In 2023, Oâ€Hoppe had 14 home runs in only 199 plate appearances with a 113 wRC+. Regressing slightly in 2024, he still hit 20 home runs with a .252 xBA across 522 plate appearances. For 2025, it seemed like Oâ€Hoppe was a lock for 20 home runs, with the potential upside of essentially what Shea Langeliers did in 2025. In his first 174 plate appearances in 2025, Oâ€Hoppe looked to be well on his way: 14 home runs and a .267 batting average. Unfortunately, he got hit in the head by a backswing on May 27 and never quite recovered before getting concussed by another backswing in September. Since that first head injury until the end of the season, Oâ€Hoppe had a .179/.233/.268 slash line over 276 plate appearances with only five home runs. One way to look at this is to ignore the injuries as fluke and expect the now-26-year-old to be what we thought he was heading into 2025. The pessimist sees the concussions and wonders if heâ€ll ever recover back to his previous self. Weâ€re splitting the difference, so value accordingly.

23. Salvador Perez, C/1B, Royals

For the second straight year, the ageless wonder surpassed 640 plate appearances and 27 home runs, while retaining his catcher eligibility. Although the now-36-year-old had a .236 batting average, his .279 xBA was actually his highest since the pandemic season. In other words, itâ€s pretty safe to expect another 25 home runs from the Royals captain with a batting average closer to .260 than .230. After signing an extension for 2026 and 2027, his dynasty league floor, at least for those two years, should be stable.

24. Dillon Dingler, C, Tigers

In 2024, Dingler had a 144 wRC+ across 301 Triple-A plate appearances and had a 105 mph 90th percentile exit velocity with league-average contact rates, chase rates and barrel rates. Despite the excellent underlying minor league data, his major league debut was a terrible .167/.195/.310 over 87 plate appearances. His 2025 season aligned more with his Statcast data, as he had a 109 wRC+ with a .278 batting average and 13 home runs, accruing 4 fWAR and winning a Gold Glove. Although his xBA was an astounding .301, projections see him regressing to a .244 average in 2026 as a 27-year-old. The defense should obviously give him volume, but with Josue Briceño looming, his perceived long-term value is likely diminished in the eyes of your league mates.

25. Edgar Quero, C White Sox

Although weâ€ve talked about the strength of the position in dynasty, itâ€s funny to see that a 2025 season with five home runs, 31 runs, and 36 stolen bases would be the 28th-ranked fantasy performance for a catcher. Granted he had a .268 batting average (over 403 plate appearances), but still itâ€s clear that the fantasy output of the bottom 10% of catchers is still quite bad. Weâ€ve always loved the bat-to-ball skills of Quero—and his batting average is a testament to their quality—but with well-below-average defense andKyle Teel the likely primary White Sox catcher, Queroâ€s long-term prospects behind the plate are a bit up in the air. Still, heâ€s an above-average bat, despite bat speed in the bottom 4% of the league, and he’s still only 23. Thereâ€s a lot of future upside, runway and ingredients, but weâ€d like to see a step forward in any of these facets in 2026.

26. Alfredo Duno, C, Reds

The 19-year-old Duno is already physical with a maxed-out frame and lots of strength to power his eye-popping exit velocities. After making his full-season debut in 2024 over 32 games with Low-A Daytona, Duno returned hitting .287/.430/.518 with 18 home runs and 95 walks to 91 strikeouts. Despite a very respectable strikeout rate, there is some swing-and-miss in Dunoâ€s game as he ran a 26.6% zone-whiff rate. His swing decisions are strong, as he rarely expands the zone and is fairly aggressive in-zone. He shows plus-plus underlying power metrics for his age and has overall strong angles with the ability to hit the ball hard in the air to the pull side. Still likely two years away from debuting, Duno is a better buy for a rebuilding team than a competitor.Â

27. Bo Naylor, C, Guardians

In 2024, Naylor barely hit the Mendoza line but added 13 home runs. Heading into his age-25 season with 600 career plate appearances, Joshâ€s younger brother looked potentially poised to take a big leap forward in 2025. Well, he basically duplicated his 2024 season with a .195 batting average and 14 home runs. The good news is that his max exit velocity, barrel rate and hard-hit rate all increased year over year, and he cut his strikeout rate by nearly 8%,while adding 3.4% to his walk rate. The bad news is that there might not be much more upside than a .200-.230 hitter with 15-20 home runs, even as he enters his prime performance years.Â

28 J.T. Realmuto, C, Free Agent

In his walk year at age 34, the former perennial all-star had his first full season of below-average offensive production with a .257/.315/.384 slash line, 12 home runs and eight stolen bases. It isnâ€t bad necessarily, but it’s a far cry from the 20 home run, 20 stolen base, 7 fWAR season he put up in 2022. He will still be a positive fantasy contributor in 2026 no matter where he lands, but heading into his mid 30s, the decline of his bat is starting to show.

29. Ryan Jeffers, C, Twins

Over parts of six seasons, Jeffers has been a consistent performer for the Twins on both sides of the ball. After producing .200+ isolated slugging in consecutive seasons, he hit just nine home runs in 2025. He did, however produce, the lowest strikeout rate of his career and his highest walk rate. Penciled in as the Twins’ primary catcher in 2026, Jeffers at 28 years old is squarely in his prime, and with good health, he could produce a career-best season.   Â

30. Carlos Narvaez, C, Red Sox

One of the biggest surprises of 2025, Narvaez produced a very strong rookie season, hitting 15 home runs as Boston’s primary catcher. Over the first half of 2025, he hit .273/.347/.439 with a 10.5% walk rate before plummeting in the second half, hitting .187/.233/.387. Thereâ€s certainly some concern that teams figured out how to pitch Narvaez, and itâ€s now on the young catcher to adjust. Heâ€s as good a bet as any as a second catcher in two-catcher leagues, as he will see a majority of the starts behind the dish.Â

31. Sean Murphy, C, Braves

After a strong first season with the Braves in 2023, Murphy has hit below the Mendoza line in consecutive seasons, as heâ€s been limited to less than 100 games in each. Murphyâ€s swing-and-miss has ballooned, as his zone-contact and o-contact hit career lows over the last two seasons. Murphy did, however, show a return of the power missing during his 2024 campaign, as his hard-hit rate jumped from 36.5% to 42.9%. His barrel rate followed suit, climbing to 13.2%. If Murphy can find health in 2025, he has an opportunity to return to fantasy relevance, but the presence of Drake Baldwin may limit his opportunities.Â

32. Tyler Stephenson, C, Reds

After spending parts of six seasons with the Reds, Stephenson enters 2026 facing a walk year in 2027. After hitting .258/.338/.444 with 19 home runs and a 22.7% strikeout rate, Stephenson hit .231/.316/.421 over 88 games with 13 home runs last year. He did produce the highest isolated slugging percentage of his career, his highest walk rate and a much improved barrel rate, however. While he was less valuable at the plate, his underlying traits and skills are headed in the right direction. Thereâ€s potential for a big year from Stephenson before he hits free agency.Â

33. Patrick Bailey, C, Giants

A defensive wizard behind the plate, Baileyâ€s a light-hitting catcher who falls into the “break glass in case of emergency” options in dynasty. Thereâ€s no arguing with his opportunity and durability, as he’s caught 120-plus games in each of the last two seasons. However, heâ€s never hit .235 or above or produced double-digit home runs or stolen bases in any of his three seasons. Still, Bailey does have consistent at-bats, which is the primary foundation for any breakout.Â

34. Keibert Ruiz, C, Nationals

After getting hit in the head by a foul ball in June and then getting concussed again in July, Ruiz ended up missing essentially the second half of the season with concussion-related symptoms. In the Oâ€Hoppe section, we mentioned that head-related injuries are scary in that we donâ€t know if a player’s former production levels will be regained. But in the case of the now-27-year-old Ruiz, itâ€s not like he was all that productive before this. After signing an extension prior to the 2023 season to run through 2030, Ruiz has never had higher than a 93 wRC+, and in the last two years, he has graded as one of the poorest defensive catchers in the major leagues. The good news is that he is still young, has excellent bat-to-ball skills and the Nationals are committed to him as their primary catcher—at least for the next few years. Assuming his concussion issues are behind him heading into 2026, expect a .260 batting average with 12-15 home runs.

35. Eduardo Tait, C, Twins

Acquired by the Twins from the Phillies in the Jhoan Duran trade, Tait is young backstop with plus-plus raw power for his age and a knack for finding the barrel. His bat-to-ball skills are above-average, but his hyper-aggressive approach leads to more strikeouts than his skills would otherwise suggest. Tait hit .253/.311/.427 with 14 home runs last year, but his strikeout rate jumped following the trade and the Twins promoted him to High-A to finish his campaign. Thereâ€s a shot for an above-average hitting catcher, but itâ€s still likely years away. Â

36. Cooper Ingle, C, Guardians

Over the last two seasons, few minor league hitters have been as productive at the plate as Ingle, who produced wRC+ totals of 161 and 138 in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Ingle doesnâ€t possess even average power, but his advanced plate skills and on-base ability carry his profile. He did struggle over 28 games in Triple-A, hitting just .207/.383/.329. but his BABIP of .239 was likely the culprit. Ingleâ€s not a great thrower behind the plate but might have enough framing and blocking ability to see consistent starts. If Ingle can develop even average power, his bat would play, even at designated hitter.Â

37. Joe Mack, C, Marlins

Mack is a future everyday catcher in the Sean Murphy mold, providing plus defense behind the plate and above-average power. Thereâ€s a fair amount of swing-and-miss in Mackâ€s game, as he ran a 25.2% in-zone whiff rate across all levels this season. His approach is solid, his raw power is plus and he combines good exit velocity data with solid launch angles.Â

38. Ike Irish, C, Orioles

The Orioles’ first-round pick this past July is an a bat-first catcher whoâ€s a near guarantee to move off the position. He combines strong bat-to-ball skills and above-average game power, but Irish will need to find more loft in his swing as a professional to fully tap into his plus raw power. If he can do that, he could develop into an above-average major league hitter. Heâ€s likely to see time in the corner outfield and first base going forward.Â

39. Harry Ford, C, Mariners

Ford made his long-awaited debut for the Mariners in 2025, playing in eight games and going 1-for-6 in his limited sample. He’s undersized, but he’s a good athlete and the plate skills are the carrying tool for Ford, who shows above-average speed and potential for 20-plus stolen bases in his best seasons. Lack of impact is Fordâ€s biggest question mark as a fantasy asset.Â

40. Marco Dinges, C, Brewers

The former Florida State catcher had an outstanding 2025 season, as he hit .300/.416/.514 with 13 home runs over 77 games split between both levels of A-ball. Dinges combines solid plate skills with plus raw power and good angles on contact. He will need to tap into more pullside power to develop into a potential valuable fantasy asset, but the early returns are exciting.Â

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