This week’s fantasy baseball catcher review will help you identify catchers available in 50% or more of Yahoo! fantasy baseball leagues. For deep league players, the third is available in 85% or more of Yahoo! leagues.
This week is of particular note, as all three players below are owned in fewer than 50% of Yahoo! leagues and are also top ten catchers on the year. You can start these guys in almost every single league and they are freely available.
Alex Avila, Detroit (45% owned)
Avila has the highest ownership percentage of the three catchers on this list, and he is the highest rate. He is the #3 catcher on the year, mostly on the fact that he’s slipped over the last couple of weeks. He’s only the #11 catcher in the last fourteen days, which makes him still a starting catcher. His ownership sits below guys he out-produces, like Evan Gattis, Willson Contreras, and Kyle Schwarber. Playing time concerns plague Gattis, but Schwarber and Contreras have been bad. Contreras should turn it around, but it wouldn’t be insane to swap Avila for Schwarber. So far on the year, Avila carries a .317 average with eight home runs, 23 RBIs, and 16 runs.
Austin Hedges, San Diego (26% owned)
Hedges is an imperfect player and sits alongside teammate Ryan Schimpf in attempting to sell out completely for power. It’s working for Hedges, as he leads the position in home runs and sits as the #2 catcher in RBI and #5 for runs. He’s shot up the ranks over the last couple of weeks due to home runs in three of his last four games. The position runs hot-and-cold, and Hedges is no exception. Still, he could end the season with thirty home runs, and is available in nearly 75% of Yahoo! leagues. He’s the #5 catcher on the season so far, and #6 in the last two weeks.
Tyler Flowers, Atlanta (14% owned)
Flowers rounds out the trifecta of widely-available catchers who rank among the top ten. Atlanta’s backstop is the #7 catcher on the year, posting a .953 OPS with three homers, 16 runs, and 16 RBI. His .365 carries his value, and that will, unfortunately, come down. Flowers carries a .453 BABIP, well above his .333 career mark. For deep leaguers desperate to find someone to plug in while Schwarber sorts out his issues, Flowers’ hot streak should provide much-needed relief. He isn’t a long-term option, but you can go out and get the #4 catcher over the last two weeks right now, for free, in 86% of Yahoo! leagues.