Will Welington Castillo be able to keep Sisco out of the lineup?

Aside from a few elite catchers and a slew of serviceable, yet uninspiring options, there will always be at least one team scouring the waivers for the hot catching hand at any given time during the season. This is a viable strategy for those that miss out on one of the few legitimate backstops available during the draft, but most of the time, the position becomes one of weakness and inconsistency for many playoff-fringe fantasy baseball squads.

Check out our 2017 consensus rankings

Many leagues are won early on in the draft where owners will take well-calculated, low-risk picks on prospects which haven’t made much of an impact at the MLB level yet. This is much easier to do with deep positions such as starting pitcher, corner infield and outfield, and many were rewarded throughout 2016 by taking a chance on young guys up the middle such as Francisco Lindor and Corey Seager at SS. However, when dealing with a position as shallow and as inconsistent as catcher, this task becomes much more difficult.

Here, we’ll take a look at the Top 5 Fantasy Catching Prospects available in 2017 drafts, but only those with very limited to zero MLB experience (you should already have your sights on Gary Sanchez, that’s all we need to say on that.) This list will not cover long term prospects like Francisco Mejia for the Indians who is possibly the top dynasty catching prospect. So let’s get right into it:

5. Jorge Alfaro (PHI)
You’re probably wondering why the best catching prospect in baseball is listed fifth on this list, and you’d be right to do so. The list is catered to 2017 drafts, and while you’ll see plenty of teams take a flyer on Alfaro early, they’ll be watching him in the NA slot for the majority of the season. The Phillies will not be a very competitive team in 2017 (though they might surprise you), and they’ll be in no rush to bring up Alfaro, who is yet to play at Triple-A despite a brief September call-up in 2016. Still, he’s on the list for a reason. Over seven MiLB seasons, he’s hit .266 with a .326 OBP, which is great for a catcher, but he shows decent power with his 67 HR and has stolen 38 bases as an added bonus. While he’ll likely be a productive fantasy baseball catcher, it will take the 23-year-old more seasoning in Triple-A before his defense and plate approach is ready for the show.

4. Austin Barnes (LAD)
Barnes already has 41 MLB games played, but he’s done so behind Yasmani Grandal, who so far has been difficult to upend from the starting role despite his 238/339/477 slash line in 2016.  Barnes has had minimal success at the MLB level, but the 26-year-old has little to prove at Triple-A, where in 2016 he slashed .295/.380/.443. He doesn’t feature a whole lot of power (47 HR in 2,575 plate appearances) but he doesn’t strike out much, has a solid propensity to get on base, and has managed 61 steals, including 18 this past season. While he won’t threaten Grandal’s power ceiling, he can contribute in more than just one category if he gets a shot.

3. Tom Murphy (COL)
Tom Murphy won’t be showing up on many top prospect lists, but he’s making an appearance on this one for one big reason: Coors Field. While Tony Wolters will be seeing a significant amount of playing time to begin the season, he’s more of a defense-first player and as a left-handed batter, may serve as a solid platoon partner with offensive threat Tom Murphy. Murphy has had a fair amount of big league experience with 88 PAs over two seasons, and he’s hit 8 HR and drove in 22 runs in that time. He’s also hit .310 with a .344 OBP in his Triple-A days, which could be inflated in the thin Colorado air as well.

2. Andrew Knapp (PHI)
Yes, the Phillies have two catchers in this Top-5 list. This is a testament more to the significant lack of MLB-ready catchers in the minors, but also to the depth of the excellent Phillies farm system. Knapp is no super-prospect, but for guys that could get the nod in 2017 – he’s had plenty of success at Triple-A and only has the awful Cameron Rupp ahead of him on the depth chart. Knapp has slashed .276/.348/.422 over three seasons in the minors and has amassed 31 HR and 185 RBI in that time. He’s already 25 and has little left to prove in the minors, so he’s one of the more likely guys on this list to see time in 2017.

1. Chance Sisco (BAL)
With the departure of Matt Wieters to free agency this season, it looked like 2017 would be the open door for Chance Sisco to finally make his mark with the Orioles. That was until the Orioles reached a two-year deal with Welington Castillo in early December. Castillo is a decent enough fantasy backstop, but Sisco’s minor-league numbers, if translatable to the Bigs, could threaten Castillo’s starting position. In 2016, Sisco slashed a voluptuous .317/.406/.422 across both Double-A and Triple-A, slugging out six HR and 51 RBI. It looks like it might take a while for his power to develop, but that might be the last step in his development – though some evaluators believe his future position might not be behind the plate.

Worth Mentioning

A platoon of Tony Wolters and Tom Murphy in Colorado likely won’t be long lived, as legitimate prospect Dom Nunez is quickly navigating his way through the minors. Nunez has slashed .258/.339/.407 across three levels in just four seasons but has done so blasting 34 HR in just over 1,300 PAs.

Jacob Nottingham was acquired by the Brewers in the Khris Davis trade last February and hit 11 HR with 47 RBI in Double-A this season. He’s still young (21) and the Brewers won’t need him right away, but once he’s ready, there’s no one in his way in Milwaukee.

In July, the Blue Jays acquired Reese Mcguire from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a trade for Francisco Liriano. Mcguire didn’t do a whole lot last season, but there’s no rush for him to play in Toronto unless the new regime decides to send Russell Martin out of town due to his large contract. Mcguire is a glove-first guy, but catcher’s bats tend to develop slowly, so he might turn out to be a useful fantasy catcher in the future, but it’s just too early to tell.

More Prospects:
1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF | P

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