Tim Kanak | Tue, Dec 17th 2024, 6:02am EST

2025 Fantasy Baseball Rankings & Tiers: Catcher fScores

If you have been reading or listening to my content, you have likely heard me reference fScores (named fScores for “fantasy scores”) or use them to compare players. This is a custom fantasy stat I created that aggregates other stats into core skills, weighted against the average player where 100 is average, similar to wRC+ or OPS+.

Drafting based on core skills, rather than attempting a “one size fits all” ranking allows for more customization in team building and team design to target the weak points of your team and allows for more balance.

Please read the article “What is fScore?” for a betting understanding before going through the below rankings. The catchers listed at the top of each tier are where the tier starts and ends.

You will find a complete set of catcher rankings at the end of this article.

Additional Positions and fScores

C fScores
1B fScores
2B fScores
SS fScores
3B fScores
OF fScores
SP fScores
RP fScores

2025 Catcher fScores (Fantasy Baseball)

Tier 1 & Notes

Tier Starter: William Contreras (C, DH – MIL)
Tier Ender: Cal Raleigh (C, DH – SEA)

If you want to pay up for a catcher, grab William Contreras or Cal Raleigh because they will record more plate appearances than every other catcher by a pretty decent margin. I expect Contreras to hit for a higher average and rack up more runs, but Raleigh will likely outperform in homers.

Contreras is a little safer and gets the edge in my rankings. Keep in mind the average fScore of the top 12 catchers is 101, while the average of the top 30 (Two-Catcher, 15-team leagues) is 94, so that gives Contreras an 18-28% edge when considering position over the average starting catcher.

This is why it’s important to look at the average fScore at each position depending upon the depth of the league as well and to factor position scarcity into your rankings.

Tier 2 & Notes

Tier Starter: Will Smith (C – LAD)
Tier Ender: Adley Rutschman (C, DH – BAL)

Adley Rutschman will likely get more playing time than Will Smith since Shohei Ohtani blocks Smith from DH at-bats, but the question with Rutschman primarily focuses on whether his bad second half (which appears to have been caused by playing through injury) is behind him.

Smith’s 0.26 BETA shows he is one of the most consistent hitters in baseball, he has such a high floor that you can’t go wrong with picking him to anchor your catcher position.

Tier 3 & Notes

Tier Starter: Shea Langeliers (C – Athletics)
Tier Ender: Austin Wells (C – NYY)

This is a steady tier of guys who I think have “All-Star” upside on the season, but they all have limitations.

Shea Langeliers is the poor man’s Cal Raleigh. The lesser hit tool and plate skills will lead to a lower batting average and likely a lower home run total, even with similar playing time since he will make less contact in general.

Tyler Stephenson had a much stronger season than I had expected going into 2024 and kind of grades out as a worse version of Will Smith, who is also much less consistent (see 33.92 BETA). He hits in the middle of a solid lineup in a good ballpark, so that helps.

Salvador Perez rates as a high-end category guy who should probably compete or outperform someone like Langeliers, but will have more trouble in points leagues as the plate skills are worse for wear.

Willson Contreras would be at the top of this tier, or probably in Tier 2 if he could stay healthy. He’s moving to first base and should get a ton of playing time this year, but he has had some injury issues in the last couple of years. Let’s see if moving off catcher keeps his bat in the lineup.

Yainer Diaz has a very similar profile to Perez, but he’s younger and is expected to get some time at first base this season.

I love Logan O’Hoppe, but the addition of Travis d’Arnaud concerns me a bit since the Angels are also likely to primarily utilize Jorge Soler at DH.

Austin Wells had a strong showing in the second half of the season for the Yankees. With the catcher spot on lockdown for him to start 2025, we could see some nice steps forward.

Tier 4 & Notes

Tier Starter: J.T. Realmuto (C – PHI)
Tier Ender: Dalton Rushing (C, 1B – LAD)

This tier rounds out the guys who should start in one-catcher leagues.

J.T. Realmuto is getting older and has slowed down in the last couple of years, but he’s still better than average and has a tad of speed.

Sean Murphy had a rough 2024. It will be interesting to see if he can bounce back after the departure of Travis d’Arnaud. He will have to compete against rookie Drake Baldwin for plate appearances now.

Ivan Herrera should get full run as the Cardinals’ primary catcher now that Willson Contreras is moving to first base. He’s a very good hitter. His biggest hang-up to date has been a lack of playing time. He’s a big riser for me in 2025.

Agustin Ramirez. A rookie. The Marlins’ starting catcher is Nick Fortes, but let’s see how long that lasts with Ramirez being the prize of the Jazz Chisholm Jr. trade. Ramirez could also get at-bats in the outfield or at first base to keep his bat in the lineup. Let’s see how much playing time he gets in spring training.

Gabriel Moreno has had some bad injury luck in his short career so far. His latest injury gave a nice window for Adrian Del Castillo to play, who is not bad, so Moreno may not get as much playing time as one might think for a guy who’s likely to provide batting average numbers and not much else.

Bo Naylor had a terrible 2024 after a really strong second half in 2023. Will he rebound?

Keibert Ruiz doesn’t have enough power to rate any higher than this in the rankings, but he will play a lot and is kind of a poor man’s Moreno.

Dalton Rushing should get a nice run in the Dodgers’ outfield in 2024. He will be a nice buy for 2025 in any league where he is catcher-eligible. Hopefully, he’s not the next Henry Davis.

Tier 5 & Notes

Tier Starter: Ryan Jeffers (C, DH – MIN)
Tier Ender: Mitch Garver (C, DH – SEA)

This tier is a glob of decent C2 options in 15-team leagues.

Ryan Jeffers had a very strong first half, but couldn’t carry it into the second half of the season, which stopped him from taking the jump Shea Langeliers did in 2024.

Francisco Alvarez took a step back in 2024 primarily because of his hit tool. He has the talent to step forward now, but it’s not a guarantee.

I’m curious to see if Kyle Teel gets the call to start at catcher before Edgar Quero with the White Sox. I’m not sure how to adjust the rankings until we see what they do in spring training.

Hunter Goodman was terrible in the Majors, but his Minor League track record could lead to a productive power performer if he gets some run.

Rangers catchers will be interesting to watch. I think the split will be more even between Jonah Heim and Kyle Higashioka than one might think.

Danny Jansen chose Tampa over larger contracts so he could start. This could be the opportunity he has needed to break out, but he has to stay healthy.

Tier 6 & Notes

Tier Starter: Samuel Basallo (C, 1B – BAL)
Tier Ender: Drew Romo (C – COL)

This is your rookie/flier/waiver wire fodder tier. The top of the list has some interesting names who could make a bigger impact than some of the Tier 5 guys, but it all depends on when they come up and how much playing time they get.

I’m not going to go through this tier, but many of the prospects are fun, including if you have an injured list (IL) spot to hold David Fry through his injury.

2025 fScores Catcher Rankings

Name	Age	fContact	fDiscipline	fPower	fSpeed	fDurability	TOTAL	FUTURE	BETA
William Contreras	27	101	124	127	81	127	111	121	2.83
Cal Raleigh	28	97	106	153	76	128	115	120	1.18
Will Smith	30	110	122	121	72	111	105	106	0.26
Adley Rutschman	27	97	141	89	68	127	102	100	2.19
Shea Langeliers	27	96	89	133	74	117	103	110	17.65
Tyler Stephenson	28	103	109	115	66	109	99	113	33.92
Salvador Perez	35	106	73	122	62	134	101	102	11.24
Willson Contreras	33	99	112	123	79	90	98	96	–
Yainer Diaz	26	106	66	107	73	128	97	106	37.65
Logan O’Hoppe	25	100	83	132	61	105	95	106	–
Austin Wells	25	97	107	119	65	104	94	106	–
J.T. Realmuto	34	105	91	120	94	97	97	93	4.78
Sean Murphy	30	92	115	121	65	86	89	89	7.76
Ivan Herrera	25	102	126	87	109	79	93	108	–
Agustin Ramirez	23	91	103	93	130	104	100	110	–
Gabriel Moreno	25	106	134	75	89	73	89	104	–
Bo Naylor	25	91	104	107	89	104	93	101	–
Keibert Ruiz	26	99	105	77	75	116	92	101	3.87
Dalton Rushing	24	93	121	107	66	95	93	103	–
Ryan Jeffers	28	95	94	114	77	88	92	93	19.62
Alejandro Kirk	26	101	135	80	61	100	90	96	3.1
Francisco Alvarez	23	91	99	109	66	103	88	89	2.8
Kyle Teel	23	97	124	69	96	96	91	93	–
Joey Bart	28	95	86	100	68	71	82	99	–
Hunter Goodman	25	97	75	129	69	106	88	97	–
Jake Rogers	30	98	87	120	75	77	85	90	30.87
Adrian Del Castillo	25	101	95	106	71	76	82	97	–
Kyle Higashioka	35	100	82	131	77	73	89	93	–
Jonah Heim	30	97	91	92	65	110	89	88	8.25
Drake Baldwin	24	95	115	80	67	111	88	97
Patrick Bailey	26	99	97	79	82	102	86	89	8.74
Danny Jansen	30	91	130	106	66	69	86	88	21
Mitch Garver	34	90	125	113	64	76	89	85	41.76
Samuel Basallo	20	93	80	100	84	101	88	95	–
Connor Wong	29	95	78	92	82	98	84	86	47.2
Edgar Quero	22	96	113	76	67	80	81	86	–
Travis d’Arnaud	36	99	87	117	70	78	87	82	11.43
Moises Ballesteros	21	95	86	85	67	103	83	86	–
David Fry	29	97	98	106	80	69	87	87	–
Luis Campusano	26	99	92	87	62	57	75	89	–
Endy Rodriguez	25	99	104	71	74	46	72	97	–
Yasmani Grandal	36	99	134	109	62	69	87	92	–
Gary Sanchez	32	92	111	122	64	68	84	82	–
Miguel Amaya	26	98	95	89	63	78	80	90	–
Jacob Stallings	35	100	107	90	59	70	80	86	–
Pedro Pages	26	94	94	82	79	91	79	91	–
Jeferson Quero	22	95	100	89	77	42	76	90	–
Henry Davis	25	89	99	84	75	72	74	86	–
Carson Kelly	30	93	110	80	68	70	78	88	–
Victor Caratini	31	107	113	82	56	69	79	81	–
Eric Haase	32	99	68	119	81	48	75	85	–
Freddy Fermin	30	98	92	72	77	88	80	76	–
Kyle McCann	27	91	86	104	72	73	77	78	–
Nick Fortes	28	95	98	59	64	81	73	74	–
Jimmy Crooks	23	104	95	93	80	83	85	95	–
Harry Ford	22	91	122	66	155	97	98	99	–
James McCann	35	100	79	98	77	53	76	80	–
Dillon Dingler	26	95	76	83	79	73	73	83	–
Elias Diaz	34	98	82	75	62	84	75	71	5.05
Carter Jensen	21	85	107	87	98	103	91	98	–
Diego Cartaya	23	83	84	81	75	84	75	76	–
Christian Vazquez	34	97	83	70	74	82	75	72	–
Jose Trevino	32	86	111	71	79	50	72	69	–
Drew Romo	23	95	65	68	48	65	61	66	0
									–


12 Teamers							101.42
15 Teamers (2 catchers)							94.33
Total							86.73

Please follow me on X @fantasyaceball, on YouTube @TheTimkanak and subscribe to the Fantasy Aceball podcast for more great content throughout the season. More of my written work can be found here on FantasyPros.

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