Fantasy Baseball 2025 Catcher Breakdown: Is Cal Raleigh the Next Big Power Threat Poised to Dominate Beyond 2026?

Now that the dust has settled on the 2025 MLB regular season, it’s high time we took a deep dive into the fantasy takeaways that can steer us clear of pitfalls and sharpen our strategies for the upcoming year. There’s a certain thrill in dissecting who smashed expectations and which prospects have that spark to light up 2026. Over the next few weeks in October, I’ll be unfolding a detailed tapestry of standout performances, promising breakouts, and fresh rankings to get you ahead of the curve.

Kicking things off, let’s zero in on the catcher position — a spot that, believe me, has never been more electric. From jaw-dropping power surges to rookie sensations making waves, 2025 was nothing short of a catcher’s carnival. These players didn’t just fill shoes; they redefined the role in ways that will echo well into next season.

Curious about the ups and downs, the rookies ready to burst out, and the rankings that’ll shape your draft? Dive in — because trusting me on this, ignoring these insights could cost you dearly.

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With the 2025 MLB regular season behind us, it’s time to review what we learned from a fantasy perspective and how we can apply it to next year.

In the coming days throughout October, we’ll be breaking down the standout seasons, the breakout candidates, the prospects to know, and our early 2026 rankings.

We’ll start at the catcher position, where one historic season stood out from the pack.

It’s never too early to look ahead. The Rotoworld Baseball crew and friends conduct an early 2026 mock draft to reflect on the 2025 season, identify risers and fallers, and set the tone for next year.

2025 POSITION BREAKDOWN: CATCHER

🎙️ STATE OF THE POSITION

This probably won’t gain a ton of traction, but 2025 could be described as the Year of the Catcher. Cal Raleigh hit 60 homers and will finish first or second in the AL MVP balloting. Will Smith had a shot at the NL batting crown and finishing in the top five in the circuit in OPS until missing most of September. Salvador Perez and Shea Langeliers became the first catchers since 1999 and just the 11th and 12th all-time to finish with 30 homers and 30 doubles. Drake Baldwin is the favorite to win NL Rookie of the Year, with Agustín Ramírez and Carlos Narváez also posting top-five finishes in their respective leagues.

In all, catchers had an OPS just 19 points lower than the league average of .719. That’s easily the closest mark in the years since the NL adopted the DH and pitchers stopped dragging down the league average. They produced most homers (604) than any position besides DH, first base and right field.

One imagines that OPS gap could narrow even further in future years, what with the ABS challenge system debuting in 2026 and devaluing catcher framing at least a little. It won’t produce a revolution — the Giants probably won’t be casting Patrick Bailey aside just yet — but if the number of challenges granted increases from two misses per game in year one to three or more down the line, framing will become less of a priority in selecting backstops.

🏆 2025’s Top Five Catchers

1. Cal Raleigh (Mariners)

.247/.359/.589. 60 HR, 110 R, 125 RBI, 14 SB

An outstanding real-world player who received AL MVP votes in both 2023 and ’24, Raleigh used to be held back for fantasy purposes by his struggles to hit for average while playing half of his games in an extreme pitcher’s park. His incredible breakthrough saw him best his previous career highs by 26 homers, 25 RBI, 32 runs scored and 15 points of average. He even stole twice as many bases and he did in his first 3 1/3 seasons combined. He’ll enter 2026 as the highest-drafted catcher this decade.

2. Hunter Goodman (Rockies)

.278/.323/.520, 31 HR, 73 R, 91 RBI, 1 SB

Goodman opened 2025 as a popular sleeper dogged with questions about playing time; just 19 of his 57 starts for the Rockies in 2024 came as a catcher, and he spent the spring battling for a spot to back up Jacob Stallings. Fortunately, the Rockies made the right call for once, turning Goodman into an everyday player between catcher and DH, and he wound up becoming the team’s All-Star rep. Goodman’s plate discipline remains an issue, but with Coors helping him along, he should again put up excellent power numbers, perhaps with a reduction in batting average.

3. Shea Langeliers (Athletics)

.277/.325/.536, 31 HR, 73 R, 72 RBI, 7 SB

It figured that the move from Oakland to Sacramento would give A’s hitters a nice boost, but that wasn’t the driving force here; Langeliers hit .278 with 12 homers at home and .274 with 19 homers in 29 fewer at-bats on the road. The big change was that Langeliers struck out just 20% of the time, down from 29% in 2023 and 27% last year, and he obviously did so without losing any power. Statcast thinks he was rather lucky, particularly in collecting 31 homers with 42 barrels. He also remains subpar defensively, though it’s not going to cost him playing time in the short term.

4. William Contreras (Brewers)

.260/.355/.399, 17 HR, 89 R, 76 RBI, 6 SB

Fantasy baseball’s top catcher in 2023 and ’24, Contreras suffered a finger fracture in May and simply spent the rest of the season playing through it. He was already off to a slow start before the injury and he did little for the two months after getting hurt, but he did pick it up in the end, hitting .293/.380/.510 with 11 homers in his final 51 games. Given that his decline is easily explainable, there’s good reason to think a bounce-back is in store for his age-28 campaign.

5. Salvador Perez (Royals)

.236//284/.446, 30 HR, 54 R, 100 RBI, 0 SB

The .236 average, his second lowest ever barely ahead of a .235 mark in 2019, suggests that Perez was in decline at age 35. Still, it’s really the only thing in his numbers that gives rise to the theory. He had a whopping 70 barrels in 155 games. That’s barely behind his career-best total of 74 from his 48-homer season in 2021. His 46% hard-hit rate was also better than his career average, and his 19.5% strikeout tare was his lowest mark since 2017. Statcast gave him a .365 xwOBA for his high mark since 2021 and third highest in the 11 seasons of Statcast. He’ll be back as an everyday player in 2026, and with Carter Jensen’s emergence in Kansas City, he figures to spend more time at DH, which shouldn’t be a bad thing.

📈 2026 Breakouts

Ben Rice (Yankees)

If you put stock in Statcast’s expected stats, Rice already busted out; he finished 2025 with a .299 xBA and a .581 xSLG that were far about his perfectly solid actual marks of .255 and .499. He’ll likely be the Yankees’ primary first baseman next year, but hopefully he’ll catch often enough to maintain eligibility going in 2027.

Gabriel Moreno (Diamondbacks)

Moreno has been around long enough that it’s easy to forget he’s just turning 26 in February. His exit velocity numbers have gotten a little better each season, and he managed a .285 average and nine homers in 83 games while healthy this season. Durability is a concern, but a healthy campaign would probably make him a top-12 catcher in 2026.

Francisco Alvarez (Mets)

Alvarez opened the season on the injured list and probably should have finished it there, given the degree of the injuries he dealt with in September. He also spent a month in the minors due to a combination of subpar offense and defense. Still, when Alvarez was able to strike the ball, he usually crushed it, finishing with a 54% hard-hit rate that ranked 13th of the 309 players with 250 plate appearances. His contract issues haven’t gone anywhere, but he’s a 30-homer threat.

Kyle Teel (White Sox)

Picking up Teel from the Red Sox in the Garrett Crochet trade gave the White Sox two top-flight catching prospects, and Edgar Quero was able to win the race to the majors in 2025, joining the team in mid-April. Still, it was Teel who won out in the end, hitting .273/.375/.411 in 297 plate appearances and also looking more promising defensively, even if he still needs some polish there. That, as a left-handed hitter, he’ll probably sit against most lefties while playing for what still figures to be a rather weak team in 2026 dims his short-term prospects some, but he’s already pretty good and sure to get better.

📝 2026 Prospects To Know

Samuel Basallo (Orioles)

Instead of bringing him up when the most needed him with Adley Rutschman and Gary Sánchez down, the Orioles waited until Aug. 17 to promote Basallo from Triple-A, just because they wanted him Rookie of the Year eligible next season. They then signed him to an eight-year, $67 million that took away any incentive for sending him back to the minors. It’s clear they think they can make it work with both Basallo and Rutschman for now (sending Ryan Mountcastle packing will likely be part of the deal), and Basallo could be a top fantasy catcher right away while spending considerable time at DH and maybe first base. In Triple-A last year, he hit 23 homers and posted an outstanding 58% hard-hit rate in 76 games.

Carter Jensen (Royals)

The Royals should have some regrets about not immediately promoting Jensen after trading Freddy Fermin to the Padres at the deadline. Jensen did come up in September and hit .300/.391/.550 in 69 plate appearances. He could have done even better; with his 10 barrels and 28 hard-hit balls in 48 events, Statcast had him with a .355 xBA and a .660 xSLG. Jensen might not play much against lefties as he likely alternates between catcher and DH in tandem with Perez, but he should be quite good while in the lineup, and it adds to his upside that he can run; he had 43 steals in the minors the last three years.

Moisés Ballesteros (Cubs)

Whether Ballesteros has a real future behind the plate remains in question, but there’s little doubt about his bat, which produced a .316/.385/.473 line in 114 games as a 21-year-old in Triple-A this year, He also came in at .298/.394/.474 in 66 plate appearances as a major leaguer. Still, the Cubs never really considered him at catcher while Miguel Amaya missed most of the year; he started 16 games as DH and caught just once during his time in the majors. If the Cubs lose Kyle Tucker and decide to make Ballesteros their primary DH next year, he could eventually be a top-12 catcher. First, though, he’d need eligibility.

Joe Mack (Marlins)

Ramírez should remain very much in the Marlins’ plans going forward, but it probably can’t be as a long-term catcher. Fortunately, the team has a superior defender on the way up, one who has made impressive strides offensively in hitting 45 homers the last two years. Mack, the 31st overall pick in the 2021 draft, has contact issues that aren’t ever likely to go away, but he’ll make up for it with major league power and strong defense, especially in terms of throwing. He might not ever be a No. 1 catcher in fantasy leagues, but he could be a No. 2, especially if he wants to have some fun on the basepaths; he was 9-for-12 stealing bases this season after trying just four and succeeding on three in his first two-plus years as a minor leaguer.

🔮 2026 Top 12 Catchers

1. Cal Raleigh: The slam-dunk No. 1, but probably not worth what it’ll take to draft him.
2. William Contreras: Still the closest thing to a five-category catcher in the league.
3. Ben Rice: So much hard contact. Could hit 30 homers and maintain a .270 average.
4. Salvador Perez: He’ll catch less but still play as much as anyone here.
5. Adley Rutschman: The hype is gone, but his EV numbers haven’t changed as his production has waned.
6. Shea Langeliers: A little lucky in 2025, but he could still run it back as a 30-homer guy.
7. Will Smith: Would be higher if someone else wasn’t always hogging the DH spot in L.A.
8. Hunter Goodman: With Coors helping, the likely step back shouldn’t be especially severe.
9. Drake Baldwin: Probably not yet enough power to be elite, but he’s getting there.
10. Samuel Basallo: Some risk if he gets off to a slow start, but the 21-year-old has a top-five ceiling.
11. Agustín Ramírez: Surprised with 16 steals as rookie. Value would jump if moved to first.
12. Yainer Diaz: Down season not backed up by EV numbers. 25 HR, 90 RBI within reach.