Fantasy baseball free agent pickups: Slow starts by catchers got you down? Here’s who can help

Catcher has been a historically difficult position to fill in fantasy baseball, even in ESPN standard leagues that only require one (in typical 10-team leagues).

Overall, catchers have posted a collective OPS 33 points lower than the league average in the category this century. Over the last 25 non-shortened seasons, catchers (at least those who called it their primary position in those years) scored more than 450 fantasy points among hitters in only 10 of the 625 total seasons.

we can still have cal raleighThe historic 60-homer 2025 is fresh in our minds when we think of standout backstops, but the truth about catchers is Any One is going to exit the draft in a weak position in a standard league. Even the manager who drafted Raleigh has some complaints seattle mariners Starr posted only 15 fantasy points (tied for 25th) through two weeks of the first season.

If you feel you need help catching, a pair of youngsters have shown enough pop at the plate to potentially fill your spot for the long term.

francisco alvarezC, New York Mets (36.0% of rosters in ESPN leagues): A fifth-year major league player but still only 24, Álvarez enters 2026 and has yet to realize his full potential at the plate. His rookie stint lasted only a few exceptional months due to injuries and holes in his swing, but he was effectively worthless otherwise. So far this year — and, of course, small-sample caveats apply — Álvarez is making a lot more contact on pitches within the strike zone (84.9% rate compared to 77.0% for his career) and is continuing to mirror the success he displayed in limited playing time in 2025 (.599 xwOBA, after a much-improved .448 in 2025). He is one of the more powerful hitters among current backstops, capable of equaling or exceeding the 25 home runs he hit as a rookie in 2023. If Alvarez’s offensive improvement helps him raise his batting average to the .260 range, he could challenge for a top-five positional rating in the standard-point league.

carter jensenC, kansas city royals (20.3% Roasted): The top preseason selection for American League Rookie of the Year, Jensen’s primary early season headline, unfortunately, came when he fell asleep on the morning of one of the opening week games. However, since being left out of the starting lineup for each of the next two games as punishment, he has started seven of the Royals’ last nine contests and homered three times, showing the immense offensive potential he possesses. Jensen’s whiff rate (39.5%) is a concern, especially considering he had a 28.3% strikeout rate while with Triple-A Omaha last season, but if he can keep it under control, he’ll have one of the more complete offensive games of any current backstop. He serves in the dominant rotation every day between catcher and designated hitter. salvador perez Gives Jensen a volume advantage, which is especially important for a catcher-worthy player.

To be clear, this is not an endorsement for Alvarez or Jensen to remove Raleigh. Rather, it’s a suggestion that Raleigh managers may find room elsewhere on their roster to choose from as an off-day or bad matchup sub. moreover, Adley Ratshman Or alejandro kirk Managers may need short-term replacements, and those who have catchers with equally slow starts agustín ramirez Or hunter goodman (He’s an ideal play-only-at-Cours hitter) Any young player could consider an upgrade.

Alvarez and Jensen aren’t the only players whose early returns provide hope for success throughout the season. Here’s one more thing you should add everywhere:

cam smithOf, Houston Astros (36.5% Roasted): One of the few things going right for the Astros — they’ve lost seven consecutive games to go from first place to last place, and have lost two members of their starting rotation to the injured list in the last eight days — Smith is finally starting to show the superstar potential predicted for him when he was selected with the 14th overall pick of the 2024 draft and ranked among Kelly McDaniels’ 2025 top 100 prospects. Was ranked 73rd in. Smith’s bat speed has increased by more than 3 mph compared to his rookie year, and both his barrel and hard-hit rates have increased significantly (15.8% and 52.6%, up from 6.9% and 40.8%). That the Astros lack outfielder star power also supports Smith’s candidacy as an everyday player — and potentially even a middle-of-the-order hitter behind the team’s on-base specialists. Smith could have a ceiling for a top-25 finish.

Few pitchers have started the season as hot as Springs, whose 54 fantasy points have been surpassed by only 10 other starting pitchers. He had a quality start on April 3 against the Astros at the Athletics’ hit-friendly home, Sutter Health Park (22 fantasy points), and most recently threw seven shutout innings of one-hit baseball on Thursday at homer-friendly Yankee Stadium (26 points), where the matchup might otherwise have screamed, “Sit him!” Springs returns home for a few starts in that pitching-unfriendly environment, facing his first Texas RangersThen the softest matchup around, chicago white soxOn Sunday. Thanks to his solid pitching to date and the elite swing-and-miss ability of his changeup, he is worth adding and starting in all weekly formats.

At first glance, the Rockies are facing the Astros (three games) in a six-game week los angeles dodgers (iii) May appear distasteful for fictional purposes. But given the Astros’ pitching injury issues — they may have to fill in for both Tuesday and Wednesday’s games — and the fact that the Dodgers’ series comes to Coors Field, the Rockies hitters look more attractive than you might think for fantasy purposes. This is a week of at least five (and probably all six) right-handed starters, and it promotes Rockies hitters, especially left-handers, as strong weekly pickups. Of mickey moniac (10.2% rostered), 35th among outfielders in fantasy points despite missing the first five games of the season, and 3B/1B TJ Rumfield (18.2%), .319/.377/.511 hitter against righties so far, stands out.

deep league pickup

Deep (12-team mixed): noah schultzSP, Chicago White Sox (12.4% roasted). Schultz began 2025 as one of the top pitching prospects in baseball, fifth best at the position to McDaniel, but had a shaky season that saw his walk rate more than double (13.8%, after 6.5% in his first two professional years) and ended prematurely in August due to a knee injury, causing his stock to decline. However, Schultz enjoyed positive numbers during spring training, and his excellence in his first three starts for Triple-A Charlotte (1.29 ERA, .089 BAA, 40.4 K%) earned him a promotion to the big club for Tuesday’s start. Those control questions remain, which is why Schultz is higher than your pickup in ESPN standard leagues in 12-team and large mixed pickups, but his upside is so good that he’s even worth hiding in our game if you have a bench spot available to burn.

Deep (15-team mixed): Xavier AssadSP, chicago cubs (5.2% roasted). As the cubs continued to emerge ben brownRecommended in the “Darkest” part of this section last week, in long relief, Assad has emerged as a potential long-term option in the team’s rotation. Assad’s sinker/cutter-heavy repertoire continues to promote ground-ball-heavy, hard-contact-minimizing results, painting a solid matchup type picture. He’s a pitcher to clearly avoid in specific offenses or in hit-friendly ballparks, but in a league of this depth, and with the promise of more work out of the Cubs’ injury-plagued rotation, he’s worth a pickup.

Deepest (AL- and NL-only leagues): Edouard Julien1B/2B, Rockies (1.4% roasted). Like Moniak and Rumfield, Julien is guaranteed to face solid outings in the upcoming weeks as a left-handed hitter. What stands out about Julian from a long-term perspective, however, is that he has the combination of second base eligibility and patience and extra-base ability that points or sabermetric league managers want. His career 11.8% barrel and 42.4% hard-hit rates are above average, and he’s sporting 13.0% and 52.2% rates in those respective categories this season.