Fantasy Baseball Today: There’s a youth movement happening at catcher spearheaded by Dalton Rushing

If there’s one thing that has always been true, at least in the 14 years I’ve been writing about Fantasy Baseball for CBSSports.com, it’s this: Catcher is always the weakest position. There have been times when we’ve tried to convince ourselves it wasn’t the case, that some youth movement was going to take the position by storm, but it never actually works out. 

But it just might be happening this time around. 

I know, I know, famous last words. But the crop of young catchers making it to the majors has been legitimately productive so far; rookie catchers have a collective 113 wRC+ so far this season, which is a remarkable metric. On this scale, where 100 is average and above 100 is above-average (naturally), the best mark for rookie catchers in the previous 25 seasons was a 97 wRC+, and the combined average is just 81. Most of the time, rookie catchers are terrible hitters.

But that isn’t the case right now. Drake Baldwin, Agustin Ramirez, and Edgar Quero have all been above-average hitters so far, Carlos Narvaez is showing some signs of life in Boston. If we zoom out a bit, you’ve got other young guys like Ivan Herrera and Hunter Goodman, who aren’t rookies but who are enjoying breakout seasons in their first real chance to be full-time players. And that’s not even mentioning more established (but still young) players like Logan O’Hoppe and Shea Langeliers who are having great seasons.

And it’s not counting the recently promoted Moises Ballesteros – or Dalton Rushing, who will finally make his long-overdue MLB debut this week after the Dodgers called him up Wednesday. On Wednesday, Scott White’s Rankings Movers column highlighted the suddenly crowded catcher landscape, and Rushing’s promotion only further complicates things. Because this is a guy with legit top-five upside at the position, a proven difference maker in the high minors with a phenomenal approach at the plate and legitimate power. But his immediate role is very much in question. 

Rushing is one of the top prospects in baseball and has played corner outfield and first base in addition to catcher, so in theory, there could be a real role with the Dodgers right away. The problem is, the Dodgers are pretty well set at first base with Freddie Freeman, while Dave Roberts has already said he doesn’t anticipate Rushing playing much in the outfield this season. They want to have Rushing focus on continuing to improve behind the plate and working with pitchers, which is a problem when Will Smith is the starting catcher. There could be room for Rushing to force his way into a bigger role, but it’s a narrow path – and that path might be completely blocked (absent injury) if they aren’t willing to play him in the outfield. 

So, while Rushing is very much worth adding in many deeper two-catcher leagues, I’m not elevating him ahead of the likes of Ramirez or Herrera in my rankings. He’ll probably slot in around Ballesteros, a similar prospect with similar playing time concerns both in the short and long term, in the lower-end No. 2 catcher range. He probably isn’t worth adding in any one-catcher leagues, but he’s absolutely talented enough to get there if something happens to Smith – or one of the team’s other plans changes. 

Here’s who else we’re looking to add from Wednesday’s action:

Thursday’s top waiver-wire options

Ryan Weathers, SP, Marlins (38%) – I don’t have a ton of faith in Weathers staying healthy after he suffered a flexor tendon strain this spring, but I’m pretty confident he’s going to be good for as long as he holds up. Those two beliefs are linked by the velocity jump Weathers enjoyed this spring, which carried over both to his rehab assignment and his first start back Wednesday against the Cubs. That was no soft landing, but Weathers looked excellent, averaging 97.2 mph with his four-seamer and generating 10 swinging strikes on 76 pitches over five one-run innings. He struck out five, walked just one, and generally looked the part of a very good pitcher. As long as he stays on the mound, I think he will be one, and I’m looking to add Weathers anywhere I can, basically. 

Logan Henderson, SP, Brewers (28%) – Henderson might just be good. Facing a tough matchup in Cleveland, Henderson returned from Triple-A with another impressive performance. He only went five innings on 72 pitches, but he struck out seven while walking just one and allowing two runs, and his four-seamer/changeup combo worked really well, combining for 10 whiffs on the day. And, with the Brewers suddenly facing a pitching shortage – Brandon Woodruff‘s return from the IL was delayed in recent days, while Jose Quintana joined him on the IL with a shoulder injury – Henderson should get a chance to stick around this time. He has 16 strikeouts to just two walks in his first 11 MLB innings while allowing only three runs, and while he has relied mostly on the four-seamer and changeup so far, Henderson does also mix in a cutter and slider when needed, so this could be a deep enough arsenal if he needs it. I’m adding Henderson in any 12-team or deeper league. 

Rhys Hoskins, 1B, Phillies (58%) – Hoskins got off to a pretty slow start, with an OPS below .600 as late as April 14. But he homered in consecutive games on the 15th and 16th and hasn’t really slowed down, to the point where he has an .858 OPS for the season after he went 4 for 4 with a homer and five RBI Wednesday against the Guardians. And the underlying numbers back it up suggesting Hoskins might be back to being a viable option in all Fantasy formats. 

Will Warren, SP, Yankees (32%) – Is Warren starting to figure it out? After a pretty disappointing start to the season, Warren has looked much better over the past few starts. He struck out nine in five innings against the Mariners Wednesday and now has 24 strikeouts to just five walks, with a 2.12 ERA over the past three starts. He’s made some slight changes to his arsenal in that time, de-emphasizing his sinker for more four-seamers and sweepers, and that’s been a pretty good decision – his sinker is generating his worst results of any pitcher in his arsenal, while his four-seamer has been pretty excellent, with a 28.3% whiff rate and .293 expected wOBA allowed entering Wednesday. Warren suddenly looks pretty interesting, at least in deeper leagues where 90-100 starters are typically rostered. 

Trevor Larnach, OF, Twins (30%) – Larnach has been a pretty streaky hitter, and he’s on a hot streak right now. Since a slow start to the season, he’s hitting .295 with seven homers, 15 runs, and 19 RBI over the past 23 games. Can he keep it up? Well, his plate discipline is solid enough (above-average walk rate, below-average strikeout rate), and he hits the ball fairly hard, with a 90.1 mph average exit velocity. It all looks pretty good, and he’s locked in right now, so if you need some help in the outfield, he’s a fine target. 

Dennis Santana, RP, Pirates (25%) – Before the Pirates fired Derek Shelton, it sure looked like the closer job was going back to David Bednar. However, since then, Santana has worked exclusively in a ninth-inning role and has two saves, while Bednar has primarily worked the eighth, including setting up both of Santana’s saves. I think in the long run, Bednar will end up the closer because he’s the better pitcher of the two. But right now, it looks like the ball is back in Santana’s court if you need saves.