6.6.25 Catcher News Clippings
The Kyle Teel show begins; Cal Raleigh having a historic season
Top of the Order
Last week we discussed Kyle Teel’s success in Triple-A and the White Sox clearing roster space for his hypothetical call up.
Well now it is official, Teel is making his way to the bigs. The news was broken by his dad, who announced it on his X account. It’s been an impact year for highly regarded catching prospects as Teel joins rookies Agustin Ramirez, Drake Baldwin, Dalton Rushing, and his own teammate, Edgar Quero.
The Red Sox drafted Teel with the 14th overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft and then traded him to the White Sox last winter. Teel was hitting .295/.394/.492 with Triple-A Charlotte and had eight home runs and driven in 30 RBI in 50 games this season.
Despite Quero reaching the majors first, Teel is actually the higher-ranked prospect (#2 White Sox and #26 overall) and I like him better as a long-term fantasy play. Teel can hit for power and should get on base at a nice clip. He also displays more speed than Quero and could contribute a handful of steals.
Defense doesn’t count in fantasy baseball, but Teel has the upper hand there as well. He has a stronger arm and plays sound defense, so is more likely to stick at catcher permanently. Quero has been struggling with his bat and is splitting catching duties with Korey Lee, so those starts could begin to shift toward Teel.
If not for the alien named Aaron Judge who plays baseball for the New York Yankees, Cal Raleigh would be the current front runner for the American League MVP.
He’s having one of the best offensive seasons by a catcher in recent history, probably going all the way back to the PED-fueled late 90s.
During the month of May, Raleigh slashed .304/.430/.739 with 12 home runs and 26 RBI. The guy with the nickname of “Big Dumper” even stole two bases!
For the season Raleigh has knocked in 49 RBI and is hitting .268/.377/.638 (his career averages are .223/.306/.466). He more home runs than both Judge and Shohei Ohtani and leads the entire league with 24 home runs. If that wasn’t enough, he’s already tied his career high with six steals.
He’s been so good, he’s actually on pace to smash the record for most home runs by a catcher in a single season. Salvador Perez set that record with 48 home runs in 2021, and Raleigh is on pace for 64 home runs.
Raleigh has also provided excellent defense behind the plate and is in the top 15% of fielding run value per Baseball Savant. He finished first among catchers last season with 32 runners caught. He’s fourth this season in catcher fielding percentage (.997).
It’s rare that a catcher has such a complete season and an impact this large on his team.
Catcher News Clippings
Shea Langeliers left yesterday’s game with an injury you don’t hear every day: left flank soreness. He grabbed his left side during an at-bat and then exited the game. Langeliers has been a good source of power on the season, with 10 home runs and 27 RBI.
Drake Baldwin was named the NL Rookie of the Month for May after finishing with a .389 average and a 1.004 OPS in addition to three home runs and nine RBI. He continues to split playing time with Sean Murphy.
Salvador Perez may someday end up in the Hall of Fame, or at least the Hall of Good, but may finally be starting to slow down. The 35-year-old Perez is putting up a negative WAR (-1.2) for the first time in his career and only has four home runs and 27 RBI. At this time last year, Perez had 10 home runs and 41 RBI and was hitting .315. His season slash line of .229/.267/.350 is down significantly across the board when you compare it to last season (.271/.330/.456). Perez does tend to play better as the season progresses, but it may be time to move on for a hot hand.
Checking in on Dalton Rushing after his first three weeks in the majors reveals an incomplete grade. He is hitting .233 with one home run and seven RBI but isn’t starting every day in the talented Dodgers lineup. Rushing has made five starts at catcher and, of note, started at first base against the Yankees last weekend. It appears this could be happening more frequently as the Dodgers plan to give Rushing starts at first when Freddie Freeman rests, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com.
Willson Contreras had a huge day yesterday as the Cardinals played a doubleheader against the Royals. Contreras racked up four hits, four RBI, two doubles, and two runs on the day. He’s hitting .250 with six home runs and 36 RBI for the year.
Miguel Amaya has been overshadowed by Carson Kelly’s success early in the season, but he was having a solid season in his own right. Amaya was hitting .280 with four home runs and 25 RBI but now will miss 4-to-6 weeks with an oblique injury.
Waiver Wire Pick of the Week
David Fry
Fry made his season debut for the Guardians earlier this week after missing the first part of the season while recovering from elbow surgery he had last November.
You probably had forgotten about Fry, but he had a sneaky good season last year. Fry hit .263 with 14 home runs and 51 RBI in 122 games in 2024. He was strong in Cleveland’s playoff run, knocking in five RBI in the ALDS and then .333 and a home run against the Yankees in the ALCS.
Fry will make starts all over the field, as well as DH and likely holds C, 1B, and OF eligibility in your league. He’s worth a speculative pickup if you’re struggling in the catcher department.
Catcher Rankings
It is overdue, but Raleigh officially takes over our top spot in the rankings. Hunter Goodman and Ivan Herrera also jump this week.
1. Cal Raleigh (up 1)
2. Will Smith
3. William Contreras
4. Yainer Diaz
5. Adley Rutschman
6. Hunter Goodman (up 3)
7. Salvador Perez
8. Logan O’Hoppe
9. Shea Langeliers (injured, day-to-day)
10. Agustin Ramirez
11. Ivan Herrera (up 4)
12. Drake Baldwin
13. Francisco Alvarez
14. Keibert Ruiz
15. Willson Contreras
16. Dillon Dingler
17. Gabriel Moreno
18. Jonah Heim
19. J.T. Realmuto (injured, day-to-day)
20. Austin Wells
On the bubble:
Kyle Teel, Tyler Stephenson, Liam Hicks
Dropped out:
Edgar Quero
