A Look at 2025's Deeper Catcher Rankings
Above-30 rankings include promising youngsters to remember
While our first post of the season looked at the catchers you’re drafting to start for you on day one, the deeper rankings represent a collection of lower-end starters, veterans playing in platoons, or high-risk/high-reward prospects.
If you decide to wait to draft a catcher, or play in a deeper league or two catcher league, you’ll likely be trying to decide between multiple names on this list.
If you’re looking to strike gold, I’d recommend taking a shot on one of the following: Dalton Rushing, Kyle Teel, Adrian Del Castillo, or Agustin Ramirez. They represent a higher amount of risk due to unclear playing team or the fact that they may start the season in the minors. They also represent a potential higher amount of payoff than the other veteran names in the above-30 rankings.
Fantrax’s rankings end at 30, so we will be reviewing three deeper rankings (ESPN, Yahoo, and CBS).
Ranked on All Lists:
Mitch Garver 33 / 31 / 20 / 28 = 28
Kyle Higashioka 37 / 34 / 23 / 22 = 29
David Fry 31 / 34 / 26 / 26 = 29.25
Miguel Amaya 30 / 35 / 33 / 30 = 32
Mitch Garver, Kyle Higashioka, David Fry, and Miguel Amaya were ranked on all four the lists, so they were covered in the previous article. We’ll jump to taking a closer look at the catchers ranked from #30-#40 on two or three lists.
Ranked on Three Lists:
1. Dalton Rushing 34 / 32 / 32 = 32.67
Dalton Rushing comes in at number 30 on MLB’s first iteration of the top 100 prospects for 2025 and is the most exciting catcher prospect in these rankings.
Last season Rushing launched 26 home runs and 85 RBI across 114 games in Double-and Triple-AAA. He supplemented the power with a solid .271 average and .385 on-base percentage. He’d find himself even higher on the fantasy baseball catcher rankings if he played for a different franchise. However, he is one of many logs in the star-studded Dodgers logjam of a system. The Dodgers’ starter at catcher, Will Smith, has been an All-Star the past two seasons. At age 29, he is locked in for the foreseeable future and signed until 2033.
The franchise does seem to be keeping this in mind as they tried Rushing around at a few different positions last season. In 2024, Rushing started 31 games in left field and 36 games at DH compared to 39 starts at catcher. Someday a potential full-time move from behind the plate could even be in the cards.
It’s likely that Rushing starts the year in the minor leagues, but he is someone to stash away for future use. If he gains other position flexibility while retaining his catcher status, his value would increase and vault him into the top 20/25 zone.
2. Kyle Teel 30 / 38 / 39 = 35.7
Teel was drafted in the first round in 2023 by the Red Sox and then moved franchises this offseason to the White Sox as one of the cornerstones in the Garrett Crochet trade. He immediately slotted in as the #2 prospect in Chicago system.
While in college at Virginia, Teel did spend some time playing in the outfield, but so far in the minors has only played catcher and DH. In 2024, he slashed .288/.386/.433 with 13 home runs, 78 RBI, and 12 steals across 112 games in Double-A and Triple-A.
The White Sox also have another highly regarded catching prospect in Edgar Quero (who was ranked on one list and is listed further down in this article) so Teel could find himself competing against Quero on the depth chart.
However, Teel has better defensive skills than Quero, so is more likely to stay at catcher long-term. He also has expressed his desire to remain playing catcher.
3. Jake Rogers 38 / 39 / 37 = 38
The best thing you can say about Jake Rogers is that he has a starting role with the Tigers (maybe that’s not THE best thing you could say about him - I don’t know the guy, but maybe he’s a really nice person or the type of neighbor that’ll shovel your driveway).
In four major league seasons, he’s a career .202 hitter with 41 total home runs and 110 RBI. His best season was in 2023 when he hit .221 with 21 home runs and 49 RBI, which could be rosterable in a two-catcher league. Other than that, not someone you need to keep in mind.
He definitely doesn’t have as much potential as the other young players and prospects ranked around him. In 2024, he hit just .197 with 10 home runs in 102 games.
Ranked on Two Lists:
1. Adrian Del Castillo 32 / 36 = 34
Del Castillo burst onto the Major League scene on August 7th vs. the Guardians. I was lucky enough to be in attendance for that game (photographic evidence below) and was able to see his first MLB hit live. He wasted no time showing what he was capable of, lacing an RBI double for his first major league hit.
He finished that month hitting .321 with totals of 17 hits (three home runs) and 14 RBI. Del Castillo didn’t see as much action in September and was shuttled back to Triple-A when Dbacks starting catcher Gabriel Moreno returned from injury. He finished the season with averages of .313/.525/.893, four homers and 19 RBI.
Moreno is a talented player in his own right and is cemented as the starter in Arizona. While it’s unlikely Del Castillo would beat him out, he could surpass the other catchers on Arizona’s roster (Jose Herrera and Rene Pinto). Del Castillo’s defense still needs some work, but he is a name to watch heading into the 2025 season.
2. Agustin Ramirez 35 / 40 = 37.5
A native of the Dominican Republic, Ramirez was signed by the Yankees back in 2018. He worked his way up through the organization and in 2023, he slashed .271/.364/.455 with 18 home runs, 69 RBI, and 12 steals (Single-A, High-A, and Double-A).
Last season, Ramirez hit .290 in 58 Double-A games with the Yankees before struggling a bit during his promotion to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he hit .224 in 29 games. The move to the Marlins brought stronger numbers, where in 39 Triple-A games he slashed .262/.358/447. His totals across the Yankees and Marlins systems were 25 home runs and 22 stolen bases and a line of .267/.358/.487.
With a good spring, Ramirez has a chance to make the major league roster for the Marlins and potentially even start. He’d only need to beat out Nick Fortes, the current projected starter for the Marlins, who hit .227 last season.
3. Henry Davis 35 / 40 = 37.5
Unlike some of the other prospect names on this list, Davis’ stock is headed down going into the 2025 season.
He was the first overall pick in the 2021 MLB draft but has struggled to perform up to the expectations of a first overall pick. In 329 career Major League at-bats, Davis has managed only a meager .191 batting average and 8 home runs. He has struck out 114 times.
This season is probably Davis’ last chance to prove himself. Like others on this list, he has played in the outfield in addition to catching. In 2023, at the major league level, Davis played 49 games in the outfield compared to only two games at catcher.
Last year he focused solely on catching but missed most of the season due to injury. Davis has battled wrist and hand injuries over the past few seasons and is reportedly healthy coming into Spring Training.
4. Elias Diaz 26 / 39 = 32.5
Diaz had a career season with the Rockies in 2023, hitting .267/.316/.409 with 14 home runs and 72 RBI and earning his first All-Star nod. He hit for a similar line last season (.265/.313/.382) but was actually released by the Rockies prior to the end of the year. The Padres signed Diaz for the rest of the season, and he hit .190 in 12 games with his new team. At 34 years old and away from the friendly air of Coors Field, I would expect Diaz’s numbers to drop in San Diego. He’ll also be vying for playing time against Luis Campusano.
Ranked on One List:
Edgar Quero 31 (2024 minor league stats: .280/.366/.463 - 16 HR and 70 RBI)
Endy Rodriguez 36 (2024 stats: .220/.284/.328 - 3 HR and 13 RBI)
Jacob Stallings 36 (2024 stats: .263/.357/.453 - 9 HR and 36 RBI)
Luis Torrens 38 (2024 stats: .229/.292/.3730 - 3 HR and 15 RBI)
Korey Lee 40 (2024 stats .210/.244/.347 - 12 HR, 37 RBI, six steals)
The full post-30 rankings:
CBS
David Fry
Adrian Del Castillo
Mitch Garver
Dalton Rushing
Agustin Ramirez
Endy Rodriguez
Kyle Higashioka
Jake Rogers
Kyle Teel
Henry Davis
ESPN
Edgar Quero
Dalton Rushing
Bo Naylor
David Fry
Miguel Amaya
Jacob Stallings
Alejandro Kirk
Luis Torrens
Jake Rogers
Korey Lee
Yahoo
Mitch Garver
Dalton Rushing
Miguel Amaya
Kyle Higashioka
Henry Davis
Adrian Del Castillo
Jake Rogers
Kyle Teel
Elias Diaz
Agustin Ramirez
