Much like a Superflex fantasy football league, where managers often draft and start two quarterbacks, a two-catcher league changes fantasy baseball rankings and draft strategy in a significant way.
Catcher is traditionally the weakest batter position, and two-catcher leagues require different strategy, more research and a little bit of luck. One-catcher leagues change how you attack the position and give you more options, whereas it's something you'll need to address early and often in two-catcher leagues.
How the Number of Catcher Spots Changes Your Draft Strategy
Assuming 12-team leagues, one-catcher leagues mean that 12 catchers will be drafted. In rare instances, a team may carry two catchers if a player (like Hunter Goodman) carries additional eligibility. But most times you'll have 12 catchers selected and a relatively deep free agent pool.
In two-catcher leagues, 24 catchers will be drafted at a minimum, a massive difference that requires managers to keep the position top of mind during drafting and throughout the season. There are usually only about 14-16 truly fantasy-relevant catchers each season that produce important MLB player stats, meaning you won't want to be stuck with a negative contributor as your second catcher that you're required to start.
How to Identify Value at Catcher in a Two-Catcher League
A good rule of thumb in two-catcher leagues is to grab one of the top-100 overall players that qualify at catcher. Catchers gain significant value in two-catcher leagues, and having a rock-solid player like William Contreras or Cal Raleigh takes
Much like a Superflex fantasy football league, where managers often draft and start two quarterbacks, a two-catcher league changes fantasy baseball rankings and draft strategy in a significant way.
Catcher is traditionally the weakest batter position, and two-catcher leagues require different strategy, more research and a little bit of luck. One-catcher leagues change how you attack the position and give you more options, whereas it's something you'll need to address early and often in two-catcher leagues.
How the Number of Catcher Spots Changes Your Draft Strategy
Assuming 12-team leagues, one-catcher leagues mean that 12 catchers will be drafted. In rare instances, a team may carry two catchers if a player (like Hunter Goodman) carries additional eligibility. But most times you'll have 12 catchers selected and a relatively deep free agent pool.
In two-catcher leagues, 24 catchers will be drafted at a minimum, a massive difference that requires managers to keep the position top of mind during drafting and throughout the season. There are usually only about 14-16 truly fantasy-relevant catchers each season that produce important MLB player stats, meaning you won't want to be stuck with a negative contributor as your second catcher that you're required to start.
How to Identify Value at Catcher in a Two-Catcher League
A good rule of thumb in two-catcher leagues is to grab one of the top-100 overall players that qualify at catcher. Catchers gain significant value in two-catcher leagues, and having a rock-solid player like William Contreras or Cal Raleigh takes some of the unknown out of your roster at that position and will allow you to wait a bit longer on your second catcher.
Managers could go after a second catcher in the middle tier, but the difference between the 12th best and 18th best catcher is often minimal, so you're better off waiting. As we often say, the team you draft will look much different than your team at the end of the season. You can always add through free agency or trades on that second catcher, but make sure you've got an excellent first option with positive MLB projections to help your squad.
Streaming Catchers: When it Works and When it Backfires
If fantasy baseball managers want to go a different route and stream their second catcher, they'll need to do so wisely (and get some luck). Swapping catchers in and out on a weekly basis is a dangerous game in two-catcher leagues, where there isn't going to be much on the waiver wire to start with. You'll also need to know how many adds and drops your league allows per week and over the course of the season. Using them all up on streaming a catcher won't make much sense.
Still, if you want to maximize your draft picks, or draft dollars, outside of catcher while other teams scoop them up, there is some benefit there. You can likely find steals among fantasy baseball auction values at players outside of catcher. Just make sure you're locked into RotoWire experts' analysis on waiver-wire catchers, because there'll be few good ones to choose from.
How Catcher Scarcity Can Influence Your Waiver Wire Approach
Understand that the waiver wire in two-catcher leagues is going to be scarce with catchers while having some more depth at other positions. This is why it's important to not get caught with an awful second catcher. It'll be much easier to replace a struggling outfielder than catcher in two-catcher leagues.
It'll be important to keep a close eye on MLB depth charts as the season goes on to see if any catchers on the waiver wire are set to earn more playing time (at catcher or a different position) or if an injury occurs and a backup moves into the starting lineup.
Building Your Roster Around the Catcher Position: One vs. Two Spot Leagues
In one-catcher leagues, you can draft an elite player and not worry about production or inconsistency all season long. You can opt for a middling option, but we'd recommend waiting a while since they are not all that different beyond the top options.
In two-catcher leagues, you'll need to address the position early. Catchers will go higher than their typical fantasy baseball ADP or for more dollars in auction leagues, so be prepared to pay a premium. It's worth it. How you go after your second catcher is up to you, but understand the tradeoffs from picking another one high (you'll lose value in other spots) or waiting a while (you'll likely go through multiple players at that roster spot).
RotoWire's team of experts analyze every position, including the deepest of catchers to help managers in two-catcher leagues. Make sure you subscribe to RotoWire to get the latest so you're ready to build a roster that maximizes as much value from two-catcher leagues as possible.
