Sam Huff

While lauded for his power, Huff has been unable to carve out a consistent role at the major-league level. He now finds himself third on the organizational depth chart after the Rangers brought in Andrew Knizner on a one-year deal to back up Jonah Heim. It's uncertain whether Huff will begin the 2024 season in the majors or back at Triple-A Round Rock; manager Bruce Bochy left open the possibility of the team carrying three catchers on Opening Day. Impressively, Huff reached 20 home runs in fewer than 90 total games between Triple-A and the big leagues last season, Now 26, and with one minor-league option remaining, Huff will need to make the most of his opportunities if he is to find his way into meaningful at-bats.

Huff is an intriguing second catcher target, but one with a major issues jumping off his stat page. He has shown power throughout the minors with a high strikeout rate, and has some of the best max exit velocity for a catcher in 2022. The 32% strikeout rate is not even his biggest problem; it is his catching. He receives the ball well, but when he is part of the pitching/catching batters, the league has been successful in 86% of its stolen base attempts. The new rules on throwing over will put more pressure on Huff to do better in this area, and he has a bottom 25th percentile meaning the pitcher will have to pick up even more slack when he is behind the plate. Simply put, he is Mike Zunino without the throwing arm and the new rules around baserunning could significantly impact Huff's playing time if his throwing skills behind the plate do not improve. He is fantasy viable in AL-Only two-catcher leagues, but can otherwise be safely ignored.

Huff took advantage of his first opportunity to flash his power in the big-leagues last season, slamming three home runs and slashing .355/.394/.742 across 33 plate appearances. A hulking man who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs nearly 250 pounds, Huff has very real power, as evidenced by the 28 homers he smashed between two minor-league levels in 2018. The long-ball potential will undoubtedly be his calling card in the majors, though Huff is likely to rack up plenty of whiffs as he aims for the fences -- he struck out in one-third of his plate appearances last season and holds a career 29.7 K% in the minors. The lack of contact makes for a low batting-average floor, but that isn't necessarily a dealbreaker given his position. An Opening Day roster spot isn't guaranteed, but he will be a favorite to break camp and should get a fairly long leash as the Rangers appear to be finally accepting a rebuild.