Top 10 Fantasy Baseball Catcher Prospects for 2025

These prospect rankings are based on fantasy baseball value, not real-life value. Considering such, hitters generally weigh a bit heavier for me due to the injury risk and higher volatility of prospect pitchers. Proximity to the majors is also prominent in the equation, though these prospect
fantasy baseball rankings
are focused on long-term/dynasty outlooks. Think of these rankings as more of a five-year plan.

Rather than getting into writing mini-bios on all prospects, I’ve decided to keep my rankings simple by providing the 2024 and 2025 stats of each player across all levels, plus a player comp, a small blurb on their prime skills for fantasy and an explanation of my ranking.

I’ve also included updated
fScores
for any players I expect to debut in 2025 (some are updated from May, while others still feature preseason fScores), which highlights what my fScore projections believe the player is capable of at the pro level for immediate impact.

Fantasy Baseball Trade Analyzer
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Assistant
MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
Rest-of-Season Projections

I know most people don’t care to read 250-500 words on each player, so using both box score scouting and film review, I have provided comps for each prospect. For fun, note that comps may be based on mechanics, body type, pitching arsenal or similar skills & box score style and how I

think

each prospect will perform once in the Majors over the next five seasons or so.

All-in-all, rankings paired with statistical info and a player comp will hit the sweet spot for the broadest category of people reading these prospect
fantasy baseball rankings
(or listening/watching the Fantasy Aceball podcast).

NOTE

: Rookie status is determined by 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched at the Major League level.

Full Top 150 Prospect Rankings:

Prospects 1-25
Prospects 26-50
Prospects 51-75
Prospects 76-100
Prospects 101 – 125
Prospects 126-150

Top 10 Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings: Catcher

1.
Samuel Basallo (C, 1B – BAL)

2024 AA/AAA:

.278/.341/.449 | 8.6 BB%, 21.1 K% | 44 XBH, 19 HR, 10 SB
2025 AAA (as of 6/19/25):

.270/.374/.605 | 14 BB%, 24.6 K% | 21 XBH, 15 HR, 0 SB
Age:

20
ETA:

Early 2026
fScores:

N/A
Comp:

Kyle Schwarber
with a better hit tool
Prime Skills:

Samuel Basallo has solid plate discipline and great power and is young for his level. Bassallo has seen some regression in 2024 on the batted ball data, as he has not been lifting the ball in the air enough to reach his power potential and he’s been dinged in the plate skills category this year seeing a decent increase in swinging strike and strikeout rate, while also seeing an even larger decrease in walk rate. He is built for his age with fast hands, but a tight/weird batting stance. He will likely move off the catcher position full-time because of
Adley Rutschman
.

Oddly, Basallo has a 23.9% barrel rate, but only an 11.3% line drive rate this season. I’ve never seen such a discrepancy between those two numbers, which means most of his barrels are in the air and most of his non-barrels are on the ground (48% ground ball rate), which needs correcting.
Ranking Explanation:

Basallo has massive power potential as he is currently rocking a 108.6 90th percentile exit velocity, 115.9 max exit velocity and 93.6 average exit velocity as a 20-year-old at AAA. He doesn’t have wheels and is maybe blocked a little by the Orioles’ ridiculous hitting depth in the organization, which dings him a bit, but he has a 138 wRC+ and with an age-to-level bump should get another 80-85 points. That would give him more power potential than
Sebastian Walcott
and
Leodalis De Vries,
but for fantasy, you want a little bit of everything, so those guys get the edge.
Top 150 Ranking:

5

2.
Eduardo Tait (C – PHI)

2024 CPX/A:

.302/.356/.486 | 6.4 BB%, 19.6 K% | 30 XBH, 11 HR, 5 SB (79 games)
2025 A (as of 6/19/25):

.262/.333/.458 | 9 BB%, 18 K% | 25 XBH, 9 HR, 0 SB
Age:

18
ETA:

2027
Comp:

A lefty version of the Contreras brothers
Prime Skills:

We have a nice lefty swing from the catching prospect from Panama (ala lefty
Ivan Herrera
) with some big power potential, especially for a catcher. Eduardo Tait made it to A-Ball last year at 17 years old. This season, he has shown an above-average contact profile with a near 76% contact rate and 82.8% Z-Contact rate with a solidly aggressive 65.2% Z-Swing% to go along with some ludicrous power numbers, like a 113.8 max exit velocity and 106.6 90th percentile exit velocity, plus a 12.1% barrel rate. At his age, these are top percentile numbers in the power department.
Ranking Explanation:

Tait has put up some incredibly impressive numbers for this age, and I love the swing and power. He’s also good defensively as someone who has eyes on him, hanging in to catch
Andrew Painter
. There is a little bit of a split concern, as he is not good against lefties. As a lefty catcher, it means he might have a strong-side platoon thing going on once he’s in the Majors, unless the defense becomes invaluable behind the dish. His slash line against righties is .298/.329/.511. Against lefties, it is .208/.296/.375, but with a 119 wRC+ at his age, we should be adjusting for about a 60-point age-to-level bump.
Arjun Nimmala
gets the nod over Tait with a bit of a speed factor and a better eye at the dish, while also being at a higher level.
Top 150 Ranking:

32

3.
Dalton Rushing (C – LAD)

2024 AA/AAA:

.271/.384/.512 | 12.7 BB%, 20.5 K% | 48 XBH, 26 HR, 2 SB
2025 AAA:

.308/.424/.514 | 15.9 BB%, 22 K% | 11 XBH, 5 HR, 1 SB
2025 MLB (as of 6/19/25):

.220/.289/.317 | 8.9 BB%, 48.9 K% | 2 XBH, 1 HR, 0 SB
Age:

24
ETA:

Debuted
fScores (pre-season):

93 fContact, 121 fDiscipline, 107 fPower, 66 fSpeed
Comp:

Daulton Varsho
without the baserunning ability
Prime Skills:

Dalton Rushing is a stout kid with a quick swing and nice lefty pull power with great plate discipline and an average hit tool. The lack of speed dings his max potential a bit for fantasy purposes, but he has the skills to be a regular starter if the Dodgers can clear the room for him.
Ranking Explanation:

Rushing is still a decent prospect, but the Dodgers tend to let some of their guys stew, and he’s older for the level. He’s played games at left field and first base in the Minors, but has only played catcher for the Dodgers thus far. It appears unlikely he plays at either of those positions pending an injury. The Dodgers’ roster crunch dings him a bit and caps his potential, but he’s a solid bat all around.
Top 150 Ranking:

54

4.
Kyle Teel (C – CWS)

2024 AA:

.288/.386/.433 | 13.5 BB%, 23 K% | 36 XBH, 13 HR, 12 SB
2025 AAA:

.295/.394/.492 | 14.7 BB%, 25 K% | 19 XBH, 8 HR, 7 SB
2025 MLB

(as of 6/19/25):

.227/.357/.227 | 17.9 BB%, 35.7 K% | 0 XBH, 0 HR, 1 SB
Age:

23
ETA:

Mid 2025
fScores:

97 fContact, 122 fDiscipline, 84 fPower, 93 fSpeed
Comp:

Shades of Buster Posey with less power
Prime Skills:

Kyle Teel is an athletic catcher with an above-average hit tool. He gets some comps to
J.T. Realmuto
, but I think he is more of a high-average hitter who will get on base than the primary power/speed threat of Realmuto. He gets to decent enough exit velocities to raise his power profile as he ages. For instance, he’s increased his average and max exit velocities both by about three miles per hour (MPH) since last season.
Ranking Explanation:

He’s an across-the-board very solid hitter who should maintain primary catcher duties and is a good enough hitter that he should find the lineup even when he’s not catching. For now, he will be paired with
Edgar Quero
post-
Garrett Crochet
trade; it could happen more often than one might think. Overall, Teel and Quero’s fantasy values will both depend on usage and how often the White Sox work both of them into the lineup together. I bumped Teel up a bit just because I think he will get a lot of plate appearances, and that’s incredibly valuable for a fantasy catcher.
Top 150 Ranking:

59

*5.
Josue Briceno (C, 1B – DET)

*Note that since Josue Briceno will also be a repeat in the first baseman prospect rankings, I will provide an additional fifth-ranked catcher below.

2024 A:

.319/.402/.529 | 12.2 BB%, 14.6 K% | 29 XBH, 7 HR, 3 SB
2025 A+ (as of 6/19/25):

.268/.397/.604 | 17.4 BB%, 18.5 K% | 23 XBH, 13 HR, 1 SB
Age:

20
ETA:

Late 2026
fScores:

N/A
Comp:

Bigger
MJ Melendez
with a better hit tool
Prime Skills:

Josue Briceno
is a huge 6-foot-5 catcher who will probably move off the position due to his size. He hasn’t developed the power to match his exit velocities or size, but the hit tool has been spectacular, as are the plate skills. The power came along in the Arizona Fall League, where he cranked 17 extra-base hits, including 10 bombs and a .433/.509/.867 triple slash line. The power has continued forward into this season as he’s rocking a .276 ISO against a .210 ISO last season. The contact rate has decreased from 84% last year to 76.4% this season, but that drop is worth the power uptick if that’s the tradeoff.
Ranking Explanation:

He’s big, strong, has a great eye and can make contact, which is why the Tigers are starting to move him away from catcher as this is a guy you want to focus on hitting. He has a 146 wRC+ this year and is a little young for the level, regarding age-to-level, a fair bump of around 25-30 points is not far off. The biggest worry I have for the lefty hitter is a potential platoon concern — .296/.402/.642 slash line against righties; .143/.262/.257 slash line against lefties. Teel gets a proximity bump, and if you are into catching prospects who will stick as a catcher, he gets a tad of a bump on that front as well.
Top 150 Ranking:

61

5.
Moises Ballesteros (C – CHC)

2024 AA/AAA Stats:

.289/.354/.471 | 8.9 BB%, 18.3 K% | 44 XBH, 19 HR, 1 SB
2025 AAA Stats (as of 6/19/25):

.335/.395/.500 | 11.1 BB%, 5.6 K% | 23 XBH, 7 HR, 3 SB
Age:

21
ETA:

Debuted
fScores:

102 fContact, 105 fDiscipline, 89 fPower, 65 fSpeed
Comp:

Lefty
Pablo Sandoval
with more pop
Prime Skills:

Moises Ballesteros has an above-average hit tool and power for a catcher, but he has a bad body ala Pablo Sandoval, which may negatively impact him down the line. He showed even more power in the Arizona Fall League and is advanced as a hitter for his age, hitting six bombs there.
Ranking Explanation:

Ballesteros has shown to be a pure hitter with a 127 wRC+ as a 20-year-old at AA and AAA ball. He rates out as someone who could be an
Alejandro Kirk
type with power or a young Pablo Sandoval as a catcher. However, he would be better off working on his body before a promotion to get in better shape for a better career, which hurts him a bit in my eyes and stops me from ranking him any higher, despite the killer stats for his age. The issue for Ballesteros is that he does not have the height to play first base nor the athleticism to play in the outfield, so he’s stuck as a catcher/designated hitter option only, which limits his offensive potential from a playing time perspective. He’s a better hitter than
Christian Moore
, but he’s just not going to get the same playing time.
Top 150 Ranking:

64

6.
Rainiel Rodriguez (C – STL)

2024 DSL:

.345/.462/.683 | 16.3 BB%, 13.6 K% | 25 XBH, 10 HR, 1 SB
2025 CPX/A (as of 6/19/25):

.290/.400/.617 | 13.8 BB%, 20.8 K% | 19 XBH, 8 HR, 1 SB
Age:

18
ETA:

2028
fScores:

N/A
Comp:

Agustin Ramirez
(love when I comp a prospect to another prospect)
Prime Skills:

Rainiel Rodriguez has big-

time power potential with insane exit velocities as a 17-year-old in the Dominican Summer League (DSL) and a sweet transition to the Florida Complex League (CPX) with a plus plate approach. He also has crazy pull power, despite some lower contact numbers and higher swinging strike rates. These things usually regress closer positively and negatively toward the mean once the player is in A-Ball.
Ranking Explanation:

Rodriguez has a sky-high power ceiling and could be in A-Ball soon enough. I don’t like ranking CPX players this high, especially with under 60% contact rates, but he’s been so good it can’t be ignored. He has a 248 wRC+ right now in the CPX. Brock Wilken gets the proximity edge, though they could be similar players long-term.
Top 150 Ranking:

89

7.
Blake Mitchell (C – KC)

2024 A/A+:

.232/.368/.424 | 16.5 BB%, 30.7 K% | 37 XBH, 18 HR, 26 SB
2025 CPX (as of 6/19/25):

.333/.571/.333 | 21.5 BB%, 21.4 K% | 0 XBH, 0 HR, 3 SB (4 games)
Age:

20
ETA:

Late 2026
fScores:

N/A
Comp:

Austin Wells
with speed
Prime Skills:

Blake Mitchell was the eighth overall pick in 2024. He was an absolute wrecking ball in A-Ball, but has some minor hit tool concerns with a below-average 71.2% contact rate last season. If he can barrel at a better rate, the contact rate will not be a major concern.
Ranking Explanation:

Mitchell never hits the ball on the ground, which is great for power, but not for batting average. He has enough speed that it might be beneficial for him to lift the ball a little less. We have seen some slight improvements in his plate approach as he began his rehab from a broken hand (hamate bone), but there were some lingering issues, and the rehab was put on hold.
Top 150 Ranking:

97

8.
Harry Ford (C – SEA)

2024 AA:

.249/.377/.367 | 14.1 BB%, 22 K% | 35 XBH, 7 HR, 35 SB
2025 AAA (as of 6/19/25):

.313/.424/.486 | 14.8 BB%, 18 K% | 20 XBH, 8 HR, 3 SB
Age:

22
ETA:

Late 2025
fScores:

98 fContact, 129 fDiscipline, 77 fPower, 133 fSpeed
Comp:

J.T. Realmuto
-lite with less power, but better discipline
Prime Skills:

Harry

Ford has great plate skills and is a great athlete, but we saw the power taper off after the first month in AA. He’s done a great job improving the hit tool this season as his contact rate has risen 5% to an above-average 79.3% with an 83.9% Z-Contact%. The plate skills are also improved against the contact rate, as Ford is finally breaking out or bouncing back from a lackluster 2024. He has a 26.4% line drive rate, an 89.7 average exit velocity and a 109.3 average exit velocity on the season, but the steals have tapered off a bit.
Ranking Explanation:

Ford is a good athlete, so there’s a chance he moves to the outfield, where he played a little in 2024. This year, he has only been in the lineup at catcher and designated hitter. While he might move off a bit, he should keep the catcher designation, even if it’s not his primary position in the Majors. He gets the edge over
Jimmy Crooks
as he has better plate skills and is a better athlete, even if Crooks has more power and might be a better defender.
Top 150 Ranking:

133

9.
Jimmy Crooks (C – STL)

2024 AA:

.321/.410/.498 | 11.6 BB%, 21 K% | 32 XBH, 11 HR, 4 SB (90 games)
2025 AAA (as of 6/19/25):

.255/.316/.438 | 7.9 BB%, 27.2 K% | 19 XBH, 9 HR 0 SB
Age:

23
ETA:

Early 2026
fScores:

104 fContact, 95 fDiscipline, 93 fPower, 80 fSpeed
Comp:

Shorter Brian McCann-lite
Prime Skills:

Jimmy Crooks is a heavy-set lefty catcher with a more open Brian McCann-type stance and does not wear batting gloves. He’s a line drive artist with a 31.8% line drive rate in 2024 and a 30.3% line drive rate in 2025, posting a 71% contact rate at AAA. He has some nice exit velocities for a catcher (90 mph average exit velocity, 105.7 90th percentile and 110.9 max exit velocity).
Ranking Explanation:

The Cardinals are masters at catcher development. Besides being a good hitter with plus power, Crooks is also a stellar defensive catcher, which will get him regular reps as a catcher while
Ivan Herrera
likely moves off to first base in the future.
Top 150 Ranking:

136

10.
Carter Jensen (C – KC)

2024 A+/AA:

.259/.359/.450 | 13.2 BB%, 23.4 K% | 46 XBH, 18 HR, 17 SB
2025 AA (as of 6/19/25):

.298/.368/.419 | 10 BB%, 21.6 K% | 17 XBH, 5 HR, 6 SB
Age:

21
ETA:

Mid 2026
fScores:

N/A
Comp:

Bo Naylor
with a bit of a
Will Smith
batted ball profile
Prime Skills:

Carter

Jensen is a beast of an athlete for a catcher. It seems the Royals are the masters at developing stud catchers. He has some solid pull power while also showing the ability to hit the ball the other way, which should keep him from getting shifted to death. He’s a line drive hitter rather than a fly-ball hitter, so he should run some higher batting average on balls in play (BABIP) —

27% line drive rate in 2025. He has a 78.3% contact rate with plus plate skills. Has only a 9.1% SwStr% and is great on the basepaths.
Ranking Explanation:

I don’t think Jensen is going to be a superstar, but he does have 55 tools pretty much across the board, making him a very solid player that could move off catcher at some point, though in the Minors, all he’s doing is playing catcher and taking at-bats as the designated hitter.
Jacob Reimer
gets the edge due to the power profile, but Jensen has more electricity than
CJ Kayfus
, and I trust the underlying metrics more.
Top 150 Ranking:

146

Runners Up

Alfredo Duno (C – CIN)
Leonardo Bernal (C – STL)
Jeferson Quero (C – MIL)
Daniel Susac (C – ATH)
Joe Mack (C – MIA)
Ramon Ramirez (C – KC)
Christopher Suero (C – NYM)
Walker Janek (C – HOU)
Thayron Liranzo (C – DET)
Malcolm Moore (C – TEX)

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, on
YouTube @TheTimkanak
and subscribe to the
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for more great content throughout the season. More of my written work can be found here on
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