This article is part of our Fantasy Baseball Breakouts and Busts series.
We begin our fantasy baseball breakouts and busts series behind the plate with a pair of top-200 catchers expected to overperform, and two top-100 backstops who might not live up to expectations.
Fantasy Baseball Catcher Breakouts
Coming into the 2025 season, Langeliers was viewed as a low-average, high-power threat. He slightly improved his numbers in 2024, which maybe should have been viewed as a sign of things to come. Langeliers put it all together last season, slashing .277/.325/.536 with 31 home runs over 123 games.
Given those numbers, how can Langeliers be viewed as a breakout candidate? Glad you asked. First, he has not played 140 games in a season, so if he adds even 10-to-15 games worth of at-bats, he has a shot to post better numbers. Second -- and perhaps even more important -- Langeliers surprisingly fared better on the road (.912 OPS) than at home (.817 OPS) despite playing half his games in the bandbox known as Sutter Health Park in Sacramento. An increase in his home production could result in an uptick in output, even if the road numbers decline a bit.
Langeliers, a first-round pick by Atlanta in 2019, is in his prime at 28 years of age. He is playing for a long-term contract, which should come from the Athletics. Even if he is traded for some inexplicable reason, Langeliers -- who improved defensively as well -- will remain plenty productive.
A monster prospect in the minors, Basallo parlayed a
We begin our fantasy baseball breakouts and busts series behind the plate with a pair of top-200 catchers expected to overperform, and two top-100 backstops who might not live up to expectations.
Fantasy Baseball Catcher Breakouts
Coming into the 2025 season, Langeliers was viewed as a low-average, high-power threat. He slightly improved his numbers in 2024, which maybe should have been viewed as a sign of things to come. Langeliers put it all together last season, slashing .277/.325/.536 with 31 home runs over 123 games.
Given those numbers, how can Langeliers be viewed as a breakout candidate? Glad you asked. First, he has not played 140 games in a season, so if he adds even 10-to-15 games worth of at-bats, he has a shot to post better numbers. Second -- and perhaps even more important -- Langeliers surprisingly fared better on the road (.912 OPS) than at home (.817 OPS) despite playing half his games in the bandbox known as Sutter Health Park in Sacramento. An increase in his home production could result in an uptick in output, even if the road numbers decline a bit.
Langeliers, a first-round pick by Atlanta in 2019, is in his prime at 28 years of age. He is playing for a long-term contract, which should come from the Athletics. Even if he is traded for some inexplicable reason, Langeliers -- who improved defensively as well -- will remain plenty productive.
A monster prospect in the minors, Basallo parlayed a big 76-game stint with Triple-A Norfolk into an August promotion to the big leagues. Basallo saw most of his time behind the plate, making 21 of his 31 major-league appearances as a catcher.
Baltimore showed its faith in Basallo, signing him to an eight-year, $67 million contract less than a week after his promotion. He was unable to carry his minor-league success to the majors in his first opportunity, hitting just .165 with a .559 OPS. Despite a rough introduction to the majors, that has only slightly dampened the fantasy enthusiasm for him.
Basallo will see time at catcher, first base and designated hitter. Adley Rutschman is still Baltimore's primary catcher and the Orioles signed Pete Alonso to fill the same role at first base. Basallo should still garner everyday at-bats, primarily as the designated hitter while spelling the two others -- enough to qualify at one spot and perhaps another. Basallo should stay fresh while focusing primarily on offense, and I like his chances to be named Rookie of the Year, which he can still snag after racking up only 109 at-bats in 2025.
Fantasy Baseball Catcher Busts
Bust here is a relative term, here. If you draft Raleigh expecting 60 home runs, 125 RBI and 110 runs you likely will be disappointed. Last season was a magical year for Raleigh, who nearly won the AL MVP award and carried his big campaign into the postseason.
As was written in RotoWire's preseason outlook, "Even if Raleigh's production drops 50 percent in 2026, he will still out-earn nearly all catchers." Keeping that in mind is critical. Raleigh is going so high in drafts because if you end up with a catcher who "only" posts his 2024 numbers -- .220/.312/.436 with 34 home runs, 100 RBI and 73 runs -- you will still wind up with a top backstop.
Raleigh could still wind up being the top catcher, but some level of regression should be factored into his draft position. I'm not saying to avoid him altogether, but don't expect him to reach the heights he hit in 2025.
Like Raleigh, Goodman put together a brilliant 2025 season, one that was foretold by the 36 minor-league homers he hit in 2022 and 34 more the next year before being summoned to the big leagues. Granted, many of those came in favorable ballparks, but what would you call Coors Field?
Goodman appeared in 70 games for the Rockies in 2024, slashing just .190/.228/.417 over 224 plate appearances but also socking 13 home runs. Last year he parlayed a solid spring into a starting role and never slowed down. Goodman was consistent month-by-month, finishing the season at .278/.323/.520 to go along with 31 home runs and 91 RBI over 144 games -- 104 of which came behind the plate.
Goodman's improved slash line and increase in production came thanks to a .307 batting average at home. Comparatively, he put up just a .248 mark on the road. Similar splits would not be surprising in 2026. Goodman should have a decent enough campaign, but a regression in his slash line as well as overall production would not be surprising. Previous breakouts in Colorado have followed a similar path.
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