The calendar has moved to May, which means it’s time to get some positional Shuffle Ups your way. We have enough data to form some actionable opinions (in some cases), or at least educated guesses (in some other cases).
Today, we look at the catchers. I excluded players currently on the injured list (everyone seems to have their own version of injury optimism or pessimism) and any player in the minors.
Advertisement
The players below are salaried and ranked as if I were entering a fresh draft tonight. What’s happened to this point is an audition, nothing more. Don’t get hung up on the salaries in a vacuum, which are just comparison tools. Players at the same salary are considered even.
Have some respectful disagreement? That’s good, that’s why we have a game. Share your thoughts anytime on social media: catch me on Twitter/X or on Bluesky.
The Big Tickets
The Yankees have the AL’s best offense and Rice is a big part of that, with beet-red Savant stats. And here’s the bad news for opponents — Rice has figured out lefties (.367/.457/.867) and is batting .362 on the road. His walk rate has almost doubled and while the strikeouts are up slightly, it’s not prohibitive. Baby, you’re a big star now.
Advertisement
The Braves have outscored everybody and Baldwin’s fast start is at the front of that. Atlanta uses him every day — sometimes as a DH — and he was the static No. 2 hitter until Ronald Acuña Jr. got hurt (now Baldwin is batting leadoff). Baldwin’s hard-hit rate has surged this year despite pulling the ball less — that illustrates his growth as a hitter. His average and slugging are fully supported by his Statcast page, too. Enjoy the ride.
Raleigh’s career profile was always the way to bet, not the 2025 outlier season. If we average his production from 2022-2024, we’re looking at .222/.303/.457, with 35 homers and 92 RBI. That’s not an MVP candidate, but it’s still a very valuable player.
Legitimate Roster Pieces
Dingler is probably a good buy-low target right now. His stats are fine but he’s actually been unlucky — Statcast suggests he should be batting .306 and slugging .588. His Gold Glove defense keeps him on the field more often than not, and he’s in the prime of his career (age-27 season). Better things ahead.
Advertisement
Herrera’s slugging has dipped some, but you love more walks than strikeouts and that dreamy .402 OBP. The Cardinals give him plenty of DH work — he hasn’t missed a game all year — and he’s parked in the No. 2 slot of what’s turned into a quality lineup. He’s welcome on all of my teams.
Rushing is one of the most fascinating players in 2026, a hit-machine who is unfortunately blocked at catcher (Will Smith), first base (Freddie Freeman) and DH (Shohei Ohtani). The Dodgers nonetheless are creatively hunting for spots for Rushing to play — he’s started in 13 of the past 23 games, in part because the Dodgers don’t automatically let Ohtani hit when he’s pitching this year. Rushing would need a cleaner path to at-bats to justify starting in one-catcher leagues, but he’s acceptable as a C2 in deeper formats, or as a one-injury-away upside stash.
Bargain Bin
Advertisement
Moreno felt miscast as the Arizona cleanup man when the season started, but he’s been in the bottom half of the order since he returned from his oblique injury. Moreno was projected as a future star not long ago, but maybe he’s destined to be a good-average, low-pop hitter for the prime of his career. There’s deeper-league value there, but he’ll need to show something before I elevate the salary here.
Realmuto is a low-ceiling volume play these days, nothing more. The pop is gone. He hasn’t run at all this year. And the Phillies will keep him parked in the bottom third of the order all year. There’s no shame in a career decline in the mid-30s, but we also don’t want to be sentimental over a former star like this.
Read the full article here