Fantasy Baseball: 5 Names Still Flying Under Radars in July

J.T. Realmuto – 39% drafted

He’s not a household name like Buster Posey or a flashy top prospect like Willson Contreras, but what J.T. Realmuto is right now is baseball’s purest hitter at the position.

No backstop has more hits in 2016 than Realmuto’s 87. If his modest power numbers are a problem (five home runs in 268 ABs), consider the fact he is hitting right-handed pitching at a .346/.373/.454 clip, he ranks sixth in runs scored and leads all catchers with seven stolen bases.

Why players like Stephen Vogt (73 percent) and Brian McCann (89 percent) are still rostered on more teams right now is beyond comprehension. Vogt has fewer RBI and his .267 BA pales in comparison to Realmuto’s .325. McCann, who does have 13 home runs, still has a lower OPS than Miami’s backstop and he hasn’t hit better than .270 since 2009 with Atlanta.

As sad as it must be for Giancarlo Stanton owners to come to terms with, Realmuto’s 1.4 WAR is well above their “franchise” player’s 1.0 as the halfway mark of the season approaches. While players like Marcell Ozuna, Christian Yelich and Ichiro Suzuki are Marlins worth rostering in a number of leagues, Realmuto is playing at a high enough level where quality hitting is scarce to come by at the position of catcher.

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