Los Angeles Angels injury forcing fantasy baseball owners into change

Much like the tight end position in fantasy football, the catcher spot on a baseball fantasy roster can be a never-ending search of the “next guy” if you don’t have the Travis Kelce of the league.

In baseball, there are usually two or three catchers at the top followed by a summer pool party full of “all these other guys.” It’s a long season filled with injuries, nights off and slumps, so if you don’t have a top stud behind the plate, rocking the waiver wire for catchers should be your way of life.

For Logan O’Hoppe fantasy baseball owners, it’s time to check the pool to see who’s ready to towel off and jump on your roster.

The Angels’ 23-year-old catcher, O’Hoppe went down with a torn labrum last week, an injury that is likely to bring an end to what started out as a promising second season in the Bigs. O’Hoppe, who brought stability behind the plate for the Angels, was second on the team in both batting average (.283) and RBI (13). The injury is certainly a blow to the Angels and fantasy owners, but it’s still April with a long way to go in the season. Heck, it’s not even National Pretzel or World Burlesque Day yet. No time to sulk over the O’Hoppe news so put down the container of peanut butter filled nuggets and rock the waiver wire.

With O’Hoppe out, the Angels will turn to Matt Thaiss and Chad Wallach, two guys who are career sub-.200 hitters. In limited action this season, Thaiss is hitting .125 with a home run and two RBI in 16 at-bats. Wallach has the feeling of “a guy we found down the street.” He’s from neighboring Yorba Linda, literally down the road from Anaheim, and just saw his first action of the season over the weekend. Wallach came through for the Angels Friday with a two-run homer and went 1-for-4 over the weekend. Thaiss’ homer also came over the weekend. The homers are great, but far from what the Angels and fantasy owners can expect on the regular from these guys. Angels manager Phil Nevin may have Plan B behind the plate, but fantasy owners have a few solid options going forward.

I’m a New Englander from Boston, so the Red Sox are my team. However, one of my favorite teams of the season so far is the Texas Rangers. The Rangers are off to a great start, sitting atop the AL West and tied with Baltimore for the second best record in the AL. I boasted about reliever Dane Dunning over the weekend and now I turn to the guy Dunning gets his signals from.

Jonah Heim has been the hottest catcher at the plate in the entire league over the past two weeks. Over that time Heim has 4 home runs, 14 RBI, 10 runs and 28 total bases. Last week alone, the Texas catcher hit .375 with a .524 OBP and slugged it at a .813 clip. Additionally impressive is that Heim has seven walks and only one strikeout over the past 10 games, which is huge in leagues that deduct points for strikeouts as most do.

Heim is third on the Rangers in batting average, hitting .315 on the season only behind outfielder Travis Jankowski (.333) and shortstop Corey Seager (.359). Heim has 15 more at-bats than Jankowski and Seager has been out with a bad hammy since April 11, so Heim has really been carrying the load at and behind the plate for Texas. Heim is shining in his second season as the full-time catcher in Arlington and fans in the Metroplex are all about it.

Texas plays the Reds in “The Natti” to start the week before heading back to Globe Life for an exciting weekend series versus the Yankees. Oddly enough, with all the love Heim has gotten from the hometown fans, he’s hitting a whopping 108 points higher on the road, so take note and follow that home/away split closely.

If you miss out on Heim, you’re not completely out of luck.

Cardinals catcher Wilson Contreras hit .421 last week with two homers, six RBI and a stolen base. The long time Cub turned Cardinal is batting .275 on the season thus far, his best average since his first two seasons in the bigs. Before getting ejected in Sunday’s game for breaking a bat over his knee after striking out, Contreras had five multi-hit games over the team’s past six contests. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol has been plugging Contreras in as the DH, which keeps his batting opportunities alive when he gets the night off behind the plate.

St. Louis has a West Coast swing this week in San Francisco then down to Dodger Stadium. Like Heim, Contreras home/away splits are eye-popping. Contreras is hitting just .143 on the road so there’s surely an element of “proceed with caution” this week with him.

A final option, for this week at least, is Cubs catcher Yan Gomes. The veteran 35-year-old Brazilian has been behind the plate in the majors since Barack Obama’s first administration. Over the past four series, Gomes is hitting .314 for Chicago and is fresh off taking Clayton Kershaw deep for his fourth home run of the season. The entire Cubs lineup has been hot this season, so Gomes is a bit of a “production via osmosis” play. The Cubs are home at Wrigley this week against the Padres, then take their talents to Miami for a series with the upstart Marlins.

Between a hot Ranger, a bat-breaking Cardinal and a seasoned Brazilian, you have a few good options to fill the hole O’Hoppe’s labrum injury created. Good luck!