Catcher Sean Murphy hits third or fourth in the Oakland Athletics lineup on a daily basis and for good reason. Murphy, 27, is arguably the top run producer for the rebuilding club, leading them in home runs, doubles, RBI and runs scored. He is not having an awesome offensive season when compared to others (.714 OPS), but in this downtrodden lineup that is arguably the worst in the sport, he is really important. Murphy is the No. 3 catcher on the ESPN Player Rater, behind only J.T. Realmuto and Daulton Varsho.
Promoting prospect Shea Langeliers from the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators would surely help the team's offense, but he is also a catcher. Yeah, there is the designated hitter, but would Oakland really promote Langeliers when Murphy is such an indispensable player? Why not? Langeliers, who came from the Atlanta Braves organization along with OF Cristian Pache in the March trade for Matt Olson, is hitting .308 with a league-leading 11 home runs and a 1.062 OPS. He sure looks ready for the majors.
Fantasy managers sure could use another decent catcher to rely on, even in the ESPN standard leagues in which we need only one of them.