Daulton Varsho

Daulton Varsho

26-Year-Old CatcherC
Toronto Blue Jays
2023 Fantasy Outlook
On the strength of 27 homers and 16 steals, Varsho finished as the No. 2 catcher in 5x5 roto leagues last season. His .235 average dragged him behind the Phillies' JT Realmuto, but regardless it was an incredibly impressive campaign, and most importantly for our purposes, he maintains catcher eligibility entering 2023 (31 appearances, 18 starts behind the plate). There is some frigid blue on his Statcast page, so perhaps he will continue to struggle to hit for average, but the power-speed combination from the catcher position makes Varsho a valuable asset in the rotisserie game. Being traded to the Blue Jays should only benefit Varsho's production, as the better lineup around him should only increase his chances for runs and RBI. Rogers Centre is also slightly more friendly to hitters compared to Chase Field in Arizona. As good of a young player as he is, those playing in one-catcher leagues and/or points leagues should beware not to overrate Varsho based on where he ranks on two-catcher, roto cheat sheets. Read Past Outlooks
RANKSFrom Preseason
#39
ADP
$Signed a one-year, $3.05 million contract with the Blue Jays in January of 2023.
Big night in Tampa
CToronto Blue Jays
May 24, 2023
Varsho went 2-for-6 with two runs scored and three RBI in Tuesday's rout of the Rays.
ANALYSIS
There was plenty of offense to go around in the Toronto lineup as the Blue Jays nearly set franchise records with a 27-hit, 20-run eruption, and every starter recorded at least two hits. Varsho had gone 13 straight games without registering multiple hits, slashing just .125/.160/.271 during his slump, but this may have been the spark the 26-year-old needed to get his bat going.
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Batting Stats
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2023
2022
2021
2020
2023 MLB Game Log
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2022 MLB Game Log
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2021 MLB Game Log
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2020 MLB Game Log
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Minor League Game Log
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
7
21
8
3
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
2
4
3
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2021
 
 
+17%
OPS vs RHP
2023
 
 
+17%
OPS vs RHP
2022
 
 
+45%
OPS vs RHP
2021
 
 
+12%
OPS vs LHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2021vs Left .646 260 22 4 26 5 .249 .293 .353
Since 2021vs Right .753 858 121 41 106 23 .229 .305 .448
2023vs Left .563 41 3 0 2 1 .243 .293 .270
2023vs Right .658 171 20 7 18 5 .201 .275 .383
2022vs Left .553 129 8 1 13 2 .221 .250 .303
2022vs Right .801 462 71 26 61 14 .240 .317 .484
2021vs Left .819 90 11 3 11 2 .293 .356 .463
2021vs Right .729 225 30 8 27 4 .228 .304 .426
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Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2021
 
 
+17%
OPS on Road
2023
 
 
+111%
OPS on Road
2022
 
 
+13%
OPS on Road
2021
 
 
+2%
OPS at Home
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2021Home .668 533 60 14 47 14 .222 .299 .369
Since 2021Away .781 585 83 31 85 14 .244 .305 .476
2023Home .383 85 7 1 2 2 .118 .212 .171
2023Away .810 127 16 6 18 4 .270 .323 .487
2022Home .698 280 35 11 32 6 .221 .293 .406
2022Away .786 311 44 16 42 10 .248 .311 .475
2021Home .763 168 18 2 13 6 .275 .353 .409
2021Away .746 147 23 9 25 0 .215 .279 .467
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Stat Review
How does Daulton Varsho compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.37
 
BB Rate
8.0%
 
K Rate
21.7%
 
BABIP
.236
 
ISO
.152
 
AVG
.209
 
OBP
.278
 
SLG
.361
 
OPS
.640
 
wOBA
.284
 
Exit Velocity
86.6 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
30.6%
 
Barrels/PA
5.1%
 
Expected BA
.249
 
Expected SLG
.415
 
Sprint Speed
23.5 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
35.0%
 
Line Drive %
22.4%
 
Fly Ball %
42.7%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Daulton Varsho See More
MLB DFS Picks: DraftKings Plays and Strategy for Friday May 26
Yesterday
Bargain bat Daulton Varsho has a .855 OPS on the road where he’ll be tonight against Louie Varland in Minnesota.
MLB DFS Picks: Friday FanDuel Plays and Strategy
8 days ago
Chris Bennett previews Friday’s FanDuel offering, recommending a Dodgers stack of bats for your lineup.
MLB DFS Picks: DraftKings Plays and Strategy for Friday May 19
8 days ago
Friday's slate of games doesn't offer the best selection of pitchers, but Chris Morgan likes Atlanta's Bryce Elder and his 1.94 ERA.
Collette Calls: Steaks Revisited
9 days ago
Jason Collette analyzes how runs have been scored this season and expects more to come from the Blue Jays, particularly Daulton Varsho.
Todd's Takes: And in This Corner
9 days ago
Todd Zola shares his thoughts from Thursday's games, which included a grand slam from James Outman.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
Varsho finished the season with a modest .246/.318/.437 line, but it's his 290/.349/.530 mark with five steals in five tries after the break that has everyone's attention. Well, that and catcher eligibility with the defensive chops to play the outfield. Last season, Varsho squatted 41 times while he shagged flies in 49. As a hitter, Varsho combined good plate skills (21.3 K% and 9.5 BB%) with 84th percentile sprint speed. After registering a 90.3 mph average exit velocity on flyballs over the first half, Varsho muscled it up to 93.1 mph after the break. With Carson Kelly handling the bulk of backstop duties, Varsho will be the primary backup. However, there are pathways to playing time in center and right field. Even if he only plays four or five times a week, Varsho has the potential to be a top-5 fantasy catcher with five-category potential, and he's being drafted as such.
Varsho debuted with a disappointing .188/.287/.366 line across 115 PA in 2020. However, that has done little to dim his shine, and that's because Varsho brings to the table a unique combination of skills for a player who was primarily a catcher throughout his time in the minor leagues and is still catcher-eligible in most fantasy leagues (10 appearances in 2020). Most notably, Varsho can run with 86th percentile sprint speed which he is not afraid to use on the basepaths. He stole 40 bases in the minors from 2018-19 (188 games) and was 3-for-4 on steal attempts in 2020. Varsho also has legitimate power, even if that was missing in his first taste of the majors. Still only 24, Varsho is not going to be the primary catcher in Arizona in 2021, but he can move around and even play center field capably. Expect the team to take advantage of that versatility and get Varsho into the lineup more often than not.
The dream of a legitimate five-category catcher is alive and well with Varsho, who has 30 home runs and 40 steals (on 48 attempts) in 191 games over the past two seasons. At 5-foot-10, 190 pounds, he does not look like a candidate for that kind of production, but he is a 55-grade runner with great instincts on the bases. His plus hit tool is what will get him to the majors -- he uses the whole field and rarely strikes out. Behind the plate, he is a good receiver, but his arm is below average for the position. Varsho has seen reps in the outfield, and is unlikely to be a full-time catcher at the highest level, but could get enough starts there to retain eligibility in most formats. He tore an ankle ligament playing in Japan this offseason and may not be ready for the start of spring training. Varsho will spend at least a couple months at Triple-A and could make his MLB debut this summer.
One of the most unique catching prospects in recent memory, Varsho could steal 20-plus bases while playing in the field on days he does not catch. Despite his stocky 5-foot-10, 190-pound build, he is a good athlete and above-average runner (34-for-43 on SB attempts in 151 career games, including the Arizona Fall League). His 31.5 IFFB% was the sixth-worst mark in the Cal League and his 50.9 Pull% was the 10th highest mark -- indicators that suggest he may struggle to hit much better than .250 in the big leagues. A broken hand cost him six weeks in the middle of the season, but he made up for lost time by going to the AFL, where he logged an impressive 14:12 K:BB in 18 games. Evaluators have speculated that Varsho could handle second base and the outfield in addition to catching, but Arizona has understandably kept him behind the dish for now. It is possible he could develop into a 20/20 catcher, but his home run output may fall short of that.
Varsho was selected from a small school in the Midwest (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) with the No. 68 overall pick in last year's draft, and while questions about his defense behind the plate remain, his bat stole the show in his pro debut. He was the best hitter in the Northwest League (150 wRC+) and belted seven home runs -- seven more than older teammate Pavin Smith, who was selected with the seventh overall pick in the same draft. At 5-foot-10 and with a fringe-average arm, Varsho may not stick at catcher, but unlike most catching prospects, his above-average speed allows him to profile in left field and perhaps even at second base. His bat might even be special enough that he is moved out from behind the plate strictly to maximize his offensive upside, a la Bryce Harper and Wil Myers. Varsho has an excellent feel at the plate, striking out just 14.2 percent of the time (sixth best in the NWL). He has 20-20 potential and has the potential to move very quickly, especially if he switches positions.
More Fantasy News
Batting seventh
CToronto Blue Jays
May 23, 2023
Varsho is starting in left field and batting seventh for the Blue Jays on Tuesday in Tampa Bay.
ANALYSIS
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Day off Sunday
CToronto Blue Jays
May 21, 2023
Varsho will sit Sunday versus the Orioles.
ANALYSIS
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Launches sixth homer
CToronto Blue Jays
May 12, 2023
Varsho went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 3-0 win over Atlanta.
ANALYSIS
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Two extra-base hits in win
CToronto Blue Jays
May 8, 2023
Varsho went 2-for-5 with a double, a homer and two RBI in Sunday's 10-1 win over Pittsburgh.
ANALYSIS
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Goes deep again
CToronto Blue Jays
May 3, 2023
Varsho went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to Boston on Wednesday.
ANALYSIS
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