Miguel Amaya

Miguel Amaya

26-Year-Old CatcherC
Chicago Cubs
10-Day IL
Injury Oblique
Est. Return 7/1/2025
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Amaya took over as Chicago's unquestioned top catcher when the team cut Yan Gomes in June, but the youngster failed to do much with the opportunity. He batted just .232 with a .645 OPS, eight home runs and 47 RBI across 117 games. This came after hitting .214 with a .688 OPS across 53 games as a rookie in 2023. Amaya did flash a bit more offensive upside at times during his minor-league career, though his best traits as a player are probably on the defensive side of the equation, which doesn't do much for fantasy managers. The Cubs brought in Carson Kelly during the offseason, who should be the slight favorite for the No. 1 catching job. The pair are expected to split playing time, and Amaya will be difficult to trust even if he receives enough volume to be fantasy relevant. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#347
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Cubs in March of 2025.
Out several weeks
CChicago Cubs
Oblique
May 27, 2025
Manager Craig Counsell said Tuesday that Amaya (oblique) will likely be out for another 4-to-6 weeks, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
ANALYSIS
Amaya landed on the injured list Sunday with a strained left oblique, and the results of his MRI confirmed that he will need to spend an extended period of time on the IL. Counsell said the team hopes to have the 26-year-old back before the All-Star break. Until then, Carson Kelly (illness) will likely see the bulk of starts behind the dish with Reese McGuire filling in occasionally.
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Batting Stats
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2025
2024
2023
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
3
12
5
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
2
1
1
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2023
 
 
+33%
OPS vs RHP
2025
 
 
+74%
OPS vs RHP
2024
 
 
+53%
OPS vs RHP
2023
 
 
+3%
OPS vs LHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2023vs Left .554 179 17 3 22 0 .193 .256 .298
Since 2023vs Right .738 440 46 14 68 0 .253 .321 .417
2025vs Left .516 21 5 1 1 0 .158 .200 .316
2025vs Right .896 79 9 3 24 0 .311 .342 .554
2024vs Left .462 94 5 1 13 0 .163 .207 .256
2024vs Right .708 269 27 7 34 0 .256 .316 .393
2023vs Left .701 64 7 1 8 0 .250 .344 .357
2023vs Right .679 92 10 4 10 0 .187 .319 .360
More Splits View More Split Stats
Minor League Splits View Minor League Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2023
 
 
+3%
OPS at Home
2025
 
 
+11%
OPS at Home
2024
 
 
+11%
OPS on Road
2023
 
 
+36%
OPS at Home
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2023Home .694 302 32 11 41 0 .237 .301 .393
Since 2023Away .676 317 31 6 49 0 .234 .304 .372
2025Home .866 44 8 2 8 0 .300 .341 .525
2025Away .781 56 6 2 17 0 .264 .291 .491
2024Home .612 182 14 5 22 0 .218 .272 .339
2024Away .678 181 18 3 25 0 .245 .303 .374
2023Home .793 76 10 4 11 0 .246 .347 .446
2023Away .585 80 7 1 7 0 .182 .313 .273
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Stat Review
How does Miguel Amaya 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
0.18
 
BB Rate
4.0%
 
K Rate
22.0%
 
BABIP
.324
 
ISO
.226
 
AVG
.280
 
OBP
.313
 
SLG
.505
 
OPS
.819
 
wOBA
.352
 
Exit Velocity
87.6 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
31.5%
 
Barrels/PA
5.0%
 
Expected BA
.259
 
Expected SLG
.425
 
Sprint Speed
23.1 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
34.7%
 
Line Drive %
22.2%
 
Fly Ball %
43.1%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2024
2023
2020
Amaya made his MLB debut in 2023, appearing in 53 games for the Cubs. The catcher batted .214 with a .688 OPS, five home runs and 18 RBI. Amaya struck out nearly 26% of the time, which isn't too surprising for a young player getting his feet wet in the majors. The 24-year-old's strikeout rate wasn't much lower during his time in the minors, however, so that part of his game may stick. In the minors, Amaya offset the swings and misses by consistently walking at a high rate, which propped up his on-base percentage. He only walked 7.7% of the time during his time with the Cubs in 2023, and it remains to be seen if he'll be able to push that figure upward as he settles in at the nig-league level. Amaya figures to back up veteran Yan Gomes to begin the 2024 season, which caps the former's fantasy upside in the short term. However, the Cubs may mix things up if they fall out of contention. Amaya doesn't look like a fantasy regular quite yet, but that could happen in the near future.
As a 23-year-old in 2022, Amaya made the jump to Double-A and produced solid numbers following offseason Tommy John surgery. In 28 games for Tennessee, he recorded an .864 OPS to go along with four home runs and 19 RBI. He didn't see any time at catcher after the surgery, but the fact that he was able to perform well at the plate is encouraging. In 2023, the Cubs will want to see Amaya hit like that over a longer stretch of games and likely also get back behind the plate. If all goes well, Amaya could work his way up to Triple-A, and an MLB debut at some point during the season isn't out of the question. Chicago had Willson Contreras locked in as the top catcher the past seven seasons but he entered free agency following the 2022 campaign, so the Cubs are looking for their backstop of the future. Yan Gomes and P.J. Higgins don't figure to be long-term solutions even if they see the bulk of the playing time early in 2023, so Amaya is worth keeping an eye on if he can leap past those two veterans.
As is the case with many of the best catching prospects, Amaya is a significantly better real-life prospect. His top traits are a plus arm, good leadership skills and a propensity to draw walks, none of which are overly helpful in standard roto leagues. Amaya shows off 55-grade raw power to left field in batting practice and logged a career-high .167 ISO while playing half his games in the pitcher-friendly park in Myrtle Beach. The 20-year-old backstop flopped in the Arizona Fall League (.224/.291/.286, 21.8 K% in 55 PA), but that wasn't surprising given his age and lack of upper-level experience. He probably won't ever hit for a high batting average, so power and playing time will have to drive his fantasy value in most formats. He is still working to improve as a pitch framer. If it all comes together, he should make it as a starting catcher who hits around .240 with a solid OBP and 15-20 home runs.
More Fantasy News
Goes on IL
CChicago Cubs
Oblique
May 25, 2025
The Cubs placed Amaya (oblique) on the 10-day injured list Sunday.
ANALYSIS
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Set to go on IL
CChicago Cubs
Oblique
May 24, 2025
Cubs manager Craig Counsell said after Saturday's 6-4 loss to the Reds that Amaya will be placed on the 10-day injured list due to left oblique strain, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.
ANALYSIS
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Exits with trainer
CChicago Cubs
Oblique
May 24, 2025
Amaya was removed from Saturday's game against the Reds due to a left oblique strain, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.
ANALYSIS
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Slugs homer, plates five
CChicago Cubs
May 19, 2025
Amaya went 2-for-3 with a homer, a double, five RBI and an additional run scored in Monday's 8-7 loss to the Marlins.
ANALYSIS
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Enters lineup Monday
CChicago Cubs
May 12, 2025
Amaya is starting at catcher and batting eighth in Monday's game against the Marlins.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Expected to land on injured list
CChicago Cubs
May 24, 2025
Amaya left Saturday's game against the Reds with an oblique issue and is expected to land on the injured list, manager Craig Counsell told Mike Petraglia of MLB.com.
ANALYSIS
Amaya departed Saturday's game against the Reds due to an oblique injury. He suffered the injury during the fifth inning on a throw when Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz stole second base. Amaya is expected to undergo imaging to determine the severity of the issue Tuesday, and the organization will have a more precise timetable for his return after the tests are completed. Reese McGuire is expected to be called up to take his place on the roster, while Carson Kelly is expected to operate as the Cubs' everyday catcher for as long as Amaya remains sidelined.
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