Miguel Amaya DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Chicago Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya could lose playing time in 2025 after the club added veteran Carson Kelly at the position this offseason to give manager Craig Counsell flexibility to distribute playing time more evenly, as opposed to a traditional starter-backup setup, according to MLB.com. Amaya turns 26 in March and posted a nice .760 OPS in the second half in 2024, but he also hit just .163 with a .463 OPS against left-handed pitching and has room to grow as an everyday catcher. Meanwhile, Kelly hit .302 with an .807 OPS in 49 plate appearances against lefties last year. "Look, Miguel showed at times last year, he deserves and he should be the guy," Counsell said. "And other times he's shown us he needs a break. And so I think Miguel is going to still have the opportunity to be a guy that is a regular contributor." Those expecting Amaya to take the next step in 2025 might want to temper expectations.

Chicago Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya is out of the starting lineup ahead of Monday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies. This appears to be a regular rest day for Amaya, who smacked a home run during Sunday's game. In his absence, Christian Bethancourt will be behind the plate and bat eighth versus right-hander Aaron Nola. Bethancourt has been great during his short period with the Cubs. Through 22 games, Bethancourt is hitting .306 with three home runs and 15 RBI on the North Side.

Chicago Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya will start Friday's contest on the bench at Wrigley Field against the Washington Nationals in the second game of a four-game series. Christian Bethancourt will do the catching for right-hander Jameson Taillon and will bat out of the nine-hole versus Nationals right-hander Trevor Williams. In his first full big-league season, Amaya has slashed .227/.286/.347 with a below-average .633 OPS, seven home runs, 43 RBI, 29 runs scored, 22 walks and 60 strikeouts in 111 games played and 341 trips to the plate. The long season has apparently worn him down, too, as he's gone 5-for-37 (.135) with a double, triple, six RBI and five strikeouts in 15 games in the final month of the regular season. DFS gamers should be able to find better sleeper options at catcher than Bethancourt, who has hit .203 (26-for-128) on the year with five homers and 22 RBI.