Catcher is typically fantasy baseball's weakest position, but with the emergence of several new faces and the return of a perennial 20-homer option from a season-long injury, this is perhaps the strongest class of backstops in years.

Here's how the position breaks down heading into the 2020 campaign.

• Complete 2020 Fantasy Player Rankings

Tier 1: J.T. Realmuto, Gary Sánchez, Yasmani Grandal

The No. 1 spot is a toss-up between Realmuto and Sánchez. We'll give a slight edge to Realmuto because he has proven to be more durable, topping 530 plate appearances in four straight seasons. In comparison, Sánchez has never exceeded 525 plate appearances during his career. Sánchez also has been a liability in the batting-average category, hitting .186 in 2018 and .232 last season, while Realmuto has hit between .275 and .278 in each of the past three years. Sánchez, though, is arguably the most powerful catcher in the Majors, and as such, he's a fine choice as your starting fantasy backstop.

After recording career highs in homers (28), RBIs (77), runs (79) and walks (109) a year ago, Grandal isn't far behind the other two members of this tier. The 31-year-old is seeking his fifth straight season with 20-plus homers, and his discerning eye at the plate makes him particularly valuable in points leagues, as well as leagues that use on-base percentage instead of batting average as a category. Now with an up-and-coming White Sox club, the switch-hitter is a top-three option in standard settings as well.

Tier 2: Mitch Garver, Willson Contreras

Despite splitting playing time with Jason Castro, Garver emerged as an impressive force at the plate in 2019, recording 31 homers with 67 RBIs and a .995 OPS over 359 plate appearances. Castro departed as a free agent and was replaced by Alex Avila, putting Garver in line for a greater share of starts in 2020. There's some risk here, as Garver is already 29 years old and had never topped 17 home runs in a professional season prior to 2019. But his upside is obvious, especially after he ranked among the big league leaders in barrel rate (15.5 percent), hard-hit rate (50 percent), xSLG (.573) and xwOBA (.380) last year.

Contreras rounds out the top five after rebounding from a disappointing 2018 campaign (10 homers, .730 OPS) with 24 long balls and an .888 OPS in '19. The 27-year-old has recorded an OPS of .845 or better in three of his four big league seasons.

Tier 3: Will Smith, Salvador Perez

After delivering a tantalizing debut effort in 2019 -- 15 homers and 42 RBIs in 196 plate appearances -- Smith is set to take over as the Dodgers' starting catcher in '20. Although his .225 xBA and .323 xwOBA may give some fantasy owners pause, the 24-year-old could be worth the risk given his lofty ceiling.

Perez will look to pick up where he left off after missing all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Despite his poor plate discipline, the 29-year-old topped 20 homers in four straight years leading up to 2019. The injury could end up working in his favor, as it gave him time to rest up after handling a heavy workload from 2013-18.

Tier 4: Christian Vázquez, Omar Narváez, Wilson Ramos

There's a bit of a dropoff between Tiers 3 and 4, given the question marks surrounding Vázquez and Narváez. Both players far exceeded power expectations in 2019, with Vázquez slugging 23 homers and Narváez posting 22.

As for Ramos, he owns a .294/.346/.463 slash line since the outset of 2016, but he has produced more than 16 homers in a season only once in his 10-year career. Furthermore, concerns about the 32-year-old's defense and health could cause the Mets to give him frequent days off in 2020.

Fantasy owners who haven't drafted a catcher by this point may want to wait a bit longer and grab someone from the next tier.

Tier 5: Carson Kelly, Sean Murphy, Travis d'Arnaud, Kurt Suzuki, Tom Murphy

Tier 5 includes the final five players in this season's top 15. Sean Murphy arguably has the most upside of anyone in this group, given his prospect ranking (No. 33 overall), a lack of competition for playing time and a strong showing in his brief debut last year (four homers, .899 OPS in 60 plate appearances).

Kelly and Tom Murphy (no relation to Sean) also have their share of potential after each backstop acquitted himself well upon receiving an opportunity to play regularly with a new team in 2019. d'Arnaud and Suzuki could provide mixed-league-worthy production as well, though both are expected to be part of a timeshare with their respective teams.