Paul Sporer’s Top 50 Catchers
Pardon the delay on these as they should’ve been up over a week ago, but I’ve updated the commentary and rankings since then so here’s the latest backstop ranks fresh off the press!
Other positions:
Here’s my list.
2021 C Rankings
| RK | PLAYER | TM | POS | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | J.T. Realmuto | PHI | C | Thumb inj. doesn’t cost him #1 at C, but should drop him overall |
| 2 | Yasmani Grandal | CWS | C | Best wRC+ at C (min. 500 PA) since 2018; 2nd in HR w/60 (G.Sanchez, 62) |
| 3 | Willson Contreras | CHC | C | Could be moved in-season, but doesn’t deter me from drafting him |
| 4 | Will Smith | LAD | C | 144 wRC+ is tops at C (min. 300 PA) since 2019 |
| 5 | Salvador Perez | KC | C | Excellent 2-mo. season is pushing him too high (15th in wRC+ since ’18) |
| 6 | Travis d’Arnaud | ATL | C | Has been great since ’19, can he stay healthy & remain a force? |
| 7 | Christian Vázquez | BOS | C | Backed up his ’19 w/a solid ’20; avg of 7 SB per 500 PA since ’17 |
| 8 | Sean Murphy | OAK | C | Huge fan of his bat, would be higher if not recovering from collapsed lung |
| 9 | Gary Sánchez | NYY | C | Premium pwr is enticing, but another sub-.200 AVG would be tough to eat |
| 10 | James McCann | NYM | C | Can he maintain his big BABIP to remain a huge AVG asset? |
| 11 | Austin Nola | SD | C | Unknown status of his finger makes him a tough draft at this point |
| 12 | Mitch Garver | MIN | C | PT not guaranteed, but he only needed 359 PA for his mega breakout in ’19 |
| 13 | Daulton Varsho | ARZ | C, OF | Calhoun inj. opens potential OF spot for the C-elig. prospect |
| 14 | Buster Posey | SF | C | Has the skills to bounce back from ugly ’19 |
| 15 | Wilson Ramos | DET | C | 2nd in AVG (.288) among C since ’18 (W.Astudillo, .294) |
| 16 | Yadier Molina | STL | C | Compiler who always seems to wind up doing just fine |
| 17 | Tom Murphy | SEA | C | No real tax for his 18 HR breakout so I might buy in |
| 18 | Omar Narváez | MLW | C | Forgotten after 40 ugly gms, but even w/that he’s 10th in wRC+ since ’18 (112) |
| 19 | Ryan Jeffers | MIN | C | Better glove than Garver w/a solid bat to boot; interesting sleeper |
| 20 | Danny Jansen | TOR | C | Has shown flashes, but career .208 AVG highlights the risk |
| 21 | Yan Gomes | WAS | C | He’s fine |
| 22 | Jorge Alfaro | MIA | C | Still feel like there’s some upside here, but I can’t get past the 34% K, 4% BB |
| 23 | Carson Kelly | ARZ | C | Was a favored sleeper coming into ’20 who’s star faded after a rough 2 mos. |
| 24 | Max Stassi | LAA | C | Think the power gains are real and make him a really intriguing C2… |
| 25 | Kurt Suzuki | LAA | C | …but Suzuki will eat into his PT if he remains a plus bat |
| 26 | Alejandro Kirk | TOR | C | Just not sure there is anywhere to play right now |
| 27 | Pedro Severino | BAL | C | 18 HR in his last 519 PA with a .249 AVG |
| 28 | Jason Castro | HOU | C | Ks too much, but the power is legit and makes a potential C2 |
| 29 | Jacob Stallings | PIT | C | Has the defense to be a 6-day-a-week backstop and compile some stats |
| 30 | Victor Caratini | SD | C | Will be the starter to open the season which makes him a worthy C2 |
| 31 | Tucker Barnhart | CIN | C | Losing his hold on the full-time role w/below avg bat & Stephenson looming |
| 32 | Tyler Stephenson | CIN | C | Be careful with rookie Cs, but keep an eye on his playing time |
| 33 | Austin Barnes | LAD | C | Defense and OBP will get him some PA and SBs give him unique value |
| 34 | Joey Bart | SF | C | Not starting with the club so he will be a waiver wire pickup |
| 35 | Mike Zunino | TB | C | While he doesn’t play a ton, a .161 AVG can still hurt |
| 36 | Roberto Pérez | CLE | C | Will get a ton of PT, but do you want it on your roster? |
| 37 | Francisco Mejía | TB | C | Maybe the Rays can unlock some of that prospect potential |
| 38 | Kyle Higashioka | NYY | C | Should get enough PT to be a reasonable AL-Only C2 |
| 39 | Jose Trevino | TEX | C | Has edge for starting role, but feels like a glove-first backstop |
| 40 | Elias Díaz | COL | C | Stop, you’re only drafting him because of Coors despite yrs of this strategy failing |
| 41 | Adley Rutschman | BAL | C | Sisco/Severino could be a solid platoon & leave Rutsch in the high minors |
| 42 | Alex Avila | WAS | C | OBP stud can be a sneaky C2 in NL-Only leagues |
| 43 | Sam Huff | TEX | C | Popped 28 HR in 2019 and then 3 in 33 PA in his MLB debut |
| 44 | Martín Maldonado | HOU | C | Could be relegated to a short-end platoon if Castro hits well |
| 45 | Chance Sisco | BAL | C | Should reach double-digit HRs… can we get ’em w/an AVG north of .220? |
| 46 | Andrew Knizner | STL | C | At least one more year behind the legend |
| 47 | Jonah Heim | TEX | C | Strong high minors (AA/AAA) in ’19 could bring opportunity in TEX |
| 48 | Kevin Plawecki | BOS | C | A .403 BABIP drove his nice 89 PA sample, but he’s a career 80 wRC+ |
| 49 | Luis Torrens | SEA | C | Murphy’s backup hasn’t done much to instill interest in his bat |
| 50 | Willians Astudillo | MIN | C | Just not seeing the PT for La Tortuga |
grandal’s got a little knee strain that might limit his playing time the first week or two. who’s behind him isn’t totally clear yet, but z. collins is having a very good spring, maybe enough to get some semi-regular PH/DH work from the left side in addition to being the 2nd C
Stephen Vogt worth $1 in NL-only for his 8-10 HRs?
Stephen Vogt worth $1 in NL-only for his 8-10 HRs?
Apologies for the triple post. No idea what happened. I’m not super bright.
Daulton Varsho is 4-40 this spring. Hard to believe they won’t send him down at this point.
Yahoo has Falefa as C eligible. Where does he rank on the list?
Same question. Guy might get more at bats than any catcher out there, and with SB and a serviceable BA, the volume alone could be a top 5 catcher.
Roberto Perez is a back to back gold glove winning Catcher one year removed from breaking the team record for HR’s in a season and you have him listed 36? Meanwhile Gary Sanchez who can barely field a ball and continues to struggle winning the starting role at 9? This list seems hastily put together with minimal focus on defense. But hey, if you think Danny Jansen and his backup Alejandro Kirk are both top 30 despite one having a pedestrian career (to be generous) and the other 63 innings of MLB experience maybe you know a lot more than anyone else does.
Why so nasty?
This is for fantasy. Why would you worry about defense?
Because catchers with bad defense and without standout bats lose their jobs – quick.
i actually agree with all of your takes except for kirk, who rocks, but you gotta relax man
oh dear god, the man went 50 deep at catcher. thoughts and prayers.
Hey Paul, I am a bit puzzled by how low Torrens ranks. I’ll confess I am looking at him in a keeper league, where his value is higher. But he’s got a chance to see 50% or more of the AB’s in Seattle, and he has shown a decent hit tool (for a catcher) with 15%/16% K rates in the minors and a 142 WRC+ in ’19 at AA. His MLB results in ’19 and ’20 leave a lot to be desired, but combined it is less than 100 plate appearances – and under the crappy results were some decent plate discipline metrics with a K% under 20%, decent hard hit numbers and 96 WRC+ in limited AB’s. You’ve got him ranked as the 27th catcher in AL only. Seems to me he’s got a decent shot at adding more value than a bunch of the roster fillers ahead of him like Higashioka, Huff, Maldonado, Heim and Plawecki. And at just 24 and supposedly with decent defense in the minors, there is an opportunity for growth. What am I missing?