Rankings Update: Catchers
Back after a week lost to illness, here are your catcher rankings. wOBA numbers are listed as “(current wOBA, ZiPS ROS)”. If the wOBA numbers are a couple of points off, don’t sweat it, because it’s just me writing these things up ahead of time.
Big Three
Joe Mauer (.388, .414)
Brian McCann (.347, .370)
Victor Martinez (.316, .364)
Victor had himself a week. He still has a nice LD%, unlucky BABIP and bad HR/FB%, but they are getting closer to normal. Enjoy the rest of your season with one of the games top catchers.
Happy to Have
Matt Wieters (.334, .341)
Russell Martin (.309, .340)
Jorge Posada (.406, .351)
Geovany Soto (.484, .366)
Half of the time Wieters puts the ball in play, it’s on the ground. Not good. If Jorge wasn’t so old, I’d be more excited about his start. Oh, and a HR/FB% of 27.8% doesn’t help his cause, either. Geo Soto has been tearing it up, and he’s walking more than he’s striking out thus far.
Name That Molina
Bengie Molina (.369, .324)
Yadier Molina (.358, .337)
Ryan Doumit (.364, .346)
Bengie’s average will go down, but he should show more power than he’s displayed thus far. If Ryan Doumit wouldn’t get injured every year, he’d be so much cooler.
I Am Jack’s Catcher
Kurt Suzuki (.367, .336)
Carlos Ruiz (.388, .339)
Ivan Rodriguez (.400, .299)
John Baker (.301, .320)
Suzuki wasn’t all that impressive early on, and an intercostal strain seems like something that could bother him when he comes back. I’m not overly worried yet, so let’s wait before pronouncing him dead.
Problem Children
A.J. Pierzynski (.253, .319)
Jeff Clement (.231, .340)
Miguel Olivo (.348, .313)
Chris Snyder (.372, .354)
Miguel Montero (.497, .351)
Mike Napoli (.321, .362)
When Pierzynski’s .202 BABIP regresses to the mean, it’s going to be glorious. Glorious! For someone who is supposed to be a power hitter, Jeffy likes to hit the ball on the ground. Is it okay if I call him Jeffy?
The Rest of ‘Em
Chris Iannetta (.243, .343)
Rod Barajas (.355, .308)
Jake Fox (.247, .326)
John Buck (.353, .317)
Carlos Santana
Welcome Fox and Buck to this list. And as far as Iannetta goes, getting sent to the minors is a good thing, right?
Zach is the creator and co-author of RotoGraphs' Roto Riteup series, and RotoGraphs' second-longest tenured writer. You can follow him on twitter.
Hate to say it cuz I totally wimped out and did not pick him up, but Ryan Hanigan and his increased time behind the dish in the Reds platoon. He’s been raking, any thoughts on him?