Top 25 Catchers for 2020
It was a weird year at catcher. We came in acknowledging the incredible lack of depth with 4-5 reliable options and then just an unmitigated mess. It’s turned out to be rather deep, just with a group we could’ve never predicted. Those top 4 (and 5 if you include Ramos) have delivered and will remain atop the ranks heading into the 2020, but it again becomes a wide open pool ripe for debates after that.
Other 2020 Rankings:
Let me know what you think in the comments.
2020 Top 25 Catchers
| Rk | Player | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | J.T. Realmuto | Has already matched last yr’s HR (21) & RBI (74) w/24 gms left |
| 2 | Gary Sanchez | Can live w/sub-.240 as long as he’s popping 30 HR per season |
| 3 | Yasmani Grandal | Not worried about a new tm if mutual option isn’t accepted |
| 4 | Willson Contreras | Was pacing toward a 30 HR/90 RBI/75 R before stupid injury |
| 5 | Wilson Ramos | Hitting .297 over the last 4 seasons while averaging 15 HR per yr |
| 6 | Will Smith | Feels super aggressive and yet some will say way too low |
| 7 | Omar Narvaez | Poor man’s Ramos w/.279 AVG & 14 HR per yr since 2018 |
| 8 | Mitch Garver | Profile changes back up pwr surge (FB, Pull, Hard hit surges) |
| 9 | Travis d’Arnaud | Health is always the key as skills remain relatively solid |
| 10 | Kurt Suzuki | 6th in AVG, 8th in HR among C since ’17 (min. 750 PA) |
| 11 | Carson Kelly | Former prospect delivered on hype; obliterates LHP |
| 12 | Christian Vazquez | Minor profile gains, but his yr has been aided by the ball |
| 13 | Yadier Molina | Halved HR/FB% ate HRs; skills are still solid at age-36 |
| 14 | Jorge Alfaro | Pwr & spd maintain strong AVG despite awful K & BB rates |
| 15 | Buster Posey | Destitute man’s Narvaez w/.271 AVG & 6 HR since 2018 |
| 16 | Salvador Perez | Should be fully back from TJ by OD; .252 AVG/24 HR since 2017 |
| 17 | Tom Murphy | HRs fueled by FB, Pull, Hard hit improvements; ugly K & BB rates |
| 18 | Francisco Mejia | Oblique inj. has disrupted .309/.361/.527, 6 HR in 2H |
| 19 | Danny Jansen | Couldn’t convert hype into results, but skills remain intriguing |
| 20 | Roberto Perez | Raise your hand if you had any idea he had 22 HR this year |
| 21 | Tucker Barnhart | Still think he can tap into a bit more, particularly w/the power |
| 22 | Robinson Chirinos | Perfectly solid C2 option if he has a job |
| 23 | James McCann | .359 BABIP obv won’t hold, but power gains could |
| 24 | Pedro Severino | .809 OPS/7 HR v LHP; will at least share w/Chance Sisco |
| 25 | Curt Casali | Underlying skills could fuel a late-career C2-viable surge |
I think Mitch Garver is too low. He’s only part-time right now, but Jason Castro is a FA next season and I think the Twins will move Garver into a more full-time role. As you mentioned, Garver’s adjustments back up his success with the bat, he’s now serviceable behind the plate (i.e. defense shouldn’t keep him out of the lineup), and he’s in the 84th percentile for xwOBA. If he goes as the 8th catcher, I’ll have him just about everywhere.
We haven’t really seen Sal Perez with the juiced ball. If healthy, he could easily pop 30 HR’s with this ball.
Will Smith is hard to assess as he hasn’t shown the raw pop (105.3 max exit velo) you would associate with his HR numbers. He seems to have more of a Jose Ramirez/ Brian Dozier/Hoskins approach of maximizing mediocre power by hitting lots of pulled FB’s which seems to be not too sustainable in the long run and leads to low BABIP & BA.
Keeping with the comment above (“Feels super aggressive and yet some will say way too low”), there’s no way I take Wilson Ramos over Smith and still look myself in the mirror.
Juiced ball and small sample sizes be damned.
(And if Hoskins and Ramirez are the *bearish* comps, sign me up twice.)
I do agree about Sal Perez, and if it weren’t for his wretched team I would think he’d need to be somewhere in the top 10 given his output history.
I bet we see his stock way go up in off season/spring training as more good news about his health emerges.
September will be telling but OAK Sean Murphy has the ability to land in the top 12 next year
Agreed and almost did an honorable mention section but he literally would’ve been the only one bc there aren’t many others I care about lol
Varsho should be one you have on the radar
Sean Murphy should be the starting C in OAK next year. He’s much better defensively than Phegley (which means he’ll get playing time) and he’ll hit better some on your list such as Jansen. Easily a top 15 C next year with top 10 upside. Get him while he’s cheap.
you have the wrong murphy
Nah, I like Sean Murphy, but I’m not ranking him over Tom just yet
Might you have any sense of Will Smith’s 2020 playing time? Weekly points league (I know I know, but it’s how I can play with dear friends) , so plate appearances matter.
Having Grandal and Kelly for cheap in a two-catcher NL-only has been fun this year.
Raise your hand if you saw the Kurt Suzuki renaissance coming during the winter of 2016…
[crickets]
I still don’t understand why he’s playing so little.
We will see if Catcher goes back to a wasteland after MLB changes the ball again
Why no mention of Austin Romine here. He will be a free agent and could be an everyday guy somewhere, no?
No Astudillo? Lost year for him, but wondering if any of the enthusiastic love carries over to rational fantasy outlook for 2020.
I’d be interested if he has a role. He should be a C, too, bc that’s where he’s played most.
Seeing Posey described as “Destitute man’s Narvaez” makes me so very sad
Astudillo?