It's a glorious time of year for baseball fans. Opening Day is finally under a week away, yet none of us have yet had our hopes and dreams shaken by our teams' poor performances. And in the waning hours before our attention fully shifts to the games, there's no better time to engage in our favorite offseason pastime… passionately arguing online that our team's guy at a given position is the best the sport has to offer. We'll be rolling out our MLB positional rankings at every spot on the diamond between now and Opening Day and we're starting with a powerhouse group–the catchers.
There's youth, two-way upside, championship pedigree, and any other trait your heart could desire depending on which players you gravitate towards. Let's talk big-league backstops!
Just Missed: Yainer Diaz, Alejandro Kirk, Patrick Bailey
You could make a very compelling case for all three, but Diaz in particular feels like a harsh snub. Repeating his 126 OPS+ from last season while playing the lion's share of the Astros' games behind the dish would secure him a spot easily for 2025. But given that he only started 42 games at catcher last season, the advantage for 2024 goes to his fellow rookies who posted full seasons. Therefore…
10. Gabriel Moreno (ARI)
No shade to Daulton Varsho, who still has the chance to be a difference-maker for the Blue Jays in the coming seasons, but the D-Backs have to feel like they pulled off a bank heist in acquiring Moreno before last season. He led all catchers in defensive runs saved with 20 and won a Gold Glove as a rookie. His bat would be more than adequate if it never improved from last season… and all indications are it will. The 24-year-old has a chance to crack the top five in the MLB positional rankings in a year's time if things break his way.
9. Francisco Alvarez (NYM)
A 25-homer season as a 21-year-old rookie backstop is hard to ignore. Sure, Alvarez needs to improve his on-base skills, but the ceiling here is almost unquantifiable. It's especially encouraging to see the way he has embraced his role as a leader at such a young age, being charged with managing a pitching staff full of newcomers and conducting his interviews in English. Look for Alvarez to skyrocket up this list in years to come as well.
8. Willson Contreras (STL)
Remember when Contreras was temporarily relieved of his catching duties last season, just months into a five-year, $87.5 million contract? Thankfully, the trouble seems to have passed, and Contreras quietly put up a 20-homer, 124 OPS+ campaign. His defense definitely leaves plenty to be desired, but it's not so bad his bat can't make up for it, either. It's sure to irk him that we haven't named his younger brother on this list yet, so hopefully that puts a chip on his shoulder for the coming year.
7. Jonah Heim (TEX)
A first-career All-Star appearance and a World Series ring are certainly enough to put Heim at least in the conversation for a top-five spot. Most of his offensive production came in the first half of a year ago, however, and batting in a lineup with four other All-Stars was a huge boon to his season totals. He finished fourth in defensive run value and secured his first Gold Glove as well.
6. Cal Raleigh (SEA)
It hurts to leave Raleigh out of the top half of the MLB positional rankings. He was the only catcher to top the 30-homer plateau in 2023 and also put together a stellar season behind the plate. He also gets a boost for helping carry a struggling lineup to the brink of the playoffs, while many of his adversaries on this list had much better protection in their respective lineups. If he can improve upon his career .287 OBP, we're looking at a bonafide star.
5. J.T. Realmuto (PHI)
It was a weird 2023 for the backstop whose team regularly refers to him as “BCIB” (Best Catcher in Baseball) on social media. While he would have comfortably topped this list in years past, Realmuto's drop-offs on both sides of the ball were enough to drop him a few spots—but he's still got all the tools to prove he's still the man. Some of his '23 splits are also very odd—he only had a .576 OPS at home and a .951 on the road… is he the Phillies fans' next candidate for a standing ovation?
4. William Contreras (MIL)
The younger Contreras is a sleeper candidate to claim the #1 spot in the MLB positional rankings by the time next season rolls around. He was the best hitter on the Brewers last season while completely revolutionizing his defensive profile, becoming a pitch-framing savant in Milwaukee's famed catching lab. Entering his age-26 season (he's only a month older than Adley Rutschman), Contreras is a name to watch in postseason award conversations if his offense ticks up just a bit more.
3. Will Smith (LAD)
It's a joy to watch Smith, muddied by so many other stars throughout his tenure with the Dodgers, consistently produce season after season. 2023 was actually his first All-Star year, but also the first year his OPS fell (barely) below the .800 mark. If his power numbers tick back up to their 2021-22 levels, Smith not only improves his claim to the catching throne, but he makes the Dodgers' offense truly unstoppable. And hey—a five-hit performance in his two Korea Series games is a pretty darn good way to start.
2. Sean Murphy (ATL)
First half, pre-injury Sean Murphy was a lock for the number one spot here, slugging himself into early MVP contention. But although the season-end numbers still look excellent, there were real struggles for Murphy down the stretch, so much so that he found himself benched for Travis d'Arnaud in the NLDS. The question this season will be whether Murphy is closer to the player he has averaged out to be through the first five years of his career or the behemoth he seemed to be becoming in his first few months as a Brave.
1. Adley Rutschman (BAL)
In many ways, Rutschman is simply the perfect baseball player. Switch-hitting catchers with top-tier on-base skills, strong individual defensive metrics, and staff-handling intangibles his teammates rave about are once in a generation. Should Rutschman ever see his slugging percentage top the .500 mark, he's the best hope we have to become the first MVP catcher since Buster Posey in 2012. There were other names to consider for the number one spot in the MLB positional rankings, but no one wears it as well as Adley.
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