Thursday, March 1, 2012

The Top Ten Catchers in MLB Today

Welcome back, everyone. When thinking about the ten best catchers in baseball, I initially believed this would be a tough list to compile, only because I did not believe there were ten great catchers in baseball period. Oh, how wrong I was! Today's list was perhaps the most difficult to compile because of the amount of talented catchers in the game right now! Many had fantastic years last year, and it was more difficult ranking them because I had to take into account how they did last year combined with their defensive abilities. Here we go!

10.) Ramon Hernandez, Colorado Rockies
2011 stats (91 games): .282 avg., 12 HRs, 36 RBI, .788 OPS
Hernandez was the ultimate part-timer for the Reds last year, appearing in just 91 games, with 82 of them coming at catcher. He was still very productive in Cincinnati, putting together a solid offensive campaign while providing adequate defense behind the dish. With top prospect Devin Mesoraco waiting in the wings, the 35-year-old Hernandez was expendable. Nonetheless, he should be a terrific number two catcher for the Rockies, backing up Chris Iannetta.

9.) Carlos Ruiz, Philadelphia Phillies
2011 stats: .283 avg., 6 HRs, 40 RBI, .754 OPS
While he does not possess breathtaking offense, Ruiz still serves as a decent complimentary piece in a solid Phillies offense. In addition to this, he is very adept at handling an incredibly talented pitching staff, and possesses adequate defense behind the plate. His 68 assists ranked fourth among his peers at the position in 2011.




8.) Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
2011 stats (82 games): .287 avg., 3 HRs, 30 RBI, .729 OPS
How much longer will Mauer be a presence on this particular list? Mauer is still incredibly talented, but you have to wonder when the Twins will decide to play him more at first base or DH in order to save his legs, prolong his career, and keep his bat in the lineup. Mauer missed a significant amount of time last season with an assortment of ailments, including a shocking report of "bilateral leg weakness," something you never want to hear from a catcher, especially one who still has seven years left on his contract and is still owed $161 million. Mauer should return to catch this season, but if he continues to suffer injury woes, it will be interesting to see if the Twins decide to switch his position.




7.) Matt Wieters, Baltimore Orioles
2011 stats: .262 avg., 22 HRs, 68 RBI, .778 OPS
In his third big league season, the 25-year-old Wieters finally broke out, putting together the kind of season fans in Baltimore were expecting from him. His 22 homers ranked fourth among all MLB catchers, and it was twice as much as he hit in 2010. Additionally, his .778 OPS and 68 RBI were also career-highs for the South Carolina native. His breakout season did not go ignored either; he made his first All-Star team and he was rewarded for his excellent defensive prowess with his first career Gold Glove. There is no reason to believe why Wieters will not be on this list for the next several seasons.






6.) Miguel Montero, Arizona Diamondbacks
2011 stats: .282 avg., 18 HRs, 86 RBI, .820 OPS
The majority of the Diamondbacks roster last year was filled with many players that are not household names, but when you look at each individual and the kind of season they had, it's not hard to see why they won the NL West. Montero was a crucial part of their division-winning team last year, putting together a terrific year behind the plate that went virtually unnoticed outside of Phoenix. Montero's .820 OPS ranked third among all regular big-league catchers (trailing only Alex Avila and Mike Napoli), and his 86 RBI led all big league catchers. He also featured one of the best arms behind the plate in the NL,throwing out a league-high 40 percent of runners trying to steal last season. Montero also displayed durability behind the dish last year, catching the third-highest amount of games in the Senior Circuit last year with 134.



5.) Carlos Santana, Cleveland Indians
2011 stats: .239 avg., 27 HRs, 79 RBI, .808 OPS
Santana recovered from an absolutely horrific knee injury in 2010 to have a spectacular season for the Tribe, finishing with the second-highest total in MLB for homers by a catcher. He, along with Asdrubal Cabrera, ended up being the major offensive contributors in Cleveland's lineup last year, picking up the slack for a slumping Shin Soo-Choo and the banged-up Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner. Many around Cleveland's organization knew the amount of talent Santana possessed long before he reached the majors, and in just his second big-league season, he provided the baseball world a glimpse of the greatness to come.



4.) Alex Avila, Detroit Tigers
2011 stats: .295 avg., 19 HRs, 82 RBI, .895 OPS
Just 170 miles west of Cleveland, Alex Avila had a breakout season of his own for in Detroit, and thankfully for his sake, he did not do it in relative anonymity. Fans and the media took notice very quickly, as he was elected as the starting catcher for the American League for last year's All Star Game. His 19 homers tied for sixth-best among all major league catchers, and his .895 OPS was the second-highest, trailing only Mike Napoli. Let us not forget that where there is a great pitcher, there is a great catcher helping him out, and Avila certainly deserves some credit for helping Justin Verlander win the Cy Young and MVP. He also was behind the plate for Verlander's second career no-hitter, a 9-0 victory in Toronto on May 7.




3.) Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
2011 stats: .305 avg., 14 HRs, 65 RBI, .814 OPS
For many fans in the National League Central, Yadier Molina is beginning to acquire an A.J. Pierzynski-like effect to him. If you are a Cardinals fan, you love him, but if you are a fan of the Reds, Brewers, Cubs, Pirates or Astros, chances are you do not like him too much (to put it mildly). However, there is no denying his value to the Cardinals, as Molina actually recorded the highest batting average on the team last year, even beating out the mighty Albert Pujols. Molina is also the best defensive catcher in the game today, possessing a howitzer for an arm, while working well with a very underrated pitching staff. He is very solid offensively, but if he continues to improve in that part of his game, do not be surprised to see him at number one sometime in the future. Some may think his recent five-year extension worth $75 million may be too much, but I believe it is just right. This is someone worth keeping around for a while.



2.) Mike Napoli, Texas Rangers
2011 stats: .320 avg., 30 HRs, 75 RBI, 1.046 OPS
Napoli always possessed a powerful bat, which made the Angels' decision to trade him to Texas in a three-way deal that brought in Vernon Wells and Juan Rivera all the more surprising. Napoli made L.A. pay for that decision, putting together the best season of his career in a loaded Texas lineup that was just right for him. In an extra sweet bit of revenge, Napoli hit a combined four home runs during the final two games of the regular season in L.A., which was the equivlaent of tossing dirt in the faces of manager Mike Scioscia and now-former GM Tony Reagins. The Rangers already had the division wrapped up, but Napoli still played, and you can see the joy that he took in socking the Angels at the end of the season. He also threw out  36.4 percent of baserunners that tried to steal on him last year, fourth-best in the Junior Circuit.





1.) Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves
2011 stats: .270 avg., 24 HRs, 71 RBI, .817 OPS
Do not let the low batting average and OPS fool you, McCann had a terrific season between last year! Well, at least between April and August, anyway. During that portion of the season, McCann had a .286 average, 22 homers, 62 RBI and an .860 OPS. Then the dreaded month of September came, and he, along with just about everybody else on the team, slumped badly. During that rotten final month, McCann hit a paltry .200, with just two homers and nine RBI. Aside from that, his season was still good enough for him to earn his fifth career Silver Slugger. He took a step back defensively last year, allowing the most stolen bases of any NL catcher, but this came only a year after he threw out the most runners in the National League. Additionally, he manages an excellent pitching staff very well. There are several catchers you could make a case for to be number one, but right now, McCann is still my guy.

No comments:

Post a Comment