Top 10 Catchers for 2014

Unfortunately Joe Mauer will be moving to first base this season, which will make it more difficult for me to pick my top 10 catchers, but there are still plenty of good catchers out there. Here is the list, use it as you please, fantasy baseball is on the horizon. Following each player is their current team and their OPS+ for 2013. Defense and previous seasons are considered in the determination of position on the list.


1. Buster Posey - San Francsico Giants     138 OPS+
2. Yadier Molina - St. Louis Cardinals       131 OPS+
3. Brian McCann - New York Yankees      115 OPS+
4. Salvador Perez - Kansas City Royals     105 OPS+
5. Wilin Rosario - Colorado Rockies          105 OPS+
6. Matt Weiters  - Baltimore Orioles           88 OPS+
7. Jarrod Saltalamacchia - Miami Marlins   118 OPS+
8. AJ Pierzynski - Boston Red Sox            94 OPS+
9. Evan Gattis - Atlanta Braves                  106 OPS+
10. Russel Martin - Pittsburgh Pirates         100 OPS+

A Different View

Buster Posey looking all heroic and stuff. 

There is only player on the field who faces in the opposite direction from the rest. He is covered head to toe in equipment and is undoubtedly the most athletic on the team. I am talking about the catcher; foul tips to the mask, throwing out runners from a crouch, cat like reflexes, calling a game, and of course hitting at the plate. You need to be dedicated to be a catcher, and be ready to take a beating. Here I will discuss some of the best catchers in the league and why they are so.

We have to start off with reining National Leag

ue MVP and two time World Series Champion, Buster Posey. The 26 year old back stop had a masterful year at the plate in 2012. He hit for a .336 batting average to lead the league and had an astounding 171 OPS+. Posey caught 114 games last season, nearly one-fourth  of the season and caught 30% of base stealers. Although defensive metrics are still vague, Posey had a 0.5 defensive WAR last year. Defensively Posey is right near average, but offensively he is the best there is at the position. Buster Posey's 9 year $164 MM contract is definitely a bargain for the Giants.

Beware: do not run. 

From the 2011 World Series Champions, Yadier Molina is without a doubt the best defensive catcher in baseball. In 2012 Molina guided his St. Louis Cardinals to the playoffs via the second Wild Card. For the first year in his career Molina was a strong offensive threat. He had a .315/.373/.501 slash-line which equates to a 137 OPS+. Molina played 136 out of his 138 games at the catcher's position last season, that takes extreme durability. He threw out an amazing 48% of base runners and had an outrageously high 2.6 defensive WAR. Molina's value at the catcher's position is so great that nearly 33% of his total value as a player is due to his defense.

Well played Mauer. 

Once a MVP and once a gold glove award winning catcher, Joe Mauer is no longer the catcher he was in his glory days. In 2012 he played only 74 of his 147 games as the catcher for his Minnesota Twins. Mauer still has his offensive success but not to the extent of the 28 home runs he hit in 2009. Since 2009 Mauer has not hit more than 10 home runs in a season, but he still drives in runs. In 2012 he had a .319/.416/.466 slash-line, playing in a cavern for a stadium that translates to a 140 OPS+. The downside to Joe Mauer is his defense. In 2012 he threw out just 14% of base runners. That could be due to the pitchers not holding runners well, but his -0.9 defensive WAR is another indication of decreasing defensive ability. That means he is below average defensively. I don't know if I would want to pay Mauers salary for him to not hit home runs and to be the designated hitter.

The St Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals won the National League wildcard by making the playoffs on the last day of the season. They went on to prove everyone wrong and win The World Series.

A major reason why everyone underrated The Cardinals was the loss of Adam Wainwright. Wainwright was injured in spring training and missed the entire year. In 2010 Wainwright had a 2.42 ERA and 230 innings. In 2009 Wainwright had a 2.63 ERA over 233 innings. As you can see Wainwright has established a name for himself. Another pitcher on The Cardinals is Chris Carpenter. Carpenter showed us that he can pitch at the age of 36 by getting a 3.45 ERA over 237 innings. On the Opposite side of the age spectrum is Jamie Garcia. Garcia had a 3.54 ERA over 194 innings for The Cardinals in 2011. He is only 25.

Now everyone is saying the Cardinals suck without Pujols. They don't suck, but they aren't as good. Pujols played 11 seasons with The Cardinals picking up 455 home runs, a .420 on base percentage, and 1329 RBI's. He is considered one of the greatest hitters of all time and he just signed a 10  year contract with The Angels.

The Cardinals still have some pop in their lineup with Carlos Beltran, Matt Holliday, and Lance Berkman. Their stats are the following:

Lance Berkman: 145 games, 31 HR, 94 RBI, .412 OBP
Matt Holliday: 124 games, 22 HR, 75 RBI, .388 OBP
Carlos Beltran: 142 games, 22 HR, 84 RBI, .385 OBP

The Cardinals have other guys who can hit too. Yadiar Molina, David Freeze, and Rafael Furcal can get on base as well.

The Cardinals will have a chance for the division title, but they will have to patch up their only weakness: The bullpen. I don't know how they managed to win a world series without a decent bullpen. If the bullpen can preform like last year The Cardinals have a good shot at at least a wildcard.