2020 Catcher Rankings

by Matthew Pouliot

July 17, 2019, 5:10 am ET

Updated On: July 17, 2019, 5:10 am ET

I usually do this over the All-Star break, but time didn’t allow for it last week. So here now are my very, very preliminary 2020 player rankings. I’ve done my best to list players where they’ll be eligible next year, and the free agents-to-be are listed without teams. Players with options for next year are still listed with their current teams if those options have a legitimate chance of being exercised. Those players are noted with asterisks.

Along with the position rankings is a top 300 list for 2020. Click to see other preliminary 2020 rankings:

Top 300 | SP | RP | OF | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | C | DH

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2020 Catcher Rankings

	Catcher	Team	2019	July
1	Gary Sanchez	Yankees	1	1
2	J.T. Realmuto	Phillies	2	2
3	Willson Contreras	Cubs	3	3
4	Yasmani Grandal	Brewers*	5	4
5	Francisco Mejia	Padres	10	9
6	Buster Posey	Giants	4	5
7	Mitch Garver	Twins	29	8
8	Danny Jansen	Blue Jays	8	10
9	Wilson Ramos	Mets	7	7
10	Salvador Perez	Royals	NR	NR
11	Will Smith	Dodgers	72	42
12	Jorge Alfaro	Marlins	14	11
13	Yadier Molina	Cardinals	6	6
14	Carson Kelly	Diamondbacks	28	16
15	Chance Sisco	Orioles	35	19
16	Christian Vazquez	Red Sox	22	12
17	Willians Astudillo	Twins	19	27
18	Mike Zunino	Rays	15	17
19	Austin Barnes	Dodgers	9	14
20	Omar Narvaez	Mariners	26	13
21	Robinson Chirinos		32	15
22	Welington Castillo	White Sox*	11	33
23	Sean Murphy	Athletics	31	49
24	Tyler Flowers	Braves*	20	25
25	Kurt Suzuki	Nationals	25	21
26	James McCann	White Sox	52	18
27	Travis d'Arnaud		38	32
28	Yan Gomes	Nationals*	18	24
29	Isiah Kiner-Falefa	Rangers	13	40
30	Francisco Cervelli		17	26
31	Tony Wolters	Rockies	50	38
32	Austin Hedges	Padres	23	31
33	Tucker Barnhart	Reds	21	47
34	Roberto Perez	Indians	42	28
35	Andrew Knizner	Cardinals	79	NR
36	Josh Phegley	Athletics	74	29
37	Jonathan Lucroy		34	22
38	Chris Iannetta	Rockies*	12	20
39	Jason Castro		39	45
40	Brian McCann		37	23
41	Elias Diaz	Pirates	30	30
42	Tom Murphy	Mariners	45	44
43	Jake Rogers	Tigers	90	NR
44	Keibert Ruiz	Dodgers	92	NR
45	Grayson Greiner	Tigers	27	37
46	Pedro Severino	Orioles	55	35
47	John Hicks	Tigers	24	34
48	Victor Caratini	Cubs	47	50
49	Zack Collins	White Sox	70	NR
50	Joey Bart	Giants	NR	NR
51	Manny Pina	Brewers	46	NR
52	Kevan Smith	Angels	51	NR
53	Aramis Garcia	Giants	66 1B	NR
54	Austin Allen	Padres	85	NR
55	Eric Haase	Indians	81	NR
56	Russell Martin		43	39
57	Matt Wieters		67	NR
58	Curt Casali	Reds	59	46
59	Alex Jackson	Braves	NR	NR
60	Kevin Plawecki	Indians	36	51

There isn’t much movement at the top here, but I am optimistic enough that the Padres will resolve their catching situation to put Francisco Mejia in the top five. Of course, it would be nice if Mejia would start to hit relatively soon. It’s going to happen, but until it does, the Padres will always have reason to go back to the defensively superior Austin Hedges. I still wonder if the Padres might not trade Mejia at some point and pair Austin Allen with Hedges.
With both of their young catchers in demand, the Dodgers are facing a decision on whether to trade Will Smith or Keibert Ruiz this month. Ruiz has been a disappointment as a Double-A repeater, hitting .249/.329/.326 to date, but he’s just turning 21 this month and he still seems like an excellent bet for the long term. The Dodgers can keep Smith and pair him with Austin Barnes next year if they’re confident enough in his glove. For fantasy purposes I’d like to see Smith as a true starter somewhere else; he’d likely move into the top eight here if that happened.
The free agent class is led by Yasmani Grandal, who seems likely to decline his half of a $16 million mutual option. Welington Castillo also figures to join the list, and Yan Gomes seems increasingly likely to have his $9 million option declined. Travis d’Arnaud is making a real push to be looked at as a starter this winter, but he still doesn’t seem like a very good bet to hold up physically.