2018 Catcher Rankings

Time for some post-All-Star break fun: here are my very, very preliminary 2018 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 are likely to be exercised.

Along with the position rankings is a top 300 list for 2018. Click to see other preliminary 2018 rankings:

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

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2018 Catcher Rankings

2018	Catcher	Team	2017	July
1	Gary Sanchez	Yankees	1	1
2	Buster Posey	Giants	2	2
3	J.T. Realmuto	Marlins	4	3
4	Willson Contreras	Cubs	5	4
5	Yasmani Grandal	Dodgers	8	7
6	Jonathan Lucroy		3	5
7	Salvador Perez	Royals	7	6
8	Brian McCann	Astros	14	8
9	Wilson Ramos	Rays	21	17
10	Devin Mesoraco	Reds	10	11
11	Evan Gattis	Astros	6	10
12	Mike Zunino	Mariners	13	9
13	Francisco Mejia	Indians	55
14	Tom Murphy	Rockies	11	19
15	Russell Martin	Blue Jays	9	12
16	Travis d’Arnaud	Mets	15	15
17	Matt Wieters		17	13
18	Yadier Molina	Cardinals	19	18
19	Tyler Flowers	Braves	22	16
20	Welington Castillo		20	20
21	Bruce Maxwell	Athletics	41	21
22	Yan Gomes	Indians	16	14
23	Austin Hedges	Padres	25	25
24	Blake Swihart	Red Sox	119 OF	144 OF
25	Austin Barnes	Dodgers	27	29
26	Stephen Vogt	Brewers	18	23
27	Francisco Cervelli	Pirates	23	26
28	Manny Pina	Brewers	49	28
29	Chance Sisco	Orioles	72	NR
30	Cameron Rupp	Phillies	12	22
31	Jorge Alfaro	Phillies	65	NR
32	Brett Nicholas	Rangers	64	NR
33	James McCann	Tigers	24	33
34	Zack Collins	White Sox	57	NR
35	Alex Avila		46	24
36	Victor Caratini	Cubs	78	39
37	Jason Castro	Twins	31	32
38	Carson Kelly	Cardinals	68	NR
39	Martin Maldonado	Angels	50	31
40	Andrew Knapp	Phillies	74	35

• Washington’s Matt Wieters ($10.5 million) and Baltimore’s Welington Castillo ($7 million) are two catchers with player options for next year.

• Cleveland’s Francisco Mejia is the catching prospect to be excited about: he’s been just as good at Double-A this year (.339/.382/.546) as he was at two A-ball levels last season (.342/.382/.514). His defense isn’t as advanced as his offense, but unless Yan Gomes can reestablish himself with a big second half, it’s going to be difficult for the Indians to resist the temptation to go to Mejia awfully early next year. He’d be in the top 10 here if I thought he’d have a spot on Opening Day.

• Deciding how to place the Phillies was one of the tougher calls. I had Cameron Rupp ranked 12th going into this year, but after a brutal slump in the second half of May and June, he’s lost playing time to Andrew Knapp. Meanwhile, Jorge Alfaro, the catcher of the future since the day he was picked up from the Rangers in the Cole Hamels trade, has been treading water in Triple-A, hitting .245/.300/.365 with 93 strikeouts in 277 at-bats. Alfaro is out of options next spring, so he’ll surely be on the roster. Presumably, either Rupp or Knapp will be traded, probably to serve as another team’s backup. It’s hard to be very excited about Alfaro as a fantasy property right now; he could hit 15 homers next year, but it doesn’t seem likely that he’d help elsewhere.

• Alfaro’s old team also has a dilemma on its hands. Jonathan Lucroy is a free agent at season’s end and could be traded this month. Robinson Chirinos will be back as a part-timer, but the question is whether he’ll be paired with a veteran or one of two prospects, Brett Nicholas or Jose Trevino. Nicholas has a fine bat, but he’s not much of a catcher. Trevino is a better all-around prospect, but it doesn’t look like he’ll be ready to hit next year; he’s at .266/.302/.349 in Double-A right now. My guess is that a veteran is added to go along with Chirinos, maybe Alex Avila or Chris Iannetta. Still, Nicholas cracks the top 40 as a possibility in some sort of hybrid role between catcher, first base and DH.

• Blake Swihart was the odd-man out in Boston this year and has been injured and ineffective in Triple-A. Still, he’s the only Red Sox catcher to find a spot in the rankings. He’s going to be out of options, so I would think he’ll share time with Christian Vazquez next year.