July Catcher Rankings

Published June 29, 2022 11:12 AM

Presented here are the July rest-of-season position rankings and overall top 300. Players are ranked based on 5x5 value in mixed leagues.

Click to see other July rankings:

July	Catcher	Team	2022	May	June
1	Will Smith	Dodgers	2	1	1
2	Alejandro Kirk	Blue Jays	5	5	5
3	Daulton Varsho	Diamondbacks	4	4	2
4	J.T. Realmuto	Phillies	3	3	3
5	Willson Contreras	Cubs	6	6	6
6	MJ Melendez	Royals	30	30	15
7	Gary Sanchez	Twins	10	13	17
8	Adley Rutschman	Orioles	15	14	11
9	Tyler Stephenson	Reds	9	9	8
10	Travis d’Arnaud	Braves	14	12	14
11	Danny Jansen	Blue Jays	22	18	10
12	Sean Murphy	Athletics	13	10	13
13	Christian Vazquez	Red Sox	11	16	12
14	Keibert Ruiz	Nationals	17	19	16
15	Jonah Heim	Rangers	40	26	19
16	William Contreras	Braves	48	42	20
17	Cal Raleigh	Mariners	27	40	35
18	Christian Bethancourt	Athletics	NR	NR	30
19	Yasmani Grandal	White Sox	8	8	9
20	Jorge Alfaro	Padres	23	33	42
21	Ryan Jeffers	Twins	31	28	25
22	Elias Diaz	Rockies	12	11	18
23	Salvador Perez	Royals	1	2	4
24	Victor Caratini	Brewers	44	45	49
25	Francisco Mejía	Rays	28	23	28
26	Austin Nola	Padres	16	15	21
27	Jose Trevino	Yankees	NR	NR	NR
28	Nick Fortes	Marlins	56	NR	NR
29	Eric Haase	Tigers	21	22	34
30	Max Stassi	Angels	36	29	27
31	Omar Narvaez	Brewers	24	25	23
32	Curt Casali	Giants	62	NR	37
33	Mitch Garver	Rangers	7	7	7
34	Carson Kelly	Diamondbacks	18	21	31
35	Luis Campusano	Padres	39	39	39
36	Mike Zunino	Rays	19	24	24
37	James McCann	Mets	35	35	36
38	Yadier Molina	Cardinals	29	32	33
39	Yan Gomes	Cubs	20	31	38
40	Luis Torrens	Mariners	34	36	43
41	Kyle Higashioka	Yankees	25	27	26
42	Joey Bart	Giants	26	17	22
43	Sam Huff	Rangers	33	37	29
44	Andrew Knizner	Cardinals	37	34	40
45	Gabriel Moreno	Blue Jays	54	NR	NR
46	Jacob Stallings	Marlins	42	41	41
47	Shea Langeliers	Athletics	60	44	44
48	Stephen Vogt	Athletics	NR	NR	NR
49	Francisco Alvarez	Mets	NR	NR	NR
50	Tyler Heineman	Pirates	NR	NR	45

Dropping off: Dropping off: Tom Murphy (32nd), Riley Adams (46th), Zack Collins (47th), Kevin Plawecki (48th), Connor Wong (50th)

Obviously, there’s a huge gap here after the top five. I feel pretty good about MJ Melendez in the sixth spot with Salvador Perez out for two months, but there’s another gap afterwards and there’s not much I’m married to from seventh on down.

It sounds like it’s only a matter of time before Mitch Garver undergoes season-ending thumb surgery in the hopes of allowing him to be 100 percent for 2023. I wonder if the Rangers might give Yohel Pozo another look at that point. Pozo is hitting .346/.385/.519 in Triple-A, and while he’s definitely a below average catcher, the Rangers would mostly be DHing him anyway. Pozo doesn’t have catcher eligibility in my rankings, since most of his appearances in the majors last year came at DH, but I’d have him ranked around 40th here if he qualified and he’d have top-20 catcher upside if he begins to factor in at DH.

Nick Fortes has me thoroughly baffled. This is a guy who hit .217/.293/.308 in 76 games in high-A, .251/.338/.359 in 57 games in Double-A and .246/.331/.379 in 66 games in Triple-A, yet he’s come in at .290/.372/.623 in 27 games as a major leaguer these last two years. And, incredibly, Statcast backs it up. He has an elite 93-mph average exit velocity this year, and he’s doing it with an outstanding 89% contact rate. Sure, he’s still way over his head, but at this point, he deserves a real look as a full-timer between catcher and DH. Unfortunately, the Marlins appear to be too fond of their vets to give it to him.

Victor Caratini is another guy who probably ought to be getting more playing time. Of the 13 Brewers with 100 plate appearances this year, he’s the only one with an .800 OPS, and his Statcast numbers are also the best on the team. Still, the Brewers haven’t even once included him alongside Omar Narvaez in the lineup.