Top ten catchers of right now

by user Steaksammich

I added a list of the top ten catchers of all-time to Catcher with only a minor change from the list I posted yesterday. And I also added a list of ten catching prospects to keep an eye on. But it wouldn't be a discussion about catchers without talking about who the top ten catchers are right now.

1. Victor Martinez - He's already proven that he can hit .300 with 20+ homers. He hits in the middle of a great lineup and he's just now entering his prime.

2. Jason Varitek - Between Posada and Varitek, Tek has the better defense while Posada has the better offense. You could argue until your face turns blue about which one is better, but being a Sox fan it's pretty much a requirement that I give the nod to Varitek.

3. Jorge Posada - He's slowing down with age, but he's still one of the best offensive catchers in the game. He draws more than his fair share of walks and has some pop in his bat.

4. Joe Mauer - He has the potential to hit .330 with 30 HR, but he hasn't shown us the power yet. He's the youngest guy on this list and will likely improve a lot, but right now there are others out there who are better than him.

5. Ivan Rodriguez - He may have a lot of miles on him and he has forgotten how to take a walk, but he's still getting the job done on both sides of the ball. He's a .300 hitter who can still hit 15 homers.

6. Ramon Hernandez - If he's able to stay healthy for an entire season he will be able to put up some very good numbers. Even with missing time in the last couple of years he has still managed to put together some semi-impressive seasons.

7. Michael Barrett - If nothing else, the guy is at least consistant.

8. Kenji Johjima - So far the power he showed overseas hasn't translated into homers in the States, but he has the potential to be an impact bat with very good receiving skills.

9. Mike Piazza - He's a shell of his former self, but he still has 20 homer potential.

10. Bengie Molina - One of the slowest guys in the game, Molina knows what he's doing at the plate.

Date

Thu 05/18/06, 6:42 am EST

Awrigh01All-Star

1289 days ago

Score -1

what about Josh Willingham?

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Anonymous Fanatic #1

1289 days ago

Score -3

"but being a Sox fan it's pretty much a requirement that I give the nod to Varitek" way to be objective...no vote

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I am a cpcpMajor Leaguer

1240 days ago

Score 0

Given that you didn't sign in, you're probably a yankees fan.

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Anonymous Fanatic #1

1289 days ago

Score 2

If Joe Mauer has alot of others who are better than him, why is he #4?

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Awrigh01All-Star

1289 days ago

Score -2

varitek is also the team captain . . . that's gotta count towards his intangibles.

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EnyboDiv-I Stud

1289 days ago

Score 4

What about Matheny, not much with the stick but one if the best defensively. That's got to count for something.

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SteaksammichRed-Shirting

1289 days ago

Score 4

AW - I thought about adding Willingham and maybe even McCann, but Willingham has only caught two games this year and it looks like he's going to be an outfielder. And I think McCann would have to keep it up for the rest of the year to crack the top ten.

AF #1 - It's an opinion. Opinions don't have to be objective. And like I said, the two are pretty even and could go either way. There doesn't have to be much of a reason to tip the scales in favor of one of them.

AF #2 - I said he has others in front of him. Not a lot of others in front of him. And he does. Martinez, Varitek, and Posada.

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SteaksammichRed-Shirting

1289 days ago

Score -1

Enybo - I didn't even consider guys like Ausmus or Matheny because they hurt their team so much offensively that they can't make it up on the defensive side of the ball. Neither one of those guys are ones that I want on my team.

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Awrigh01All-Star

1289 days ago

Score 0

I think McCann will be in the top 10 by the end of the year . . .

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Nick agm

1289 days ago

Score -1

Johnny Estrada is at least better than Benji Molina.

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CoreyisarealboyMajor Leaguer

1289 days ago

Score 2

I'm gonna go ahead and be biased and throw Damian Miller into the mix. Personally, I can't argue with .311/.372/.547 with 106 at bats. At age 36 he's probably having the best year of his career so far.

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SteaksammichRed-Shirting

1289 days ago

Score -1

I considered Estrada and Miller too. I probably should have them both ahead of Molina, even if their performing a little over their heads right now. But which one slides in at #10? Or do they both get bumped onto the list and get rid of Piazza?

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CoreyisarealboyMajor Leaguer

1289 days ago

Score 1

I think Michael Barrett owes you a debt of gratitude for putting him in at 7. Barrett has made three errors of 227 chances while Miller has zero errors of 217 chances. Barrett's .291 BA is a far cry from the .311 Miller has, and although Miller has just four homers this year to Barrett's five, Damian makes up for it with 13 doubles to Barrett's six. Barrett's value may increase at sometime, but your list does say "Right Now" which is also why I can't agree with Johjima being on this list either.

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ASwaffAll-American

1289 days ago

Score -2

I agree, once more, that defense has to count for something. How are you gonna have Barrett at #7, but not have Matheny or Ausmus on the list? By the way, if you're talking about RIGHT NOW (and clearly you are, since you included Johjima), it should be mentioned that Ausmus is third among major league catchers with more than 100 ABs with a .336 batting average. He also has a much higher OBP than the two ahead of him (McCann and Pierzynski) with a .431. If you're going to go so much by offense, as you clearly are, you should have McCann, Pierzynski and Ausmus on the list. They all have MUCH better numbers than Johjima, and I think they're all better on defense, too.

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ASwaffAll-American

1289 days ago

Score -2

Johnny Estrada and Paul LoDuca are also two that deserve consideration. And that's hard for me to say, because I hate LoDuca.

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ASwaffAll-American

1289 days ago

Score -3

I'm still wondering why you put so much emphasis on offense with a catcher. You talk about Ausmus hurting his team with the stick (when he's actually one of the best on his team RIGHT NOW), but he's not the guy that needs to hit in the middle of the lineup when you've got Taveras, Biggio, Berkman, Ensberg, Wilson and Burke. Again, if you're going to talk about RIGHT NOW, Ausmus has the defense and the bat. He needs to be on your top ten. So should McCann. How can you have Johjima with his .270-something batting average, but not have the catcher that is leading the major leagues among catchers in batting average? I think you should have done more research before writing this.

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MetsJetsDevilsDraft Pick

1289 days ago

Score 3

I would argue that McCann and LoDuca should be on the list. I think a good argument could be made against your numbers 6 7 8 9 and 10

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Bball3345Draft Pick

1289 days ago

Score 3

I second the McCann vote.

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ASwaffAll-American

1289 days ago

Score -1

I think arguments could definitely be made against Piazza, but he definitely deserves to be on the list because he deserves some credit for past accomplishments. But if you're going to say put Johjima on the list with his month and a half of major league play, you can't keep McCann off the list on the grounds that he hasn't sustained his accomplishments for a full season. That's a silly double standard. I don't know about everyone else on the list, but you have to have McCann and Ausmus at least. Others like LoDuca, Matheny and Estrada don't have such strong cases, but I'd argue in their favor over a few of the guys you have on your list. But at the very least, you HAVE to have Ausmus and McCann.

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Anonymous Fanatic #2

1289 days ago

Score 0

Wow...apparently I offended someone with my views on a catcher's defense...

By RIGHT NOW (why are we capsing that, by the way) I was thinking the player's ability level right now. Sure, Ausmus is hitting .336 right now and he's even managing to take a few walks, but we all know he's playing way above his head and that he's a really bad hitter. That's the same reason why Johjima makes the list and McCann didn't. It's not a double standard, it's because McCann is a rookie with a lot to learn and a guy that we're not sure how good he is. And Johjima has already had a lot of success playing pro-ball.

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Anonymous Fanatic #3

1289 days ago

Score 0

He had a lot of success playing pro ball in another country. The same way that Hideki Irabu, Hideo Nomo and Chan-ho Park did. Success over there doesn't automatically translate to success over here, anymore than minor league success translates into major league success for American ball players. It absolutely is a double standard, because you're saying that Johjima doesn't have to prove himself in this league for you to believe in his upside, but McCann does. That's where the double-standard lies. And I'm not so offended by your comment about a catcher's defense, just wondering how you can have such blatant disregard for it by putting Martinez at number one, Varitek at number 2, Posada at number 3, and by having Barrett on the list at all. If you want to downplay it, that's one thing, but you can't just completely disregard it. It's not right.

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I am a cpcpMajor Leaguer

1220 days ago

Score 0

It's funny that you have Victor Martinez as the best catcher in the league and his team is moving him to first because he's not that good of a defensive catcher. He have a hard time throwing out (current) Mo Vaughn.

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