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MLB: Ranking the Top 30 Catchers Going into 2017

By Greg Goldstein

Oct 2, 2016; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez (24) bats against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 2, 2016; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez (24) bats against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports /
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Catchers to Keep An Eye On

Feb 27, 2017; Fort Myers, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Carson Kelly (71) hits a RBI single during the third inning against the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 27, 2017; Fort Myers, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Carson Kelly (71) hits a RBI single during the third inning against the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Carson Kelly (St. Louis Cardinals)

Kelly is the top catching prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. However, he’s blocked by longtime St. Louis Cardinal Yadier Molina. Now Molina may be nearing the end of his MLB career, but not quite yet. The former second round pick would probably be in the top half of catchers in the league if Molina were to go down, but that’s something you can’t really project.

Chance Sisco (Baltimore Orioles)

The Baltimore Orioles young backstop might of thought that he would’ve gotten a legitimate chance to start when the team opted to move on from former top prospect Matt Wieters. However, Dan Duquette must have not felt that the catcher was ready given his signing of Welington Castillo. Sisco still isn’t up to bar behind the plate, but the value that he brings with his bat more than makes up for the lack of a defensive skillset. Maybe one more year of seasoning will make Sisco ready for MLB action come 2018.

Andrew Susac/Jett Bandy (Milwaukee Brewers)

Neither of these backstops are ranked in the top 30, but that’s because the situation remains unsettled. The Brewers traded Martin Maldonado for Bandy in a pretty much straight up deal, so obviously the team likes what they see in the former Angel. Susac is younger and has more upside, but it remains to be seen how much of an opportunity he gets to take hold of this role. If he does, he could shoot up this list. But for now, let’s take a wait and see approach.

Austin Hedges (San Diego Padres)

He’s the reason why Derek Norris was shipped out of town. Young, skilled and he’s ready to take the Padres starting catching gig. So why is he outside the top 30 overall? Well, there’s a couple more backups that are slightly more proven and deserve a higher spot. I wouldn’t be surprised if I regret this ranking come October…or even earlier. But it’s just difficult to place a rookie, especially one that struggles in his very limited MLB action last year.

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