Top 10 MLB catchers heading into the 2018 season

The 2018 MLB season is just around the corner, with Spring Training starting later this month. Here at Call to the Pen, we’ll take a look at the top players at each position. The first position will look at is Catcher.

One of the most important positions on the diamond, the team relies upon the catcher to relay most of the signs, control the pitching game and be a captain for the club on defense. Catchers carry a plethora of knowledge about the game, and that’s why so many of them become managers after their playing days. Much like how MLB Network ranks the top 10 players at each position before the season, we’ll do the same.

MLB Network has a couple of analysts talk about their top 10, along with fan voting that cranks out a top ten list. The show also uses a tool called the shredder to display the best of the best. The shredder takes a combination of baseball statistics and analytics when coming up with the top 10. And taken into account is both old school and new school numbers.

According to MLB Network’s shredder, it ranked the top 10 catchers right now as follows:

1. Buster Posey
2. Gary Sanchez
3. Willson Contreras
4. Yasmani Grandal
5. J.T. Realmuto
6. Austin Barnes
7. Mike Zunino
8. Yadier Molina
9. Tyler Flowers
10. Robinson Chirinos

Some interesting results the shredder computes here. Two Dodgers rank on the list in Grandal and Barnes. Some under-the-radar players like Flowers and Chirinos make it into the top 10.

But how will the shredder’s list compare to CTTP’s top 10? Let’s take a look at which catchers crack our top 10 heading into the 2018 season.