8. Mike Zunino – Seattle Mariners
After four disappointing seasons, Seattle Mariners’ catcher Mike Zunino finally lived up to expectations in 2017. The 26-year-old went third overall in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft after winning the Golden Spikes award earlier that year while playing college ball at the University of Florida.
Many anticipated Zunino to burst on to the scene with Mariners like he had done so with the Gators but that wasn’t the case. From 2013-16, Zunino hit .195/.262/.370 with 50 home runs, 133 RBI, and 117 runs scored.
The 2017 MLB season didn’t start out well for Zunino, and it resulted in a trip to the AAA Tacoma Rainiers. However, once the Mariners called him up, he turned it on and started showing signs of the promise from years previous.
Zunino finished the 2017 season with a slash line of .251/.331/.509 with 25 home runs, 64 RBI, 52 runs and a 3.3 bWAR — although Zunino hasn’t hit his full potential. He could be well on his way with the confidence from last season. With his improvement in 2017, Zunino reaches No. 8 on the top 10 list.
7. Yadier Molina – St. Louis Cardinals
The No. 7 catcher on this list is a borderline MLB Hall of Famer already. St. Louis Cardinals’ catcher Yadier Molina is no longer in his prime but still good enough to make it on here.
Molina’s resume is enough to get him on this list alone. With eight Gold Glove awards, eight All-Star game appearances and a Silver Slugger, Molina’s one of the most decorated veterans in today’s game.
In 2017, Molina hit .273/.312/.439 with 18 home runs, 82 RBI, 60 runs and a 2.0 bWAR. He set a career-high for RBI in a season and also finished with his second-highest home run total in a season. The 35-year-old can also handle a pitching staff better than any other catcher and provides an immense amount of leadership.
But after signing a three-year extension back in 2017, Molina recently announced that he’d more than likely retire once the contract is up. Losing arguably the most celebrated catcher in franchise history won’t be easy for the Cardinals.