MLB Top Prospects: Top 10 Catcher Prospects for 2018
After exploring both the team top 10 lists, overall top 150, and system rankings in our MLB Top Prospects series, we finish with a look at positional rankings. Today, we look at the top 10 catcher prospects for 2018.
Our MLB Top Prospect series at Call to the Pen is spearheaded by Benjamin Chase. Today, he gives us the top ten catcher prospects for 2018.
We will explore each position with a top 10 list, and then after we get to #1, don’t leave as we will also highlight one player who is “on the rise” and could factor into the positional rankings after the 2018 season if they hold their current trajectory.
Each of these MLB Top Prospect rankings have come through the hundreds of games each summer Ben watches as well as speaking with multiple people throughout the game and gauging their opinions as well on players he has not had a good look at. This is a personal opinion, and a ranking position higher or lower than industry standard does not indicate “liking” or “hating” a certain player more or less – by just showing up on this list, there is a degree of appreciation of the talent a player brings!
We will start each position list with an overall look at the position itself within the game and the strength of the position.
Position overview
The emphasis on catching defense, framing, and other things a quality backstop provides has shifted the emphasis that teams put on developing players behind the plate. For years, premium athletes or premium hitters who happened to play catcher as amateurs would be moved off of the position to take advantage of their athleticism and/or bat at another position.
Instead now, players with premium athleticism or premium leadership skills are being moved to catcher as the league values quality catching both in the individual position’s contribution to the team, but also in the contribution that a quality catcher provides to the pitching staff.
A number of teams have really done well in developing a catching “factory”, but the most notable is definitely the Los Angeles Dodgers. While there is just one who appears on this list, four were considered strongly, and if this list went to 20, they would have four of the top 20 catchers in the minors for sure, which is an incredible thing to say, especially after graduating Austin Barnes from prospect status last year as yet another excellent athletic backstop.
Let’s take a look at the catchers….
Next: #9 and #10