Miami Marlins: Who is the Best Catcher in Baseball?

In this article, I will attempt to provide some closure in the recent debate over who is the best catcher in baseball. With so much talent at the position in recent years, it has been hard to separate the best from the rest.

To figure out who the best catcher in baseball is we must start by having a group of the top five catchers in baseball to draw from.

According to fWAR here are the top five catchers in 2018:

1. J.T. Realmuto 3.0
2. Francisco Cervelli 2.3
3. Willson Contreras 1.9
4. Buster Posey 1.7
5. Kurt Suzuki 1.3

While WAR is a great starting point for a conversation, we must understand that it is far from a flawless stat, especially with the defensive intricacies that come with being a catcher. From this list, so far in 2018, four catchers have planted themselves in the top-five in all of baseball.

With that being said, Contreras finds himself outside of our Marlin Maniac top-five with Yadier Molina replacing. This is mostly due to the fact that Contreras ranks 94th out of 96 catchers on the defensive side of the ball.

Contreras is coming off a huge year in 2017 and he shows great potential behind the dish, but Molina has been amongst the best, if not the best catcher in baseball for a decade. While the defensive numbers are the main thing that kills Contreras’ quest to be in the top-five, it does not hurt that Yadier Molina also has a comparable 113 wRC+ to Contreras’ 114.

Other catchers that have solid arguments for inclusion within the top-five but fall short of taking home the top spot are, Willson Contreras, Wilson Ramos, Max Stassi, Yasmani Grandal, Yan Gomes and Gary Sanchez.

Marlin Maniac Group of Five (No Specific Order):

1. J.T. Realmuto
2. Francisco Cervelli
3. Buster Posey
4. Kurt Suzuki
5. Yadier Molina