
The toughest position group MLB has to offer reports to camp in just a few short weeks, as catchers get ready for another long and grueling season full of foul balls off their bodies and sore knees. It’s a tough position to rank due to the importance of defense at the position, as while offense almost always takes a larger slice of the value pie, catchers are hard to roster when they aren’t plus defenders. They’re involved in every defensive play to some extent, whether it’s pitch-calling, blocking, framing, or holding down the run game.
With the heavy emphasis on defense and the difficulty finding consistent threats on offense, ranking the top 10 players at the catcher position is arguably the toughest among any rankings we’ll do for 2025.
10. Sean Murphy – Atlanta Braves

After looking like being the best catcher in baseball entering the 2024 season, Sean Murphy had perhaps the worst season of his Major League career. A 78 wRC+ and 0.8 fWAR across 72 games is not at all worthy of a top-10 spot at the catching position, but injuries swallowed his season whole and I’m willing to believe that the Braves’ backstop will get the ball rolling again. His track record as an elite defender and hitter at the position matters here; he had averaged 5 fWAR a season between 2022 and 2023 with a 124 wRC+.
When healthy, Sean Murphy could be a middle-of-the-order bat while anchoring a team’s defense behind the plate with his masterful all-around defensive prowess. In 2023, he graded out as above-average when it comes to blocking, throwing runners out, and of course framing. Even this past season, Murphy was an above-average defender while having a .308 xwOBA; I seriously doubt that we’ll see a similar 2025 to his 2024, but if he does, don’t expect him to make this list in 2026.
In the world where we see Sean Murphy return to prominence, which I expect, then I’ll look forward to placing him back in the top three where he belongs.
9. Alejandro Kirk – Toronto Blue Jays

With Danny Jansen out of the picture, expect the Blue Jays to give the keys at catcher to Alejandro Kirk full-time, who was one of the best defensive players in baseball last season. Among position players, the 26-year-old catcher was fourth in defensive value on FanGraphs and fifth in overall Fielding Run Value. Regardless of whether you adjust for positional value or not, Alejandro Kirk is one of the 10 best defensive players in the game, and his bat is above average for a catcher.
This is where the weirdness of the catcher position comes into play; while there were better hitters who just missed out on this list like Francisco Alvarez, Tyler Stephenson, or Ivan Herrera, their defense is leagues behind Kirk. It’s why looking at Stathead comparisons or just OPS isn’t going to cut it for these rankings; bWAR doesn’t account for framing, and Kirk is one of the best strike-stealers in the sport. If the bat can get back to where it was earlier in his career he could be a top-three player at the position, and the upside is still there.
8. Gabriel Moreno – Arizona Diamondbacks

I’ve grown to really love Gabriel Moreno‘s game, as his glove has continued to improve as he posted a positive framing season while remaining excellent at shutting down the run game. An injury limited Moreno to just 97 games where he posted a 107 wRC+ and 2.5 fWAR, and if he can play around 110-115 games we could be looking at a ~110 wRC+ hitter with good defense at a position where offense is impossible to find. Moreno’s high OBP and excellent plate control will always draw me to his bat, but can the power continue to develop?
Over each of his first three seasons the 24-year-old catcher has seen his groundball rate improve to the point of getting it under 50%; can he continue to make that number dwindle? We’ve also seen improvements to his barrel rate and exit velocity, so perhaps he’s finding that game power a little more. Steamer projects a slight increase in power, and I would have to agree given the improvements to his batted ball quality, as Gabriel Moreno just needs to put everything together for one season to become a true star.
7. Yainer Diaz – Houston Astros

The only below-average defensive catcher on this list, Yainer Diaz isn’t a bad enough defender to offset his offensive value, posting a 121 wRC+ and 5.5 fWAR across 252 games since 2023. Among catchers with at least 600 PAs over those two seasons, the only catchers he trails are the Contreras brothers, with Willson moving to first base and therefore eliminating himself from making this list. The Astros have a great thing going with Diaz and if they can get the defense to around average (which is possible), he could be a ~4 WAR player in 2025.
We’ve seen flashes of a strong glove as his ability to manage the running game and block are above-average, but his framing needs work. There also needs to be an improvement in batted ball quality after last season where his Barrel% got cut in half and his ISO regressed sharply as well. He has excellent bat-to-ball skills though, and while he will probably never end up walking more than 30 times in a season, his ability to hit for average and generate power makes him a unique offensive threat at a position lacking thump.
6. Austin Wells – New York Yankees

A late-season swoon after a hit-by-pitch hurt his overall numbers on the season, but Austin Wells posted the fourth-best fWAR among MLB catchers last season thanks to a 105 wRC+ and elite glove. Despite not becoming their full-time starter until about halfway through the season, Wells finished fourth in Fielding Run Value (13) and Framing Runs (+10.5), as he was one of the premium defensive players in the sport. Paired with a bat that displayed signs of being really impressive, we could see an even better sophomore season from Wells in 2025.
His .339 xwOBA and .315 wOBA indicate there was a lot of bad luck involved for the lefty catcher, and if the Yankees can continue to see him pull the ball in the air, he could hit 20 home runs. His patient eye also allows him to make excellent swing decisions and work walks, the overall process at the plate is just perfect for Yankee Stadium. You’re going to get a lot of walks, a lot of pulled flyballs, and a defender who could win a Gold Glove in any given season; Austin Wells is your sunshine Yankee fans.
5. Will Smith – Los Angeles Dodgers

Three straight seasons of regression for Will Smith definitely isn’t ideal, but his consistent play and elite track record allow him to maintain a spot in the top five. The two players ranked behind him are younger and were better last season, so this ranking can change quickly if Smith doesn’t turn things around on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. His -5 FRV and -4 DRS give him his worst defensive season thus far, and his 111 wRC+ and .433 SLG% are also new career lows.
Declining game power coupled with worse walk rates have left Will Smith in a weird position where he has arguably the best track record here but also isn’t trending in the right direction. He still crushes the ball, makes a lot of contact, and makes good swing decisions, which indicates to me that we’ll see something closer to that 2023 season than his 2024 one. The Dodgers are excellent with player development and Smith has shown us that when he’s on, he’s a premium player at the position, but his resume is due for an update.
4. Patrick Bailey – San Francisco Giants

The best defensive player at the most important defensive position, Patrick Bailey has cemented himself as one of the premier players at the position. Much like Andrelton Simmons or Kevin Kiermaier, the best way to assess Bailey’s value is to utilize WAR over a metric like wRC+, which will account for a player’s total value when combining offense, defense, and baserunning. This past season, Bailey was 3rd in fWAR among catchers thanks to his positional-best +6 Throwing Runs, +16 Framing Runs, and +22 Fielding Run Value.
Without Patrick Bailey, the Giants are a significantly worse team, and his impact provides him with an excellent case for being a top-five player at the position. People may find more flashy catchers ahead of him on their lists, but defense is just as valuable as offense for catchers. The best defensive catcher in baseball with a slightly below-average bat for the position gets to be on this list, and his overall contributions suggest he’s in the ranks of the very elite.
3. Adley Rutschman – Baltimore Orioles

Despite a hit-by-pitch that clearly hampered Adley Rutschman’s bat this season, he posted a 2.8 fWAR, a 104 wRC+, and 0 OAA in his third big-league campaign. That being said, there was a point in time where it felt like the Orioles had the clear-cut best catcher in baseball but those tides have changed, as I’ll rank him behind two players at the same position. Rutschman will continue to fall on this list if things don’t turn around for him in 2025, as he didn’t play like a top-three catcher this season.
Track record does matter for this list and I do believe that, similar to Austin Wells, Adley Rutschman’s numbers would have looked better without a nagging injury. A 123 wRC+ plummeted to an unfathomable 70 in the second-half, and I’m not one to believe that catchers in their prime suddenly forget how to hit. Adley was still able to make contact at a high rate, but his ability to do damage on contact had vanished as his back began to bark up and his hand continued to hamper his swing.
2. Cal Raleigh – Seattle Mariners

With a 117 wRC+, 34 HRs, and a +14 Fielding Run Value, Cal Raleigh proved to be the best blend of elite defense and offense. The switch-hitting catcher played 153 games with just 19 coming as the DH for the Mariners, and Raleigh has remained a great power bat despite some seriously difficult home ballpark conditions. There’s a real argument for Raleigh to be the best catcher in baseball and I truly grappled with the choice to place him first or second on this list, so the gap between those spots isn’t massive.
I do believe that at this point in time, Cal Raleigh has separated himself from the other catchers outside of the one ahead of him on this list, as his game power coupled with elite plate discipline and defense makes him a franchise icon. The Mariners are lucky to have Raleigh on their side, as he’s fourth among catchers in Fielding Run Value (+30) and first in home runs (91) over the past three seasons. Perhaps most impressive? No catcher has more fWAR than he does over that same stretch.
I lied. His most impressive trait is his elite nickname.
1. William Contreras – Milwaukee Brewers

The two years that William Contreras has spent with the Milwaukee Brewers have shown that they were the winners of the three-team blockbuster that sent Sean Murphy to the Atlanta Braves. With back-to-back seasons posting more than 5.0 fWAR, Contreras ranks first in fWAR (11.2), wRC+ (128), and has shown flashes of being a Gold Glove caliber defender. Last year was a stepback with the glove, but his bat improved as he posted a 131 wRC+ with some more power in his bat.
William Contreras improved from the 86th to the 100th Percentile in SEAGER Score while making more contact in-zone, doing more damage on contact, and playing more games. If he can go from a good framer to an elite one again, the Brewers could see a 6-7 WAR season in 2025. The reason Contreras is my top catcher is that he’s in my opinion the most talented one while also being the most productive over the past two seasons, as I believe the best is yet to come for the star catcher.