After ranking the starting catchers in the American League yesterday, let’s now take a look at the backstops in the National League. These are the catchers who are projected to receive the most playing time for their respective team. Some may end up in near a 50-50 platoon (ex. Yasmani Grandal and Austin Barnes). Just like the American League, many of the catchers towards the middle and end can almost be considered interchangeable.
To see the American League starting catcher rankings, click here.
1. Buster Posey - San Francisco Giants
2017 stats: 568 PA, .320 BA, .861 OPS, 12 HR, 34 2B, 67 RBI, 62 R, 6 SB, 38% CS
Posey's .861 OPS was his highest since his 2012 National League MVP season.
He won his fourth Silver Slugger last season in the past six years.
2. Willson Contreras - Chicago Cubs
2017 stats: 428 PA, .276 BA, .855 OPS, 21 HR, 21 2B, 74 RBI, 50 R, 5 SB, 27% CS
Just 25 years old, Contreras has already entered the upper echelon of top catchers. He hit .305 in 38 games after the All-Star break.
3. J.T. Realmuto - Miami Marlins
2017 stats: 532 PA, .278 BA, .783 OPS, 17 HR, 31 2B, 65 RBI, 68 R, 8 SB, 32% CS
For now, Realmuto remains on the Marlins as he has asked to be traded after the dismantling of the team. One of the best athletes in the league as a catcher, he reached career-highs in homers, RBIs, and runs last year.
4. Yadier Molina - St. Louis Cardinals
2017 stats: 543 PA, .273 BA, .751 OPS, 18 HR, 27 2B, 82 RBI, 60 R, 9 SB, 36% CS
The 35-year-old Molina was named to his eighth All-Star team last season.
In his 14th year, he set a career-high in RBIs, hit his second-most home runs in a season, and remained an elite defensive backstop.
5. Tucker Barnhart - Cincinnati Reds
2017 stats: 423 PA, .270 BA, .750 OPS, 7 HR, 24 2B, 44 RBI, 26 R, 4 SB, 44% CS
Barnhart led the National League throwing out 44 percent of base stealers and won his first Gold Glove.
He also is a serviceable offensive player as his OPS+ was right around the league average.
6. Yasmani Grandal - Los Angeles Dodgers
2017 stats: 482 PA, .247 BA, .767 OPS, 22 HR, 27 2B, 58 RBI, 50 R, 0 SB, 32% CS
The 29-year-old Grandal has now hit 49 home runs over the last two seasons. After averaging 62 walks from 2014-16, he had just 40 last year which led to a career-low .308 on-base percentage.
7. Alex Avila - Arizona Diamondbacks
2017 stats: 376 PA, .264 BA, .834 OPS, 14 HR, 13 2B, 49 RBI, 41 R, 0 SB, 31% CS
After hitting just .216 from 2013-16, Avila improved to .264 last year. Good at drawing bases on balls, he had a .387 on-base percentage in 2017 and is at .351 for his career.
8. Tyler Flowers - Atlanta Braves
2017 stats: 370 PA, .281 BA, .823 OPS, 12 HR, 16 2B, 49 RBI, 41 R, 0 SB, 23% CS
Entering 2016 with a career batting average of only .223, Flowers has hit .276 for the Braves over the last two years. While his caught stealing percentage of 23 last season isn’t anything special, it was a vast improvement from his five percent in 2016.
9. Chris Iannetta - Colorado Rockies
2017 stats: 316 PA, .254 BA, .865 OPS, 17 HR, 19 2B, 43 RBI, 38 R, 0 SB, 24% CS
Iannetta returns to Colorado where he played from 2006-11.
His .254 batting average and 17 homers last year were both his highest since the 2008 season.
10. Austin Hedges - San Diego Padres
2017 stats: 417 PA, .214 BA, .660 OPS, 18 HR, 17 2B, 55 RBI, 36 R, 4 SB, 37% CS
While he owns a career .199 batting average in 548 at-bats, the 25-year-old Hedges showed the pop he displays in his bat last season. He hit .321 with 21 homers at AAA in 2016, so an improvement in his average could be on the table.
11. Francisco Cervelli - Pittsburgh Pirates
2017 stats: 304 PA, .249 BA, .712 OPS, 5 HR, 13 2B, 31 RBI, 31 R, 0 SB, 20% CS
Cervelli doesn’t provide much in the way of power but is a steady offensive player with a .274 batting average and .365 on-base percentage in his three seasons with the Pirates.
He threw out one-fifth of base stealers in 2017 which is right along his career of 21 percent.
12. Travis d'Arnaud - New York Mets
2017 stats: 376 PA, .244 BA, .735 OPS, 16 HR, 19 2B, 57 RBI, 39 R, 0 SB, 17% CS
d’Arnaud just hasn’t displayed the offensive talent that Mets fans expected (although his 16 homers in 2017 were a career-high) and at 29 years old, it’s unclear if that will change. He also has a below-average arm behind the plate.
13. Manny Pina - Milwaukee Brewers
2017 stats: 359 PA, .279 BA, .751 OPS, 9 HR, 21 2B, 43 RBI, 45 R, 2 SB, 36% CS
The 30-year old Pina appeared in five games at the major league level with the Royals in 2011-12 and didn’t appear again until 33 games with the Brewers in 2016.
He was quite the surprise for Milwaukee last season, displaying above-average skill at the plate and behind it as well.
14. Jorge Alfaro - Philadelphia Phillies
2017 stats: 114 PA, .318 BA, .874 OPS, 5 HR, 6 2B, 14 RBI, 12 R, 0 SB, 24% CS
The 24-year-old Alfaro performed brilliantly in his brief stint with the Phillies last season. He hit just .241 in 324 at-bats at AAA in 2017 though so it remains to be seen what he can do over a full year with the big club.
15. Matt Wieters - Washington Nationals
2017 stats: 465 PA, .225 BA, .632 OPS, 10 HR, 20 2B, 52 RBI, 43 R, 1 SB, 25% CS
A four-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner, Wieters had a miserable 2017 for the Nationals. In his ninth year, he had career-lows in batting average, slugging percentage (.344), and OPS.
