The original catcher rankings were published January 11th, 2022. The top two remain unchanged with Salvador Perez at the top and Will Smith second. We remain high "man" on Will Smith, believing his power and ability to draw walks will continue to progress in the great Dodgers lineup. He is slated to hit sixth with high 20s HR and 150-160 runs plus RBI.
We've moved Realmuto up based on the additions to the Phillies offense of Schwarber and Castellanos. Depending on where Realmuto hits, he could stand to increase his runs or RBIs.
Health is the only real obstacle for Grandal.
Adley Rutschman was the big drop, as his health is currently in question. His ability to make the team was already up in the air, and given his right triceps strain, he is too much of a question mark and has fallen out of the top 16. We still believe in his talent long term, but the Orioles won't be in contention and will again see no real urgency in getting him in the big league lineup.
Mitch Garver moves up three slots in his trade to the Rangers. He is seen as a middle of the order bat by the Rangers and is slated to hit cleanup with opportunities to drive in Semien and Seager.
Alejandro Kirk and Sean Murphy were new additions to the top 16 as IKF and Rutschman have fallen off.
Worth mentioning is the potential bounce back from Gary Sanchez with the change of scenery from the Bronx to Minneapolis. Expect Sanchez to split the difference between his peak and subpar years in New York.
In short, the top remains steady, with draft position and need dictating who and where you select a catcher, with our preference to secure one in the top five or pair two of the bottom 11 IF you have the roster space.
Adley Rutschman remains in the top slot, expecting years of .290/.380/.900.
Smith and Perez are too good in the present to rank them lower.
We believe there is more to Willson Contreras as he has similar underlying skills to Will Smith. He will have more opportunity to focus on hitting with the NL DH implementation AND the signing of Yan Gomes by the Cubs.
After Grandal, we believe there are no other veteran catchers worth ranking in the top 16 other than Varsho at 11. Our order of preference with young catchers has to do with a combination of ability to stick at the position and offensive upside. We see Moreno at the top, with Melendez and Ruiz next. Alvarez is at least two years away but has shown explosive power. The bottom five on this list has more to do with skills preference as we see Soderstrom and Kirk as the better hitters.
This is the year to roster Moreno and Melendez in your keeper and dynasty leagues as their value will only increase from here.
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