Top Catchers in Major League Baseball – Part 1
The position of catcher has always been vital in the game of baseball. A good insurance behind the plate acts as a confidence booster for the entire bull-pen and plays a major role in ensuring success for a team. Following is a brief analysis of the top
catchers in Major League Baseball during the current season.
Colorado Rockies might not be doing well this season but their catcher, Chris Iannetta leads the list of top catchers this season. The right-handed catcher has played 81 games as catcher this season and has committed just a single error which highlights
his ability behind the plate.
Iannetta’s fielding percentage at .998 is more than any other player on the circuit and he is expected to keep the lead and finish at Number one this season. His fitness and form needs to be consistent if he aims at this accomplishment.
Another feature of his performance this season has been his 60 assists. These are the second-most in the league behind New York Yankees’ Russell Martin (62) and equal to Chicago Cubs’ Geovany Soto. However, it should be noted that Iannetta has played less
games than Martin and Soto.
Iannetta has proved his mettle both behind the plate and on the plate. His performance with the bat has been decent and 39 runs at an average of .226 thus far are a worthy proof of it. 11 of these runs have come as home-runs which are enough to justify his
ability to slug. Iannetta’s consistency has been his key to success. He has amassed 57 hits and produced 39 RBIs for the Rockies which have helped them stay an inch ahead of the troubled Los Angeles Dodgers who are just .5 games behind.
Philadelphia Phillies have been in great form this season and are well in line to finish top in the overall standings this season. They have a clear margin in the National League and face a strong competition by the Boston Red Sox and the Yankees but their
pitching outfit has a rotation which can demolish any team on its day.
However, pitching alone cannot win games for the Phillies and strong teamwork is a pre-requisite for success. Their success can rightly be attributed to teamwork as their catcher, Carlos Ruiz, is rated the second-best catcher in MLB this season. Ruiz has
had an excellent season behind the plate and is in touching distance of the top notch.
Ruiz has started 76 games as catcher and has maintained a phenomenal fielding percentage of .997. He has committed just two errors at the catcher’s position which, at this level, is an amazing achievement. Ruiz has 50 assists this season and it has taken
him just 706 innings to reach this number. He can be termed as the fastest catcher to achieve more than 40 assists as all other catchers who have 40-plus assists have taken more than 700 innings to do so.
Carlos has been a sensation on the plate as well. Although his statistics are not highly inflated, he has been consistent with his contributions. The right-handed player has managed 71 hits in 268 at-bats and has generated 24 RBIs in total this season. Ruiz
has amassed 32 runs thus far, four of which have come as home-runs. His batting average of .265 can be rated decent if not good.
Continued in Part 2
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