There’s a youth movement taking place behind the plate.
While a few veteran mainstays remain among the top hitting catchers in the game, it’s the burgeoning number of standouts at the position who are about to enter their prime that makes it a particularly exciting one to track.
Each of the top three, four of the top five and seven of the top 10 players on our list below are 28 or younger. All of them have already demonstrated the production necessary to garner their placement in our rankings, but the best is likely still ahead for many of the players on this list.
Our eight-part position series continues with the top 10 catchers entering the 2025 season.
2024 stats: .229/.322/.395, 13 HR, 105 wRC+, 3.4 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: .229/.312/.401, 15 HR, 104 wRC+, 2.4 fWAR
Wells demonstrated solid plate discipline and pop and was one of MLB’s best framers behind the plate while finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting last year[]. Much like Bailey, he’ll have to avoid another late-season slide to climb higher on this list, but his left-handed power at Yankee Stadium offers enough intrigue to creep into the top 10.
2024 stats: .234/.298/.339, 8 HR, 81 wRC+, 4.3 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: .235/.301/.366, 10 HR, 89 wRC+, 3.5 fWAR
After two big-league seasons, Bailey has been a below league-average bat but also the best defensive catcher in the game. His expected offensive stats are better than what he has produced, and if he can avoid the second-half slump that has plagued him at the plate in his first two seasons, he will be one of the most valuable catchers in the sport.
2024 stats: .266/.353/.380, 5 HR, 107 wRC+, 2.5 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: .285/.358/.409, 7 HR, 114 wRC+, 3.5 fWAR
After bursting onto the scene with a Gold Glove season in 2023, injuries limited Moreno to 97 games last season. His elite plate discipline and superb work behind the plate could lead to a breakout 2025.
2024 stats: .266/.322/.429, 14 HR, 109 wRC+, 2.0 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: .258/.321/.435, 15 HR, 109 wRC+, 2.9 fWAR
Now in his mid-30s, Realmuto isn’t the offensive force he once was. Still, he remains an above league bat. Health will be a key component after a knee injury hindered him last year. Realmuto’s batted-ball and sprint speed data both suggest there’s still plenty in the tank, so it’ll be interesting to see if he can tap into more both at the plate and on the bases in 2025.
2024 stats: .271/.330/.456, 27 HR, 115 wRC+, 3.2 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: .262/.314/.452, 24 HR, 109 wRC+, 2.8 fWAR
Entering his age 35 season, the nine-time All-Star is still getting it done. Perez has hit more than 20 home runs in each of his last eight full seasons. Last year, his 27 homers were tied for the second-most of any season in his career. He also led all catchers with 104 RBI. That production was especially important in Kansas City’s run to its first playoff berth since 2015, when Salvy was the World Series MVP.
2024 stats: .299/.325/.441, 16 HR, 117 wRC+, 3.1 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: .279/.312/.447, 19 HR, 114 wRC+, 3.4 fWAR
From a WAR and value perspective, Diaz’s 2024 season wasn’t all that different from the previous year. How he got there, though, was. Favoring a more contact-oriented approach, Diaz led all catchers with a .299 batting average and lowered his strikeout and whiff rates but sacrificed power to do so. It’ll be interesting to see if he can match the slug from 2023, when he blasted 23 homers in just 104 games, with the batting average he posted last season as his prime years await.
2024 stats: .248/.327/.433, 20 HR, 111 wRC+, 2.7 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: .252/.341/.433, 20 HR, 117 wRC+, 4.2 fWAR
While his end-of-year totals were respectable, Smith also dealt with a dramatic drop-off at the plate in last year’s second half, perhaps the result of a lingering ankle issue which he revealed this spring. While his OPS has steadily declined from the staggering .980 mark he posted in the Dodgers’ 2020 championship season, he still remains one of the top hitting catchers in the sport and is coming off a year in which he caught more runners stealing than any catcher in MLB.
2024 stats: .250/.318/.391, 19 HR, 104 wRC+, 2.8 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: .260/.344/.422, 17 HR, 121 wRC+, 5.0 fWAR
Rutschman had 16 homers at the break but ended last year’s All-Star season with just 19 after slashing .207/.282/.303 in the second half. Was his shocking spiral an anomaly or a sign of things to come? Considering what he did his first two (and a half) seasons in MLB, I’ll bet on the former. But this is an important year for the 27-year-old backstop to return to form after seeing his hard-hit and walk rates both dip and his chase right climb last year.
2024 stats: .220/.312/.436, 34 HR, 117 wRC+, 5.4 fWAR
2025 ZiPS: .230/.310/.461, 28 HR, 123 wRC+, 5.3 fWAR
Raleigh’s consistent combination of defense and power zooms him up to No. 2 on this list entering the 2025 season. Raleigh’s exceptional work behind the plate last year earned him the Platinum Glove Award as the American League’s best overall fielder, and he has led all catchers in home runs for three straight seasons.
2024 stats: .281/.365/.466, 23 HR, 131 wRC+, 5.4 fWAR
2025 ZiPS projection: .270/.353/.450, 20 HR, 124 wRC+, 4.6 fWAR
The 27-year-old two-time All-Star is coming off a season in which he finished fifth in MVP voting and earned his second straight Silver Slugger Award. Last year, he posted career-best marks in hard-hit rate, walk rate and strikeout rate. Since Contreras entered the league in 2020, he has the highest OPS among catchers with at least 1,000 plate appearances. Last year, the only player who caught at least 50 games and had a higher wRC+ last year than William Contreras was his brother, Willson, but he will now be playing first base in St. Louis.
Honorable Mentions: Alejandro Kirk, Toronto Blue Jays; Sean Murphy, Atlanta Braves; Francisco Alvarez, New York Mets; Shea Langeliers, Oakland Athletics; Tyler Stephenson, Cincinnati Reds, Logan O’Hoppe, Los Angeles Angels
Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.
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