New York Yankees: How do Yanks stack up against top AL contenders?
By Sean Dyer
Catchers
- Gary Sanchez (NYY) – 4 points
- Brian McCann (HOU) – 3 points
- Christian Vazquez (BOS) – 2 points
- Roberto Perez (CLE) – 1 point
There isn’t debate here. Gary Sanchez is clearly the best catcher of this bunch. Sanchez is a top-three catcher in all of baseball.
El Gary set the league on fire in 2016 when he came up and hit 20 home runs in 53 games. He followed that up with 33 home runs in 2017, despite playing in only 122 games due to injury. 53 homers in his first 177 major league games show that Sanchez has 40+ home run potential if he can stay healthy in 2018.
Sanchez’s biggest issue so far in his big league career has been his defense. He has a great arm but has struggled to keep the ball in front of him, tying for the league lead in passed balls in 2017. Sanchez showed up to camp this year with a leaner frame which is expected to help his defense moving forward.
Brian McCann has never struggled behind the plate. He’s one of the best in the game at calling a game and handling a pitching staff. McCann also has good power, hitting 18 homers in just 97 games last year. McCann’s offensive ability is what separates him from the other catchers in this group.
Christian Vazquez is a good defensive catcher. Not long ago, Vazquez was the Red Sox’s top defensive catching prospect with Blake Swihart earning the title of top offensive catching prospect. While Swihart has lost some traction in Boston’s system, Vazquez has gotten his bat to catch up a bit to his glove. Vazquez hit .290 in 99 games last year and will look to build on that in 2018 and become a complete catcher.
Roberto Perez splits time with Yan Gomes behind the plate in Cleveland but Perez is listed ahead of Gomes on the Indians depth chart. Top prospect Francisco Mejia will also push both catchers for playing time at some point this season. Perez and Gomes are both very good defensively and are two of the best at throwing out potential base stealers. Offensively, however, they are behind the rest of this group.