MLB The Show 19: Best Catchers (C)

Catchers are vital to making a baseball team function. They tell pitchers what to throw and where, they frame balls to convince umpires it was a strike, and they also have to hit as regularly as any other position. The grind of catching is so hard that no one can play 162 games behind the plate, meaning you don't just need one good catcher but ideally two. This is very, very hard to find.

How to choose the best catchers in MLB The Show 19's Franchise Mode

In this article we are looking for the best catchers MLB The Show 19 has to offer. These players should be good fielders with the arm strength & accuracy to throw out anyone trying to steal a base. They need to have the durability to play anywhere up to 120 games and ideally they can hit for contact too. Power production is a nice bonus, but catcher is a defense-first position. These are all the catchers in MLB The Show 19 with an OVR of 73 or more.

*For a full list please see the table below

Mike Zunino, Tampa Bay Rays (OVR 87)

Age: 28

Throws/Bats: R/R

Contract: 1 year/$4.4 million

Secondary Positions: None

Hitter Tendency: Extreme Pull

Best Stats: Fielding (91), Power vs L (83), Power vs R (78), Reaction (75), Arm Strength (72), Blocking (71)

A first-round pick for the Seattle Mariners in 2012, Mike Zunino got his debut in the Majors in 2013 and by 2014 was the Mariners #1 option behind the plate. He’s hit at least 20 homers in three seasons in the Majors, but his batting average has rarely ventured over .210. Zunino’s biggest selling point is his ability behind the plate where he has been one of the best for years now.

In The Show 19 Zunino is an excellent fielder (91) behind the plate and brings a solid power bat too (78/83). Zunino’s arm strength isn’t great (69) but he can get the ball where it needs to go (arm accuracy 72). Zunino is not a good contact hitter (50/40) but his play behind the plate makes up for that.

Yasmani Grandal, Milwaukee Brewers (OVR 87)

Age: 30

Throws/Bats: R/S

Contract: 1 year/$18.3 million

Secondary Positions: 1B

Hitter Tendency: Extreme Pull

Best Stats: Fielding (91), Discipline (89), Durability (86), Reaction (84), Power vs R (81), Blocking (75)

Yasmani Grandal was a first round pick for the Cincinnati Reds in 2010 but made his MLB debut with the San Diego Padres in 2012. He got pinged for a PED violation early in his career and suffered a horrible knee injury too which set him back some way, but in recent years Grandal has really come good. He moved to the Dodgers in 2015 and got his first All-Star appearance that year and developed a power bat, hitting 27 homers in 2016 and 20+ every year since.

In The Show 19 Grandal has excellent fielding (91) and durability (86) to play more often than most other catchers. His discipline (89) is good and he has power vs righties too (81). His arm strength (68) is disappointing but he can make up for it with his bat.

Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants (OVR 87)

Age: 32

Throws/Bats: R/R

Contract: 3 years/$59.7 million

Secondary Positions: 1B

Hitter Tendency: Pull Hitter

Best Stats: Contact vs L (91), Fielding (88), Vision (88), Clutch (86), Blocking (85), Reaction (78)

Buster Posey has been one of the best catchers in baseball for the last decade. A first-round pick for the Giants in 2008 he had a cup of coffee in 2009 before becoming a regular for the Giants in 2010. He his .305 with 18 homers and solid defense that year to win Rookie of the Year. In 2012 he hit a remarkable .336 with 24 homers and claimed the NL MVP award. Posey also claimed a gold glove in 2016 to add to his trophy case along with his three World Series titles.

In The Show 19 Posey is quality behind the plate with good fielding (88) and blocking (85). His arm is solid (arm strength 73, arm accuracy 75) and you can keep his bat in the lineup by giving him rest at first base. He hits lefties well (contact 91) and has good vision (88) too.

JT Realmuto, Philadelphia Phillies (OVR 85)

Age: 28

Throws/Bats: R/R

Contract: 1 year/$5.9 million

Secondary Positions: 1B

Hitter Tendency: Whole Field

Best Stats: Arm Strength (89), Contact vs R (84), Blocking (84), Arm Accuracy (80), Clutch (77), Durability (76)

A third-round pick for the Florida Marlins in 2010, JT Realmuto became the regular catcher in Miami in 2015. He broke out in 2016 as he hit 11 homers with a .303 average and since then has traded some average for more power, hitting 21 homers in 2018. He was traded to Philadelphia prior to the 2019 season.

In The Show 19 Realmuto is more offensively minded than many catchers. His contact vs right-handed pitchers (84) makes him a regular threat at the plate and his fielding (54) is poor. His arm is excellent though (arm strength 89, arm accuracy 80) making him a weapon behind the plate when it comes to throwing out base runners. He can also block pitches well (84).

Wilson Ramos, New York Mets (OVR 85)

Age: 31

Throws/Bats: R/R

Contract: 2 years/$19 million

Secondary Positions: None

Hitter Tendency: Whole Field

Best Stats: Clutch (99), Contact vs L (91), Contact vs R (79), Power vs L (76), Vision (75), Arm Strength (73)

Wilson Ramos got his MLB debut in 2010 with the Minnesota Twins but was soon part of a trade to Washington. In 2011 he played 113 games for the Nationals, hitting 15 homers with a .267 average and good defense. Those sort of numbers have become the benchmark for Ramos, even as injuries have cost him some time behind the plate. In 2016 he got his first All-Star appearance and finished the year with career-highs of 22 homers and a .307 average. In 2017 he moved to Tampa Bay, then being traded mid-season in 2018 to the Phillies before signing with the Mets in the winter for the 2019 season.

In The Show 19 Ramos is excellent in the clutch (99) and has a reasonable arm (arm strength 73, arm accuracy 70) to catch stealers. His biggest asset is his contact ability at the plate (79/91) which means he can get on base and drive runs home. Defensively Ramos isn’t that strong, his fielding (59) leaves a lot to desire and his blocking (60) isn’t great either.

Gary Sanchez, New York Yankees (OVR 83)

Age: 26

Throws/Bats: R/R

Contract: 1 year/$575,000

Secondary Positions: None

Hitter Tendency: Pull Hitter

Best Stats: Power vs L (91), Arm Strength (86), Power vs R (84), Fielding (81), Durability (75), Discipline (73)

Gary Sanchez first broke into the Yankees lineup in 2016, hitting 20 homers and 12 doubles in just 53 games. He showed that was no fluke by putting on a show as the Yankees primary catcher in 2017, hitting 33 homers with a .278 average and an All-Star appearance. He hit a funk in 2018, batting just .186 though still with power.

In The Show 19 Sanchez’s power at the plate is very good (84/91) but his contact skill is lacking (59/56). He is a terrific fielder behind the plate (81) and has the arm strength to get runners out (86) even if it lacks ideal accuracy (44).

Willson Contreras, Chicago Cubs (OVR 83)

Age: 26

Throws/Bats: R/R

Contract: 1 year/$575,000

Secondary Positions: LF

Hitter Tendency: Whole Field

Best Stats: Arm Strength (85), Durability (84), Blocking (82), Discipline (74), Fielding (71), Contact vs L (71)

Willson Contreras broke into the Majors with the Cubs in 2016, playing 76 games and hitting .282 with 12 homers and good defense. Since that time Contreras’ offensive production has faltered somewhat. He hit just .249 with 10 homers in 138 games in 2018, but thanks to sensational defense he earned his first All-Star appearance.

In The Show 19 Contreras has superb durability (84) for the position and terrific arm strength (85) to catch out runners. His blocking is fantastic (82) and he can field the position well (71). At the plate he has reasonable contact skill (65/71) but doesn’t offer anything special.

Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals (OVR 82)

Age: 28

Throws/Bats: R/R

Contract:

Secondary Positions: 1B

Hitter Tendency: Pull Hitter

Best Stats: Power vs L (82), Durability (79), Arm Accuracy (76), Arm Strength (72), Blocking (70), Fielding (69)

Salvador Perez has been one of the best catchers in MLB since his debut in 2011. He’s been an All-Star every year since 2013 thanks to good power numbers at the plate and excellent defense behind it. He’s claimed 5 gold gloves, and has recently traded some average for more homers, hitting 27 in both 2017 and ‘18.

In The Show 19 Perez’s best stat is his power vs lefties (82) but his durability (79) is also a big plus. Perez is a little underrated as a fielder (69) but his arm is good (arm strength 72, arm accuracy 76).

Francisco Cervelli, Pittsburgh Pirates (OVR 82)

Age: 33

Throws/Bats: R/R

Contract:1 year/$10.3 million

Secondary Positions: None

Hitter Tendency: Whole Field

Best Stats: Discipline (92), Blocking (73), Contact vs R (70), Contact vs L (68), Arm Strength (65)

Francisco Cervelli got his MLB debut with the New York Yankees in 2008. In 2010 he played 93 games for the Yankees, hitting .271. He stayed with them through the 2014 season but playing sparingly. He signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates to be their catcher for the 2015 season and is still there today. Cervelli has hit double-digit homers just once, in 2018, but has offered solid defense behind the plate for a long time.

In The Show 19 Cervelli has good discipline (92) and reasonable contact skill (70/68). His fielding (59) isn’t good but his blocking (73) is strong and his arm is ok (arm strength 65, arm accuracy 62).

Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals (OVR 82)

Age: 36

Throws/Bats: R/R

Contract: 2 years/$40 million

Secondary Positions: 1B

Hitter Tendency: Whole Field

Best Stats: Blocking (90), Vision (89), Clutch (81), Contact vs R (78), Durability (75), Reaction (72), Arm Strength (71)

Yadier Molina was a fourth-round pick for the Cardinals in 2000 and got his debut in 2004. Part of the legendary Molina catching family, Yadier has been a spectacular catcher for the Cardinals, winning 9 gold gloves and making 9 All-Star appearances while also winning 2 World Series titles. Molina's power at the plate has been on and off over his career, with two years of 20 or more homers, three of 10-20, and 11 seasons with under 10, but his average has always been solid and Molina is a .282 career hitter.

In The Show 19 the veteran Molina is still superb behind the plate. His blocking (90) is excellent and his fielding (70) is solid. His vision (89) is good and he has nice contact skills at the plate too (78/69). Molina also still has the durability (75) to be your #1 option behind the plate.

All catchers with 73 OVR or more

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