All Positions: C / 1B / 2B / SS / 3B / CF / OF / P
Matt Wieters and Buster Posey aren't just the big kids on campus in the prospect ranks, they're also two of the top catchers in baseball who are under the age of 25. Given the difficulty players have rising through the minors at this defensively demanding position, very few catching prospects hit enough to force their bats into the big leagues as well as move quickly enough to reach the majors at an age much younger than 25.
Brian McCann, who we considered to be a lock for one of the top 10 spots on our next Top overall prospects under 25 list, is leaps and bounds ahead of Dioner Navarro, the second major league catcher on this list. Jesus Flores, a Rule-5 pick in 2006, is the only other player below with a substantial amount of big league time. Along with Navarro, Flores reached the big leagues at a very young age -- especially for a catcher -- and has the potential to break out over the next few seasons.
| Top 10 Catchers Under the age of 25 | |||||||||||||
| No. | Player | Pos. | Comments | Age | Org | Lvl | |||||||
| 1 | Brian McCann | C | Returned to form (.378 wOBA) after slow season in '07 (.319); 43.1% XBH, 10.6% BB rates | 24.6 | ATL | MLB | |||||||
| 2 | Matt Wieters | C | Put up videogame-esque .355/.454/.600 line between A+, AA; .918 OPS (33 AB) in AFL | 22.4 | BAL | AA | |||||||
| 3 | Dioner Navarro | C | Production slowed after All-Star Break (.785 OPS vs. .715); .333 wOBA, .112 IsoP overall | 24.7 | TB | MLB | |||||||
| 4 | Buster Posey | C | No. 5 overall pick off to solid start; having his way with HWB pitchers: .458/.567/.583 (24 AB) | 21.6 | SF | SS | |||||||
| 5 | Carlos Santana | C/DH | Call it a breakout: went .326/.431/.568 in '08 after .223/.318/.370 showing in '07; 16.5% BB | 22.5 | CLE | AA | |||||||
| 6 | Max Ramirez | C/1B | Conquered AA (.465 wOBA), defeated in AAA (.310), MLB (.327); 29.2% K in AAA, bigs | 24.0 | TEX | MLB | |||||||
| 7 | Jarrod Saltalamacchia | C | Showed ability to get on base (13.9% BB), but little else: 32.2% K, .111 IsoP, .322 wOBA | 23.5 | TEX | MLB | |||||||
| 8 | Pablo Sandoval | C/1B | Went .350/.394/.578 (448 AB) between A+, AA, then .345/.357/.490 (145 AB) in majors | 22.2 | SF | MLB | |||||||
| 9 | Jesus Flores | C | Had problems making contact (.256 AVG, 24.0% K), but had 325 PA at age 23 as ML backstop | 24.0 | WAS | MLB | |||||||
| 10 | Jesus Montero | C/DH | Hard not to be impressed: .322/.373/.488, .371 wOBA (571 PA) in first full season as a pro | 18.8 | NYY | A | |||||||
| Honorables: Taylor Teagarden (TEX), Kyle Skipworth (FLA), and Hank Conger (LAA). | |||||||||||||
| * Our rankings combine a player's ceiling with the odds that he'll reach it within a five-year period |
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| ** Ages are as of November 1st, 2008 | |||||||||||||
| *** Level is the highest level the player has reached | |||||||||||||
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Questions about this list can be directed toward Adam Foster at adamf@projectprospect.com.