Who is the best catcher in MLB? Reigning AL MVP runner-up Cal Raley is widely acknowledged as the best player at his position currently. As we look at the landscape of the best catchers in MLB ahead of the 2026 season, it’s clear that how you rank the top players depends on which skills you value most.
Let’s take a look at our list of the best MLB catchers right now
1. Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners
Cal Raleigh is the best catcher in baseball. He arguably deserved the AL MVP last season, not only because of his work with the bat (60 home runs, a .948 OPS, and 125 RBI), but also because of his work behind the plate. Raley is fifth in catcher framing runs (seven). He finished the season with 8.6 FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement, making him jointly the second best (4.7 fWAR) and third best catchers (4.1 fWAR). He probably won’t be able to repeat his run production in 2026, but his frame could allow him to earn a Gold Glove Award again.
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2. Will Smith, Los Angeles Dodgers
When ranking the best catchers in MLB, Cal Raleigh is one level apart from everyone else. However, Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith has quite the resume. A three-time All-Star and World Series champion, he earned All-MLB Second Team honors in 2025, even with a hairline fracture in early September, which came after a terrible August (.630 OPS). He still finished the season with the third-highest OPS (.901) and second-best wRC+ (152) among catchers with over 400 plate appearances. He doesn’t provide a lot of value with his work behind the dish, but that doesn’t matter as much when you produce an OPS over the last two seasons (.822) that puts you in the same category as Fernando Tatis Jr., Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor.
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3. Alejandro Kirk, Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk is coming off a productive MLB postseason, where he posted a .842 OPS with the third-most RBI (13) and the fifth-most total bases (35) in baseball. It was the perfect capstone for his rebound 2025 campaign, earning his second All-Star selection thanks to a .282/.348/.421 slash line with a .769 OPS and career highs in home runs (15) and RBI (76). He had the lowest strikeout rate among catchers last season (11.7%) and finished second in fWAR (4.7%), trailing only Patrick Bailey in catcher framing runs (17), while posting the fourth-highest shadow strikeout rate in baseball (47.1%). Luckily for Toronto, Kirk is under contract through the 2030 season.
4. William Contreras, Milwaukee Brewers
Acquired from the Atlanta Braves in December 2022, Milwaukee Brewers star William Contreras has become one of the best MLB catchers at the moment. He earned the Silver Slugger Award in consecutive seasons after combining for a .285/.366/.462 triple-slash line with an .828 OPS and 40 home runs in 2023–24. He’s coming off a down year by his standards – .260/.355/.399 with a .754 OPS – but the OBP was still third-best among catchers, and he walks (12.7%) almost as much as he strikes out (18.2%). If he can recapture what we saw the last two seasons in Milwaukee, Contreras’ pitch framing is good enough for him to challenge for All-MLB honors again in 2026.
5. Patrick Bailey, San Francisco Giants
Patrick Bailey’s ranking among the best catchers in MLB is a litmus test of how much you value glove work over offensive production. He posted a .222 batting average last season with a .602 OPS and 6 home runs – two of which were walk-offs, inside-the-parker. Indeed, had he not had an electric September (18 RBI, .272/.313/.435 line), his run production might have been even worse. His .626 OPS over the past three seasons, 32nd among qualified catchers, is a better indication of his work with the bat. Now for the glove work: Putting Bailey’s pitch framing (25 catcher framing runs) into perspective, the gap between him and the second-best catcher (Kirk, 17) is as big as the total made by the fifth-best catcher (Raleigh, 7) last season. Bailey is in a league of his own defensively, but his run production takes away some of his value.
6. Dillon Dingler, Detroit Tigers
After winning a Gold Glove Award in 2025, Detroit Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler could have a real chance to earn his first All-Star selection if all goes well in 2026. He finished last season with a .752 OPS, and this was his first real taste since a cup of coffee (84 at-bats) last year. Importantly, he demonstrated the ability to adjust, posting a .774 OPS with a .284 batting average after a difficult June (.209 average and .598 OPS) after July 1. Behind the plate, Dingler tied with Cal Raley for the fifth-most catcher framing runs (7), and he tied Will Smith for the eighth-most catcher CS Above Average (4). Dingler is on the upside and is an underrated part of Detroit’s success.
7. Drake Baldwin, Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves have a pretty good track record when it comes to catchers. Reigning NL Rookie of the Year winner Drake Baldwin is the latest example. He posted the fifth-best OPS (.810) among catchers with 350-plus plate appearances in 2025, and he was the only catcher with an .800-plus OPS who had a strikeout rate under 16% (15.2%). Baldwin’s worst month (.741 OPS in June) was still above average for his position, and he boasted a .270/.332/.460 line with a .792 OPS and 48 RBI after the All-Star break. Had he been better defensively – 51st on average in catcher’s CS and 31st in catcher framing runs – he would have had a chance to be a top-five catcher.
8. Shea Langeliers, Sacramento Athletics
There is a theme among the best MLB catchers at the moment; Many of them have roots in the Braves organization. The Sacramento Athletics acquired Shea Langeliers as part of the Matt Olson trade in 2022, and he developed into the form the club hoped for. After making progress at the plate in 2024 (.739 OPS), the right-handed hitter posted an .861 OPS last season, increasing his batting average from .224 to .277. Remarkably, considering how hitter-friendly the ballpark is in Sacramento, Langeliers had a higher OPS on the road (.912) than at home (.817). Considering he posted a 1.018 OPS with 19 home runs and a .328 batting average after the All-Star break, we could see even better season-long numbers from Langeliers in 2026.
9. Gabriel Moreno, Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno looked like a future star in his first season with the team, posting a .284/.339/.408 triple-slash line and 4.3 bWAR with a .747 OPS. He wasn’t as good the next year, but that run production bounced back last season (.285/.353/.433 with a .786 OPS). He combines that offensive output with above-average pitch framing (catcher framing ranks fifth in runs). Moreno’s only real challenges are durability issues and his catch-stealing numbers have declined, but the strength of his game still makes him a top-10 catcher.
10. Carlos Narvaez, Boston Red Sox
We might be buying a little too much here, rating Carlos Narvaez as one of the 10 best MLB catchers right now. If you put a premium on glove work, he ranked first in the majors in caught steals (32) and eighth in catcher framing runs (8). Narváez also showed plenty of power last season, posting a .726 OPS and finishing 11th at his position in slugging (.419). If the Boston Red Sox pitching staff meets high expectations for this season and Narvaez can repeat his output, he will be more widely viewed as a top-10 player at his position by the summer.
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