When discussing the best defensive catchers of the modern era, one name is at the top of everyone's list: Yadier Molina. He has embodied defensive excellence since he entered the league in 2004 and has undoubtedly earned his reputation as the game's best defensive catcher -- among his numerous accolades are six Fielding Bible Awards and eight Gold Gloves.
Since the start of his career, no catcher comes close to matching his defensive runs saved (DRS) total -- Molina has saved 167 runs over 13-plus seasons, 54 more than second place on that list and 103 more than fifth.
However, once a catcher's pitch-framing ability (strike zone runs saved) was incorporated into DRS in 2014, it was clear that Molina's dominance was coming to a close.
The data goes back to 2010, making it the first year pitch-framing can be quantified as part of a catcher's total defensive ability. While Molina still saved the most runs over the first half of the decade, his lead was marginal; Jonathan Lucroy and Russell Martin saved their teams 85 and 48 runs, respectively, with their framing compared with Molina's 33 over those five years.
Over that stretch, the three occupied their own tier atop the catcher DRS leaderboard. Lucroy and Martin ranked first and second, respectively, in strike zone runs saved, while Molina and Martin tied for the lead in stolen base runs saved.
Age, though, seems to have caught up with all three, making it hard to consider them elite defenders anymore; since 2015, they haven't even ranked among the 10 best defensive catchers, according to DRS. Meanwhile, baseball has placed a renewed emphasis on defense at the position, resulting in a new generation of catching talent.
Interestingly, nearly all of the current top defensive catchers are playing for contending teams, reflecting the importance placed on the position as well as the difference a quality defensive catcher can have on a team's record. The group includes a variety of players, from successful veterans to those who are just starting to make an impact.
The fresh faces
For some vying to be baseball's best defensive catcher, their emergence is relatively recent. These players started getting regular playing time only within the past two or three seasons, which makes their accomplishments all the more impressive. With a little more MLB experience, any of these players could succeed Molina as the next best defensive catcher.
Austin Hedges, 24, is the youngest player on this list, and the only one not playing for either a contender or a team with high expectations for the season. He took over as starting catcher for the San Diego Padres after Derek Norris signed with the Tampa Bay Rays. He impressed in his first two seasons, saving five runs in just over 400 innings of work, and is doing so in 2017 as well. He has saved seven runs already, tied for fourth most among all catchers. His framing can be attributed to much of his success: His six strike zone runs saved ranks second in the league. That's not his only skill, though. Since the beginning of 2016, no catcher has been quicker throwing the ball to second base than Hedges.
Although the Padres aren't contending this season, they have one of the youngest teams in baseball and should be competitive in the coming years with Hedges behind the plate.
When it comes to catcher pop times, it's impossible not to talk about Christian Vazquez. He is only fourth in the previous table, but looking at just 2017, he has the quickest average time to second base, and he's ahead of his closest competitor with at least five attempts by nearly a tenth of a second.
Still, like Hedges, Vazquez's value this season stems mostly from stealing extra strikes for his pitchers. His five strike zone runs saved is tied for third, just behind Hedges. While Vazquez boasts the skills necessary to succeed as a major league catcher, he likely won't top a single-season DRS leaderboard any time soon because he splits time nearly 50/50 on the Red Sox with Sandy Leon. Vazquez more than holds his own on a per-inning basis, though, and he can provide value on defense should he find himself in a starting role later in his career.
Roberto Perez is another catcher splitting time on a team with high aspirations, receiving just over a third of the starts behind Yan Gomes for the defending AL champion Cleveland Indians.
Perez started his major league career in 2014, the year after Carlos Santana's last season as the Indians' primary catcher, when Santana cost the team 19 runs at the position. Perez's defense starkly contrasts with Santana's abysmal season the year before. While Gomes is the superior option with the bat, he's average at best when he puts on the pads.
Perez has saved 23 runs in 1,424 innings since 2014, the fourth-most runs per inning among catchers who have played at least 1,000 innings in that time. Like Vazquez, Perez is not in a position to receive regular playing time any time soon, but if he finds himself with a starting job, he could make a strong case to succeed Molina as the top defensive catcher.
The established veterans
While the young guys are providing significant value with their defense, only Hedges is getting enough playing time to truly showcase his talents. After all, one of Molina's most impressive skills was the ability to stay on the field: Molina was the only catcher who started at least 100 games in every season from 2005 to 2016. Lack of experience isn't a problem for this next group, all of whom lead their teams in playing time at catcher. All have also had previous starting roles, so even if they're not household names, they have enough of a track record to prove their worth.
Having said that, Martin Maldonado has the least experience in this group, as his chance at a starting job didn't come until the second half of last year when Jonathan Lucroy was traded to the Rangers at the deadline. He did start at least 50 games for the Brewers three times between 2012 and 2016, so he got his opportunities. Now on the Angels, he has the full-time job to himself. He has started 54 of his team's 69 games, and he's proved his defensive prowess by saving nine runs so far, tied for the most in baseball.
Because this is his first full season as a starter, Maldonado has never been atop the DRS leaderboard before, but his defense has been more consistent than any other catcher's over the past few years. Since 2012, his first year of significant playing time in Milwaukee, and including this year, Maldonado is the only catcher to save his team at least six runs in every season.
That kind of consistency is difficult to come by, and is one of the reasons he perhaps best emulates Molina in the new generation of the game's best defensive catchers.
Jeff Mathis isn't far behind on that leaderboard, and if you extend it back to 2008, he actually has the most seasons with at least six runs saved. In those days, Mathis was the starting catcher for Maldonado's current team. Since then, he's moved around to the Toronto Blue Jays and Miami Marlins before finding a spot with the Arizona Diamondbacks this season. Though he is stuck in a three-way platoon with Chris Iannetta and Chris Herrmann, he leads the group with 30 games started this season.
Mathis' best quality may be his pitch-framing: Mathis has recorded positive strike zone runs saved every year that it's been recorded by BIS. Travis Sawchik of FanGraphs recently wrote about Mathis' effective framing, crediting the catcher with Zack Greinke's bounce-back year after last season's catastrophe. Mathis should continue to earn extra strikes for his pitchers, which will help the Diamondbacks battle the Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies in the competitive NL West.
The last name in this group is Jason Castro, who also finds himself with a new team this season. After starting the majority of games for the Astros every season between 2012 and 2016, Houston traded for Brian McCann, leaving Castro free to sign with Minnesota, the surprising leader of the AL Central. Although he wasn't a great defensive catcher early in his career, he has picked up his game recently. His 24 runs saved since the start of 2015 is fourth most among catchers.
This season Castro has saved nine runs, tied for the most in baseball among catchers. While he has saved runs with his control of the running game and his framing, most of his value has come from his adjusted earned runs saved total, which compares the performance that pitchers have had with him as catcher to the pitchers' performance with other catchers.
He has saved a league-leading six adjusted earned runs this season, due in large part to the success he's had with Ervin Santana. Santana has started 14 games this season, and the difference in his results between his catchers is especially noteworthy, leading to Castro's lofty total for adjusted earned runs saved.
The MVP candidates
While there was no doubt that Molina was the best defensive catcher of his generation, he provided value at the plate as well. His combination of offensive and defensive ability led to his receiving MVP votes in five years, including a third-place finish in 2013.
The two top catchers in DRS since 2015 show similar qualities as well, excelling in all areas of the game on their way to receiving consideration as MVP.
Yasmani Grandal received just one MVP vote last year, which is more than can be said for the players mentioned above. In fact, that one vote came from the same writer who applauded Mathis' framing skills: Sawchik, who specifically mentioned Grandal's pitch-framing in the explanation of his vote.
Grandal led the league in strike zone runs saved last year, saving an additional 14 runs for his pitchers over the course of the season. There's little doubt that Grandal is an excellent defensive catcher, and his 28 DRS since the start of 2015 is second most in baseball.
That number is partially credited to a strong start to this season. Grandal has already saved a league-leading nine runs among catchers, though he's doing it a little differently this year; while he has still saved four runs with his framing, his five stolen base runs saved provides most of his value. He's thrown out 10 of the 26 baserunners who have tried to steal second against him. That is the third-lowest stolen base rate of second base among catchers with at least 20 attempts against them.
As you probably could have guessed, the best defensive catcher since 2015 according to DRS is Buster Posey, and it's not close. Posey has saved 40 runs over the past two-plus seasons, 12 more than Grandal. While he's provided value in preventing stolen bases and in pitch-framing, no one compares to Posey when it comes to the non-catcher-specific aspects of fielding. His six runs saved on bunts are triple the next-best player's total since 2015, and he also leads catchers over that time in runs saved based on good fielding plays and defensive misplays, including situations like blocking pitches thrown in the dirt.
Already with an MVP under his belt, Posey is the closest thing to what Molina was in terms of overall defensive ability. He has won the past two Fielding Bible Awards and his Gold Glove in 2016 ended Molina's eight-year streak.
That being said, he's already 30, with thousands of innings recorded at catcher, so it's unclear whether he'll experience a similar drop-off to Molina's in the coming years. If he does, someone else will have to carry Molina's torch, whether it be a new face or a veteran managing to land a starting role with a contending team. For now, it's hard to argue against Posey as the best defensive catcher of today's generation.