Best MLB Catchers 2026: Ranking 10 Best Catchers in MLB Right Now

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Best MLB Catchers 2026: Ranking 10 Best Catchers in MLB Right Now

Matt Johnson · Sportsnaut

Fri, Feb 20, 2026 ·

7 min read

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Who's the best catcher in MLB? Reigning AL MVP runner-up Cal Raleigh 's widely acknowledged as the best player at his position right now. As we look across the landscape for the best catchers in MLB ahead of the 2026 season, it's clear that how you rank the top players comes down to what skills you value the most.

Let's dive int 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 just 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. Raleigh ranked fifth in Catcher Framing Runs (seven). He finished the season with 8.6 FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement , making him nearly as valuable as the second-best (4.7 fWAR) and third-best catchers (4.1 fWAR) combined. Maybe he will not replicate his run production in 2026, but his framework could allow him to earn a Gold Glove Award again.

Related: Best MLB Pitchers 2026

2. Will Smith , Los Angeles Dodgers

Best MLB Catchers 2026 — John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

When ranking the best catchers in MLB, there is a tier separating everyone behind Cal Raleigh. Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith does have quite the resume, though. 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 that came after a dreadful August (.630 OPS). He still finished the season with the third-highest OPS (.901) and the second-best wRC+ (152) among catchers with 400-plus plate appearances. He does not offer a ton 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 range as Fernando Tatis Jr. , Pete Alonso , and Francisco Lindor .

3. Alejandro Kirk , Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk is coming off a productive MLB postseason, where he posted an .842 OPS with the third-most RBI (13) and had the fifth-most total bases (35) in baseball. It was the perfect capstone to 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 (11.7%) among catchers last season and finished second in fWAR (4.7), all the while only trailing Patrick Bailey in Catcher Framing Runs (17) while delivering the fourth-highest Shadow Strike rate (47.1%) in baseball. Fortunately 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 right now. 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 from 2023-24. He's coming off a down year by his standards—.260/.355/.399 with a .754 OPS—but that OBP was still the third-best among catchers, and he walks (12.7%) nearly as much as he strikes out (18.2%). If he can recapture what we saw the previous two seasons in Milwaukee , Contreras's pitch framing is adequate 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 for how much you value glove work versus offensive production. He posted a .222 batting average with a .602 OPS and 6 home runs last season—two of which were walk-off, inside-the-parkers. Truly, his run production could've been even worse if not for an electric September (18 RBI, .272/.313/.435 line). His .626 OPS over the last 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 wide as the total produced by the fifth-best catcher (Raleigh, 7) last season. Bailey's in his own elite tier defensively, but his run production craters some of his value.

6. Dillon Dingler , Detroit Tigers

After winning the Gold Glove Award in 2025, Detroit Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler could have a real shot at earning his first All-Star selection if all goes well in 2026. He ended last season with a .752 OPS, and that was his first real taste of the majors after a cup of coffee (84 at-bats) the previous year. Importantly, he demonstrated the ability to make adjustments, posting a .774 OPS with a .284 batting average after July 1 following a rough June (.209 average and .598 OPS). Behind the plate, Dingler finished tied with Cal Raleigh for the fifth-most Catcher Framing Runs (7), and he tied Will Smith for the eighth-most Catcher's CS Above Average (4). Dingler's on an upward trajectory and an underrated part of Detroit's success.

7. Drake Baldwin , Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves have quite the track record with catchers. Drake Baldwin, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year winner, 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. If he were better defensively—51st in Catcher's CS Above Average and 31st in Catcher Framing Runs—he'd have a chance to be a top-five catcher.

8. Shea Langeliers , Sacramento Athletics

There's a theme among the best MLB catchers right now; several of them have roots in the Braves' organization. The Sacramento Athletics acquired Shea Langeliers in 2022 as part of the Matt Olson trade, and he's developed into what the club hoped for. After making strides at the plate in 2024 (.739 OPS), the right-handed hitter posted an .861 OPS this past season with his batting average jumping from .224 to .277. Remarkably, given 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 4.3 bWAR with a .284/.339/.408 triple-slash line and a .747 OPS. He wasn't quite as good the following year, but that run production returned this past season (.285/.353/.433 with a .786 OPS). He pairs that offensive output with above-average pitch framing (tied for fifth in Catcher Framing Runs). The only real knocks on Moreno are durability issues and that his caught-stealing numbers have dipped, but the strengths in his game still make him a top-10 catcher.

10. Carlos Narvaez , Boston Red Sox

We might be buying a bit high here, rating Carlos Narvaez as one of the 10 best MLB catchers right now. If you place a premium on glove work, he finished first in the majors in caught stealing (32) and eighth in Catcher Framing Runs (8). Narvaez also hit for plenty of power last season, posting a .726 OPS and ranking 11th at his position in slugging (.419). If the Boston Red Sox pitching staff meets the high expectations for it this season and Narvaez can replicate his output, he'll likely be more widely viewed as a top-10 player at his position by the summer.

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