Fangraphs has started its positional power rankings. First up is catcher, where the Guardians rank 14th - a big increase over where they ended up last year (24th). Here's the writeup:
Mike Zunino must be an incredibly frustrating player to employ, as he has never had a wRC+ over a full season between 83 and 117. Some years, Zunino’s a star; others, he’s barely a major leaguer. As a rule, volatility isn’t really a projectable thing — I didn’t believe in Bret Saberhagen’s even-year curse, for instance — but I’m wondering if it’s true in this very specific case. Z is always going to be a low-average hitter, but he’ll hit home runs in massive bursts in his good years, peaking at 33 in fewer than 400 plate appearances in 2021, a Barry Bonds-esque rate. Last year, thoracic outlet syndrome in his non-throwing arm almost mercifully ended his sub-.500 OPS season in June.
Bo Naylor is Cleveland’s catcher of the future, and if Zunino, who is only signed to a one-year deal, has one of his down seasons, Naylor could easily double his projected plate appearances here. Naylor emerged in 2022 as a top catching prospect by exploding to a .263/.392/.496 line in the high minors and appears to finally be fulfilling the promise that made him a first-round draft pick and the third catcher taken in 2018. Unlike the team’s former catcher of the future, Francisco Mejía, Naylor has made great strides defensively and looks to be a long-term fixture rather than trade bait.
Hopefully with the thoracic outlet syndrome fixed Zunino will once again be the Barry Bonds of catchers this season.
They rank the White Sox 10th, the Twins 11th, the Royals 22nd, and the Tigers 24th, so the Guardians are in the same area as their two main competitors in terms of catching.