Best and worst catchers in Major League Baseball for 2016

It would be impossible to start any list without Posey. His Giants teams have won the World Series in three of the past four full seasons he's played. The three-time All-Star entered 2016 with a career .308 batting average and .372 on-base percentage. Oh, and he's throwing out 37 percent of those who have attempted to swipe a bag off him.

Ruiz's 2015 season was an absolute disaster. He hit .211 with a .290 on-base percentage while hitting just two homers and driving in 22 runs. To top this off, Ruiz posted a negative dWar. That's not going to cut it. 

Completely under the radar, d'Arnaud was one of the primary reasons New York reached the World Series last season. He posted a decent .268 batting average and .338 BABip in 2015. More importantly, the young catcher was one of the best backstops in the game. He threw out one-third of would-be base stealers while calling a game that enabled the Mets to finish with fourth-best ERA in MLB. 

Primarily struggling defensively, the veteran McCann was among the worst at calling games and framing pitches last season. He posted a horrendous +Calls mark of -118 while Tigers pitchers put up a 4.67 ERA with him starting behind the plate. A decent .264 average helps here, but McCann has even struggled from the plate in part-time action this season. 

Earning an All-Star appearance in 2015, Grandal hit 16 homers, drove in 47 runs and posted a solid .353 on-base percentage. That latter stat is stunning considering the 27-year-old hit just .234. As it relates to Grandal's overall game, hitting really doesn't mean much. He calls one of the best games in baseball, evidenced by defensive splits that indicate he's among the best at framing pitches and getting hitters to swing and miss. In reality, Grandal is one of Clayton Kershaw's best friends. 

Can't hit, can't field, can't play. There was a time when Avila was considered a force offensively. Back in 2011, the guy hit .295 with 11 homers. Unfortunately, the 29-year-old backstop posted a .191 average with a 37 percent strikeout rate with Detroit last season. Couple that with a career 29 percent caught-stealing percentage, and he's well below average in every aspect of the game. That's not even replacement-level stuff right there. 

Montero's 22 percent caught-stealing rate isn't good. Though, his ability to frame pitches and call games makes him an invaluable member of a Cubs team that's among the best in terms of fundamentals. Chicago's staff ranked third in the majors in ERA and first in opponent batting average last season. For his part, Montero is throwing out 32 percent of would-be base stealers while seeing his pitchers post a 3.98 ERA when he's behind the plate. 

Bryan Holaday was a part-time catcher during his Tigers career for a reason. He's downright horrible. The veteran entered his first season as a Ranger having thrown out less than 26 percent of those attempting to steal off him while seeing his pitchers post a 4.72 accumulative ERA. Oh, and he's a career .247 hitter with a .286 on-base percentage. Good luck, Texas. 

One of the most underrated players in baseball, Lucroy is an all-around gem for the Brewers. He hit .301 with 13 homers two years ago before seeing both numbers drop to an extent last season. Though, it's Lucroy's ability to call games and help his pitchers that's the real coup here. Pitchers have a 3.91 career ERA when throwing to Lucroy. Meanwhile, he's among the best pitch framers in the entire game.

At his best, Suzuki was a replacement-level player. That was a long time ago. Coming off a 2015 campaign that saw him hit just .240 with a .296 on-base percentage, Suzuki has become a liability at the plate. Considering runners have converted at a 75.5 rate when stealing against him in his career, this isn't a good sign. Also not a good sign, Twins pitchers posted a 4.33 ERA when throwing to him last year. 

Vogt drops a tad on this list simply because he's among the worst catchers in the game when it comes to blocking the ball. Outside of that, his defense is actually pretty decent. He calls a good game and has thrown out 35 percent of would-be base stealers. At the plate, Vogt is among the best hitting catchers in the game. He earned an All-Star appearance in 2015, posting a .341 on-base percentage with 18 homers and 71 RBI. 

Just so bad. A career .222 hitter with a .294 on-base percentage and 27 percent strikeout rate, Conger brings absolutely nothing to the plate. That wouldn't be so bad if he was actually a good catcher. He's thrown out less than 20 percent of those attempting to steal against him. Ouch, that's pretty darn bad. 

McCann has been one constant at a catching position that's continued to change through the years. The guy has hit 20-plus homers in eight consecutive seasons and hasn't hit less than 18 in any of his 10 full years in the majors. He also boasts a very good career .802 OPS. Behind the plate, the vet does a darn good job handling the game. Pitchers have an accumulative ERA of 3.80 when throwing to him throughout his career. 

Unfortunately, injuries have derailed a once promising career. After hitting 25 homers and driving in 80 runs in 2014, Mesoraco missed all but 23 games to injury last year. He's also found himself on the shelf this season. Though, in his past 39 games, the 27-year-old has posted a .158 average with a .255 on-base percentage. Let's just hope he can find a way to return to earlier form. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem too likely anytime soon. 

Widely considered the best defensive catcher ever, Molina has thrown out 41 percent of those attempting to steal against him in his career. That's more than four of 10, ladies and gents. More than this, pitchers have an accumulative 3.52 ERA throwing to Molina over his career. Once considered nothing more than a defensive force, the veteran has also seen his offense improve. After combining to hit less than .260 in his first four years, Molina has hit .300-plus four times in the past eight seasons. 

It wasn't always this way. There was a time long ago that this enigmatic backstop was among the best in the game. Unfortunately, Father Time has caught up to Pierzynski. He did hit .300 a season ago, but it was on the defensive side that the veteran struggled. He caught a Braves staff that posted the fourth-highest ERA in the game and threw out less than 20 percent of those attempting to steal on him. Overall throughout his career, pitchers have a 4.32 ERA when throwing to this 39-year-old catcher. 

Just 25 years old, Realmuto has a bright future ahead of him. He's coming off a 2015 season that saw him catch a surprising Marlins staff that ranked in the top half of baseball in ERA. He also threw out 34 percent of those attempting to steal against him. One of the best pitch framers in the game with an ability to block the ball, Realmuto has the look of a future All-Star. It also doesn't hurt that he boasts 20-plus homer potential. 

When you can't hold down a starting job because your lack of hitting at Coors Field, there's an issue. Garneau hit just .157 with a .224 on-base percentage in limited action as a rookie in 2015. Making it more difficult to defend him, pitchers boast a 4.69 ERA when throwing to him. The good news? He's throwing out 43 percent of those attempting to steal against him.

With three consecutive double-digit homer seasons and strong discipline at the plate, Ramos is becoming a real force on offense. If he's able to continue that, he could very well become one of the top five catchers in all of baseball. That's magnified by a defense that's among the best. He's thrown out over 34 percent of those attempting to steal against him and has seen his pitchers post a 3.40 career ERA when throwing to him. That's absurd. 

Never really a hitter who put up a solid average, that was taken to a whole new level for Iannetta in Los Angeles last season. He hit just .188 with a .293 on-base percentage and 30 percent strikeout rate for the Angels. That was by far the worst season of his decade-long career. Still decent at calling a game, there's some value here. Though, his 25 percent caught-stealing rate is low for such a large sample size.