Red Sox Predicted To Add 'Well-Rounded' Catcher Of The Future

The Boston Red Sox found a breakout star at catcher in Carlos Narváez courtesy of the New York Yankees.

New York traded Narváez to the Red Sox in December and he has looked like one of the best rookies in baseball. There's a real argument that Narváez is the top defensive catcher in the American League -- or at least one of the best. On top of this, his bat has picked up. Through 44 games, Narváez has slashed .285/.349/.457 with five homers and 17 RBIs.

It was expected that he was going to be the backup to Connor Wong, but the roles shifted after Wong went down with a fracture in his hand. Narváez got a bigger role and has rolled with it right into the team's No. 1 catcher spot.

If he can keep this up, he'll play a big role for years to come.

The club still has some questions at catcher, though. There isn't too much depth in the organization right now, especially after trading away Kyle Teel. Boston also designated Blake Sabol for assigment.

The upcoming 2025 Major League Baseball Draft will give the Red Sox an opportunity to infuse the organization with some more young talent to develop. Baseball America's Carlos Collazo predicted that is exactly what Boston will do and had catcher Luke Stevenson from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to the Red Sox in his latest mock draft at No. 15.

"No. 15. Red Sox — Luke Stevenson, C, North Carolina," Collazo said. "Range: 15-17. The top three college catchers in the class seem to shuffle weekly. It’s difficult to pin down the order, and I’m not sure there’s a real consensus. Some teams will favor one or another depending on their preferences and ideas of what they can do best in player development. Stevenson is perhaps the most well-rounded of the group (which also includes Ike Irish and Caden Bodine) and pairs strong defense with raw power and on-base skills, though he has never hit above .300 in college."

Stevenson has appeared in 56 games this season for North Carolina and is slashing .257/.420/.569 with 18 homers, 52 RBIs, nine doubles, and 55 runs scored. That's some serious production. Boston's top-ranked catching prospect is Johanfran Garcia at No. 25. It absolutely makes sense to go catcher in the first round this year.