Is Adley Rutschman Already the Best Catcher in Baseball?

I think people have a tendency to forget exactly how good Buster Posey was. I’d bet that you could count on one hand the number of players as good on both sides of the ball as he was in his prime. Every other great catcher this century has had some drawback. Salvador Perez might be a great hitting catcher with a howitzer attached to his shoulder, but his ability to frame pitches and block the plate kept him from ever really being an elite defender. Yadier Molina is as perfect a defensive catcher as has ever existed, but his offense was rarely better than average and never at the level of the top hitters in baseball. Somehow, Buster Posey, especially at his best, was perfect. He was an elite defensive catcher, rivaling even Yadi as the best in the National League. His hitting wasn’t just great for a catcher, but great for anyone. He and Joe Mauer, who was probably the closest we’ve seen to a catcher as well-rounded as Posey, are the only two catchers to win the MVP Award since 2000.

If you read the title of the article, its pretty obvious what I’m doing here. Adley Rutschman might just be the most perfect prospect behind the dish since Posey himself.

Offensively, Adley’s been outstanding. Even after really struggling for the first two weeks of the season, he’s managed to slash .250/.358/.442 with a 129 wRC+. He’s posted an impressive 17.6% strikeout rate as well, which is 5% below league average. Given he’s only a 24-year-old rookie, it feels like his offensive ceiling may be incredibly high.

Defense has been where Adley’s value has really shown up, though. His glove-work and arm both appear to be well above average. His pitch-framing skills are absolutely incredible for a rookie, ranking in the 93rd percentile in runs saved according to Statcast despite not being called up until June. Considering his defense was such a highly touted skill all the way through the minors, there is every reason to believe that he’ll remain one of the best receivers in the league for years to come.

Obviously, expecting any prospect to reach the heights of a player like Buster Posey is ridiculous. Expecting anyone to reach the level of an all-time great this early in their career is only setting them up for failure. Adley could have an extremely good career without ever playing at that level.

Still, he’s so good already that it feels like it could be possible, and that alone shows just how great he’s been. Offensively, Rutschman has already separated himself from the majority of catchers, though we are very clearly in a down period of production out of that position. Defensively, he’s been incredible with every reason to expect that he’ll be among the very best in baseball in no time. He may well already be the most complete catcher in baseball.

Who knows if he’ll ever be Posey, but everything he’s done so far has been exceptional. Whatever his career ends up being, there’s no doubt that he’ll be worth the watch.