MLB Power Rankings No. 2: Ranking Each AL Team by Their Catchers

In the second installment of my series, I will be ranking each American League club by their catchers. Obviously, both offense and defense were taken into account.

Catcher is one of the most important positions in the major leagues. They have to be able to hit and play defense, but they also have to be able to call a game and manage a pitching staff. There's a reason that so many major league catchers go on to become managers.

These backstops are the best of the best, and that's what got them starting gigs in the major leagues. Now let's take a look at who's the best of the best of the best. 

Note: Again, all the 2012 projections are courtesy of MLB.com

No. 14 Oakland Athletics: Kurt Suzuki

2011 stats: .237/.301/.385, 14 HR, 44 RBI

Suzuki is extremely durable for a catcher, and you can't take that away from him, but that could actually be hurting his overall numbers. All of Suzuki's statistics, other than home runs, have been dropping steadily for the past few years.

Personally, I don't believe that he is going to be able to get back to his 2009 form when he hit .274. I think the decline will continue, and he'll end up having numbers that look pretty similar to last year's.

Defensively, Suzuki is an average catcher. He threw out 27.9 percent of base stealers last year and allowed just five passed balls. He made seven errors, which pretty much sits in the middle of the pack. He did do a good job handling a young pitching staff, culminating in a 3.80 catcher's ERA.

I might catch some flack for having Suzuki last on this list, but it's mostly due to the fact that I think his offensive decline will continue.

MLB.com projections: .261/.310/.400, 13 HR, 51 RBI

No. 13 Kansas City Royals: Salvador Perez

2011 stats: .331/.361/.473, 3 HR, 21 RBI

I know that Perez's stats came in limited time last year, but he did accumulate 148 ABs in the bigs and still put up those very impressive numbers. Also, I would prefer to have a young kid who you're not sure what you're going to get out of, but has high upside, over Suzuki, who you know is going to be average, at best.

Even though you would obviously expect a decline in the .331 average from last year, it might even decline a little more than you think. Perez has a good swing, but was aided by a .362 average on balls in play. He should still hit enough to be a productive catcher for the Royals.

Defensively, Perez has a strong arm, but didn't use it too well last year. He only caught 21.2 percent of base stealers. However, because of his arm, that number should rise once he gets adjusted to catching in the majors. Perez also does a good job of getting down and blocking balls in the dirt.

MLB.com projections: .273/.306/.397, 7 HR, 38 RBI 

No. 12 Tampa Bay Rays: Jose Molina

2011 stats: .281/.342/.415, 3 HR, 15 RBI

If this list was based solely on offense, Molina would probably be bringing up the rear. However, defense is a crucial part of the catching position, and Molina is one of the best. Everybody knows that the trio of Molina brothers are known for their defensive prowess, and Jose lives up to that.

Offensively, he had a good year with the stick last season, hitting .281 in limited playing time. However, that's a good way off of his average over the past few years, so don't look for him to repeat it. He's not really going to hit for any power either, never getting above six homers in a season.

Basically, the Rays brought Molina in to play defense and play it well. In limited attempts, Molina caught 12 of 36 base stealers, a 33.3 percent clip. However, he also allowed eight passed balls, which is very unlike him. Don't expect to see that again. He will be a mainstay at the bottom of the Rays' lineup and behind the plate.

MLB.com projections: .249/.295/.380, 6 HR, 28 RBI

No. 11 Los Angeles Angels: Chris Iannetta

2011 stats: .238/.370/.414, 14 HR, 55 RBI

Iannetta is a catcher who has some pop in his bat, but is never going to hit for good average. That doesn't bode well for Iannetta because he no longer finds himself in the hitter friendly confines of Coors Field. He is going to get more playing time with the Angels, so his numbers might look about the same for the year, but his per AB production should drop.

Defensively, Iannetta is a run-of-the-mill catcher with decent numbers. He caught an even 30 percent of attempted base stealers, but allowed eight passed balls. However, he did only have two errors on the season, which always looks good.

MLB.com projections: .244/.331/.411, 16 HR, 65 RBI

No. 10 New York Yankees: Russel Martin

2011 stats: .237/.324/.408, 18 HR, 65 RBI

The reason that, despite his good numbers, I have Martin so low on this list is because of how inconsistent he was last year. Even though his overall numbers are good for a catcher, the monthly splits aren't pretty.

In April, Martin hit .292 with 6 homers, then in the following three months, he hit .200, .185 and .213 with three, one and zero home runs, respectively. He also hit just .217 away from the hitter friendly confines of Yankee Stadium.

Martin was once an extremely promising catcher with the Dodgers who looked like he was going to have a bright future, but now he just can't seem to put everything together.

Defensively, Martin still does OK behind the plate. He threw out runners last year at a 29.6 percent clip, which was right about in the middle of qualifying catchers. He also allowed only four passed balls all of last year and had a catcher's ERA of 3.71 on a staff that wasn't made up of the best pitchers.

However, he did have 10 errors for the year, which is never something you want to see.

MLB.com projections: .240/.309/.388, 15 HR, 58 RBI

No. 9 Boston Red Sox: Jarrod Saltalamacchia

2011 stats: .235/.288/.450, 16 HR, 56 RBI

Saltalamacchia is a player that has been talked about for years. He was a big-time prospect with a ton of potential who was traded a couple times because it didn't look like he was going to pan out.

However, last year he started to put things together and ended up having a decent year for a catcher. He only hit .235, but he did slug 16 homers and knock in 56 runs. At the least, this shows that he is starting to come around. Whether or not he will reach his full potential is another discussion.

If Salty is able to realize his full talent, he will quickly move up on this list. At only 26-years-old, he's still got time to figure it out, and, if he does, that would only make the Red Sox lineup that much scarier.

Defensively, "Salty" is another average catcher. He had a nice year with his arm, throwing out 30.8 percent of potential base stealers. However, he allowed 26 passed balls. Yes, that is mostly because of Tim Wakefield, but that's still a number the Red Sox would probably want to see trimmed down.

MLB.com projections: .245/.296/.438, 18 HR, 65 RBI

No. 8 Chicago White Sox: A.J. Pierzynski

2011 stats: .287/.323/.405, 8 HR, 48 RBI

Pierzynski has always been a good contact hitter, but there is a lot of talk about him starting to decline. He's now 35 years old, and, for a catcher, that's pretty old.

The thing about Pierzynski, though, is that he's a gamer. The guy will never give less than 100 percent when's he on the field, and that has actually often caused problems with other teams. He's been in a few fights in his day, but that fierce competitiveness is just what he brings to the table.

Defense is the area where Pierzynski might be starting to show decline. He only managed to catch 20.3 percent of would-be base stealers last year. However, he is a smart ballplayer, and he knows how to manage a game and control his pitchers.

Bottom line on Pierzynski is that if he has enough left in the tank to play a full, strong season, he is still a quality catcher.

MLB.com projections: .278/.307/.389, 9 HR, 45 RBI

No. 7 Seattle Mariners: Jesus Montero

2011 stats: .328/.406/.590, 4 HR, 12 RBI

Jesus Montero made a pretty good impression in his short stint last year with the Yankees. The trade to the Mariners will help Montero get steady playing time because he will start, but the home ballpark will probably hurt his numbers a little.

Montero should still do fine hitting for average, as he hit .308 over five minor league seasons, but the power numbers might not be great this year because of Safeco field.

Last year was too short of a stint to really tell too much, but Yankee stadium is a notorious hitters field, and the very short right field porch was perfect for Montero's opposite field power swing.

Defense is the part of Montero's game that could hamper him. He has a strong throwing arm, but his mechanics aren't very good, and, because of that, he's never been able to be very effective against base stealers. He only managed to throw out 21 percent in his minor league career, a number that probably won't transfer very well against major league base stealers.

MLB.com projections: .280/.337/.449, 19 HR, 73 RBI

No. 6 Toronto Blue Jays: J.P. Arencibia

2011 stats: .219/.282/.438, 23 HR, 78 RBI

Arencibia had an up and down rookie year, hitting a very impressive 23 home runs in only 443 ABs but combined that with a .219 average and .282 OBP. The power numbers should stay around the same spot, but Arencibia still swings and misses a lot.

An increased line-drive rate in the second half of last year shows that Arencibia was making better contact as the year went along and was squaring the ball up more. The Blue Jays just hope that he can raise his average without sacrificing much power.

Defensively, Arencibia is right around average. His 24.3 percent rate of catching base stealers is right about in the middle of the pack. His main problem was that he lead qualifying catchers with 12 passed balls. If Arencibia can do a better job of blocking balls in the dirt, he can develop into a much better defensive catcher.

MLB.com projections: .234/.286/.436, 23 HR, 75 RBI

No. 5 Detroit Tigers: Alex Avila

2011 stats: .295/.389/.506, 19 HR, 82 RBI

Coming out of nowhere in 2011 was Alex Avila. The breakout star of 2011 was a big reason that the Tigers had a great year and made the ALCS. There are some concerns about Avila heading into 2012, though.

Avila hit an impressive .295 last season, but that was largely helped by a .366 BABIP. He also had some injury concerns that he had to play through in October and caused him to consider offseason surgery.

The BABIP should come back down a little, causing Avila's average to drop some, but he has a good contact swing and it shouldn't depress too much. His power numbers should also hover around the same areas, aided by a good lineup and favorable ballpark.

Avila also had a good season defensively, throwing out 32 percent of base stealers and having a respectable catcher's ERA of 3.90. Avila showed the ability to manage and call a good game early on in his career and that should help keep the Tiger's pitchers consistent.

MLB.com projections: .267/.349/.426, 14 HR, 68 RBI

No. 4 Cleveland Indians: Carlos Santana

2011 stats: .239/.351/.467, 27 HR, 79 RBI

If this was purely based on offense, Santana would probably be ranked third, above the catcher in the next slide. However, defense is a big part of the catcher position, and Santana's isn't quite great just yet. Also, Santana won't be fully stationed at catcher, as he will probably see a lot of time at first base and DH, in order to give him some rest.

As far as offense goes, Santana is one of the better hitting catchers in the league after just his first full season in the bigs. Carlos has a great power swing, hitting 27 balls out of the park last year.

Santana hasn't quite been able to maintain a good average yet, but he does get on base at a good rate. Last year, with an average of just .239, Santana had an OBP of .351. If he can improve on his average, the OBP should raise to a very good level.

As far as defense goes, Santana does struggle in some areas, but that can be chalked up to being a young catcher, and that should improve as he continues to develop. Santana only threw out 24.3 percent of potential base stealers last season, but he has a good arm so that's something that should raise as he gets older.

MLB.com projections: .277/.378/.500, 28 HR, 95 RBI 

No. 3 Baltimore Orioles: Matt Wieters

2011 stats: .262/.328/.450, 22 HR, 68 RBI

The power numbers finally came along for Wieters last season, as he belted 22 homers. His contact numbers still haven't gotten to where people expected them to be when he was a "super prospect" a few years ago. However, they have risen steadily over the last couple years.

The big thing about Wieters is that his strikeout rate has dropped steadily over the past couple seasons. This is obviously allowing him to put the ball into play more often which should eventually lead to a high batting average.

I expect Wieters' numbers to rise across the board this season, culminating in a career season offensively.

Wieters also developed very well defensively last season. He didn't have a single passed ball before the All-Star break and finished the season only allowing one. He also threw out 37 percent of would-be base stealers, good for third in the American League among qualifying catchers.

MLB.com projections: .276/.339/.484, 24 HR, 72 RBI

No. 2 Minnesota Twins: Joe Mauer

2011 stats: .287/.360/.368, 3 HR, 30 RBI

This is the ranking that is probably going to cause the most controversy on this list. However, I'm a firm believer that last season was simply a bad year for Mauer—and not the beginning of his downslide. He was afflicted by injuries all season and, because of them, didn't perform to his usual level.

When healthy, Mauer is one of the best contact hitters in major league baseball and already has three batting titles at only 28 years of age. His power won't return to the numbers that he posted in his monster 2009 season, but the average should.

Another thing that should help Mauer this year is the high OBP table-setters in front of him, in Denard Span and Jamey Carroll. This should give Mauer plenty of RBI opportunities out of the three hole.

Mauer's defense is also still at a good level, throwing out 30 percent of would-be base stealers last season. His catcher's ERA of 4.48 is attributed more to the quality of pitchers that the Twins had, rather than his pitch-calling and game-managing abilities.

MLB.com projections: .327/.397/.446, 9 HR, 77 RBI 

No. 1 Texas Rangers: Mike Napoli

2011 stats: .320/.414/.631, 30 HR, 75 RBI

Napoli's offensive statistics speak for themselves. The power was always there, as he had a combined 46 homers in the two years prior to last season.

However, what Napoli always lacked was consistency. In 2009, he had a very strong year, hitting .272 with a .350 OBP. For any other positions, this might not be great, but, for a catcher, they're very strong numbers. The problem was that he followed that year by hitting .238 with a .316 OBP.

It seems now that Napoli has figured it out. You can't hit .320 over the course of an entire season by being hot. Hot stretches just don't last that long. In addition to keeping his steady increase in power by hitting 30 round trippers, it looks like Napoli has become a fully rounded ballplayer

Looking past the offensive statistics, Napoli also posts some very quality defensive stats.

In 2011, Napoli caught 36.4 percent of potential base stealers, which was sixth among qualifying catchers. He also had only one passed ball all year, and his catcher's earned run average was a great 3.18. Add that to Napoli only committing two errors all season and you have a quality defensive catcher.

All of this makes Napoli the best catcher in the American League right now. I think MLB.com's projections are a little low, but we'll have to see how Napoli can follow his career year.

MLB.com projections: .275/.345/.528, 26 HR, 70 RBI