Colorado Rockies Ranking the 40-Man Roster: 15-11

Number 14

Tony Wolters: Catcher Points: 87 Highest Rank: 11 Lowest: 19

Wolters was arguably the biggest surprise of the 2016 season. He was claimed off waivers from the Cleveland Indians last year just prior to spring training. Originally drafted as a middle infielder, Wolters made the switch to catcher in 2013 and has excelled ever since.

Colorado Rockies

He won the backup catcher job in spring training last year and proved himself for the rest of the year. He displayed immense defensive, especially in terms of pitch framing. He accounted for 72 “strikes added” for his pitchers last year (per stat corner). This ranked seventh-most among major league catchers. It’s even more impressive when considering that Wolters did that with way fewer opportunities compared to the starters above him. Wolters’ defensive prowess even earned him some love from fangraphs when Jeff Sullivan wrote an article detailing the fact the “Rockies could have their best pitch framing in history.” The pitching staff, obviously, loves playing with Wolters behind the plate as well.

The only issue with Wolters is he may not have the bat to play everyday offensively. This is based on only one season so it is too early to tell, but his first half was a little scary where he hit 218.

However, Wolters showed he could make adjustments at the plate in the second half of 2016. From July to October, Wolters slashed .309/.356/.479, even throwing in two home runs. These numbers coupled with his superior defensive ability make him an extremely valuable player. If he can maintain his offensive numbers in 2017, he could prove to be the primary catcher for the Rockies … but that is a big if.

I think he will get a slight majority of the starts behind the plate for the Rockies, solidify himself as one of the best defensive catchers in baseball and hit around .270 this year.