The Colorado Rockies Top 5 Catchers in franchise history

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Honorable Mentions: Wilin Rosario (1.8 bWAR, -0.5 fWAR, 5 seasons as a Rockie), Joe Girardi (1.0 bWAR, 0.3 fWAR, 3 seasons as a Rockie), Jonathan Lucroy (0.7 bWAR, 0.8 fWAR in 46 games with the Rockies).

Rosario would be higher on the list if not for his defensive deficiencies. His 94 wRC+ (98 OPS+) can’t overcome his -48 DRS number.

Girardi was good defensively but his below offensive numbers (particularly his .323 OBP and .371 SLG %, even by today’s standards) in Mile High Stadium and pre-humidor Coors Field in the steroid era are the reasons why he doesn’t make the list.

Lucroy would be in the top five if he played for more than 46 games at the pace he played with the Rockies.

Number 1: Chris Iannetta (7.3 bWAR, 3.5 fWAR, 8 seasons as a Rockie)

Chris Iannetta is number one on our catcher’s list for a few reasons. 1) He has played the most seasons as a Rockies catcher and it’s not even close (Wilin Rosario is #2 with parts of five seasons).

Secondly, his offensive numbers have him just shy of league average (.232/.352/.422 slash line with an OPS+ of 95).

For most of his Rockies career (particularly in his first tenure with the Rockies from 2006 through 2011), Iannetta was around league average on defense. In his second go-around (2018-19), his defensive skills (and offensive skills) had diminished, which is to be expected out of a 35-year-old catcher.

Throughout the next few weeks, we will have more all-time lists for different positions as well as some analysis on the upcoming season, which will hopefully be here sooner rather than later.