Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal was ranked the fourth-best player at his position by ESPN’s Buster Olney. Ahead of Grandal are San Francisco’s Buster Posey (No. 1), Texas’ Jonathan Lucory and Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Kansas City’s Salvador Perez (fifth), Toronto’s Russell Martin (sixth), Gary Sanchez of the New York Yankees (seventh), Houston’s Brian McCann (eighth), Miami’s J.T. Realmuto (ninth) and Wilson Contreras of the Chicago Cubs (10th) round out the list.
Grandal is arguably the Dodgers’ most prolific catcher since Mike Piazza’s tenure with the club. In 2015, Grandal’s first season with the Dodgers, he batted .234/.353/.403 with 12 doubles, 16 home runs, 47 RBI, a 112 OPS+ and earned All-Star honors for the first time in his career.
That was despite suffering from a lingering shoulder injury that required offseason surgery. Grandal was slowed last spring and began the 2016 season on the 15-day disabled list. He again suffered from nagging injuries, but once more put together a productive campaign.
He hit .228/.339/.477 with 14 doubles, 27 home runs, 72 RBI and a 121 OPS+ over 126 games. Grandal tied with Justin Turner for the team lead in homers and led all Major League catchers in the category.
Beyond providing the Dodgers with a switch-hitting presence, Grandal excels in pitching framing. Per StatCorner, only Posey gained more strike calls than Grandal last season (201 to 181).
Grandal was again eligible for salary arbitration this offseason, and on Friday the Dodgers announced a one-year contract with the 28-year-old, among others.
Over the past two seasons with the Dodgers, Grandal has hit .231/.346/.442 with 14 doubles, 27 home runs, 72 RBI and a 116 OPS+ in 241 games.
