These 10 farm systems have the best catching prospects

This story is the fourth in a series in which MLB Pipeline ranks the Top 10 MLB farm systems by position: Infielders | Outfielders | Pitchers | Catchers

Finally, let’s go behind the plate.

No one in baseball has more included in their job description than those who don the tools of ignorance. They have to work with pitchers to develop game plans. They are involved in every single pitch as receivers and stand in the line of fire for foul tips, close plays at home, etc. They can help control the opposing running game. Oh, and they have to hit just like everyone else in the lineup.

Unlike their infield and outfield counterparts, catchers get one spot on the diamond, and unlike their pitching brethren, there isn’t a full bullpen of backstops waiting to come into the game. Rosters typically only have two catchers, sometimes three tops.

Put all of this together, and it can make organizations with multiple good catching prospects stand out all the more or the ones who turn their backstops into elite Top 100 talents even more noteworthy.

These are the 10 farm systems with the most catching prospect talent:

1. Minnesota Twins
The Twins not only took Georgia Tech’s Vahn Lackey third overall in July, but they also went back to the catching well to select Texas’ Carson Tinney in the second round. That gave them two new top-10 talents in their catching pipeline alongside Eduardo Tait and Khadim Diaw. Lackey is about as good an all-around talent as you’ll find among Minor League catchers, earning above average-to-plus grades for his hit, power, arm and fielding tools, and he jumped straight into the top-20 overall ranking at No. 19. Tinney is more slugging-forward, though he’s drawn comparisons to Hunter Goodman. Tait is the youngest of this group at 19, and although he fell out of the Top 100 with contact concerns, he still has big-time pop. Diaw is hitting .302/.420/.439 over 95 games between High-A and Double-A in his age-22 season, and he’s athletic enough to get some reps in center field. Lackey is expected to be Minnesota’s future at catcher, but the club has other options if he doesn’t live up to the considerable hype.

2. St. Louis Cardinals
No. 18 overall prospect Rainiel Rodriguez has been good enough that he alone could have gotten St. Louis somewhere in this Top 10, maybe even top five. The 19-year-old has laid waste to the Double-A Texas League over the past three months. It seems like he’s getting hotter offensively with each passing week by both making a lot of contact and driving the ball consistently for extra-base hits. There is a chance he ends up sliding to first base long term in the years to come, but the bat is simply too good to overlook given his age and production level. He isn’t alone either. One level above, Leo Bernal (STL No. 7) is having his own solid season at Triple-A Memphis with a career-high 16 homers and a .281/.367/.477 line over 97 games. He’s an especially good thrower out of the crouch, and he should enter the next season with a legit shot at winning the Cards’ No. 1 job out of spring given how many boxes he checks. Bernal would probably already be in the bigs if St. Louis wasn't already carrying three catchers in Iván Herrera, Pedro Pagés and Jimmy Crooks.

3. Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays have struggled to develop catching talent over the past two decades, with many noting they missed their chance by passing over Buster Posey as the No. 1 pick in 2008. But now they have an opportunity with not one, but two Top 100 prospects in Caden Bodine (No. 51) and Nathan Flewelling (No. 65). Acquired from the Orioles in last offseason’s Shane Baz trade, Bodine has shown one of the best overall hit tools in the Minors with a .343 average and 6.0 percent strikeout rate in 103 games across all four full-season levels, and he’s good enough defensively to stick behind the plate. Flewelling -- this year’s All-Star Futures Game MVP -- has above-average power potential from the left side and is more advanced on both sides of play than many 19-year-old backstops. The Rays’ acquisition of Liam Hicks at the Deadline means the organization doesn’t have to rush either Top 100 talent to St. Petersburg.

4. Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona was already trending up with many of its most prominent catchers, and by taking Arkansas’ Ryder Helfrick with the 15th overall pick in July, the organization made its backstop pipeline the biggest strength of the system. What ties the former Razorback together with Carlos Virahonda (AZ No. 5) and Alberto Barriga (AZ No. 16) is that all three are considered at least above-average defenders with strong arms that make opposing clubs think twice about stealing bags. Helfrick has the power advantage for now, but Virahonda and Barriga have both broken out some with the bat, clubbing 10+ homers for the first time in their careers. Don’t overlook 19-year-old Ivan Luciano (AZ No. 18) either after he just reached High-A.

5. San Diego Padres
If you’ve followed catching prospects at all since January 2023, you know Ethan Salas’ story well as the top international signee that year who surged to Double-A, struggled with down performance and injuries for a few years and has rebounded back to the No. 23 spot on our Top 100 in 2026. Reminder: he’s still only 20 years old. Recovered from last year’s back issue, Salas has reached Triple-A El Paso, where he’s making tremendous amounts of in-zone contact while showing flashes of power. He’s long been advanced defensively, but he’s put himself in a place to be potential all-around help for the Padres down the stretch this year. Behind him, San Diego has four other catchers in its Top 30 in Ty Harvey (No. 4), Robbie Lavey (No. 20), Truitt Madonna (No. 24) and Lamar King Jr. (No. 27). Harvey has the next most upside with loud exit velocities and an above-average arm.

6. Cincinnati Reds
Alfredo Duno (MLB No. 22) has become the star of the Cincinnati system in recent years with his impressive blend of hitting ability, power and arm strength, and he’s routinely considered more athletic than you might expect for his 6-foot-2 frame. He’s been remarkably consistent between High-A and Double-A in his age-20 season, and after being shelved for a brief bit by a right hamstring strain, he’s returned to Chattanooga’s active roster this week. Jirvin Morillo (CIN No. 9) is the only other backstop in the system with an overall grade of 45 or better, but he also has starting upside as a bat-first type.

7. Detroit Tigers
This is all about the boppers. No. 69 overall prospect Josue Briceño returned from spring wrist surgery to hit eight homers in 17 games with Double-A Erie in July and August and reached Triple-A for the first time mid-month as a 21-year-old. The 2024 Arizona Fall League Triple Crown winner has plus power potential with impressive strength and good angles off the bat (though he’s hitting the ball on the ground a lot with Toledo early). Thayron Liranzo is a former Top 100 prospect whose stock has slipped as his contact rate has remained in the upper 60s at Double-A the past two seasons, but when he does make contact, it’s at least plus raw pop as a switch-hitter. Tigers fans have gotten to watch Eduardo Valencia’s offensive potential up close following his MLB debut, and it’s been nice to see him carry over his 2025 breakout into his age-26 campaign. All three face questions about their ability to stay behind the plate however, and there are only so many first-base/DH spots to go around.

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8. Pittsburgh Pirates
There are no more Top 100 catchers on this list, but the Bucs slide up to No. 8 with good depth, starting with two backstops in their top 10. Axial Plaz (No. 7) has impressive raw power, doesn’t strike out a ton despite high swing rates and throws out more than his fair share of attempted basestealers (38 percent this season at High-A). He shared Greensboro catching duties with 2025 second-rounder Easton Carmichael (No. 8) for much of this summer before the Oklahoma product pushed to Double-A Altoona in late July. There’s not much plus in Carmichael’s scouting report, but he could get to enough average tools to be a well-rounded big leaguer. Finally, Edgleen Perez (No. 10), who was picked up from the Yankees last year in the David Bednar deal, is at least an above-average defender with 60-grade arm strength, and that base gives him a decent floor as a glove-first prospect.

9. Kansas City Royals
Kansas City has concentrated its catching talent at High-A Quad Cities in 2026. The organization's No. 5 prospect Blake Mitchell -- the eighth overall pick in the 2023 Draft -- is becoming one of the biggest three-true-outcome talents in the Minors. When he connects on a ball, it can be loud with exit velocities up to 116 mph, and his 21 homers in the Midwest League have come as no shock, nor has his 22.3 percent walk rate. But the 22-year-old still struggles with putting the bat on the ball consistently with an overall whiff rate north of 40 percent, and that will keep him from meeting his considerable ceiling without changes. Ramon Ramirez -- two spots behind Mitchell on the club's Top 30 at No. 7 -- comes with above-average power as well and more contact than Mitchell but less defensive acumen.

10. Seattle Mariners
Taken 35th overall out of UNC last year, Luke Stevenson (No. 7) entered pro ball with good marks for his power, arm and defense and worries about how he’d handle pro-level pitching. He’s basically lived up to that report with High-A Everett in his first full season -- rarely expanding the zone, clubbing 18 homers in 93 games and yet striking out 29.3 percent of the time. The M’s built out their depth behind him by acquiring Boston Smith (No. 13) from the White Sox in the Deadline deal for Luis Castillo, and the 2025 sixth-rounder has been one of the Minors’ best offensive performers in his first full season. His 1.061 OPS and 172 wRC+ both lead full-season qualifiers, while he’s put up a .291/.443/.618 line with 30 homers in 97 games across the Single-A, High-A and Double-A levels. He’s seen some time in left field in ‘26 and could move out there more permanently the higher he climbs, especially if his left-handed bat earns him an eventual everyday role in the bigs.