Cal Raleigh Is the Best Catcher in Major League Baseball Right Now
As his incredible start to the 2025 season continues, it's hard to deny that the Mariners backstop has become MLB's best catcher.
As the 2025 MLB season approaches the two-month mark, some players and teams are quickly establishing themselves as the ones to watch this year — and there’s perhaps no better example than the Seattle Mariners’ Cal Raleigh.
In his fourth major league season, Raleigh has quickly shot up the rankings in a number of crucial stats, leading all MLB catchers in home runs (15), fWAR (2.6), RBI (32), runs scored (31), walks (30), and stolen bases (5).
Of course, the 28-year-old’s strong start to the campaign wasn’t exactly unexpected. In Just Baseball’s preseason roundup, Raleigh was unanimously ranked the No. 2 catcher in baseball — only behind the Milwaukee Brewers’ William Contreras — and last season, he became the first player in Mariners’ history to win the AL Platinum Glove Award.
Still, Raleigh’s incredible start to 2025 has been stronger than most could’ve anticipated, and now, about eight weeks into the season, it’s hard to deny that he’s taken over as the best catcher in MLB.
Stats and rankings updated prior to games on May 20.
Raleigh Leads Catchers Across MLB
Raleigh’s hot start to 2025 is clear all on its own, but when compared to other catchers around the league, the switch-hitter’s dominance is obvious.
Raleigh is on pace to hit over 50 home runs this season, having already gone yard 15 times in his first 46 games. He currently leads MLB catchers in the stat by five homers, with the Los Angeles Angels’ Logan O’Hoppe sitting in second place with 10, and Carson Kelly (Chicago Cubs), Shea Langeliers (Athletics), Sean Murphy (Atlanta Braves), and Austin Wells (New York Yankees) all tied for third with eight home runs this season.
Similarly, Raleigh’s 2.6 fWAR is barely even approached by any other catcher in MLB right now, with Will Smith (Los Angeles Dodgers) trailing at 2.0 and Dillon Dingler at 1.5.
Raleigh’s stunning offensive stats — including a 171 OPS+ — are only made more impressive when you factor in that he’s also one of the best defensive catchers in MLB. His framing sees him ranked in the 93rd percentile, and his 3 Catcher Framing Runs is tied for second place, only behind the San Francisco Giants’ Patrick Bailey (4).
So, with far-and-away the best stats among MLB catchers, is there any real question that Raleigh is currently the No. 1 player at his position? Not really, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
“The only argument I think that you could make would be Will Smith, but I feel like Cal Raleigh is so much better defensively than Will Smith is,” he said. “That’s the separator. So, I think you’re looking at the best catcher in MLB.”
Is Raleigh Leading the Mariners to a Playoff Run?
On March 25, 2025, the Mariners extended Raleigh on a six-year, $105 million contract with a $20 million vesting player option for a seventh season or a $2 million buyout, locking down the star until at least the end of 2030.
So far, the team’s investment is certainly paying off, with Passan comparing Raleigh to the Kansas City Royals’ nine-time All-Star catcher Salvador Perez.
“I think [Raleigh] sees something in this organization and in this team that’s worth sticking around for and seeing through the end,” Passan told Brock & Salk of Seattle Sports. “And man, just to know that you have this anchor that bridges the offensive side and the pitching side, and somebody who is really well liked and really well respected, to have him there – the closest facsimile I can think of is Salvador Perez in Kansas City.”
“I think Cal is probably better than Salvy ever was defensively — and [Perez] is a guy who’s won multiple Gold Gloves,” Passan continued. “But they are low on-base, not great batting average, big power guys who command respect in a room and on the field. And having seen what Salvador Perez has done in his career, going to the World Series in 2014, winning it in 2015, getting the Royals back to the playoffs last season, it’s a security blanket that the Mariners have now knowing that Cal Raleigh is going to be around for the prime of his career.”
So far this season, the Mariners’ success has largely hinged on their strong offense, with Raleigh leading the charge. The team has noticeably increased their ability to get on base (often through walks) and limited strikeouts compared to last season, and as of May 20, they’re No. 1 in the AL West with a 27-19 record.
“I just think we’re just trying to really lean into that identity of committing to a plan, being a certain type of team,” Raleigh said on his podcast, The Cal Raleigh Show, on May 15. “And overall in the grand scheme of things, so far it’s been really good. We just got to keep hammering it home… It’s not about reinventing the wheel. It’s not about trying to do more, trying to do something different. It’s just continuing to lean on what we’ve talked about and the identity of who we are, and just trying to always consistently be that.”
So, can Raleigh maintain his stellar batting stats as the season continues, and even lead Seattle to a playoff campaign? Only time will tell, but if Passan’s comparison proves correct and Raleigh’s career even loosely follows the trajectory of Perez in Kansas City, the Mariners will be very glad to have locked him down for the foreseeable future.
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