The Chicago Cubs have a talented young group of catchers who have both a mix of offensive and defensive excellence that add a ton of value to the Cub’s depth chart.
From current Cubs starting catcher Miguel Amaya to one of their top prospects Moise Ballesteros the Cubs are set at the catching position for a good bit.
The soon-to-be 26-year-old Amaya will be entering his third season with the Cubs, and he has shown that he is one of the better-receiving catchers in baseball but has not shown the same promise at the plate.
Amaya needs to step it up offensively if he is to stick around with the Chicago Cubs
The Panamanian native signed as an international free agent with the Cubs back in 2015 and has spent nine seasons in the Cubs organization. Amaya so far in his short career in the major leagues has shown he is capable of being one of the better defensive catchers with Baseball Savant ranking Amaya in the 98th percentile for blocks above average for catcher.
The six-foot backstop has not carried over that excellence behind the dish with him at the plate with being a .227/.300/.357 for an OPS and OPS+ of .657 and 85 player so far in his career. The Cubs gave Amaya the bulk of the catching duties for 2024 with him playing 117 games and starting 103 as a catcher. At the plate in those 117 games, Amaya only hit .232/.288/.357 for an OPS and OPS+ of .644 and 82. Behind the plate, Amaya logged 7 defensive runs saved at the catching position posting a .993 fielding percentage in 905.2 innings.
Amaya did pick things up offensively post-All-Star break by hitting 8 doubles, 5 HRs, and 29 RBI, with a slash line of .271/.316/.444 for an OPS of .760. Surprisingly Amaya was one of the Cub’s better hitters when they had the bases loaded having a .400 average and .800 slug with an OPS of 1.229 in 10 at-bats (13 games).
Competition due to a lack of offensive production
Given that Amaya hasn’t shown anything with the bat the Cubs are deciding to go with a platoon situation for behind the plate by bringing in veteran catcher Carson Kelly on a two-year deal to platoon with Amaya. The Cubs also added a ton of depth at the position by signing another pair of veterans Carlos Perez and Reese McGuire to minor league deals for depth.
Amaya also needs to take a step forward offensively with Cubs top prospect Moises Ballesteros knocking on the door of the big leagues with him having the opposite problem with his bat being more advanced than his defense.
This season is big for Amaya
This season will not only be a big year for Amaya to take a major leap in his development but also to prove he is worth making the backstop of the future.
With Ballesteros not too far behind Amaya, having a decent showing offensively would help his case to make the Cubs think about keeping him around long-term.
Spring Training is right around the corner and Amaya will have to show out there as well as in the regular season to show he can be the full-time starting catcher for the Cubs.
Cubs @mamaya_9 with many smooth swings on his first day taking BP. pic.twitter.com/udxF8AlHGH
— John Antonoff (@baseballinfocus) January 22, 2025
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