Ranking the 5 AL West catchers entering the 2023 season

4) Shea Langeliers - Oakland Athletics

Sean Murphy would've been number one on this list but Oakland traded him to the Braves for a very subpar return. The Opening Day catcher for Oakland is Shea Langeliers, the headliner in the trade they made with the Braves the year prior involving Matt Olson.

Langeliers was a highly touted prospect who was called up last season and played in 40 games. In those games, he slashed .218/.261/.430 with six home runs and 22 RBI. He had a 98 OPS+ as he was splitting time with Sean Murphy between being the catcher and the DH.

He doesn't have much of a track record to rank, but I'd put him above the Angels catchers right now.

3) Martin Maldonado - Houston Astros

Martin Maldonado is an atrocious hitter. He had an OPS+ of 69 last season and was even expected to lose his starting job when the Astros traded for Christian Vazquez. The problem is, Vazquez didn't hit much at all as an Astro, and Maldonado is such a good defensive catcher, Houston was fine with him as their backstop.

Maldonado makes every pitcher in the Astros staff better and their lineup is good enough to hide him in the ninth slot and not skip a beat.

His bat is the reason he isn't number one, and his glove is the reason he isn't number five. Maldonado is a really solid big league catcher who has proven he can start on a World Series winner.