Giants Organizational Depth Charts: Catcher

Now that we have our season reviews of all organizational levels out of the way, let's get started on our organizational depth charts.  First off, a disclaimer:  I have no knowledge of how Buster Posey and Giants management rank their players outside of what I read in easily accessible news sources.  These are my rankings.  I base this on roster lists for various organizational levels and I exclude players who I understand will be free agents once the postseason games are over.  We'll start off with the catcher position.  

MLB: 

1.  Patrick Bailey:  Bailey is the best defensive catcher in MLB by a large margin which is where almost all of his value lies because he is also one of the worst hitting catchers in league.  There are some reasons to think he might be able to improve, if only modestly, which would give him elite WAR value.  He's still young at age 26 and has not quite 3 years of MLB experience so may still be figuring out how to adjust and readjust to MLB pitching.  He was much better in the second half last season after one of the worst half-seasons at the plate of any Giants hitter in my memory and I lived through Johnnie LeMaster.  He was an early adopter of the "torpedo" bats early last season which have a mixed track record and seemed to not serve Bailey well.  His bats looked more orthodox in the second half when his numbers improved a lot.  MLBTR says Bailey is arbitration eligible and projected to make $2.2 M next season, but not so fast.  NBC Sports Bay Area says he must be a "super two" player to be eligible and will likely "just miss."  In either case, Bailey is still a bargain even if he remains completely dependent on his defense for value.

2.  Andrew Knizner:  It seems like a lot of analysts are writing off Knizner for next season and penciling in Jesus Rodriguez, acquired in the Camilo Doval trade with the Yankees, as the back up catcher.  I say not so fast.  We'll talk about Rodriquez in more detail next but are the Giants really going to turn the back up catcher role over to someone who has never played a MLB game?  Reserve catcher role is notoriously hard and Knizner provided just above league average defense and batted over .300 in the second half which is extremely tough to do in such a small sample size of PA's.  Knizner is arbitration eligible with a MLBTR projected salary of $1.3 M.  I don't think the Giants will go all the way to an arbitration hearing with him but they should do everything they reasonably can to get him re-signed for another season.  

3.  Jesus Rodriguez:  Rodriguez has hit for average at every level in the minor leagues but with limited power.  According to scouting reports in mlb.com and Fangraphs his superior contact skill is countered by a hyper-aggressive approach at the plate which causes him to swing at a lot of pitches outside the zone leading to weaker contact, although double digit BB% seems to indicate an improvement in plate discipline.  He has a plus arm behind the plate but the rest of his defensive profile is iffy.  Buster Posey is said to be looking for contact hitters who will keep the line moving so he may roll the dice on his trade deadline acquisition but it seems like Rodriguez might be better served polishing both his plate discipline and receiving skills in AAA Sacramento while he waits for an opportunity.  He's already on the 40-man roster but Fangraphs says he has two options.

AAA:  

None:  I assume Sam Huff, Logan Porter and Max Stassi are all minor league free agents and the only other player listed as a catcher on the AAA Sacramento River Cats roster is Thomas Gavello who played zero games at catcher last season.  I would not be surprised if the Giants bring back at least one of the vets for catching depth.

AA:  

Drew Cavanaugh:  Cavanaugh was the Giants 17'th round draft pick in 2023 and made impressive progress this season batting over .290 with some power at A San Jose and A+ Eugene.  He filled in for 14 games in AAA where he hit .184 and finished the season with a cup of coffee in AA Richmond where he hit .186.  I saw him play for San Jose early in the season where he looked like the best hitter on the team.  He will probably start 2026 in AA where he will try to overcome the Eastern League Curse.

Zach Morgan and Adrian Sugastey are also listed on the AA Richmond Flying Squirrels roster.  They have both struggled to hit with consistency.

A+:

Jack Payton, Onil Perez and Luke Shliger are all listed on the A+ Eugene Emeralds roster but are fringe prospects who have yet to find traction in professional baseball.

A:  

Daniel Rogers was an undrafted free agent who batted .278 in 54 AB's at the end of the season.  He bats left.  The other intriguing name on the roster is Diego Cartaya who was once one of the top prospects in all of baseball in the Dodgers organization.  BTW, the Dodgers have produced some fine major league ballplayers but their prospects and farm system are sometimes wildly overrated because....Dodgers.  I am not sure what Cartaya's status is for next season.  He was signed late so he may be on one of those year+ contracts which carries over to the next season.  Fernando Gonzalez, Ty Hanchey and Juan Perez are also listed on the SJ roster but appear to be more organizational players.

ACL:  

Santiago Camacho is a switch-hitting 18-year old in his second pro season who had a respectable line of .234/.295/.426 with 5 HR in 156 PA.  He can start 2026 back in the ACL and still not be old for his level

DSL:  

Yohendry Sanchez was the Giants highest bonus baby from 2024 just above Jhonny Level.  He played very little in his age 17 season but batted .275/.359/.394 in 170 PA's in his age 18 season in 2025.  I expect to see him in ACL Giants boxscores next season.  Miguel Caraballo is an intriguing prospect who played all of 2025 season at age 16.  He is a switch-hitter and put up an impressive line of .264/.432/.442 with 5 HR's.