Atlanta's Sean Murphy named top three catcher in baseball by MLB Network
Because this is the slowest offseason in recorded history for Major League Baseball, the league's official network is still trying to find things to talk about.
Enter more rankings!
A day after unveiling their "Top 10 Right Now" for starting pitchers and recognizing both Spencer Strider and Max Fried, MLB Network continues to throw some love Atlanta's way.
This time, on their catcher list, Atlanta Braves backstop Sean Murphy gets slotted in as one of the best, coming in at #3 on their list.
In 2023, Murphy batted .251/.365/.478 w/ 21 homers and 68 RBIs. He was an All-Star off of the strength of a first-half heater, with an absurd .306/.400/.599 slashline and 17 homers in 62 starts.
But a hamstring issue in mid-June seemed to sap some of the power out of Murphy's swing and he wasn't the same in the back half of the season, hitting only four more homers with a .159 average and seeing his playtime drop to more of a timeshare with backup Travis d'Arnaud.
However, Murphy's not only on his second straight year of being on the list, he actually moved up from #4 to #3 despite that second-half swoon. A lot of that is attributed to the drop of J.T. Realmuto of the Philadelphia Phillies to #4, who saw his multi-year reign as the #1 catcher in baseball end after a 24 point drop in batting average and a 4% rise in strikeouts, with a career-low 19% caught stealing rate.
It's exciting to think what a fully-healthy Murphy can do in 2024, with an additional year to acclimate to the sweltering summer heat of Atlanta.
What are your expectations for Sean Murphy's 2024? Let us know!
Atlanta's other representatives on MLB Network's "Top 10 Right Now" lists:
Starting pitcher: Spencer Strider (#7) and Max Fried (#9)
Catcher: Sean Murphy (#3)
Shortstops: Thursday night
Right fielders: January 16th
Second basemen: January 17th
First basemen: January 18th
Left fielders: January 24th
Center fielders: January 25th
Third basemen: January 31st
Relief pitchers: February 1st
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