White Sox: MLB Network has Yasmani Grandal as 2nd best catcher

MLB Network named Chicago White Sox catcher, Yasmani Grandal, as the second-best catcher in baseball.

For over a year now, we as a Chicago White Sox fanbase have been excited to have Yasmani Grandal on our roster. He played well in 2020 but most of that came towards the end. He struggled a little bit at first but finished strong so now he has 2021 in his sights. We aren’t the only fanbase who has had Grandal on our team as Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers fans know just how good he is.

MLB Network ranks each position’s top ten players every offseason and they were very kind to Grandal. They named him as the second-best catcher in the world. There have been arguments for him as the number one but J.T. Realmuto had an amazing 2020 from start to finish. It is hard to argue those two as number one or two in any order.

Chicago White Sox fans might recognize the guy sitting as the tenth best catcher in baseball. James McCann is there and he deserves it. He is now a member of the New York Mets because the White Sox let him walk in free agency in favor of keeping Yasmani Grandal. Still, as a fanbase, we should be happy that McCann is recognized as one of the game’s best because he is. It has been a long time coming for him and his career trajectory since coming to the White Sox has been awesome.

With McCann gone, Grandal is going to see a major spike in his White Sox playing time in 2021. He is the full-time guy that he is paid to be now. If the team is smart, they will use him in the heart of the order for 2021. He will have so many great hitters surrounding him that his ability to hit for power and get on base should be taken advantage of on a regular basis.

Whenever the league recognizes our guys as the best it is a good feeling. The White Sox have been all over these lists this winter and the hope is that they all continue to climb the ranks. For Grandal, it is about being a leader on a very young team that is trying to win the World Series. He has had deep playoff runs of his own with other teams so hopefully, that experience can help this team take the next step.