Gavin McNeish | January 16, 2025

Throughout the Colorado Rockies 33-year history, the club has fielded a plethora of All-Star caliber hitters. From Todd Helton to Charlie Blackmon and every position in between, it seems as though no matter how the team’s record may look, there have always been a star or two written on the lineup card.

However, there has been one position that the Rockies have had a glaring difficulty with finding productive longevity: catcher.

Let’s dive into both the history of Colorado catchers and the current state of the position going into the 2025 season while peaking into the future to see if relief is on the horizon.

Top of the Mountain

The longest tenured backstop in Rockies history is Chris Iannetta. A member of the 2007 World Series team, he is one of only two players — along with Carlos González — to appear on three purple playoff clubs. Originally drafted by the Rockies in the 4th round of the 2004 MLB Draft, Iannetta was a member of the big league roster from 2006-2011. Following a trade to the Los Angeles Angels for Tyler Chatwood, he made a brief return to the club in 2018-19.

During his time with the club, the Rhode Island native accumulated 7.0 bWAR, most in the team’s history. The best statistical season of his career was 2008, when he slashed .264/.390/.505 with a bWAR of 3.2.

Iannetta’s tenure with the Rockies stands as the most productive catcher span for the club, and yet they still found themselves average at best at the position. For a club that has historical identified as a hitter’s team, that is puzzling and perhaps troubling.

When reviewing the greatest seasons by the Rockies catching corps, all of the most productive seasons occurred with Iannetta as a part of the tandem. During Iannetta’s best span with the club (2006-11), Colorado finished in the top half of baseball in five of six seasons, with the highest mark being 10th-best in 2011. Even at this peak they had an average finish of only 16th-best group of catchers in the sport.

The other player frequently mentioned when naming the most prominent catchers in the history of the Rockies is Yorvit Torrealba. A member of the club from 2006-2009 as well as a second stint in 2013, Torrealba only posted a 0.9 bWar during his time in Denver with a 0.9 bWAR in 2007 serving as his single-season high. Regardless of that lackluster regular season success, he is best remembered as the Rockies primary catcher during the 2007 World Series run.

There was the Tony Wolters era, highlighted by one of the biggest hits in franchise history during the 2018 National League Wild Card Game, followed immediately by the Elias Díaz era. Díaz owns the second highest bWAR (5.2) at the position behind only Iannetta. While both Wolters and Díaz faded in unfortunate fashion, Díaz ended a major drought by becoming the first All-Star catcher in team history. His go-ahead home run and Ted Williams Award as the game’s MVP is also unforgettable.

What About Now?

Taking a look now at where the catcher position stands going into the 2025 season, we find more questions at the position than answers. Once Díaz was released last August, it signaled a notable change as the club began to turn towards their farm system for the answer at the position.

Colorado currently has three catchers on the 40-man roster: Jacob Stallings, Hunter Goodman and Drew Romo. All three players spent various lengths of time with the club in 2024.

Stallings, back on a one-year deal with an option for 2026, is best known for his time with the Pittsburgh Pirates. From 2016-2021, he accumulated 5.9 bWAR for the Bucs and a won a Gold Glove Award. Brought in as the back up to Díaz last season, Stallings posted a respectable 1.8 bWAR and a .263/.357/.453 slash line, while also recording a career-high nine home runs in part-time duty.

When it comes to Stallings, what you see is exactly what you get. Regardless of your thoughts on his offensive and defensive abilities, the 35-year-old is the perfect example of a bridge player; on the other side of that bridge are two young catchers with promising upside.

Hunter Goodman recorded the second most plate appearances of Colorado’s three catchers in 2024, accumulating a bWAR of -0.8 and an OPS+ of 70. Though his 2024 campaign was mired in inconsistency — some of which is owed to a lack of playing time — he showed flashes of offensive prowess and a true power stroke at times throughout the season. A two-homer game that came with 10 total bases on July 15 showed his capabilities.

The 25-year-old has been a bit of an enigma for the Rockies. He’s been played at various times at five different spots: catcher, left field, right field, first base and DH. Goodman appeared in 23 games behind the plate last year, much of which came in September. He had another two-homer game and managed to record 12 RBI in 13 starts at catcher during the final mont.

When it comes to offensive potential, Goodman seems to be at the front of the pack. The question will be if he has the defensive ability to stick as a backstop or if the Rockies’ top prospect at the position, Drew Romo, will make more of a mark in 2025.

Romo, drafted out of high school in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft, immediately became the top catching prospect in the organization as a teenager. He was touted as a glove-first catcher who made consistent enough contact at the plate to feel like a mainstay at the position for years to come in Denver.

Despite a slow start to his professional career post-draft, Romo hit his stride with Triple-A Albuquerque in 2023, slashing .300/.341/.500 for the Isotopes. He got the call to the Majors last year on August 16 and experienced some adversity when faced more advanced pitching. He recorded nine hits across 51 at-bats (.176) and struck out 18 times in that stretch.

Another facet of his game that was documented in his time with the Rockies was his issues with “the yips.” In order to avoid tossing the baseball into the outfield, he’s crafted a shot put-style throwing motion when returning a ball to the pitcher. Romo stated it was due to anxiety that he deals with and is not worried about it impacting his game going forward. Outside of that he has no other defensive qualms of note. 

Of the three catchers currently on the 40-man roster, it would seem the Rockies should like to have Romo be the everyday backstop going forward. Still just 23 years old, it seems they will have a degree of patience with his development. Though it would not be surprising to see Stallings make the majority of the starts early in the season with appearances by Goodman sprinkled in periodically, Romo has a chance to give stability to an organization that has not had much at the position.

One More In Waiting

There are other catching prospects sitting in Colorado’s minor league system. Braxton Fulford has been mentioned by manager Bud Black on occasion and Bryant Betancourt has impressed at the plate despite being at least two years younger than opposing pitchers at every stop in the minors.

Cole Messina, a backstop selected 77th overall in this past year’s draft, is also a notable catching prospect. Messina has a strong power tool, clubbing 38 home runs over his last season at South Carolina. He currently sits at 19 in the Rockies’ top 30 prospects on MLB Pipeline and will be worth keeping an eye on over the next couple years.

The Colorado Rockies have been haunted by historically below average performances from their catchers throughout their lifetime, but there are signs of greener pastures ahead. Romo has all the makings of an everyday productive catcher and Goodman could have the most power seen in years at the position.

So long as they get plenty of opportunities to prove themselves as part of the young core being built at 20th and Blake, better days appear ahead for Colorado’s catching.