2025 Chicago Cubs Season Projections: Catchers

by Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - Sun Feb 09 08:44:43 GMT-05:00 2025

With Spring Training around the corner and most of the offseason news dying down, it's time to focus on what the Cubs have in place for this season. As their current roster currently stands, not only does it feel like this team is in a better overall place this season, but the league-wide pundits feel the same as the Cubs, who are the odds-on favorite to win the NL Central.

Going further than that, you have the PECOTA projections, which project the Cubs to finish around 90-91 wins. Great, no, but it's a vastly better record than this team has been putting out in recent seasons. Projections can be fun to look at depending on the type of person you are, but as you know, projections can change in the blink of an eye.

To honor what the Cubs are projected to be, it's time to start our season projection series, where we will go position by position to predict how this team will do. That begins with the catcher position, as the Cubs will enter the season with two capable catchers. Of all the positions on this year's team, you could make the case that this was the one that needed the most significant upgrade, and the Cubs did that by signing Carson Kelly.

Sure, Miguel Amaya is still expected to be the opening-day starter, but Kelly is more than just an insurance policy, as he could easily take over the top spot by season's end.

Here are the catching projections for 2025:

Miguel Amaya

When you look back at Amaya's season in 2024, not only was it filled with mixed results, but it was also a tale of two halves. In the first half, Amaya struggled not only to throw out runners, which was an issue all season but also to hit the ball. He was more of a pitcher, hitting in the No. 8 spot in the lineup.

To get his head right, Craig Counsell sat him down for a few games to work on some things before putting him back in the lineup. Once he did, not only did Amaya look like the hitter everyone thought he would when he was a top prospect, but there was a stretch of games where he was the team's most consistent hitter. The next question is whether or not that second-half success translates into an entire season.

Prediction: 87 games, .241 average, six homers, and 43 RBIs

While Amaya may not be your typical No. 1 catcher, he is serviceable enough to be the primary guy on most teams. Look for that to be the case again this season, but should he struggle at any point, the Cubs won't hesitate to make the move for Kelly. Even if Amaya isn't what you would call an everyday guy by season's end, he should still put up more consistent numbers in 2025, which is a massive step in his development.

Carson Kelly

While this signing may not look massive on paper, the bottom line is this was a huge get for the Cubs. Considering what happened with Yan Gomes last season and watching Christian Bethancourt leave the organization after putting up good numbers, the Cubs desperately needed a No. 2 catcher. They got arguably the best catcher on the market.

Adding Kelly to this team not only gives the Cubs two guys capable of starting, but Kelly is the better defender, and given his ability to throw out runners, you have to think he will be given a chance to win the job out of camp. This will be one of the position battles to watch throughout the spring to see how the Cubs could handle opening day.

Prediction: 94 games, .256 average, nine homers, and 48 RBIs

Even if he doesn't enter the season as the primary guy, Kelly is going to get plenty of playing time this season to the point where he could become their top guy. This is a former top prospect in his own right when he was with the St. Louis Cardinals before sitting several years behind future hall of famer Yadier Molina.

Kelly would eventually get his chance with Molina going through some late injuries before breaking out with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2021 and 2022. Coming off an up-and-down 2024, Kelly has an opportunity to leave a lasting impression on the Cubs this season and could become one of the more underrated pickups.

Moises Ballesteros

One name to keep an eye on throughout the season is the No. 2 prospect in the organization, Moises Ballesteros. After another massive season to earn the organizational hitter of the year, Ballesteros is at that point in his minor league career where he has nothing left to prove.

While the bat may be big-league-ready, he is still very raw at the catcher position, and some could say he is a defensive liability. Having a DH does help with that, but unless something happens to Seiya Suzuki, it will be hard to get Ballesteros the at-bats he needs. Either way, his bat plays, and if he continues to hit the way he has, there is no question he will hit himself onto this roster.

Prediction: 44 games, .250 average, five homers, 17 RBIs

There is no question Ballesteros has the bat to hit in the majors right now, but his lack of a true position does hurt him. However, his value is too great to ignore, and the Cubs will have an opportunity to see what he can do this season, even if only for a month or so.