GLENDALE, Ariz. — They have become the unicorns of Major League Baseball — two-way catchers, players who can handle the difficult defensive demands behind the plate and also contribute offensively.

Last year, big-league catchers had the lowest batting average (a cumulative .229), on-base percentage (.305), slugging percentage (.391) and, naturally, OPS (.697) of any position except pitcher — and pitchers might not even be allowed to hit any longer.

But the Dodgers have been good unicorn hunters. At the big-league level, Will Smith is one of the best young catchers in the game with a 136 OPS-plus three seasons into his career.

“There’s very few guys that you can hit in the middle or top part of the order of a championship-caliber team who’s a receiver as well,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Smith last fall. “For me, he’s a top three catcher in baseball. Hands down. And that’s an easy conversation for me.”

They traded away another catcher with that kind of potential last season, sending Keibert Ruiz to the Washington Nationals as a key part of the deal that brought Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to Los Angeles.

And they still have another on the way with the potential to be the best of the three.

Diego Cartaya is just 20 years old with only 80 games of professional experience under his belt. But his name appears on every ranking of the best prospects in baseball — no. 23 on Baseball America’s Top 100.

“I just think that top prospect and all that just means you’re still a minor-leaguer, you know,” Cartaya said of the accolades. “I just work hard like I’m any player. I don’t care about any rank or what prospect I am. Just work hard, play hard.”

Signed out of Venezuela in July 2018, Cartaya made his pro debut at the rookie-league level in 2019 then spent the pandemic-altered 2020 season as an 18-year-old working with older players at the Dodgers’ alternate training site.

“That was a great experience,” Cartaya said. “Getting time to spend with those guys, you learn a lot.”

He put those lessons to use with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga last year, hitting .298 with a 1.023 OPS and 10 home runs in his first 31 games. Unfortunately, they were also Cartaya’s only 31 games. A lower back injury wound up ending his season early.

“We were cautious with him,” Dodgers director of player development Will Rhymes said. “He’s such an impressive young player.”

Frequently the youngest player on the field throughout his amateur and pro career, Cartaya says his goal for 2022 is “to get better at calling games, creating better relationships with my pitchers … that’s something that you have to be good at in higher levels.”

The tools are there, Rhymes said. And the fact that Cartaya accepts the responsibility that comes with his position might be the most important part.

“It’s great when a catcher values the relationships with the pitchers and how he handles a staff and takes ownership of that at such a young age,” Rhymes said. “He’s good at it naturally. His personality is good for a catcher. He’s kind of magnetic. People want to be around him so that’s a good place to start and he gains the trust of pitchers quickly. I think his intuitive game-calling is good. His receiving is good. He throws well. He likes to back-pick. He’s an active catcher. So it’s kind of how you would draw it up.”

Related Articles

Now the challenge for the Dodgers is to continue to develop Cartaya’s precocious abilities at a demanding position.

“Obviously something we value tremendously is value on both sides of the inning,” Rhymes said. “I think you see that with the players that have succeeded for us and that we have targeted. So it’s really exciting when someone naturally has that kind of ability on both sides of the ball. We’ll see over the next few years how difficult it is to do that as he progresses. Right now, he’s on a great track on both sides.”

That track is pointed towards the big leagues — where the 26-year-old Smith is firmly entrenched at Cartaya’s position with a bright future of his own.

“Not really,” Cartaya said when asked if he worries about being blocked. “I’m just trying to be the best version of myself. I’m glad they’re doing a good job. They’re my team. I want the Dodgers to win.”