The Atlanta Braves have their future catcher in Christian Bethancourt

Tony La Russa, one of the all-time greats to ever fill out a lineup card, managed a player he said was so valuable he would play him every day, even if he hit .000. The player was Mike Matheny, La Russa’s catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals from 2000-2004. Matheny’s impact calling games was so great that La Russa felt he was worthy to play every day, no matter the circumstances, even though his highest WAR during his career was 1.8. (I love to bring this up when discussing the merits of WAR, which I view as a bogus stat, but that’s a discussion for another time.)

Catcher is such an important position because they are tasked with guiding the pitching staff through games and putting them in the best position to get hitters out. Preventing runs starts with the catcher.

In 2015, the Atlanta Braves will be handing this very important position to a rookie. The past two offseasons, Brian McCann left via free agency and Evan Gattis was traded.

That leaves Christian Bethancourt as the de facto starter, who the Braves have been grooming to be the catcher of the future.

The Braves were sixth best in the majors in terms of defensive runs saved (29.4) in 2014 according to FanGraphs and fifth in UZR, another of FanGraph’s advanced defensive metrics. Bethancourt has only played 31 games in the majors—he filled in for the injured Gattis for three weeks and was a September call up in 2014—and even though he wasn’t a particularly good pitch framer during those 31 games, Bethancourt is still young and has plenty of time to improve that skill. Also, he has thrown out at least 30 percent of would-be base stealers every season he’s been a pro, so overall he projects as a solid defender.

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Bethancourt fulfilling his potential is a crucial first step for the Braves as they look toward the future. It was a flurry of an offseason for the franchise as new President of Baseball Operations Jon Hart blew up the team in preparation for 2017 when their new ballpark is projected to open. Outfielders Justin Upton, Jason Heyward, Gattis and others were all dealt in the fire sale, and what was once a barren farm system is now brimming with prospects.

The most notable big league addition to the Braves was Nick Markakis, who was signed for four years and $44 million, but the story in Atlanta is the minor league haul received from the trades. 2017 may be the goal, but that doesn’t mean the Braves are completely punting on 2015 and 2016. The foundation of the team will need to be poured and the walls will need to be assembled over the next two seasons so the housewarming party can start on time.

Shortstop Andrelton Simmons is a transcendent defensive talent at short and he doesn’t become a free agent until 2021. Jose Peraza is the second baseman of the future. (link) Markakis will provide veteran leadership as the youngsters come up.

The next piece of the puzzle is Bethancourt at catcher.

Let’s be clear, the Braves don’t need Bethancourt to be Yadier Molina to be successful. Nor does anyone project him to be Molina. MLB.com ranks him as the ninth best catcher in their 2015 prospect rankings and he doesn’t appear in Baseball Prospectus’ Top 101. What the Braves need is a reliable catcher, both offensively and defensively. Bethancourt’s defensive potential will be an intriguing topic of discussion, as will his offensive game. Here are his minor league numbers over the past three season:

2012 AA – .243 AVG/ .275 OBP/ .291 SLG/ .281 BABIP/ .265 wOBA
2013 AA – .277 AVG/ .305 OBP/ .436 SLG/ .294 BABIP/ .335 wOBA
2014 AAA – .283 AVG/ .308 OBP/ .408 SLG/ .318 BABIP/ .320 wOBA

The increase in BABIP shows that he is starting to make hard contact more frequently, and even though his power numbers were down in 2014, there is evidence of a power resurgence: Bethancourt hit only three home runs the first three months of the season, but after his cup of tea in the majors filling in for Gattis, Bethancourt hit five home runs in five weeks at Triple-A before being called back up to the majors in September.

Strikeouts can be a problem for Bethancourt, as he struck out in 16.7 percent of plate appearances in the minors in 2014 and whiffed 26 times in only 117 plate appearances in the majors. If he cuts down on the Ks the Braves will have an well-rounded catcher for the future.

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