The Atlanta Braves have a renowned farm system. Not only do they perform an excellent job harboring young pitchers, but they could be 2-2 as far as producing catchers. Christian Bethancourt looks to be the next catcher out of the Braves' farm system and Peter Gammons believes he is one of the three young catching prospects now that will be in the game of baseball for a long time coming.
We've all seen what Brian McCann can do behind the plate and with the bat. Consistency is one of his trademarks which allowed McCann to become the Braves' catcher in 2005 and never relinquinshing the job. For the last eight years, Braves' pitchers and fans have grown accustomed to seeing the pudgy catcher behind the plate.
However, as McCann gets ready to hit free agency following the conclusion of 2013, the Braves might be left with a couple of options. Gammons believes Bethancourt is the right guy for the organization if the Braves don't get to resign McCann.
If it's not in 2014, the 21-year-old from Panama has enough time to mature some more. In the Braves' system, the kid is a veteran forming part of the organization's minor league clubs since 2008 at the age of 16. Currently, the highest level of ball Bethancourt has reached is Double-A. Though his bat could use some work, his fielding is up to par and he has showcased his arm time and time again.
Bethancourt has caught 139 of 226 steal attempts posting a 39 caught stealing percentile in his minor league career. With the bat, he's a bit shaky. In 358 career minor league games, Bethancourt has 14 home runs, 157 RBI and a .265 batting average.
Gammons mentions two guys, one of which is being compared to the Mike Piazza. Travis d'Arnaurd is supposed to be the next big thing and he is with the New York Mets, meaning, in the near future, fans could be seeing two of the game's best catchers.
D'Arnaud is simply a monster compiling 37 home runs with 130 RBI and a .322 batting average over the last two seasons. He's one of the pieces the Mets got from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for R.A. Dickey.
The other guy, Christian Vasquez, stuggled recently, but put up huge numbers in 2011 when he smacked 18 homers, 84 RBI and batted .283. His hitting struggled in 2012, but his catching remained at the top of its game gunning 40 percent of base stealers.
The catcher position is a thing position in the majors, but apparently, if Gammons is correct, we could be seeing a new class of catchers emerging sometime soon.