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Christian Bethancourt: Future with Atlanta Braves?

By Jonathan Savitske

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Christian Bethancourt has long been the Braves’ perceived Catcher of the future.

Going back four years, Christian Bethancourt was a top prospect in the Atlanta Braves organization, waiting for an opportunity to play behind the plate. Following the departure of Brian McCann in 2013 in Free Agency, many thought the time had come for Christian Bethancourt to become a starter for the Braves.

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With the emergence of Evan Gattis in 2013 as a viable bat in the Atlanta Braves lineup, the timetable for Christian Bethancourt was pushed back another year. Though he had seen some playing time in the majors, the hope was that Bethancourt would be able to take his time developing his swing in AAA in 2014.

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After a trade sent Evan Gattis to the Houston Astros this past offseason, the catcher position was finally open for Christian Bethancourt. President of Baseball Operations John Hart signed 38-year-old veteran catcher A.J. Pierzynski to back-up Bethancourt, and to mentor the young catcher in his first full season in the big-leagues.

What happened after the first month of the season went against the plan the Atlanta Braves’ front-office had for Christian Bethancourt. A.J. Pierzynski was consistently hitting better than the Braves’ rookie, earning him the starting role on a team that was still contending in the NL East. Bethancourt’s starts became more and more sporadic.

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    • Finally in June, the Braves demoted Christian Bethancourt to AAA Gwinnett to get the young catcher more at-bats. Before his demotion, Bethancourt was hitting a lowly .198 with 1 home-run and 9 runs batted in for the Atlanta Braves. On an offense that has struggled from the onset of the season, his futility at the plate was not helping the ball-club. The Braves called up Ryan Lavarnway to take his place. Bethancourt’s demotion placed doubt in the eyes of Braves fans on the viability of Bethancourt being an integral part of the Braves’ future plans.

    Though Christian Bethancourt disappointed during his time in the majors this season, there are signs that he may in fact be putting it all together in AAA. Since his demotion, Bethancourt is hitting .297 with 3 home-runs and 18 RBI’s, while slugging an excellent .434. These numbers are encouraging  and show that despite Bethancourt’s struggles, he may still factor into the Braves’ future plans.

    With Pierzynski being 38-years-old and a Free Agent at the end of the 2015 season, the Braves do not have any internal options other than Christian Bethancourt to hold down the fort if Pierzynski leaves at the end of the year. Though his struggles have made many question his status as a former top prospect, it is imperative that Bethancourt continues to improve at AAA this season in order to help the Braves in 2016.

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