Atlanta Braves Position Profile: Catcher
By Kevin Floody
The Pipeline
None of the Braves top 30 prospects are on the receiving end of the battery . Beating out corner outfield, catcher remains the one position with the least organizational depth. There are a couple intriguing guys to note though, and interestingly, both came over to the Atlanta Braves organization from the Rockies in exchange for David Hale and Gus Schlosser.
Chris O’Dowd has played pretty well for Mississippi this year and actually has an above-average career minor league slash line. He is a capable defender, though not anything spectacular. He is 24 and does not project as an everyday catcher necessarily, but could make a major league roster by 2017 at the earliest.
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The more intriguing candidate is Jose Briceno. He has struggled mightily this year for A+ Carolina, but in the Rockies organization he showed promise as a smooth doubles hitter with power potential. At 22 years old and only playing as high as A+ ball, his potential arrival date to the majors seems several years away. To say 2018 might be too soon, but 2019 is definitely possible.
The question that has surrounded Briceno to this point in his career is whether he will develop as a catcher well enough to stick there. His offensive upside is definitely more promising if he is handling catching duties at the same time. Just remember the name and check in on his progress from time to time. Of all the catchers in the Braves system, Jose Briceno seems like the only one with the potential to one day be an impact bat.
Of course it’s always difficult to project the career trajectory of someone so young and raw. They tried it with Christian Bethancourt and his inability to develop has left the Braves in a bit of a lurch. While Briceno may ultimately prove to become a capable major league catcher, John Hart and John Coppolella cannot proceed under the assumption that any of their minor league talent will be able to assume catching duties on a semi-regular basis anytime soon.
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