8/12/2015 WEDNESDAY MINORS FINAL ... G-Braves win 15th of 19.

Braves1976 said:
You know better than bringing up that trade with thethe, we got back Olivera man! Wood isn't that good and is bound to be broken and Peraza is unproven. :)
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I've been extremely high on Peraza and continually have said I wouldn't have traded him.
 
At this point in time I think it would be a good move for the Braves to just say goodbye to AJ unless he is fully committed to taking a backup role.
 
Braves1976 said:
What if Bethancourt is used in a trade for another catcher? I could see that happening, though I am not saying he'd be the only player in such a trade.
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I just don't know what that would accomplish. We have a catcher with potentially elite defensive ability who is suddenly raking in AAA at 23. We are not likely to find someone with that package at catcher, yet we would probably have to give up more than Bethancourt just to get them because of his struggles in the majors.

I just don't support trading Bethancourt until he gets a real shot in the majors. We need to go into next year committed to have him be the full-time catcher for at least 2-3 months and see what happens. If he can OPS anywhere close to .700 while shoring up his defensive issues and throwing out base runners, then we have our catcher. I don't see why we would trade him until we're sure of what we have there. Because right now, he's looking like he's putting it together.
 
In fact, looking back, we may have been too harsh on Bethancourt as he was coming up in the minors. We think of him as never really doing much offensively (and he was never great), but that's because he's always had big struggles his first time through a league. The good news is, though, that he always put up a much better year his second time through each league, and he has always been super young his first time through - 18 in Rome, 19 in Carolina, 20 in Mississippi.

When he has been just a year older (19 in Rome, 21 in Mississippi, 22 in Gwinnett), he has always posted an OBP between .305-.323 and a SLG between .408-.436. That may not be setting the world on fire, but it's just fine for a guy still young at each level with elite defensive tools. Now, at 23 in Gwinnett, his OPS is suddenly .843.

If he can just give us the .305-.310ish OBP and .405+ SLG in the majors, that would be just fine as long as his defensive tools play. And I think he can give us that relatively quickly, based on his track record. But I also think there's room for more there. He'll never post a great OBP, but if he can hit .270 or better I think he can slug around .450.
 
I've been as harsh on Bethancourt as anyone, but he truly is just raking right now. This is by far the best I've seen him look at the plate. I hope we give him another shot and I hope he actually starts every day for awhile to see if he can get in a groove. The way he's swinging the bat right now with his defensive ceiling would be fill a huge need for this team. The kick in the butt getting sent down may have gotten him into gear.
 
zbhargrove said:
I've been as harsh on Bethancourt as anyone, but he truly is just raking right now. This is by far the best I've seen him look at the plate. I hope we give him another shot and I hope he actually starts every day for awhile to see if he can get in a groove. The way he's swinging the bat right now with his defensive ceiling would be fill a huge need for this team. The kick in the butt getting sent down may have gotten him into gear.
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I understand all the doubts zb, but I've tried to tell everyone that he is notoriously slow the first time through a league. No excuse defensively, but I think the Braves are doing themselves a disservice by not playing him now.
 
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