Christian Bethancourt Called Up

I'm no Gattis hater, but he's one I'd like to sell high on...

I wanted to sell high on Francouer back in the day.

Not saying they're the same, but I am worried by the lack of pitches being taken by Gattis.
 
KeithLockhart said:
I'm no Gattis hater, but he's one I'd like to sell high on...

I wanted to sell high on Francouer back in the day.

Not saying they're the same, but I am worried by the lack of pitches being taken by Gattis.
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That is obviously a problem, but if Gattis turns out to be a complete boob, Bethancourt/Laird can hold down the position well enough.
 
Dalyn said:
That is obviously a problem, but if Gattis turns out to be a complete boob, Bethancourt/Laird can hold down the position well enough.
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Bethancourt/Laird is not something I want to try at catcher in 2014.
 
Lets remember Gattis will be playing catcher, he wont have to hit much to be league average. If we get a .750 OPS from the catcher spot next year we should be happy. Just being over .800 OPS at the position makes you a borderline all star.
 
I don't get a vote but my vote is to sign McCann and trade Gattis. I love Gattis but I just don't see him in the lineup every day. Texas would be a great spot for him. If we could get Texas to take Uggla and Gattis for whoever, it would free up some money. But, I'm dreaming.
 
For as much as we all love Mac he isn't that Buster Posey/Joe Mauer type of bat really. I think the offensive production can be replaced or close to matched. We just need to find out if Gattis can lead a pitching staff. That is the biggest concern.
 
I will never be a GM but over the years Ive learned a bit about the bottom line so to speak. If letting McCann move on enables the team or makes it easier to drop Uggla, Im all for it.
Personally I dont think Gattis will be THE CATCHER next year but would seem to me the perfect platoon catcher (with a capable partner) and the occassional 4th OFer or premier pinch hitter.
 
thethe said:
For as much as we all love Mac he isn't that Buster Posey/Joe Mauer type of bat really. I think the offensive production can be replaced or close to matched. We just need to find out if Gattis can lead a pitching staff. That is the biggest concern.
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The problem is how do you replace McCann's bat in the current budget environment? Hopefully, we could move Uggla and get a smidgen of salary relief (although whomever picks him up would also be picking up a check from the Braves).
 
50PoundHead said:
The problem is how do you replace McCann's bat in the current budget environment? Hopefully, we could move Uggla and get a smidgen of salary relief (although whomever picks him up would also be picking up a check from the Braves).
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Well you wouldn't replace Mac's bat in full but I believe over the course of a season Gattis could give you 90% of Mac's production with the potential to even eclipse it. Braves just have to continue to bank on continual improvement from Heyward/Upton/Freeman and prey that BJ remembers how to hit a baseball. I also believe that Simmons is going to be a solid major league hitter.

There is a lot of room for growth but the #1 thing for the Braves is to ensure that we keep the offensive core of Heyward/Freeman/Justin/Simmons together. If that means sacrificing a 30 year old catcher then so be it. Now if you are going to tell me that Liberty is going to spend some more money then please keep Mac.
 
Gattis cannot replace Mac's level of production. At least you cannot bank on that. If we're replacing Mac with Gattis expect a healthy dropoff. Our best bet to replacing Mac is Bethancourt.
 
zitothebrave said:
Gattis cannot replace Mac's level of production. At least you cannot bank on that. If we're replacing Mac with Gattis expect a healthy dropoff. Our best bet to replacing Mac is Bethancourt.
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Offensively its very possible. I mentioned earlier that the command of the pitchers is whats going to be an issue. Mac is not POsey/Mauer. He is a low 800 OPS catcher. I think Gattis has hte potential to match that with more time. Defensively will be more of an issue.
 
thethe said:
Offensively its very possible. I mentioned earlier that the command of the pitchers is whats going to be an issue. Mac is not POsey/Mauer. He is a low 800 OPS catcher. I think Gattis has hte potential to match that with more time. Defensively will be more of an issue.
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McCann is a low .800 OPS hitter on average. He's having an unlucky season (.269 BABIP) and he's hitting at his career norms. Odds of Gattis hitting at that level and catching aren't very high. What people don't realize about catching is it's taxing on the body, Gattis already hasn't had a 400 PA season. He has the power potential, that's for sure but an .800 OPS with most of the value being power is not the same as one with a much higher OBP.
 
I don't think we would lose anything offensively next year replacing McCann with Gattis at catcher. But we would lose quite a bit in terms of handling the pitching staff, framing, defense, leadership, etc. Those things are harder to quantify. But one of the interesting things about our staff is that it has done well in spite of not being a group of power arms for the most part. Our pitching staff is about average when it comes to strikeout rates and among the top teams in holding down walks. They succeed by pitching to contact. Strong defense (mainly Simmons) accounts for some of that success. But having a veteran catcher who is good at calling a game is another part of it.
 
We don't have power arms but Maholm and Medlen are the only ones who throw under 90. And Medlen, Julio and Minor are all in the top 30 in MLB in Swing Strike% Higher than guys like CC, Wainwright, Gio and Shields.

We have a great staff regardless. But I do hope we can improve our defense in the IF to make our pitching even better. Would be nice if we can move Johnson and get a really good 3B>
 
zitothebrave said:
We don't have power arms but Maholm and Medlen are the only ones who throw under 90. And Medlen, Julio and Minor are all in the top 30 in MLB in Swing Strike% Higher than guys like CC, Wainwright, Gio and Shields.

We have a great staff regardless. But I do hope we can improve our defense in the IF to make our pitching even better. Would be nice if we can move Johnson and get a really good 3B>
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The contact % numbers have Medlen ranked 21th, Minor 25th, and Teheran 37th. That's ranking by percentage of pitches swung at that the batter made contact with, ranked in inverse order.

The top 10 are Darvish, Scherzer, Sanchez, Lincecum, Harvey, Strasburg, Sale, Hamels, Nolasco, Kershaw

As a team, our pitching staff is about middle of the road in contact percentage on balls swung at. Our hitters of course are near the bottom.
 
nsacpi said:
The contact % numbers have Medlen ranked 21th, Minor 25th, and Teheran 37th. That's ranking by percentage of pitches swung at that the batter made contact with, ranked in inverse order.

The top 10 are Darvish, Scherzer, Sanchez, Lincecum, Harvey, Strasburg, Sale, Hamels, Nolasco, Kershaw

As a team, our pitching staff is about middle of the road in contact percentage on balls swung at. Our hitters of course are near the bottom.
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Contact% is just one piece of the puzzle. SwStr is a better look JMO because it tracks swing and misses and that's it. Nothing else.
 
zitothebrave said:
Contact% is just one piece of the puzzle. SwStr is a better look JMO because it tracks swing and misses and that's it. Nothing else.
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However, you look at it our pitching staff is an anti-three true outcomes staff. It is the opposite of our hitting lineup. You need good defense to make this approach work. And I would argue a savvy catcher is also a big part of the success for any staff that takes that kind of approach.
 
zitothebrave said:
We don't have power arms but Maholm and Medlen are the only ones who throw under 90. And Medlen, Julio and Minor are all in the top 30 in MLB in Swing Strike% Higher than guys like CC, Wainwright, Gio and Shields.

We have a great staff regardless. But I do hope we can improve our defense in the IF to make our pitching even better. Would be nice if we can move Johnson and get a really good 3B>
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How about we trade Chris Johnson to a payroll strapped, non-SABR team (who would give us a few prospects for him) and then turn around and flip those prospects with another piece for Chase Headley? Chase is having an off year, but I suspect he would (1) replace McCann's offense in its entirety for 2014; and (2) provide us with a long-term (hopefully a reasonable extension can be worked out as a condition to a trade), good 3B.

Keep Gattis/Bethancourt as C next year and if Bethancourt breaks out, you have another trade piece (or valuable bench piece) in Gattis.

My ideal lineup
RF Heyward
3B Headley
1B Freeman
LF JUpton
2B LaStella
CF BUpton (hopefully playing to his career line in 2014, at the very least)
SS Simmons
C Bethancourt/Gattis
 
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