Today's lineup suggestion - All About Gattis!

KeithLockhart said:
It just hurts he's a catcher and plays in the NL (no DH).

He's what 26? When we gave Mac the 6 year extension in 2006, he was only 21. Thankfully Francoeur didn't bite.

By the time he's 30 he may not even produce anymore. He'll still be in his arby years so why give him a lucrative extension?
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Because if he becomes a 30+ HR guy, a lucrative extension does not hurt his trade value to an AL team when the time is appropriate.
 
PawPawMaxwell said:
If Gattis continues to hit and hit with power, and you believe in building your team up the middle, then it is very conceivable that he is the next long term extension handed out.

OTOH, why not put him in LF occassionally? There must be a reason we carry 3 catchers and dont forget Bethancourt knocking on the door.
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I've been puzzled by some of the comments (by Wren and some posters here) about Bethancourt being the catcher of the future. Bethancourt has the great defense, but the bat has been very slow to develop. I'm not as optimistic as others about him. I was pleased to see that Caratini is now being used mainly as a catcher. If he stays behind the plate, it would really set us up nicely at catcher.
 
thethe said:
Wait a second...if this guy hits 30+ homers and plays adequate catcher then he isn't going anywhere. CB needs to prove he can hit a little before he takes the job of someone that hits like that.

Unless you are telling me that Gattis will eventually be in LF when the decision is made between Justin and Jason.

Why shouldn't we assume that Gattis will become a better hitter than he is now?
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I'm not optimistic that Gattis will age well. I think we should ride him hard for this year and enxt, then trade him pre-arb when his value his high.

I still have plenty of doubts of him as a hitter. He is in a hot streak right now. But next week he will go o-fo-20 with 0 walks. He really needs to start showing some plate discipline. You saw what happened to him late last year. Over matched.
 
nsacpi said:
I've been puzzled by some of the comments (by Wren and some posters here) about Bethancourt being the catcher of the future. Bethancourt has the great defense, but the bat has been very slow to develop. I'm not as optimistic as others about him. I was pleased to see that Caratini is now being used mainly as a catcher. If he stays behind the plate, it would really set us up nicely at catcher.
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How is Caratini?
 
sturg33 said:
Gattis is not in today's lineup.

Fredi :facepalm:
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This was announced after the game last night so it shouldn't be a surprise. It was even posted last night at Braves.com in one of the articles. I am not saying I agree with it though. I'd started him today too because he's hot and plays so well in Philly. Plus as it has been noted he already had Tuesday off (and this past Sunday too).
 
sturg33 said:
I'm not optimistic that Gattis will age well. I think we should ride him hard for this year and enxt, then trade him pre-arb when his value his high.

I still have plenty of doubts of him as a hitter. He is in a hot streak right now. But next week he will go o-fo-20 with 0 walks. He really needs to start showing some plate discipline. You saw what happened to him late last year. Over matched.
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So how about sharing your views on Heyward.
 
AerchAngel said:
How is Caratini?
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He is the anti-Bethancourt. Much better bat than glove. Too bad we can't combine the two. He is a switch hitter who shows both power and patience at the plate. I think his glove is more likely to develop to major league average than Bethancourt's bat is likely to develop to major league average for their position.
 
sturg33 said:
I'm not optimistic that Gattis will age well. I think we should ride him hard for this year and enxt, then trade him pre-arb when his value his high.

I still have plenty of doubts of him as a hitter. He is in a hot streak right now. But next week he will go o-fo-20 with 0 walks. He really needs to start showing some plate discipline. You saw what happened to him late last year. Over matched.
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He was rushed last year due to the injuries and forced his way onto the team. Its very possible that he becomes a better hitter with more experience. I agree that the scale can tilt the other way but he has some interesting tools that I don't think he should take for granted. He doesn't have the wear and tear on his body that most catchers his age have.
 
nsacpi said:
I would give Heyward tomorrow off not today. Niese on the mound. Maybe give BJ today off.
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Have you seen Heyward's numbers vs Niese? I'd not sit him vs someone he hits so well, esp. since his defense is helping a lot. Plus Citi field isn't exactly the best place to start Doumit in the outfield, IMO. Of course that's assuming you are not suggesting starting Schafer vs a lefty.
 
PawPawMaxwell said:
So how about sharing your views on Heyward.
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I love Heyward. Has all the tools to be a star and has shown he can be one. But he can be extremely frustrating to watch.

When he came into the league in 2010, he was a megastar. His stance, swing, power, and plate discipline were all the best I've ever seen of his career. Then he hurt his thumb and everything went to hell.

Look at his opening day home run in 2010. Look how different his stance was. If you look at highlights of the first month of that season, he literally was able to get under the ball almost all the time. Now he's constantly on top of it and it crushes his offensive potential.

The problem with Heyward is, one day he WILL put it together. And I really want it to be with us.
 
thethe said:
He was rushed last year due to the injuries and forced his way onto the team. Its very possible that he becomes a better hitter with more experience. I agree that the scale can tilt the other way but he has some interesting tools that I don't think he should take for granted. He doesn't have the wear and tear on his body that most catchers his age have.
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... he still hasn't drawn a walk this year.

Look, for league minimum, Gattis is a stud to have on the team. The power alone makes him worth it. When he turns 30 and will be making $5M or more in arbitration, I'm not sure his other skills - defense and OBP ability, will be worth it. But I think another team will overpay for the home runs. Besides, we have a good replacement waiting anyway
 
Braves1976 said:
Have you seen Heyward's numbers vs Niese? I'd not sit him vs someone he hits so well, esp. since his defense is helping a lot. Plus Citi field isn't exactly the best place to start Doumit in the outfield, IMO. Of course that's assuming you are not suggesting starting Schafer vs a lefty.
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Actually, I haven't checked his numbers against Niese. I was thinking about the broken jaw. But Heyward looked so bad against Lee, I thought he should get a day off against the next lefty we face. Yeah, I'd go with Doumit in left and Justin in right if I sat Heyward.
 
Hawk said:
BJ is just starting to swing the bat with some semblance of consistency. I wouldn't pull him out.
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Agreed. And, honestly, I think it's still a couple weeks to early to start making wholesale changes to the lineup.
 
sturg33 said:
... he still hasn't drawn a walk this year.

Look, for league minimum, Gattis is a stud to have on the team. The power alone makes him worth it. When he turns 30 and will be making $5M or more in arbitration, I'm not sure his other skills - defense and OBP ability, will be worth it. But I think another team will overpay for the home runs. Besides, we have a good replacement waiting anyway
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Do we hvae a good replacement waiting? I'm not so sure.
 
sturg33 said:
I love Heyward. Has all the tools to be a star and has shown he can be one. But he can be extremely frustrating to watch.

When he came into the league in 2010, he was a megastar. His stance, swing, power, and plate discipline were all the best I've ever seen of his career. Then he hurt his thumb and everything went to hell.

Look at his opening day home run in 2010. Look how different his stance was. If you look at highlights of the first month of that season, he literally was able to get under the ball almost all the time. Now he's constantly on top of it and it crushes his offensive potential.

The problem with Heyward is, one day he WILL put it together. And I really want it to be with us.
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Nailed it.
 
sturg33 said:
I think so. Bethancourt's defense alone will make him good enough to stick. And he has some good power potential as well.
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You know I'm as big of a prospect homer as it gets but CB needs to hit a little to stick. If he can't OPS 650 consistently in the minors what is he going to do in the majors?

Gattis is not an awful defensive catcher and he has the potential to hit 35+ homers. Thats really rare and not something we should just take lightly.
 
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