Prospect Write Up: Christian Bethancourt

Christian Bethancourt continues a long line of high-caliber backstops to come through the Braves organization, joining players such as Brian McCann, Tyler Flowers, Javy Lopez, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Like those before him, he’s climbed numerous prospect rankings, and has been seen as a Top 5 organizational prospect by most as well as being regarded as one of the Top 100 prospects in the MLB. Though 2012 marks his fifth year in the organization, Bethancourt is still only 20 years old, as he was signed out of Panama as a 16 year old in 2008. Bethancourt’s calling card has always been defense, as he’s been named the best defensive catcher in the organization multiple times and has thrown out 38% of attempted thefts in his career, including 43% this year. A lot of his success can be attributed to great footwork, a strong arm, and a quick release. He averages a sub-1.9 pop time to second base, and has been clocked as low as 1.78, which is roughly as quick as Pudge Rodriguez in his prime. His arm is on full display in the video after the jump.





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As spectacular as Bethancourt’s defense is, his bat is just as anemic. Despite consistently being one of the youngest players at his level, his plate approach doesn’t suggest that he can be a real threat at higher levels. His finest full-season offensive performance came in the Sally League in 2011, when he posted a .303/.323/.430 line, good for a .334 wOBA; however, that was buoyed by a .323 BABIP that isn’t likely to translate at higher levels given his footspeed. Given a full season’s worth of games, Bethancourt has yet to post a walk rate above 4.0%, and that’s coming this year. His three at-bats in the Futures Game this year back up what the statistics bring to light: a lack of plate-discipline. He struck out on three pitches, all borderline or out of the zone, flied out on one pitch, and popped out on four pitches. Despite the lack of success, his age and mechanics leave hope for some improvement.









Bethancourt features a large, strong, 6’ 2”, 220 lb frame, with tons of athleticism present. He hits against a fairly narrow base, but he does a great job of leveraging his top arm in his swing and has great hip rotation. The rotation and leverage he generates should yield more pop than we’ve seen, as he sports a career ISO of just .067. His plate discipline undoubtedly plays a role in this, as he generates weak contact early in his plate appearances by swinging at everything. He also has a tendency to open up his hips a little early, leaving him out on his front side, swinging with nothing but his arms (see video above at 1:22).

Bethancourt has an intriguing mix of tools and projectibility, and his current defensive abilities could play plus to plus-plus at the major league level. Luckily, the Braves have Brian McCann under contract for the time being as well as a bevy of options ahead of Bethancourt, including David Ross, J.C. Boscan, and Evan Gattis, allowing the organization the luxury of letting Bethancourt’s bat develop at a leisurely pace. The Braves have been very aggressive with their promotion of Bethancourt, and regardless of his lack of production, he’s a 20 year old playing against AA competition, where many of the top prospects in the game get their final work in before getting the call to the show. While he’s not setting the world on fire, he’s holding his own, and has an elite defensive game to go with his developing bat

In an ideal world, he’s Pudge Rodriguez—he learns to take the occasional walk and the power develops. At worst, the bat never comes around and he becomes a defensive specialist. More than likely, he settles in somewhere in between, with well-below average on-base skills, decent contact skills, and middling power, reaching double digit homers a year and not much else beyond that and his defense. There’s a lot of value in that, as 2012 has seen guys like Josh Thole and Russell Martin rack up 200+ plate appearances. We’ll see where he’s at after his first round of AA ball at the end of the year, but as a 20-year old who’s at least a year away from seeing the bigs, there’s plenty of time for his production to match his tools.

NEXT WEEK:

Joe Terdoslavich. 2010 Draftee. Switch Hitter. Doubles Masher.