Don’t Give Up on Christian Bethancourt
July 10, 2012 at 9:06 am by Ethan Purser under Atlanta Braves, Prospects
The past two Futures Games have featured several of the Braves’ top pitching prospects, including Julio Teheran, Arodys Vizcaino, and Mike Minor. The Braves’ 2012 representative, Christian Bethancourt, gave the team its first position-player prospect in the Futures Game since 2009, when Jason Heyward and current Mexican League juggernaut Barbaro Canizares took part in the exhibition.
Bethancourt has had a very strange year statistically in Double-A Mississippi, hitting .254/.278/.280 with 4 extra-base hits (3 doubles, 1 triple), 35 strikeouts, and 7 walks in 201 plate appearances. He is currently sporting a 50 wRC+ and a paltry .079 secondary average.
You are now excused for a moment in order to vomit copiously into your container of choice.
You back? Okay, continuing…
Without context, these numbers look pretty dreadful. He’s not hitting for power and he’s not getting on base in a consistent manner, two outcomes from which position players draw a large portion of their overall value. One could argue that Bethancourt has not lived up to expectations since joining the full-season ranks, having never posted an OPS above .689 in any single season. With this information as the fuel, many Braves fans and prospect prognosticators have soured on Bethancourt and have thrown him into the seemingly endless conflagration of toolsy prospects of whom much is expected, but little is received in terms of statistical achievements.
However, there is still hope for Christian, and this hope is based on two distinct factors. The first factor in Christian’s favor is his tools profile. Many fans have voiced their opinions and are sick of hearing about his present defensive prowess and potential offensive tools without seeing the actualization thereof by way of gaudy–or even passable–statistics. The tools remain potent, however, as does the hope of him realizing these tools. Bethancourt’s 6’2”, 220-pound frame oozes athleticism and leaves plenty of room for further physical development without hindering his status as a defensive stalwart behind the dish. His aforementioned defensive aptitude is highlighted by an outrageously strong throwing arm, which is accented by a lightning-quick transfer and release. Strong forearms and wrists allow him to frame pitches with ease, keeping the movement to a minimum once the ball is caught. Bethancourt’s targets are not always the lowest and he often relies on his superb hand-eye coordination a bit too much, as he sometimes picks at balls in the dirt rather than shifting his feet to block them. Due to his athleticism and already-present skills behind the plate, one may easily project him to be a plus to plus-plus all-around defender behind the dish, a rare breed even at the major league level.
The bat, on the other hand, requires a bit of extra envisaging. During batting practice displays, Bethancourt exhibits crazy bat speed and raw power. He achieves this power by horizontally extending his lead arm, resulting in a bit of length on the backside of his swing, and by powerfully rotating his hips ahead of his hands, which is in theory the correct sequence. Bethancourt, however, rotates his hips a fraction of a second too early, causing his body to “bail out” as the barrel enters the hitting zone (he is not quite on Gerardo Parra’s level, but it is still there). The batting practice displays make it easy for one to put high grades on his raw power, but this power has yet to manifest itself during in-game situations. In terms of actual hitting ability, Bethancourt has shown good hand-eye coordination and has been able to put the bat on the baseball in a fairly consistent manner, striking out in only 16.5% of his plate appearances during his minor league career. Herein lies a bit of the problem; Christian likes to swing the bat early in the count, usually resulting in weak contact. To his credit, Bethancourt has occasionally shown the willingness to widen his base and shorten both his swing and stride in pitcher-friendly counts. Christian has some serious issues to work on at the plate, including pitch recognition and plate discipline, but all of the raw physical tools are present in order for him to make the necessary adjustments. There is no evidence to suggest he will ever rack up massive walk totals–he likely never will–but further exposure against advanced pitching sequences should improve his pitch recognition and thereby his plate discipline, assuming he is willing to learn and make the needed alterations.
The second factor in Bethancourt’s favor is a simple fact: he is the youngest position player in the Southern League (minimum of 86 at-bats). The Braves have aggressively pushed Christian and have enlisted him in a situation in which most 20-year-olds are not placed. The Double-A level is riddled with major-league caliber pitching, and while he has not responded with resounding success, he has not completely flopped in terms of the primary skills necessary to succeed at the major league level. A .254 average paired with a 17.4 K%/3.5 BB% isn’t exactly sexy, but it is at least some evidence that he is putting the bat on the ball. A .558 OPS is putrid, but the individual factors within OPS represent secondary skills, which usually manifest later in a prospect’s developmental path.
This brings us to Sunday’s Futures Game. Bethancourt’s performance was, in a nutshell, a microcosm of his prospect profile. In three plate appearances, he saw a total of eight pitches, resulting in a three-pitch strikeout, a one-pitch fly out, and a four-pitch (!) pop-up. Bethancourt showed little willingness to adjust during and between at-bats, all the while lacking an apparent plan at the plate. Granted, he faced three of the top pitching prospects in baseball in Gerrit Cole, Dylan Bundy, and Jameson Taillon, a dizzying threesome of awesomeness™ to whom many hitters have fallen victim. Defensively, Bethancourt wowed spectators by registering a pop time of 1.78 seconds on an attempted steal by Jonathan Singleton. He flashed impressive lateral movement behind the dish, but still showed a propensity to pick at pitches in the dirt rather than shifting his feet to block them. If you’ve never been blessed with the opportunity to watch Christian play baseball, I fully recommend viewing this game in order to comprehend, at the most basic level, why he receives such high volumes of praise and criticism.
So what is the takeaway here? I am in no way making the case that Christian has been “good” in 2012. Rather, I am trying to provide a bit of context upon which one can frame Christian’s season. The raw tools on both sides of the ball are still there – they haven’t magically disappeared. He is getting his feet wet against much older competition. He is certainly not thriving, but there is some reason to be optimistic, as a defensively advanced catcher making consistent contact against older competition at this stage in his development deserves at least a bit of recognition. Fans sometimes view a prospect’s statistics through major-league-tinted goggles; low accumulations in certain areas automatically doom certain players and cause some fans to discard them as over-hyped prospects. To do so in Christian’s case would be foolish, as he is nowhere near his peak on the developmental arc and has a long way to go before his raw tools fully permeate his everyday game, and that is perfectly okay. Christian has every opportunity to improve the holes within his game in order to set him up as a viable option at the major league level in 2-3 years. “Viable” is used very loosely in this context, as my money is on Bethancourt becoming a solid backup/second-division catcher who provides exceptional defense, below-average batting average/on-base percentage, and 10-12 home runs annually. He will more than likely provide a team with exceptional value during his cost-controlled years and be able to help out various major league benches thereafter. In a world where Nick Hundley has received a majority of his team’s plate appearances at the catching position, Christian Bethancourt might just make it after all. *
*Hundley is just an example. No need to get worked up.
Ethan Purser has been a baseball fan his entire life, taking a particular interest in the Atlanta Braves at a young age due to the geographical proximity. Inspired by Jason Parks, Kiley McDaniel, and Kevin Goldstein, Ethan began writing about prospects and scouting in 2012 and plans to keep fans informed on Braves prospects by way of scouting reports and general rambling. You can follow him on Twitter @EthanPurser.
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A very interesting read, Ethan. I remember reading Keith Law grading the Futures Game the other day showing that Bethancourt has a really good arm. If the hitting doesn’t pan out, could he possibly be transitioned to a pitcher? Somewhat a reverse Rick Ankiel?
Thanks for the kind words, Jon.
Yes, they could definitely try and make him a power arm out of the bullpen if the hitting doesn’t pan out. I would actually pay to watch him throw from the mound. This is a LONG way out from being discussed, however. He has so much upside with the bat, and a catcher who can impact the game both defensively and offensively is ridiculously valuable.
How are you coming up with your future projections? This analysis falls short of what should be coming from this blog. We are limited in the amount of stats available to us from a low to mid minors player, but I do not see how you reach your conclusion that he will end up being even a mere “below-average” offensive player. The guy is straight up awful, and the funny thing is, he has been helped by a high BABIP in the last two seasons. And although it seemed impossible with his awful offensive stats last year – he has not shown any indications of figuring it out at the plate at 21 years old. I have no clue how he plans on hitting 10-12 homeruns a year as he has managed exactly 1 homerun over his last 375+ plate appearances. I’d venture to say that millions of people can hit a ball off a tee/pitching coach 420 feet, but so far his stats say that he will most likely not figure out how to do it off of a pitcher trying to get him out. He may have the “frame” of an athelete, but we have seen time and time again that this does not translate to being able to a servicable hitting MLB player. Sabrmetrics is not the end all be all of baseball analysis, but it is what this blog is supposed to be about. These surface stats and “eye” analysis do nothing for me.
This is the difference between scouting and pure statistical analysis…chill.
I enjoyed the writeup Ethan – learned a lot about Bethancourt’s skill set and outlook.
Martin Prado had a 87 wRC+ his last year in triple-A and a 97 wRC+ in double-A earlier that year. Guys make adjustments and become substantially better. With Bethancourt’s age and overall skills, it isn’t unreasonable for him to become a decent hitting catcher — the average catcher has a 91 wRC+ this year. If he hits for enough power, I could certainly see him getting to somewhere just below that even with an awful OBP.
The point of the article is that minor league stats don’t tell all, and they most certainly do not. Certain stats are more meaningful for anticipating future performance than others, but considering age and overall skills are very important.
Great points, Ben.
At that point in Martin Prado’s development, were we saying he was going to be a servicable offensive threat? I mean, somtimes the light clicks on at a later date, but who are we to say who that happens to or not. The point of my post is that I don’t see how you can even attempt to project offensive numbers, especially provided that minor league stats are unreliable. If we can’t project future stats based on minor league stats (especially A and AA ball), are we relegated to the age-old “that kid’s a ball player” schtick? I mean, we are looking at batting practice power to project HRs, there has got to be a tool better than that.
*The point of my post is that I don’t see how you can even attempt to project offensive numbers for *lower tier prospects*
Silver, I didn’t say that he would definitely hit 10-12 homers. That’s just an approximation based on his tools and the fact that his hit tool will probably never develop enough to showcase his massive raw power. He could just as well flame out in AA, but I don’t see that as the likely outcome. You’re free to disagree – that’s what scouting’s all about! Also, Bethancourt’s not a lower-tier prospect in my eyes or in the eyes of other scout-types I know. He’s an easy top-10 prospect in the system based on his raw physical tools, not just on the numbers.
What players are you basing this prediction on – what other catchers with similar tools and poor numbers in the minors went on to have those kind of stats? Comparative analysis of him to other former struggling players in similar situations is something you could use…Its not that I disagree with you (which I do), its that you seem to jump to unsubstantiated conclusions based on unquantifiable observations.
Or maybe I am just extra grumpy this morning…who knows.
Hey, did you actually read the post? Ethan did not fall back on the “that kid’s a ball player” schtick. He provided specific, scouting-based reasons to think Bethancourt might be a serviceable MLB player in the future.
Your posts read like a knee-jerk rejection of scouting, which was sabermetric conventional wisdom maybe eight years ago. These days, all of the smartest analysts will tell you that you need qualitative, observation-based evaluations to make intelligent assessments of any prospect.
He based his projections on the following positive factors: frame, athleticism, low strikeout numbers (and consequently high contact rate), batting practice (and swing approach – in batting practice), young age (ability to get better). With the exception of his strikeout numbers, how is this not schtick. I try not to provide knee-jerk reactions, though I am clearly more amenable to statisical analysis. I am often guilty of hyperbole (like my tee reference), but I do not feel like my initial reaction was unwarranted. If you are going to attempt to project future performance, give me more that I can sink my teeth into.
The swing approach and mechanics analysis is pretty clearly not based on batting practice, since there are no “pitcher-friendly counts” in BP.
As for the rest–you seem to be under the impression that anything “unquantifiable” is “schtick,” which I assume you think isn’t working seriously. And I’m telling you that you won’t find a single respected sabermetric analyst who agrees with that view in 2012.
Sabermetric statistics are great because they’re democratizing, allowing fans like you or me to make at least some basic arguments about player value against so-called “experts” in the media and even in the game. But statistics don’t define the boundaries of the search for knowledge about baseball, and not all aspects of baseball analysis are capable of that same kind of democratization. Just because you can’t scout doesn’t mean scouting is valueless.
working seriously</strike worth taking seriouslyWell, shit.
I don’t think we can judge MiLB players the same way we judge MLB players. There are more variables involved, such as age and level in the system, as well as where the player came from prior to entering baseball, both geographically and high school or college.
Plus, MiLB is more teaching oriented. It’s less about the stats, and more about the growth. The standings in MiLB are more for show to keep the fans interested than anything.
I think the most important part of the specific points made in this article was that they indicate Bethancourt has the defense to be MLB ready now, but he has the foundation to eventually become passable offensively. In other words, the build is there, the athleticism is there, the hand-eye coordination is there, the power is there, but he hasn’t learned how to apply it yet to advanced pitching. That must be learned, and it is too early to see the growth that is the best indicator that learning is occurring at the more advanced level. But this growth cannot occur without a foundation from which to grow.
The key word here is “learn.” All the skills he lacks – such as plate discipline, pitch recognition, and some mechanical issues – are learnable. He makes contact. That is important and is way more than shtick. It seems reasonable to hypothesize that if he waits for better pitches, he will make better contact. Or if he tweaks his mechanics, he will get into his swing quicker and can slow the pitch down in a way.
Maybe the most important point is age. He has time to learn. He’s young in baseball terms and has at least through next season to figure it out before I grow concerned. I would go so far as to think we should expect him to be overmatched at this point, we are just concerned about how overmatched he is currently.
At no point was it said he will for sure turn into this amazing player at the plate. It was simply stated that there are reasons to be optimistic he can become serviceable enough at the plate for his amazing defensive skills to be useful at the MLB level.
Very well stated, Michah.
It’s not terribly accurate, but this is about all you can do for players who just turned 21 years old. This is what scouting is.
You also have to understand Age/Level. Bethancourt is actually at a pretty high level for his age 20/21 season. Most 20/21 year olds are still in low A. Just like we massively discount stats put up by people old for their level, we give a boost to stats by players who are young for their level (and in a run deflating environment at AA Mississippi). This is why we here were all very cautious on Joey Terdoslavich which some others were salivating over his A ball stats. He was a 22/23 year old in A ball. Then, this year when he was promoted to an age appropriate level, (23/24 at AAA is roughly where an MLB track player should be) he totally fell apart. Bethancourt is the flip side of that argument. He’s 20/21 playing in a league of 22/23 year old, near MLB ready arms. You have to give him some slack offensively because of that.
No baseball franchise, not even the A’s, uses pure statistical analysis, especially not in the minors. Conversions are useful, but the successful franchises always mix in scouting as well. And Bethancourt still ‘scouts’ as having offensive potential.
Simmons was a guy whose offensive stats in the minors were poor, but scouts still liked his offensive game as being average with perhaps room to be slightly above average offensively. And while his time in MLB hasn’t been very long, that’s sort of showing up thus far.
id like to see millions of people hit a ball 420 feet
Me too, Jack. Me too.
Off a tee? lol
I bet there are only a handful of MLBers that can hit it 420 off a tee.
Off a metaphorical tee in batting practice – I just don’t see how you project future SLG/power numbers based on being able to slam slow pitches right down the middle.
You understood my point – hitting a ball hard in batting practice is obviously nothing like hitting one in a ML setting.
SIlver, check this article out, particularly the last two paragraphs.
http://saberscouting.wordpress.com/prospecting/
In this case, Bethancourt has crazy raw power grades based on what he has shown in batting practice and flashed ever so briefly in games. He can hit a ball extremely far and hard, but the frequency with which he can tap into the raw power is the big question mark. 10-12 isn’t definitive, just an approximation based on how I feel he develops as a hitter.
Thanks for that link, and that site in general, I will read up a bit more before I start hammering away – at what point do you believe his ability to tap into that power is a lost cause?
He’s saying that he’s a 21 year old in AA, with ridiculous tools even at the plate (i.e. great bat speed, explosive wrists), who is not performing now but very well could in the near future. People simply don’t realize that it takes a lot of the latin-american players more time to develop, and that statistics aren’t everything in the minors. Ethan’s projection is pretty conservative as Bethancourt’s fielding talent should create a major league bench player somewhere, even if he can’t hit. But he has the potential to be a major league all-star caliber player.
Tom,
Great point and great observations. His ceiling is definitely that of an all-star caliber catcher. The chances of him reaching that, however, are very slim.
First, the article was very well done and had some great points. I wish Christian much success and I believe he will come along offensively although I don’t think it will ever be his biggest strength and doesn’t need to be at his position. A couple of observations on some comments though,
1. Where is the proof that it takes Latin-American ballplayers to develop ? This statement has no basis in fact – actually, I believe most Latin-American ballplayers are much more mature than their American counterparts.
2. It is important to note that Christian, although only 20, was signed by the Braves at age 16 and has played minor league ball for approximately 5 seasons. So, from a hitting sense, he should be more advanced than most 20 yr. olds his age and concurrently, is not being as stretched as this article suggests.
Again, great piece. Thanks for your work.
jayhaybrave33,
I thought you had some interesting points, and I do not have definitive answers on either of those, but I did have a thought on each.
1. I don’t know anything about Latin American players v. U.S. Players in particular (and I did think that would be an interesting topic to study), but as a student of psychology, I do know that there is more than baseball to consider when a 17-year-old kid transitions to a foreign culture, and it is reasonable to conclude that could have some level of impact on baseball, at least the first year.
2. While he was signed at 16, that first year was in the Dominican Summer League, so I would say his first actual year of “real” minor league baseball was his age 17 season. Now let’s consider what happened from there:
• At age 17, while most kids are still in high school, he moved to the U.S. and advanced through both rookie leagues, finishing the season with 56 plate appearances in Danville.
• At age 18, instead of going back to Danville, he was pushed on up to A ball in Rome, where he actually got to spend an entire season at the same level for the only time to date.
At age 19, he went back to Rome, but after half a season was pushed up to high A ball in Lynchburg.
At age 20, he was pushed up to AA in Miss, where he is likely to stay for the whole season for only the second time in his MiLB career.
So he has been in baseball for awhile, but he started very young and was pushed pretty hard.
I also want to note that it you compare the second season numbers in Rome to the first, you will see that he did show some positive growth (sample size might be an issue, but it is the only spot of comparison at the same level). Comparing his traditional stat line:
2010 Rome (420PA): .251/.276/.331 (.607 OPS)
2011 Rome (235PA): .303/.323/.430 (.753 OPS)
Also, his wOBA jumped from a pretty miserable .279 to a very reasonable .334.
Unfortunately, that growth did not extend to K% and BB%, which both remained roughly the same as they have throughout his MiLB career (with a dip in K%):
Career: 4.4% BB/PA; and 16.5% K/PA
2010 Rome: 3.3% BB; 14.8%K
2011 Rome: 3.4% BB; 11.5% K
To me, all this might indicate that his chance to experience the same level for a second time allowed him to catch up to the pitching, possibly slowing the game down or getting better at recognizing pitches, but it has not really impacted his patience at the plate as 20% of PAs result in putting the ball in play, and that dropped to 15% second time through A-ball because he apparently was putting the ball in play better (which might be supported by his dip in K% and increase in BABIP from .286 in 2010 to .323 in 2011, but I can’t find LD% anywhere for MiLB to further support it).
Sorry to go on so long, it just got more interesting the more I looked into it. Now back to my real job…
I agree that it is overly generalized and he has no evidence to support the statement “Latin-American players take more time to develop”, but then you follow it up with one of your own “Latin-American ballplayers are much more mature than their American counterparts”. Ha, at least you put I believe.
Great post, thanks.
I appreciate it, Todd and Nique. Glad y’all enjoyed.
So what are the Braves going to do with him though? Mac is here through 2013 and this is Ross’ final year under contract. I figure Mac will be extended at least a few years, but how much does Ross have left in the tank? If Ross is signed for one more year, would the Braves bring up Bethancourt to replace Ross in 2014 and platoon with Mac?
Vinny,
This is an interesting topic to which an entire post could be dedicated. It’s so hard to predict what they will do with the roster this far out. The only thing I’ll say is that Bethancourt has the potential to be ready in 2, probably 3 years, depending on the adjustments he makes. I could definitely see him platooning/being Mac’s backup, assuming he re-signs, by late 2014 or early 2015. We’ll see how it goes from there.
Keep Ross for another 2 years, then migrate him into retirement….where he would be a Bench Coach that manages Frediot’s bullpen chart.
You think Ross has 2 more years left in the tank?! I don’t know.
I know it’s been talked about on this site before, but I don’t believe that most people keep in mind the Braves payroll/ TV contract issues. From my understanding they basically will not be able to raise their payroll much more than few million over the life of the TV contract (which is has about 25 years left). Therefore, signing BMac to an extension even at an extremely Braves friendly contract of say 15-16 mill/ year. Than they will not be able to sign Freddie, Jason, Simmons or Prado to contracts in the prime of their career to keep an aging catcher (never mind his current “slump”). I get the arguments that he is the face of the franchise and I personally love him, but numbers don’t lie and the Braves are financially screwed!!
I’m afraid that I have to agree with Silver. When it comes to batting, I don’t see any indication that Bethancourt is ever going to hit well enough to stick in the majors for long. At his age he should be showing more with the bat. As Bill James pointed out in one of his books, by age 20 or 21, a player can either hit or he can’t, and there’s no sign that Bethancourt can. The comparison with Nick Hundley was made. However, Hundley’s minor-league OPS was .785. Likewise Martin Prado was mentioned as an example of someone who has contributed more in the majors than was expected. However, his minor-league on-base percentage was .352. In the majors it’s .347. The increase in Prado’s value at the major-league level is mostly due to his increased power. I don’t wish to demean Ethan’s contributions with these comments. I applaud his effort and hope to read more of him. However, I disagree with his conclusions.
As a 20 year old in double-A, Yadier Molina had a .660 OPS. That’s better than what Christian has done, but it’s somewhat comparable. Just keep that in mind.
Ben, somewhat off topic, but I was looking up some of Scott Rolen and Chipper’s numbers in the minors. Also made a ton of errors, similar to Edward Salcedo. Is it safe to say he’ll eventually come along at 3B like they did, or will he be moved to the OF? It’s good to see him hitting lately.
I don’t think it’s safe to say, but it’s not necessarily something to be terribly concerned with. Jeter made a ton of errors as well.
First, you can’t have stats be the final say in everything when it comes to potential. A MLB player with a few hundred AB’s has shown you who he is. Stats can give you a good estimate of what his value is. A 20 year old catcher in the minors still has a long time to learn and progress. Maybe he never figures it out.
Second, you can’t project what a guy will do once he reaches the majors. You can say he could hit 10-12 HR a season but that is only a guesstimate. Don’t hold Ethan to it because he tries to project something that could or could not be possible. Maybe he figures things out, maybe he doesn’t, maybe he gets injured. There are to many variables at this point to calculate what is career WAR will be.
Third, even if he does not hit a lick he will be on an MLB or possibly starting because of his superior defensive abilities. Remeber Ross does not pich hit and neither would Bethancourt but he could be a good late game sub or give McCann a rest every so often and still prove valuable.
ChuckO,
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I agree – it would be nice to see him doing more with the bat. As stated in the post and with the link provided, however, he is in a ridiculously advanced level for his age. This has to be take into account.
Also, I wasn’t comparing him to Nick Hundley. I was merely making the case that the offensive threshold for catching is really low – not a direct comparison at all.
Well, the Braves have a long history of drafting “athletes” instead of guys who can play baseball. I’d love for Bethancourt to suddenly morph into a baseball player, but all I can see so far is another great athlete who maybe should have picked a different sport to concentrate on.
How many people in the world are at his level defensively at catcher (maybe 3-5). What sport should he have picked, Hop Scotch. Sorry you just sound like someone who wishes they were a “great athlete”. I wish the best for Bethancourt and hope he keeps progressing as a Braves fan. If he reaches the majors in four years I would be thrilled.
Baseball players generally have to be able to field *and* hit (at least a little). But thanks for sharing that bit of snotty condescension.
And you weren’t snotty, cracking that he’s not a baseball player now? What do you think he’s doing out there with a mask and chest protector–playing tiddlywinks?
Didn’t Bethancourt show some power in the Arizona fall league. If memory serves correct he actually impressed a lot of people there with his power. Granted it is a small sample size and not a basis for a lot of projections. It does however show that he has the ability to hit for power which is really what the original post was saying If he can physically do it that is the first step. repeating it often enough is a different issue.
Saw that Salcedo’s name was brought up by another commenter. A similar write up on him would be most welcomed if you have the time Ethan. Your work is much appreciated, I’d like to give personal thanks to you and the rest of the CAC team.
Todd,
He’s definitely on the list, it’s just a matter of lining up trips to see him and things of that nature. I saw him plenty when he was in Rome, but I have reason to believe he’s made some adjustments at Lynchburg, and I would like to see them for myself.
Thanks for the kind words and for the warm welcome!
Then you would be wrong. I have seen Salcedo at Rome and Lynchburg and he is the exact same ballplayer. Still is a dead-red fastball hitter who loves to hit early in the count and struggles with breaking stuff. Has great power when he is dialed in but looks silly with good breaking stuff outside of the zone. Defense is still suspect – up to 26 errors on the year – probably will finish with 40+ again this year. I know plenty of people say it doesn’t matter but there is a pattern here that is somewhat alarming – he needs to figure it out. Please don’t offer up comparison’s like even Jeter had plenty of errors in MILB and the fields in the minors are terrible because it is nothing but an excuse. If it wallks like a duck – it’s a duck ! That being said, the tools and potential are there – he just needs to keep working.
jahaybrave33,
Thanks for the kind words (in the earlier comment) and for offering your opinion; I really appreciate it.
I didn’t plan on making any excuses for his fielding. I’ve seen Salcedo play a good bit in the past two years, and I’ve been convinced on occasion that he will have to move to an outfield corner (probably RF based on the arm). Thanks for the insight on his continued approach issues in Lynchburg; hopefully this is something he is working on.
I watched the Future’s game and while Bethancourt does leave more to be desired offensively I think some of it just takes maturity. Such as knowing when to take a pitch and knowing that seeing more pitches tends to lead to better overall results.
I remember reading an article last year when Javy Lopez saw Bethancourt in ST and went up to him and told him he needs to grow up essentially. As Javy put it, “I was stupid just like you”. While Bethancourt’s attitude seems to have improved(I haven’t really heard any complaints about it since then.) he still I think does have room for growth(what 20 year old doesn’t).
I tried posting the story but I guess it failed. Here is the link: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110222&content_id=16704072¬ebook_id=16704436&vkey=notebook_atl&c_id=atl&partnerId=rss_atl
Mike,
I’ve heard about the maturity issues as well. This could definitely play a role in determining the level at which Bethancourt plays in the future. Hopefully it doesn’t turn into an issue.