First Look At Braves Second Round Pick Victor Caratini

The Braves second pick in tonight’s draft is Victor Caratini out of Miami Dade Junior College. Caratini is a 6’2” inch 205 pound switch hitting catcher. Caratini graduated from the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy in 2011.

While Caratini is nominally a catcher scouts are divided on whether he can be a good one.  One report said “. . .his receiving is simply too rough and though athletic in a baseball sense he doesn’t have the fluidity or flexibility you’d like to see in a catcher. . .” while Perfect Game reports “. . . scouts still view Caratini mostly as a catcher on the strength of his sound defensive skills and enthusiastic style of play.”  Those that like him as a catcher don’t like him at third and vice versa. So I guess you pays your money and you take your pick.

What’s not in question however is his bat. According to Perfect Game, “…Caratini’s ability to square up balls from both sides with a controlled, aggressive approach has set him apart as the best all-around hitting prospect in the Florida (Junior Colleges) . . . he spent most of the 2013 season playing largely out of position at third base. . (he) excelled defensively at third with his range and superior arm strength, but scouts still view Caratini mostly as a catcher on the strength of his sound defensive skills and enthusiastic style of play, though his bat remains the strength of his game.”

His Junior College stats are impressive 377/467/549 with 66 hits (six homers and 12 doubles) 28 walks and 26 strikeouts in 214 plate appearances. If you’re interested in all of his stats you can find them by clicking here.

That’s a Wrap

I’d not looked this far out for a draft pick and had no idea where the Braves would go. Catarini is a bat and if continues to hit and plays either position reasonably well he’ll have value. There will be more names tomorrow and we’ll let you know what we find to about them here on the Take.