Braves’ Prospects In Futures Game
July 9, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; World team catcher Christian Bethancourt (2) walks on the field before the start of the 2012 All Star Futures Game at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
I love the All-Star Futures Game! The annual, MLB hosted event pits the top minor league prospects against each other in two teams, one from the United States, and one International. It’s kind of the minor league equivalent of our regular MLB All-Star game we’ll enjoy later next month. Like any All-Star game, it’s an honor to be chosen to play, whichever team you play for, and it’s a great opportunity to see some of the players we write and read about, but may not actually get to see on TV that much.
Two of the Atlanta Braves’ top prospects have been honored to be chosen to play in this year’s event, the 15th annual Sirius XM All-Star Futures Game. Joey Terdoslavich and Christian Bethancourt have the honor this year, and Joey will play for the United States team while Christian plays for the International, or World Team. This year’s event will occur on the regular MLB All-Star Sunday, July 14, 2013, at 2:00 PM EST, and fans will be able watch the event on MLB.com and ESPN2. You can also follow the game on XM Radio, on MLB Network’s XM 89. It has further been reported by Braves.com that you can also follow @MLBFutures on Twitter and use the hashtags #USDugout and #WorldDugout to send tweets to those respective dugouts during the game. Very cool!
Feb 27, 2013; Lakeland, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves outfielder Joey Terdoslavich (73) against the Detroit Tigers during the a spring training game at Joker Marchant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Braves’ Crop Report
Our own Alan Carpenter recently wrote up a piece on the current crop of prospects in the Braves’s organization. You can read his entire piece HERE, but I’ll just go ahead and quote here what Alan said regarding Terdoslavich and Bethancourt. (Note: Alan’s report was written on 6/25, so numbers will reflect that)
"Joey Terdoslavich has made the most of his second attempt at AAA. He’s hitting .324 with 24 doubles, 17 homers, and 56 RBI over 77 games. As I mentioned last week, now the trick will be “where can he play?” Third base did not go so well. He’s currently playing in the outfield on most days. Two more complications: though a switch hitter, he is much better as a righty… and frankly, if that was reversed, he’d probably be in the majors right now. Joe is almost 25, so it’s about time for the Braves to figure out what they’d like to do with him… a quandry at least happily made more difficult by the fact that he’s totally raking."
As you can see from Alan’s report, there’s a reason Joey got invited to play in the Future’s game. While Joey’s raking indeed, Christian got invited on the strength of his defense and his catcher’s arm. Bethancourt played in the Future’s game last year, and went 0-3 with one K in the event. His offense hasn’t improved much, but he is an extremely solid catcher, with a better than average arm. Alan also wrote a piece about the Braves’ current crop back on June 18, and here’s what Alan reported on Christian then…
"Christian Bethancourt, C (22 in Sept, RHB, TR). AA – Mississippi. .244/.259/.333/.592, 2 HR, 15 RBI. Bethancourt started hot this year, with the hope that his bat would finally come around. No. He’s now regressed to his 2012 number with the same club. That .259 OBP is not a typo (1.8% walk rate and his K rate is up). Yes, he’s the best defender in the minors, but his offensive output is unacceptable."
Since then, Christian has raised his average some, but still struggles with offense. As we said though, it’s his prowess as a catcher that draws eyes toward him, and makes him worthy of the Futures honor indeed! So congratulations Joey and Christian! A well deserved honor it is, and Braves’ fans all around Braves’ Country couldn’t be more proud.