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Atlanta Braves: Brian McCann should be the team’s primary catcher

By Jake Mastroianni

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JUNE 14: Brian McCann #16 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after hitting a walk-off single to score two runs to give the Braves a 9-8 win over the Philadelphia Phillies at SunTrust Park on June 14, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JUNE 14: Brian McCann #16 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after hitting a walk-off single to score two runs to give the Braves a 9-8 win over the Philadelphia Phillies at SunTrust Park on June 14, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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The heroics of Brian  McCann continue for the Atlanta Braves in 2019, and he deserves to be the team’s primary catcher.

This is easy to say after what Brian McCann did on Friday night, but he needs to start more games for the Atlanta Braves.

I’ll be the first to admit that I was not thrilled with brining back an aging Brian McCann. I knew it would be great for the clubhouse, but I thought there was little left in the tank.

It seems that playing in his home state again with the team that he loves has give the 35-year-old catcher some extra energy.

But my biggest concern with bringing McCann back was that meant Tyler Flowers would get more time behind the plate.

This is not an article where I want to really bash on Flowers, but I’ll say my peace and move on. I think Flowers is a terrible defensive catcher.

You can look at the metrics all you want, and I don’t know what they say, but I know my eyes tell me he lets a lot of balls get by him and he’s not great at calling a game.

Flowers frustrates me to no end when he tries to frame a pitch so badly that he misses it altogether and it gets by him. It seems like that happens at least once a game.

When McCann left the Atlanta Braves for greener pasture after the 2013 season I wasn’t that upset, because at that time B-Mac wasn’t a great defensive catcher in my mind.

But I think working with the Houston Astros and that great pitching staff has elevated his game behind the plate.

He’s much more experience now, he’s won a World Series so he knows what it takes to win at this game.

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I’ve been beyond impressed with his work behind the dish this season, and I think it warrants him getting more starts — especially with our young pitching staff.

And when Dallas Keuchel joins the rotation, I would be very surprised if McCann didn’t catch him almost every time.

The playing time between McCann and Flowers has been pretty even this year. Flowers has played in two more games and has two more at-bats, but that’s with B-Mac missing 10 days on the IL.

McCann has started four of the past five games for the Atlanta Braves, and I think that’s a trend that should continue.

The only thing I hate about McCann is that he is an anchor on the basepaths. If he comes up with a runner on first and hits a ball on the ground it’s an easy double-play.

dark. Next. Kevin?

But I’m not as concerned with B-Mac’s offense, even though he’s doing well there, I want his experience behind the plate on a regular basis where he’s been amazing all year.

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