Can the 2015 Braves replicate the 1991 Braves?

Similarity Two: Defensive Catcher

1991: Greg Olson was certainly not known for his bat, and he may be the last Atlanta Braves catcher that this could be said about. Braves fans have been spoiled by the progression of Javy Lopez to Brian McCann to Evan Gattis behind the plate providing above average offense. Even Johnny Estrada was a very good hitter. Olson was different. He was known for his game calling and how he worked with the pitchers. He wasn’t a guy who hit below the Mendoza line or anything like that, but he was the perfect catcher to handle a young pitching staff with his solid defense to get every pitch his pitchers could called for them.

2015: The trade of Gattis opened up the catcher position for Christian Bethancourt, and his carrying tool as he’s moved quickly through the Braves’ minor league system has been his exceptional defense. Many have compared Bethancourt’s defense behind the plate to Andrelton Simmons‘ at short or Andruw Jones‘ in center field. Those guys had to work hard to keep focus because they were so incredibly gifted with defensive talent. Bringing in A.J. Pierzynski behind Bethancourt should give him the sort of high-effort veteran to encourage him to never take a play off and give every pitch every bit of his effort. Bethancourt has legendary “pop times”, the time it takes for a catcher to receive the ball, get out of his crouch, and fire the ball down to second base. His bat has trailed behind at each level, though it seems to show up as he gains more experience at each level. His 2015 offensive expectations should be low, however.