Atlanta Braves Say Bye Bye Bethancourt

Catcher Ricardo Rodriguez during a workout in summer 2014. Screen Cap by Fred Owens

Ricardo Rodriguez

Ricardo Rodriguez is a 17 year old catcher and a graduate of the Padres Venezuelan baseball academy. At the age of 16 Rodriguez the top catching prospect in the international market and ranked #30 among international prospects by MLBPipeline.  Here’s a portion of their scouting report followed by their video that says about the same thing.

"Scouts like Rodriguez’s prowess behind the plate and his power potential . . .(he’s) a below-average. . .with a solid arm and reliable defense. . .(he) impressed evaluators with his poise, intelligence and baseball IQ. . . projects to be an average hitter (but will) improve.as he matures and plays in games regularly. . .Rodriguez seems to do everything well. . (and) should be considered among the top catchers on the market . . (in 2014)"

Baseball American ranked him #21 among international prospects when he signed last in July year.  Baseball America’s scouting ($$) report from the 2014 draft has more great things to say about Rodriguez.

". . . several scouts believe Rodriguez is the best catcher on the market. There’s no major plus tool  . . . (who) is solid across the board. . . Rodriguez is . . . a steady defender with a solid-average arm. . . (and) catch-and-throw skills, with the ability to block and receive . . .  he gets high marks for being a smart, heady player that will help him handle all the challenges that come with catching. . . . he has a decent swing with some strength and a chance to hit for average power. . . There’s some natural lift to his swing. . . so his offensive game will probably be power over on-base skills. . ."

Here’s some video of his swing.

Former Padres Assistant General Manager Chad MacDonald was a fan of the young backstop.

"“It’s a real athletic body, good all-around tools and a pretty good skill-set to go with it,” MacDonald said. “He’s plus catch-and-throw with a chance to hit and have some power. He’s a smart, intelligent kid with good make-up. We identified him early as the best catcher in the class.”"

The Padres started the young backstop in the Dominican summer league this season while there he played in 28 games .270/.339/.380/719 with a .110 slugging percentage including four home runs while striking out 11 times and walking eight in 108 PA.

This fall Rodriguez moved to the Arizona Fall League where he appeared in four games with 18 AB slashing .222/.300/.333/.633 including two doubles.  At 17 years old Rodriguez is a long way from ready for the majors but he appears to be the rarest of all players, a young catcher who will be good at the job and stay there.

That’s a Wrap

I’m personally sad to see the way Bethancourt wasted his chance to be a full time major league catcher. He had the tools and the pedigree and until it became obvious he would get the job he looked better than simply good defensively. Like so many before him however he didn’t make the transition to the big leagues on time and oddly it was his glove not his bat that failed him. Maybe this will be a wake up call for the young man and he’ll turn his career around. I for one hope he does and wish him success.

Next: Getting to the Root-Ski of the latest Rule Five Selectee

Kelly adds another post TJ arm to the Braves stable and a mid rotation pitcher if he can regain his 2012 form and stay healthy.  He could be ready almost immediately and account for some of the innings missing from the projected rotation next year.

While Kelly was widely rumored to be the return for Bethancourt, the addition of a catcher with upside like Rodriguez is a pleasant surprise. This is a bigger return than I expected for Bethancourt and puts a nice bow on the winter meetings for the Braves.