LAKELAND, Fla. – Christian Bethancourt’s much-talked-about cannon of a throwing arm was only evident a couple of times last season in his stints with the major league team, and many observers seemed generally unimpressed by his defense during his limited time on the big stage.
But the rookie catcher demonstrated what all the fuss was about Thursday when he made the kind of throw that few of his major league peers can make. Speedy Tigers shortstop Hernan Perez singled to start the fourth inning, then got a good jump as he attempted to steal second base with the next batter up.
But Bethancourt would have none of it. He displayed his reflexes, agility and top-of-the-charts arm strength all in one play when he caught and fired to second base to gun down Perez.
“He turned that around pretty good,” said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez, a former minor league catcher. “That guy had a great jump. (Bethancourt) has that type of ability, that he can stop the running game cold. Nobody will attempt it. A guy with that type of ability, that type of arm strength. …”
Gonzalez didn’t finish that last thought nor the next one, when he started to say the Braves just need to help Bethancourt continue his progress in managing a pitching staff and calling a game. That’s what they want him to stress most of all, the component they view as far more important than his offense.
“He’s a young guy that’s developing a lot of different stuff – learning how to handle a pitching staff, take that responsibility, doing all that kind of stuff here on the big league level,” Gonzalez said. “And I think (bullpen coach) Eddie (Perez) and (minor league catching instructor) Joe (Breeden) and (pitching coach) Roger (McDowell) have done a terrific job getting him going. And also the veteran guys that we brought in, John Buck and (A.J.) Pierzynski, they’ve been talking a lot to him, going over how to handle a pitching staff.”
Etc.
Joey Terdoslavich started in left field and had two walks and an opposite-field double in the Braves’ two-run ninth inning. “Terdo puts the ball in play. And we’ve seen that before. And that’s what we did today, we put the ball in play a couple of different times.”… The Braves had only two certain lineup regulars in their lineup and didn’t have a hit until outfield candidate Todd Cunningham’s fifth-inning leadoff single. Phil Gosselin’s two-out, two-run single in the fifth gave the Braves a 2-1 lead…. Young Braves infield prospects Johan Camargo and Daniel Castro turned a highlight-worthy 6-4-3 double play to end the seventh inning, started brilliantly by Camargo with Castro making a slick turn. They played together for much of last season at high-A Lynchburg.
