The Future of the Braves (Catcher Edition)

He really should get more kudos than he does.

I did a post a week or two ago about the future of the Braves, but I figured I would take a more in-depth look at who's on the team, who's in the farm system, and how the Braves look overall heading into the future. I can't help but look to the future because the present is so depressing. In order to serve my own curiosity, I'm beginning this series to take a look at the Braves. Each day, I'll post about a new position, and at the end, I may or may not give a total view (knowing me, I probably will). It should be fun. Anyway, if someone wants me to look into their team, I am fully up for it, but I don't know who wants to see about whom so leave a reMark. On to the catchers.

This is probably one of the brightest places in the organization, even with the losses of Max Ramirez and Jarrod Saltalamacchia to the Rangers. First and foremost is Brian McCann. How can you not love him? His numbers this season are .295/.369/.526 with 21 HR, 72 RBI, 32 2B, his first career triple, 55 R, and just six more strikeouts than walks. That's pretty incredible. He may (is) the best offensive catcher in the game. His weakness is defense. He's middle of the pack in passed balls, so he's a decent receiver. He calls games well as the Braves pitchers haven't been as terrible as they should be (although that's becoming an issue as well, but I call that mailing it in). The real weakness lies in his 7 errors and 23% CS. His arm just doesn't work as well. Yet, he's becoming a leader for this team, and he's definitely the future face of the franchise. Absolutely nothing to worry about here.

His backup for the next few seasons will be Clint Sammons, who at age 25, should be able to be a capable backup for many seasons, and there's an outside shot he could be more than that (leading to a possible trade, but it's too early and speculative to think about that). He's not great at anything, but that's why he's not the starter. However, he's more capable than say ... Corky Miller, especially at the plate (although Sammons is no Johnny Bench). Again, he's a capable backup, and with McCann, that's all he really needs to be.

The next line of plausible help (Jose Camarena and Ray Serrano are probably lifers in the minor league system) is a bit further down the chain. The main guy is Tyler Flowers. He impressed during his time in Spring Training with his tape-measure power, and he's done well in advanced-A Myrtle Beach with a .285/.427/.485 line with 16 HR, 82 RBI, 29 2B, 65 R, and 96 BB (albeit with 98 K). He's very good with the stick, but the big question comes defensively. For his first two professional seasons, he was mainly a first baseman who occasionally caught. Now, he's a full-time catcher. How will he develop? Can he handle calling games? That's to be decided, but no doubt, his future is bright. I'm not sure where he'll end up. He could be a catcher, but he could be blocked. He could be a first baseman, which seems the most plausible considering Kotchman, but Freddy Freeman is only a step below him and 3 years younger. He could also end up like Salty and get traded.

Catcher is not as deep as it once was, but with McCann, it doesn't have to be deep. Tyler Flowers can continue to develop without feeling hurried. If something (God forbid) happens to McCann, Flowers will be in AA next year, and we all know how well the last catcher who came up from AA did. I feel very good about this position, and I think Flowers may be cracking a few top prospect lists this year.