high marks

Already rated among the Atlanta Braves’ Top 10 prospects by Baseball America, Christian Bethancourt has been ranked the No. 7 catching prospect in the minors by mlb.com. Bethancourt figures to play for the Mississippi Braves this season; it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Panama native behind the plate on opening day (April 5). A right-handed hitter, Bethancourt hit .303 with four home runs and 33 RBIs at low Class A Rome and .271-1-20 at high-A Lynchburg in 2011. He also impressed in the Arizona Fall League, especially with his arm. Brian McCann set the standard for M-Braves catchers in 2005; it’ll be interesting to see how Bethancourt, only 20 years old, measures up.