Two Major One Minor 041613

Here is the third Two Major One Minor segment of 2013. This is my third year of doing this series where I feature two Major League players and one minor league player each week. This week I am featuring the young catching trio of Rob Brantly, Evan Gattis and Mike Zunino.

Brantlty is the starting catcher for the Miami Marlins. He is at the start of his first full season and has struggled more next to the plate than behind it. This season he is hitting .200/.256/.286 with 0 HR, 3 RBI, 0 R, 0 SB in 10 games. In his short two MLB career he has hit .267/.342/.415 with 3 HR, 11 RBI, 14 R, 1 SB in 41 games. This season he has had good success throwing out 50% of those that have attempted to steal so far. That is an improvement over his initial adjustment period last season when he only threw out 18% after his call up. He's had a quick rise through the minors showing an adept bat with a .280 overall average and has shown a little pop with 10 home runs in 2011. His caught stealing rate in the minors was 32%. He was originally drafted by the Tigers in the third round in 2010 out of Cal-Riverside. Brantly will be 24 on July 14.

Gattis is a catcher with the Atlanta Braves and will hold the starting job until Brian McCann returns from the DL in a couple weeks. The young catcher has started with a red hot bat. In his first nine MLB games he has hit .324/.385/.735 with 4 HR, 10 RBI, 5 R, 0 SB. He has risen through the minors in the same time period as Brantly while he has hit .308 overall with 22 HR in 2011 and 18 HR in 2012. He had a little tougher time with base runners as he has only thrown out 28%. When McCann returns it will give the Braves management a tough decision to make as to what to do with Gattis but he did have some time at first and the outfield in the minors. He was originally drafted by the Braves in the 23rd round in 2010 out of Texas-Permian Basin. Gattis will be 27 on August 18.

Zunino is being groomed as the Seattle Mariners All-Star catcher of the future. He has treated minor league pitchers roughly in his limited time there. He split 2012 between Class A Everett where he hit .373/.474/.736 with 10 HR, 35 RBI, 29 R, 1 SB in 29 games and Double A Jackson where he hit .333/.386/.588 with 3 HR, 8 RBI, 6 R, 0 SB in 15 games. He has started 2013 at Triple A Tacoma where he is hitting .278/.341/.750 with 4 HR, 18 RBI, 7 R, 0 SB in 9 games. He threw out 43% in 2012 and is at 33% so far this season. It is only a matter of time before the Mariners call him up. He was originally drafted by the Mariners with the third pick of the first round in 2012. Zunino turned 22 on March 25.