Phillip Britton, catcher

That name sounds vaguely familiar.

Note: I did not see Phillip Britton play for the Norfolk Tides.

If his name does sound familiar, you’re either a diehard Braves fanatic or you’ve been spending too much time with Baseball America. In 2006-2007, Britton was a fringe catching prospect in the lower levels of the Braves system — he hit for a good average and fringy power. In 2008, he moved up to Myrtle Beach, a terrible place to hit. He didn’t hit well but it wasn’t too bad in context. He moved up to AA in 2009, and the bottom dropped out. He moved to the Orioles system for 2010 and didn’t find a new bottom.

Two points of note. He played in one game for the Tides in 2010; he went 1-for-3. That .333 on-base percentage is the highest on-base percentage he’s had anywhere in professional baseball. Second, Rob Picciolo is notorious for never drawing walks; he drew 25 in over 1700 major-league plate appearances. In his minor-league career, Picciolo drew 49 walks in 1273 plate appearances. Phillip Britton has a worse walk rate in his career than Picciolo did in his minor-league career — 39 walks in 1241 plate appearances.