Braves’ Bethancourt waiting, learning from Pierzysnki

Braves rookie catcher Christian Bethancourt (pictured) said he understands why veteran A.J. Pierzynski has been getting more playing time. (Curtis Compton / ccompton@ajc.com)PHILADELPHIA – When A.J. Pierzysnki was the same age that Christian Bethancourt is now (23), Pierzysnki spent most of the season with Twins minor league teams, while Minnesota’s big-league team played catchers Matt LeCroy and Marcus Jensen through mid-June, then brought up Chad Moeller from Triple-A to share catching duties with Jensen.

Pierzynski was a third-round draft pick who began his pro career at 17, spent nearly six seasons in the minors before getting brief callups with the Twins in 1998 and 1999, and hit .313…