The whole "bat a guy struggling in front of Freeman to protect him" spiel is old and tired as fuck and someone in the organization needs to shut this dumb shit down. You have the hottest hitter in baseball that didn't play in Korea last year and he's knocked in two runs that aren't him because you're trotting out utter trash in front of him. Tell Snit to cut that shit out or fire him. It is objectionably stupid.
I believe Joe just implied the Giants should void Madison Bumgarner's contract since he injured himself in a bike accident. I have no words.
That was a rocket shot, 425ft. Wish someone else would step up with FF, he already has 7 homers on the year with only 9(?) rbi's.
ATLANTA—The Braves’ new world came closer to reality in April with the opening of SunTrust Park. Their on-field talent also showed signs of progress when a trio of first-round pitching prospects skipped the high Class A level. Lefthanders Kolby Allard and Max Fried and righthander Mike Soroka opened the season at Double-A Mississippi after toiling all of last year at low Class A Rome. All three pitchers served critical roles in the R-Braves’ run to the South Atlantic League championship last September. That combined with their performance this spring convinced the Braves that the aggressive promotion was warranted. While Fried turned 23 in January, neither Allard nor Soroka will celebrate their 20th birthdays until August. The Braves have a long history of prioritizing high school pitchers in the draft—and a long history of being conservative when promoting prep pitchers early in their pro careers. The early returns did not disappoint. Soroka recorded an 0.77 ERA in his first two starts at Mississippi while striking out 14 and walking none in 11.2 innings. Allard pitched to a 1.69 ERA through three starts while striking out nine and walking four in 16 innings. Fried pitched 1.2 innings in his first start while allowing two earned runs and four hits. He bounced back to surrender two hits and one earned run over six innings in his second appearance. The quiet confidence exuded by all three pitchers and their determination on the mound continue to impress the Braves. And while some younger hurlers might be intimidated about facing older competition, that is not the case with the two teenagers. “(Age) is just a number,” Allard said. “That’s the way I look at it, and I know Mike does too. “The Braves believe we’re ready, so we’re going to go out there and keep doing what we’ve always done.” WIGWAM WISPS • Righthander Ian Anderson, the third overall pick in the 2016 draft, allowed one run through 9.2 innings in his first two starts at Rome. He struck out 16 and walked five. • Speedy veteran minor league outfielder Lane Adams, who signed in December, started hot at Triple-A Gwinnett, swatting four home runs in nine games and batting .333.
Heyman notes: Atlanta Braves Mike Soroka looks like a future star in a farm system now ranked No. 1 by Baseball America. The Double-A rotation, which also includes Kolby Allard, Max Fried and Patrick Weigel, is special (Allard and Soroka don’t turn 20 until August). Look for the Braves to target a pitcher with the No. 5 pick overall once again. Ender Inciarte, after a slow start, is showing unusual power, with four homers in four games after only four last year. Inciarte credited manager Brian Snitker for a career transformation since Snitker was the one who saw a starting center fielder in Inciarte. GM John Coppolella, after signing Inciarte long-term this winter, called him the best defensive center fielder in the game (he might not be wrong, though Kevin Kiermaier, Kevin Pillar and one of two others could make a claim). Freddie Freeman, one of the best hitters in the game, should have made my 50 stars to admire/follow list last week. Apologies. Adonis Garcia certainly isn’t living up to his name, with a .456 OPS. Alex Jackson, with three early homers, is having a bit of a renaissance, as Mark Bowman of MLB.com reported. The new park looks fantastic. “Well done, especially the surrounding area (Battery Park),” reports one spy.
Down on the farm .. Gohara - 7IP, 4H, 0R, 1BB, 7K Alex Jackson with 2 more hits tonight. Up to .317/.339/.617 on the year. Braxton Davidson with 3 more Ks tonight. Down to .120/.214/.140 - and no, that .140 SLG% is not a typo. Yikes. Derian Cruz having a rough time in the field. Another error tonight. Already with 9 errors on the season. Anfernee Seymour with 2 more hits, up to .314 on the season. Randy Ventura with 2 more hits as well, up to .373 on the year. Marcus Mooney starting the season well. 10th round pick out of USCe last year. Picked up 2 hits tonight, and batting .385 on the year. Soroka - 5IP, 1H, 2ER, 1BB, 4K -- odd, but solid line for him tonight.
I'm about ready to give up on Braxton Davidson. I was dead wrong about that pick. I don't know why we're so bad at developing high school bats.
Looking at video of Howard at AAA and he's made quite a few changes to his stance. Not nearly as upright as last year. Stance is more open. And his hands are starting farther down and away from his body. Given how terrible our bench is, I'd love to see him come on as a late inning PH. Don't now how well he'd adapt to that role, but cannot be any worse than what we have right now.
Definitely. He'd basically only be a DH/pinch hitter for us, but we need someone who can come off the bench and get a hit.
No point in pinch hitting with our bench. Would rather Garcia save our overworked bullpen another inning or two. Was only at 82 pitches.
We've got two lefties in our pen. Neither of which can get anyone out consistently. Not exactly a recipe for success.
Tyler Pike, who came over with Alex Jackson, had a stat line of - 5.2IP, 3H, 2ER, 11K Alex Jackson also had 3 more hits two. A homer and double were among those 2 hits. Hitting .338 on the year now. Gohara, Jackson, and Pike putting in work early. Seattle was kind to our farm system this offseason.
Love the swag on Phillips. Wasn't having that shit when the 3B kept trying to tag him on the balk. Then pimps that homer.