Albies and Swanson are starting to look like the double play combo that was promised. Albies gets an obscene amount of XBH for someone his size
Iirc albies started slow at every promotion and eventually got hot. It's happening at the MLB level now. Exciting times.
Out of these guys who do you think is still in the rotation in 2 years Teheran Folty Sims Newcomb with guys who look like they are on a higher level like Gohara, Soroka, Allard, and Wright knocking on the door it is going to be interesting what happens to guys in the rotation now. I could see only Folty sticking.
I'd argue outside of Teheran, Folty has been the least impressive with the way he's wilted in games and as the seasons gone on
Mike Soroka, SP: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 3 K, 2.80 ERA Austin Riley, 3B: 1-4, RBI, BB, run, .294/.363/.451 Mike Soroka had a strong start in Mississippi’s 5-2 win over Pensacola has his remarkable season at Double-A winds down. Soroka had a pair of unearned runs score due to a couple of unfortunate errors from Austin Riley, but Mike was his usual self as he got tons of ground balls and not giving up much in the way of hard contact. The strikeouts have fallen off a bit in the second half, but a 2.80 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and .236 batting average against in Double-A as one of the youngest players in the league for the majority of the season is amazing on a number of levels.
The Future Core of the Atlanta Braves What does the future of the lineup look like for Atlanta? With the Braves young guns impressing of late it seems like the future for the Braves at the top of the batting lineup is bright. Ozzie Albies Since being called up on August 1st Ozzie Albies has been pressing all the right buttons, hitting for power, hitting for average and playing great defense at second base. While Ozzie struggled somewhat at the beginning of his callup he has impressed posting a .271/.330/.494 slash line with two home runs, five doubles and four triples in just 23 games all while having a fairly average BABIP. While this is a small sample size it still is impressive from a 20-year-old who has posted these kinds of numbers throughout his minor league career leading us to expect nothing different. Ozzie has the comp of Jose Altuve in my mind with incredible speed, and the ability to hit for power while also being a switch hitter that can hit for average. Ozzie has a shortstop mentality at second base and the arm to go with it and will probably one day win a Gold Glove there. He looks to be a Stallworth at the leadoff spot for years to come. Dansby Swanson The Golden Boy who had a sour first half of 2017 has made adjustments and returned with a vengeance. Dansby was sent down to AAA on July 26th a little over a month ago after a breakout couple of weeks from young shortstop Johan Camargo and some rough games from Dansby. He was seeing the highest number of sliders in the majors before being sent down and was striking out at an alarming clip while also not making solid contact most times up. After a freak accident to Camargo on August 8th Dansby was recalled from Gwinnett and with a new approach at the plate went on a tear. Dansby started taking his walks again drawing 12 in 17 games played while also piling up 17 hits in those 17 games played. Swanson has also played great defense at short since returning. Dansby profiles as a 2-hole hitter for the rest of his career and his player comp to me is not Jeter but someone still playing in the league today, Brandon Crawford. Dansby is going to be a star and a productive shortstop for years to come. Freddie Freeman We all know how good Freddie Freeman is already, or do we? Freddie has hit .323/.416/.617 this season and is by far the best first baseman in the NL and possibly all of baseball. Freddie plays underrated defense, has a healthy walk rate, hits for power, hits for average, gets on base almost half the time. He’s just beginning the prime of his career and looks to be a potential MVP candidate for the next few years. He slots into the three hole and will be the cornerstone of the Atlanta Braves for possibly the next decade. Freddie is his own comp because from the way his career has already unfolded it looks like he is in a league of his own. Ronald Acuna Ronald Acuna is on this list before he’s even turned 20 years old, he’s that good. Acuna is having an unbelievable breakout season in the Braves minor league system and is arguably the number 1 prospect in all of baseball. He hasn’t gone below a 134 wRC+ in any of his minor league stops, he’s got center field range and a cannon for an arm and has hit 20 home runs in 2017 at the ripe age of 19. He’s drawn comparisons to Andruw Jones and even of late Mike Trout. Acuna is hitting .350/.400/.574 in 44 games at Gwinnett AAA and could be called up to Atlanta at any time now. He slots into a power hitter’s role in the future as he continues to bulk up. He generates enormous bat speed and can really run with 41 stolen bases as well. Ender Inciarte Last but certainly not least is Ender Inciarte, the defensive genius. Ender was a major part of the return Atlanta gained in the trade of Shelby Miller to the Diamondbacks and at the age of 26 Inciarte has cemented himself as one of the elite defenders in all of baseball winning a Gold Glove in 2016. Inciarte tops the StatCast leaderboard of 5-star catches with 6, the next closest player having 4, on top of 14 4-star outs and 20 three-star outs. In short, Ender blows away the competition on defense with no one even coming close to his ability in center field. Not only can he play defense but Ender can get on base very well and while he may never hit many home runs, his on base percentage is .344. He has also gained some new-found power this season posting his first double digit homer year of his career and after signing a five-year deal with Atlanta made his first all-star team in 2017 and will make more in the next five years. Honorable Bench Mentions Matt Adams has had an outstanding year for the Braves since being acquired from the Cardinals and at only the age of 28 can be an impact bat off the bench for the Braves. It will be interesting to see if the Braves offer him a long-term deal sooner than later. Johan Camargo was having a breakout year before a freak injury sidelining him. The 23-year-old can play all infield positions well and has a budding bat coming along. Known for his great defense he may not hit enough to start but will be a great super utility option for the Braves for the next decade. While the Braves have struggled through the last few seasons it seems to be paying off now. Ozzie, Dansby, Freddie, Ronald, and Ender will be at the forefront of the Braves lineup for years to come. Be on the lookout for my next evaluation on the Braves young pitching rotation.
Braves’ rotation should get younger, not older BILL SHANKS There are always several reasons why a team has a losing record. For the Atlanta Braves, it really comes down to the pitching, which is unusual considering that has been the focal point of the rebuilding process. Atlanta’s team ERA is 4.77, sixth-worst in baseball. The bullpen ERA is 4.62, fourth-worst in the sport. The starting rotation’s ERA is 4.85, eight-worst in the game. The inclination is for the team to go shopping for pitching this winter. Yes, go get relievers. Do that. But when it comes to the rotation, history tells us it might be wise to get younger and go with their own. Let’s go back to the last time the Braves went through a rebuilding process, the late 1980s. Look at the games started by the pitchers in year three of the rebuild (1988) and year four (1989): 1988 Braves Spoiler Age Pitcher Games started 34 Rick Mahler 34 22 Tom Glavine 34 22 Pete Smith 32 27 Zane Smith 22 21 John Smoltz 12 23 Kevin Coffman 11 25 German Jimenez 9 33 Charlie Puleo 3 25 Kevin Blankenship 2 29 Jim Acker 1 Number of games started by pitchers 24 years old and younger – 89 of 160 (56 percent) 1989 Braves Age Pitcher Games started 23 Derek Lilliquist 30 22 John Smoltz 29 23 Tom Glavine 29 23 Pete Smith 27 27 Marty Clary 17 28 Zane Smith 17 22 Tommy Greene 4 25 Gary Eave 3 24 Rusty Richards 2 24 Sergio Valdez 1 34 Charlie Puleo 1 21 Kent Mercker 1 Number of games started by pitchers 24 years old and younger – 123 of 161 (76 percent) In 1987, The number of games started by pitchers 24 years old and younger was 20 (out of 161 – 12 percent). So, the rotation got younger in 1988 and even younger in 1989, the fourth year of the rebuild. Then in 1990, that number dipped just a bit from the previous season, as 120 of the 162 games (74 percent) were started by pitchers 24 years old and younger. So, what about this year, which is season three of the current rebuild? Here is the list of games started and their ages: 2017 Braves Age Pitcher Games started 26 Julio Teheran 26 42 R.A. Dickey 25 25 Mike Foltynewicz 25 30 Jaime Garcia 18 24 Sean Newcomb 14 44 Bartolo Colon 13 23 Lucas Sims 5 24 Matt Wisler 1 25 Aaron Blair 1 Number of games started by pitchers 24 years old and younger – 20 of 128 (16 percent) Obviously, with the new stadium, the Braves felt compelled to try and bring in older veterans to try and win in 2017. The plan was to let those veterans – Dickey, Colon and Garcia – bridge the gap until some of the young pitchers were ready. Newcomb and Sims have replaced Colon and Garcia in the rotation. The Braves believed most of their top pitching prospects were still a ways away, and that we could see the talent bubble up a bit in 2018. That seems to be happening, as Luiz Gohara and Max Fried are in Triple-A, while Mike Soroka, Kolby Allard and Touki Toussaint are now in Double-A. All five could be ready at some point in 2018. Add Kyle Wright, the first-round pick almost three months ago, as someone who could also come quickly next season. That’s six prospects on top of Newcomb and Sims, who could be 24 years old or younger and make starts for the Braves in Atlanta in 2018. Let’s look now at the ages of the Atlanta pitchers and prospects at the start of next season: 43 – R.A. Dickey 27 – Julio Teheran 26 – Mike Foltynewicz 24 – Sean Newcomb 24 – Max Fried 23 – Lucas Sims 22 – Kyle Wright 21 – Luiz Gohara 21 – Touki Toussaint 20 – Kolby Allard 20 – Mike Soroka So, with that in mind, should the Braves bring back R.A. Dickey? He’s been okay this season, but he’ll turn 43 before next season starts. The Braves could pick up his option for next season for $8 million or buy him out for $500k. Should the Braves trade Julio Teheran? He’s under contract for two more seasons ($8 million in 2018 and $11 million in 2019) along with a $12 million team option for 2020. That’s very affordable, but will the Braves need his rotation spot for a younger pitcher? Would they be better off trading Teheran this winter to open another opportunity for a starter? Teheran has turned into the modern-day Zane Smith – a pitcher who failed to live up to great potential. The Braves hung onto Smith too long, and by the time he was traded they did not get good value from the Expos. The Braves have hung onto Teheran too long, and he too will likely not bring back good value once he’s traded, at least compared to what the Braves may have gotten for him last year. Smith was 28 when he was traded in 1988. Teheran will turn 27 next January. There’s been a lot of talk that the Braves should go after a young, controllable pitcher. They liked Sonny Gray, but he went to the Yankees instead. They’ve inquired about Tampa Bay’s Chris Archer, but the Rays wanted half the farm system. Detroit’s Michael Fulmer has even been mentioned, which is weird since the Braves may have several young pitchers with greater potential than Fulmer. The Braves should not do that. Instead, they should give their own kids a chance. They’ve invested time and money into this rebuild by stressing pitching. Trading a bunch of prospects for someone else’s young arm would negate much of the progress that has been made. What if the Braves do what general manager Bobby Cox did 1989, which was the fourth year of his rebuild? What if they go with the young pitchers? Cox had his Braves full of young starters, and 76 percent of the games started that season were by pitchers 24 years old and younger. Only 16 percent of the games this season have been started by the younger pitchers. That’s only 20 games. So, this year’s Braves rotation is anything but young, even with Colon gone to bring down the average age. Gohara and Fried will likely be brought up once Gwinnett’s season is over next week. We’ll see if the Braves get both a start before the end of the season. Allard and Soroka were pushed to Double-A at 19 years old and have thrived. They both could be ready by midseason next summer, even though they’ll be a few weeks away from their 21st birthday. Now, it’s unlikely the Braves would come out of spring training with Foltynewicz, Newcomb and Sims as their top three starters. That would mean they would not pick up Dickey’s option and trade Teheran. Either Dickey or Teheran will likely be back to be part of the rotation. Let’s say the Braves trade Teheran and bring back Dickey. He would then join Foltynewicz, Newcomb and Sims in the rotation. Then they could maybe bring in a veteran to spring training as a backup option for the rotation, but Gohara and Fried could then battle it out for the fifth starter’s spot. If they truly believe Allard and/or Soroka could be ready by the All-Star break, then why would they need another veteran? Even if one was ready at some point in 2018, they could push Dickey out as long as Foltynewicz, Newcomb, Sims and either Gohara or Fried are doing well. Here’s one point about all of this… there is still a lot of patience required. You think we’ve had to be patient so far? Just think if several additional young pitchers go through what Foltynewicz and Newcomb have been through. It’s not like these kids are guaranteed to come up and immediately be All-Stars. Usually, it takes time for kids to develop and get better, even after they graduate to the big leagues. The Braves went with young pitchers in 1988 and 1989, the middle years of that rebuild. The fruits of that labor were not seen until 1991, but there was little doubt the commitment to the young pitching made a difference. Will the Braves do that again, or will the pressure of getting a better record make them panic and go get more veterans?
Baseball wise, it makes sense to bring Dickey back. As a fan, I'd be ok with never watching a knuckleball starter on TV ever again. Miserable.
Yeah I came here to ask if someone could post it. I doubt anyone has a subscription to that site though.
Questions arise for disappointing Braves amidst organizational changes Ken Rosenthal August 29 2017 The changes, in the view of some Braves’ officials, amount to nothing more than a minor restructuring of the front office. Different roles for some. Different titles but the same roles for others. Promotions in some cases, too. Others within the organization, however, perceive the moves as the first step in a larger battle for the soul of the franchise, a highly sensitive dance between the Braves’ glorious past and promising future. “It’s a power struggle over who is running the club,” one team official said. “Is John Schuerholz running the club or are John Hart and John Coppolella running it?” Hart, the team's president of baseball operations, and Coppolella, the general manager, vehemently dispute that view, sources say. Schuerholz, the vice chairman who recently was inducted into the Hall of Fame, hired both executives, speaks with them regularly and participates in meetings. Now 76, he was the Braves' GM from 1990 to 2007, presiding over the team's run of 14 straight division titles, and team president from 2007 to 2016. The team's front-office changes include promotions of Dom Chiti to farm director and Dave Wallace to director of pitching, according to sources; Dave Trembley no longer will serve as both farm director and minor-league field coordinator, becoming just field coordinator instead. Special assistants to the GM Roy Clark and Rick Williams and director of baseball operations Billy Ryan will receive new titles, sources said. One thing appears certain: Tension is mounting within the Braves’ organization. The team is on pace to win 72 games, just four more than last season in a year in which club officials anticipated taking a bigger step forward. The Braves’ future remains bright; Baseball America ranks their farm system as the best in the game. Most clubs make changes in baseball operations at this time of year, and one Braves official described the team’s moves as simply “rearranging furniture, not throwing anything away.” Some in the organization, however, view the front-office changes as an attempt to stifle dissent, portraying Coppolella as increasingly testy with certain subordinates. Others view the changes as Hart and Coppolella “testing the waters” for additional moves with the major-league staff at a later time. The Braves have yet to exercise manager Brian Snitker’s option for 2018. Additionally, bench coach Terry Pendleton and first-base coach Eddie Perez are throwbacks to the Schuerholz era. Hart is in the final year of his contract but is expected to return. Coppolella is under contract through 2019, and the Braves plan to hire another top executive to work under him, sources said. Adding to the palace intrigue: Schuerholz’s son, Jonathan, is the Braves’ assistant farm director and eventually could assume a larger role. Both Hart and Coppolella declined comment and John Schuerholz did not respond to a request for comment. “It’s about time something like this happens,” a second club official said, referring to the pending changes in the organization and others that might follow. “It’s not pretty. But it has to be done.” Among the changes: *Trembley will return to the role of field coordinator that he held with the Braves in 2011 and ’12 and is comfortable resuming, according to sources. Chiti will replace Trembley as farm director, and Wallace will replace Chiti as director of pitching. *Clark will be reassigned, becoming a senior advisor on amateur scouting, and will perform essentially the same duties while working in his area of expertise, according to Braves officials. Clark, who did not respond to a request for comment, worked for the Braves from 1989 to 2009, then left for the Nationals before returning in ’14. Schuerholz mentioned Clark’s contributions in his Hall of Fame speech. *Williams will also be reassigned, becoming a major-league scout, and his duties will also remain largely unchanged, Braves officials said. *Ryan, the Braves’ director of baseball operations, will become a special assistant to the GM. Ryan previously managed the day-to-day functions of the club’s baseball operation while overseeing the Braves’ professional scouting department, according to the team’s media guide, and he also designed and oversaw the development of Tomahawk, the team’s proprietary baseball operations analytics platform. Ryan and Williams both declined comment.
Arizona Fall League gonna be lit. Braves sending Corbin Clouse, Max Fried, Josh Graham, Touki Toussaint, Alex Jackson, Austin Riley, Ronald Acuna and Anfernee Seymour to the AFL.
Been doing some digging on Acuna and "Free Agency and Super 2" status as far as if they should call him up in september or start him opening day next year. This spells it out perfectly: He’s a strong candidate for minor league player-of-the-year awards presented by Baseball America and others. He has hit .327 with a .379 OBP and .920 OPS in 122 games across three levels this season, with 57 extra-base hits (eight triples, 20 home runs), 72 RBIs, 78 runs and 37 stolen bases. Spoiler And the remarkable thing is, he’s posted improved statistics at every level after being promoted. The kid is hitting better in Triple-A than he did at high-A Florida to begin the season. We just don’t see that happen. But Acuna is doing a lot of things we just don’t see happen. Ronald Acuna, Braves super prospect. (Getty Images) So, you ask, why wouldn’t the Braves bring him up during September, when rosters can be expanded and it wouldn’t require dumping someone on the current 25-man roster to create room? If not on Sept. 1, why wouldn’t they at least call him up after the Triple-A playoffs? And here are the potential reasons, the business side of things that can and usually do play into these decisions with most teams, though notably not in similar recent cases with the Braves, including Heyward and Freddie Freeman: — Acuna is not on the 40-man roster. And he hasn’t been in the system long enough since signing at 16 to require the Braves protect him in the Rule 5 Draft in December, when other teams can poach unprotected players from rosters. The Braves have a few other prospects who they want to protect from that draft, and could decide they can’t afford to put Acuna on the 40-man roster this season, as it would mean one less space they could use to protect a player who needs protecting. They could wait until they need to add Acuna to the roster, say in spring training if they decide to have him on the opening-day roster. The counter to that argument: the Braves can clear plenty of roster spots after the season by cutting ties with some current unproductive players, in addition to some who are in the last years of contracts. If they want to add Acuna now or in September, the 40-man roster situation shouldn’t be a strong enough deterrent given the level of excitement he’s created among the fan base and for the reasons stated above having to do with getting some experience now, etc. — The Braves can have an entire extra season before Acuna is eligible for free agency if they keep him off the roster until late April, long enough for him to avoid getting the full 172 days of service time that a player can accrue in what is typically a 183-day season. That 172 days is important – that represents a full season of service time. So if a team times it so that a player is called up after the point in which he could get the full 172 days needed in his first season, then at the end of his sixth season in the major leagues he will have five years and 171 or fewer days of service and be short of the six full seasons of service required for free agency. In other words, by not bringing up a player in September and not in early-mid April, a team can have contractual control over a player for, in effect, a seventh season before he’s eligible for free agency. If they bring up Acuna now, or in September then unless they were to keep him off the roster for a corresponding amount of time at the beginning of the 2018 season, Acuna would be eligible for free agency after his sixth full season (2023) in the majors. If they don’t call him up this season, the Braves could wait until late April to bring him up and Acuna would not be eligible for free agency until after the 2024 season. The counter argument: While a team could get nearly a full extra season out of a player by resisting the temptation to call him up now or in early April, it looks bad to a lot of fans – remember, new stadium, desire to make people excited, etc. – and you’re also gambling that a player remains healthy, that he becomes the player you think he will, and that you are going to keep him for the full amount of time before he’s a free agent rather than sign him to a long-term extension before then or trade him. Of course, if you wait to bring him up in late April and decide to trade him in four or five years, that extra year he’ll have before free-agent eligibility could mean a huge difference in the return that another team is willing to give for him in a trade. But if you plan to keep a player long-term, if you really believe he’s a foundational player you want for 10 or more years and not six or seven, then roll the dice now, go for the big positive effect that his call-up could have on both the player and the team’s fan base, and don’t worry about six or seven years down the road. — And finally, the “Super Two” arbitration matter. Players are eligible for arbitration – and the huge salary increase that comes with it – after three years of service, and for three years before free agency. But in addition to that group, the top 22 percent of players with the most service time under three years are also eligible for arbitration as “Super Two” players. To prevent a player from becoming a Super Two after his third season in the majors, and having four years of arbitration and big salaries before free agency, teams will often wait about two months into his rookie season to bring a player up for the first time. That means holding them back until late May or even June 1, to be safe. By doing so, a team gets about 3 2/3 low-cost seasons out of a player before he becomes arbitration-eligible, instead of the three seasons or less than they would get if he’s on the opening-day roster or is called up for the first time at some point in April or early May. A counter to that argument: If a player was brought up now or in September, a team would also get more than three full seasons before arbitration – the rest of this season plus the next three full seasons. In other words, if a team thinks strongly that a prospect is going to be on the opening-day roster or be up in early April, there’s no contractual reason in terms of arbitration not to call him up now. But there is still the free-agency issue (see above). And so, there are the reasons why the Braves could, should or shouldn’t bring up Ronald Acuna now. In terms of whether he’s ready, well, seldom do we see a player who looks much more ready than this kid, even though he’s only 19. Remember, the guy he’s often compared with, Andruw Jones, hit two homers in a World Series game at age 19.
Atlanta Braves GM John Coppolella Q & A Apparently GM John Coppolella held a mini Ask Coppy for A-list members a little over week ago, Fortunately for those of us who aren’t A-listers, Ivanski over at Braves Reddit posted a summary. The report isn’t as detailed as we get from Twitter but it addressed some of the thing’s we’ve been discussing. Prospects Coppy considers Ronald Acuna the best prospect in baseball. Lots of teams inquired about him but the calls stopped when the Braves made it clear he wasn’t available. Whether Acuna will spend September in Atlanta is still under discussion but he said fans should expect him soon. Spoiler The prospect questions were about what you would expect from any fans, they wanted to know about the big names with Acuna and Gohara at the top of their list. He appears to be saying they haven’t decided anything and at the same time we’ll see him soon? The news that he’s going to play in the AZL (Max Fried, Austin Riley, Touki Toussaint, Corbin Clouse, Josh Graham, Alex Jackson, and Anfernee Seymour will go as well) leads me to believe we won’t see him in Atlanta until next year. Coppy was more definitive about Luiz Gohara; barring unforeseen circumstances he will pitch in Atlanta this year. For those who don’t recall, the Braves acquired the Brazilian righty last January along with left reliever Thomas Burrows in exchange for Cody Martin, Shae Simmons and Mallex Smith. We know how Gohara progressed and but not much about Burrows. The 6’1″ lefty was drafted in 2016 after working as a reliever in College. Burrows spent this year with Rome in that role. So far he’s thrown 62 1/3 innings in 36 games, striking out 85 and walking 21 while pitching to a 2.01 ERA. Burrows’ 56% ground ball rate and 14% line drive rate held opposing hitters to a .197 average and allowed only four extra base hits; two doubles a triple and one home run. That trade seems to have worked out well. Coppy said that he expects both Austin Riley and Alex Jackson to debut sometime in 2018. While Riley’s made a good case for that, it’s a fast turn around for Jackson given that the Braves had to move him back to catching from exile in the outfield. Offseason priorities Spoiler Answers to questions about the Braves offseason shopping list seem to indicate they’ve decided to pick up Tyler Flowers option. I say that because Coppolella suggested he wanted to upgrade third base and the bullpen. Third base is an obvious vacancy, Adonis Garcia is a nontender candidate, Brandon Phillips is a free agent and Rio Ruiz hasn’t been able to take the job when it was there to be taken. The only third base free agent worthy of consideration is Mike Moustakas and there will be a line of teams bidding for him. Steve Adams writing for MLBTR discussed Moustakas in relation to the Mets and projected “. . Moustakas to land a five-year deal worth $90MM this offseason. . .” He also suggested Moustakas’ low OBP might cause teams to pull back from that. The numbers please Spoiler Prior to 2015 I’d agree however, in the last three seasons the Royals third sacker has a .276/.329/.504/.834 line good for a 119 OPS+. His fielding seems to have taken a step back over that period – particularly this season according to FRAA and DRS while UZR has him up slightly; it all depends on which one you prefer. None are bellwethers though I tend to prefer FRAA. I wrote elsewhere that I think Moose with ask for and get seven years not five. I also suggested that instead of an $18M AAV, the market will drive his contract as high as $19.5M. I believe the Braves will try to grab him but won’t get drawn into a bidding war. Instead they’ll use their prospects to trade for someone like Jedd Gyorko whose .257/.324/.482/.805 line since moving to St Louis isn’t as gaudy but his contract is relatively inexpensive and runs through 2020. Coppy hinted that trades were coming in a response to a question about pitching depth. He indicated that they have 15 starting pitching prospects who look to arrive is a short period and some will have to be used to improve the team through trades. That would seem to indicate a willingness to use that depth to make a big jump next year. General comments Spoiler Coppolella feels that the minor league system is strong, While catching depth has improved over the past 18 months he feels that’s the area requiring more depth. Ask about his favorite metric he chose wRC+, The team’s proprietary baseball operations analytics platform – nicknamed ‘Tomahawk’ – contains a wealth of other data that he obviously didn’t discuss but wRC+ is considered a pretty solid offensive metric. Before you run off to check over the last two seasons Moustakas has 117 wRC+ and Gyorko 122 wRC+; that means nothing about preference or availability of course. Fans ask about the manager for 2018 and Coppy said Brian Snitker has done a good job particularly in clubhouse culture and mentorship of young players. He went on to says that another consideration is that they want to put in place a manager who can win a World Series. Before everyone goes off on Coppy’s evaluation of Snit’s performance, take a step back and remember that the alternative is to fire him now. The second half of his response indicates that Snitker isn’t necessarily safe and the Ken Rosenthal article suggests there is movement internally to change things. Others view the changes as Hart and Coppolella “testing the waters” for additional moves with the major-league staff at a later time. . . The Braves have yet to exercise manager Brian Snitker’s option for 2018. Additionally, bench coach Terry Pendleton and first-base coach Eddie Perez are throwbacks to the Schuerholz era. . .” That’s a Wrap Spoiler The session wasn’t particularly long nor did it cover a wide breadth of subjects. His statements do not mean his search for a top of the line starter is over, so your dreams of Chris Archer, Michael Fulmer or whomever are still viable. In fact, I think that’s his real priority but he can’t actually throw that out there now. Trades are a negotiation and while other teams may believe that’s his goal, they also have to pay attention to what he actually says. I don’t expect the post season to be quiet nor do I see the front office giving away the farm in some bidding war. So far they’ve been prudent in their trades, each having a specific goal. So have worked well while others have not. As Ron Washington would say if ask “That’s the way baseball go
Dansby in August: .328/.443/.453/.896 Ozzie since Aug 8th (his 7th game in majors): .296/.321/.494/.815 Ronald Acuna in AAA: .338/.387/.545/.933 Austin Riley's August in AA: .356/.422/.600/1.022 Travis Demeritte's August in AA: .316/.393/.481/.874 Boner jams.
for future reference, we should all agree to not post during phillies games since that's apparently the only way we can beat the bastards
Ronald Acuna, CF: 3-for-6 2RBI, 2R, .343/.390/.544 Luiz Gohara, SP: 5.0IP 3H 0R 2BB 7K, 3.31 ERA Gwinnett exploded for 13 runs on 17 hits in an absolute throttling of the Norfolk Tide. The top 3 of the lineup (Acuna, Avery, Kazmar) went a collective 9-for-17 with 8 RBI. Gwinnett got things started with a 3-run homerun by Kazmar in the third to put Gwinnett up 3-0. They added 4 more in the fourth inning all started by a 2-out fielding error to get Carlos Franco on. Kade Scivicque then struck out but reached base on the wild pitch. Four consecutive singles later and Gwinnett was up 7-0 in the fourth inning. It was yet another multi-hit game for Ronald Acuna who now has a .934 OPS on the season and is fresh off of being projected as the most valuable prospect out of a group that consists of Mocada, Rosario, and Elroy by Dave Cameron. With him being mentioned to being sent to the AFL it is unlikely we see Acuna in Atlanta this year but he will be knocking at the door in Spring Training. Albies and Swanson have looked good since being reunited on the big league team. How encouraging is this for 2018 team which will also likely feature Ronald Acuna? Jeff Sullivan It's modestly encouraging, and those are the three players to focus on. So many people talk about the Braves' young pitchers, but I wouldn't want to count on any of them. They're all lottery tickets. The young position players are hopefully the long-term anchors
Allard's final start of the season - CG shutout. 1 hit, 1BB, 5Ks Pretty solid way to end the season, I guess.
Time to sit him down for the year. Nothing to gain playing him this year, especially if this is how he is feeling.
Thru 6 innings today Braves have looked awesome. Fried 5 solid innings, Minter comes in and shuts them down 1 2 3
Rio has put together a solid 3 games since coming back up. I think with Minter, Ramirez, Viz, and Freeman we have at least half a good bullpen. Newk or Folty may even be pushed to bullpen by the high end arms coming up. We could even retain Dickey and use him to eat innings. Looks like Fried, Gohara, Soroka, Allard, Wright, and maybe even Touki could be pushing for rotation spots in Atlanta by the end of 2018. Some arms like Morris, Clouse, and Adams could be pushing to get in the bullpen. Battle to be on the pitching staff is about to get jumbled and also exciting.
Gohara is coming up this year, right? Have to think Allard is 2019 at the earliest. Would like to keep Dickey around next year. Absolute best case scenario we're competing for one of the WC spots, no reason to rush people
If Soroka and Allard start next year in AAA and are as good there as they were in AA, I see Coppy being aggressive and having them up by the end of the season