The Braves dropped their third consecutive series Thursday, falling to the Marlins 6-5. The team went 2-4 over the past week and are struggling to get on the right track. We've seen a couple strong pitching performances (especially Hanson's on Tuesday), some decent offense and impressive defense, but the Braves haven't been able to do it all consistently. As Atlanta gets ready to welcome the woeful Mets (I could use some gloating ammunition here in Upstate, NY!), let's take a look at the highlights over the last week (April 8th - April 14th).
Who's Hot:
Chipper Jones - The week included some significant milestones for Chipper, including career hit number 2,500 and career RBI number 1,500 (on his first HR of the season, nonetheless), further solidifying his Hall of Fame resume. He also sits just 3 doubles away from 500 and should pick those up over the next week or two. The Braves legend knocked in 7 RBI in 6 games this week while going 7-21 with 3 walks. He's doing his part to keep this offense afloat.
Martin Prado - The Braves lead-off guy also hit over .300 for the week, going 8-26 through 6 games. Prado hasn't walked much and hasn't shown as much power as he did last year, but has rapped out his own share of doubles. Prado needs to continue to set the plate for the Braves offense to be successful.
Freddie Freeman - You might look at Freddie's .214 season average and wonder how exactly he can be considered 'hot.' The rookie first baseman went 6-19 through these 6 games and is now riding a seven-game hitting streak after knocking out just 2 hits through the first 6 games of the season. The streak has included a couple doubles as well as some bullets that unfortunately found fielders' gloves. Freeman has also made plenty of impressive picks at first, looking much more veteran than the back of his baseball card states he is.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Empire State Braves Prospects: 4/12/11
With this blog’s focus on being a Braves fan from Upstate, NY, I thought it might be a fun idea to follow Braves prospects who specifically have connections to New York State. With snow on the ground from October/November through March/April, the Empire State isn’t exactly conducive to professional-level baseball development. Spring practice usually involves weeks of indoor play and each season begins with plenty of snow-outs. But while New York State weather can wreak havoc, there are still a handful of New Yorkers scattered throughout the Braves organization. I hope to provide updates weekly.
Anthony Varvaro, RHP (Triple A - Gwinnett)
While not from upstate, Varvaro does have plenty of New York State roots, having grown up in Staten Island. After high school, he stayed in-state while playing for the St. John’s University Red Storm. Varvaro was drafted by the Mariners in the 12th Round in 2005 and was immediately sidelined following Tommy John surgery later that same month. The Braves claimed him off waivers this past January after 5 (mostly) minor league seasons with the Seattle organization. He did see some brief time in the majors last year with the Mariners, giving up 5 ER in 4 IP over 4 appearances.
1 G (0-1), 2.1 IP, 1 ER, 0 H, 2 BB
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Braves Status Report: 7 Games (3-4)
As most Braves fans would probably agree (myself included), it’s a bit surprising to see the team sitting at 3-4 after their opening week. The series again the Nationals looked encouraging, especially considering it was at a place the team often struggles at. The beginning of the Brewers series started off right with some late game heroics, courtesy of Martin Prado and Dan Uggla, but the Braves followed that up with three straight close game losses. Turner Field looks even more welcoming than it did a few days ago.
As the Braves head to Atlanta for a big weekend series against the rival Phillies (and their supposedly 47 ace starting pitchers), here’s a look at some of the highlights and lowlights so far.
Who’s Hot:
Pitching – Not too surprising, but the Braves pitching is already standing out as a clear strength of the team. Lowe (x2), Hudson and Beachy have all put up starts with 1 ER or less while the bullpen sits with a miniscule 1.71 ERA (4 ER in 21 IP). Tommy Hanson has been roughed up in his first two starts, but seemed to settle down a bit over his final few innings on Thursday. Mike Minor’s spot start on Wednesday was tough to watch, but Jair Jurrjens looks ready to return to the rotation within the next week or two.
Defense – This listing is more of a recognition of how well the defense has performed as compared to last year than actually defining it as ‘hot.’ What looked to be the weakness of the team has actually seemed to be in control through the first week of the season. There have been a few defensive miscues so far, but nothing to the level of what we saw last year. Alex Gonzalez, Dan Uggla and Matt Young are some of the Braves that have already made some notable defensive plays.
Jason Heyward – J-Hey started the season off strong with HR in his first AB of the 2011 season and has continued to produce since that swing. He’s getting on base (.444 OBP) and is hitting the ball with authority (.550 SLG, 2 HR, 5 RBI). His walk rate continues to impress with 7 BB in 27 PAs. The big question is how long will Fredi keep him in the 6th hole? He was kept in the spot when McLouth rested on Wednesday, but moved up to the 5th spot when Chipper sat on Thursday.
As the Braves head to Atlanta for a big weekend series against the rival Phillies (and their supposedly 47 ace starting pitchers), here’s a look at some of the highlights and lowlights so far.
Who’s Hot:
Pitching – Not too surprising, but the Braves pitching is already standing out as a clear strength of the team. Lowe (x2), Hudson and Beachy have all put up starts with 1 ER or less while the bullpen sits with a miniscule 1.71 ERA (4 ER in 21 IP). Tommy Hanson has been roughed up in his first two starts, but seemed to settle down a bit over his final few innings on Thursday. Mike Minor’s spot start on Wednesday was tough to watch, but Jair Jurrjens looks ready to return to the rotation within the next week or two.
Defense – This listing is more of a recognition of how well the defense has performed as compared to last year than actually defining it as ‘hot.’ What looked to be the weakness of the team has actually seemed to be in control through the first week of the season. There have been a few defensive miscues so far, but nothing to the level of what we saw last year. Alex Gonzalez, Dan Uggla and Matt Young are some of the Braves that have already made some notable defensive plays.
Jason Heyward – J-Hey started the season off strong with HR in his first AB of the 2011 season and has continued to produce since that swing. He’s getting on base (.444 OBP) and is hitting the ball with authority (.550 SLG, 2 HR, 5 RBI). His walk rate continues to impress with 7 BB in 27 PAs. The big question is how long will Fredi keep him in the 6th hole? He was kept in the spot when McLouth rested on Wednesday, but moved up to the 5th spot when Chipper sat on Thursday.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Braves at Nationals: Gameday Photos
Although I wasn't able to be there for Opening Day, I traveled down from Upstate, NY to Washington, DC to catch games 2 and 3 of the Braves 2011 season. This was my first time at Nationals Park. While the stadium was pretty accessible for fans, the overall ballpark experience didn't quite match-up to places like PNC Park, Fenway and, of course, Turner Field.
Tommy Hanson struggled in Saturday's game (he hasn't been effective in any of the 3 starts I've seen in person) and the Braves fell 6-3. The game included 2 rain delays, with hail accompanying the second. While I had to sit through the loss, I was able to see Dan Uggla's first home run in a Braves uniform.
Sunday's game looked as if it was going to be similar to the first, as Tim Hudson labored through the first inning. From there, Huddy settled down and looked like his dominant self from last year. The Atlanta bats did their part was well, exploding for 6 runs in the eighth on the way to an impressive 11-2 win and the series victory. While I haven't been lucky with Tommy Hanson starts, I've seen Tim Hudson pitch in 5 of the past 8 games I've attended, of which the Braves have gone 4-1.
For your viewing pleasure, I've included some games shots from the two days. Enjoy!
Tommy Hanson struggled in Saturday's game (he hasn't been effective in any of the 3 starts I've seen in person) and the Braves fell 6-3. The game included 2 rain delays, with hail accompanying the second. While I had to sit through the loss, I was able to see Dan Uggla's first home run in a Braves uniform.
Sunday's game looked as if it was going to be similar to the first, as Tim Hudson labored through the first inning. From there, Huddy settled down and looked like his dominant self from last year. The Atlanta bats did their part was well, exploding for 6 runs in the eighth on the way to an impressive 11-2 win and the series victory. While I haven't been lucky with Tommy Hanson starts, I've seen Tim Hudson pitch in 5 of the past 8 games I've attended, of which the Braves have gone 4-1.
For your viewing pleasure, I've included some games shots from the two days. Enjoy!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
2011 MLB Season Predictions
It's now less than 24 hours until the first pitch of the Atlanta Braves 2011 season is thrown, so I guess it's a good time to join the throngs of analysts/writers/bloggers/etc. and offer my predictions for the upcoming major league season. You probably won't be surprised by the picks..this is a Braves fan blog, after all. Drum roll, please.....
NL East:
Braves - 94-68
Phillies - 92-70
Marlins - 82-80
Mets - 75-87
Nationals - 72-90
National League: Braves (East), Brewers (Central), Giants (West), Phillies (Wild Card)
Braves defeat Brewers, Phillies defeat Giants
Braves defeat Phillies
American League: Red Sox (East), Twins (Central), Rangers (West), Rays (Wild Card)
Red Sox defeat Twins, Rays defeat Rangers
Red Sox defeat Rays
World Series: Red Sox defeat Braves, 4-2
NL MVP: Troy Tulowitzki
NL Cy Young: Matt Cain
NL ROY: Freddie Freeman
AL MVP: Evan Longoria
AL Cy Young: Jon Lester
AL ROY: Desmond Jennings
While some of my post-season award picks might be a bit of a stretch, the Rookie of the Year picks were the most difficult for me. Most of the obvious candidates in each league are (starting) pitchers. But starting pitchers haven't had much success in ROY voting over the past decade. The most recent in each league were Justin Verlander in 2006 for the AL and Dontrelle Willis in 2003 for the NL. Until that changes, I'll take my chances on getting burned for those picks in 2011.
The National League looks to have another good stock of rookies, but looking through my red, blue and white glasses, I'll go with Freeman. He's slotted for the starting spot right away and I think the team's due. In fact, there's been a Braves rookie in the top 3 in voting four of the past six years (Heyward '10, Hanson '09, Jurrjens '08 and *cough* Francoeur '05 *cough*). Yunel Escobar (again, cough) also finished tied for 6th in 2007.
GO BRAVES!
NL East:
Braves - 94-68
Phillies - 92-70
Marlins - 82-80
Mets - 75-87
Nationals - 72-90
National League: Braves (East), Brewers (Central), Giants (West), Phillies (Wild Card)
Braves defeat Brewers, Phillies defeat Giants
Braves defeat Phillies
American League: Red Sox (East), Twins (Central), Rangers (West), Rays (Wild Card)
Red Sox defeat Twins, Rays defeat Rangers
Red Sox defeat Rays
World Series: Red Sox defeat Braves, 4-2
NL MVP: Troy Tulowitzki
NL Cy Young: Matt Cain
NL ROY: Freddie Freeman
AL MVP: Evan Longoria
AL Cy Young: Jon Lester
AL ROY: Desmond Jennings
While some of my post-season award picks might be a bit of a stretch, the Rookie of the Year picks were the most difficult for me. Most of the obvious candidates in each league are (starting) pitchers. But starting pitchers haven't had much success in ROY voting over the past decade. The most recent in each league were Justin Verlander in 2006 for the AL and Dontrelle Willis in 2003 for the NL. Until that changes, I'll take my chances on getting burned for those picks in 2011.
The National League looks to have another good stock of rookies, but looking through my red, blue and white glasses, I'll go with Freeman. He's slotted for the starting spot right away and I think the team's due. In fact, there's been a Braves rookie in the top 3 in voting four of the past six years (Heyward '10, Hanson '09, Jurrjens '08 and *cough* Francoeur '05 *cough*). Yunel Escobar (again, cough) also finished tied for 6th in 2007.
GO BRAVES!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Scott Diamond News (UPDATED)
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| Courtesy: http://www.americaeast.com/ |
In other late spring news, former Atlanta prospect Scott Diamond failed to make the Twins 25-man roster. As readers of this blog may know, Diamond is a collegiate product of Upstate, NY, having attended Binghamton University. Reports are that Minnesota is still interested in Diamond and, as he was a Rule 5 pick this past winter, are pursuing a trade with Atlanta in order to retain his rights. If a deal isn’t worked out, he must be offered back to the Braves for a $25k fee.
I’d be in favor of Atlanta bringing Diamond back, as he would provide additional Triple A pitching depth and, outside of Minor, would be one of the few higher-level LHP prospects in the organization. However, I could envision a trade working out if the Braves could get a top 20 prospect from the Twins, especially if it’s an outfielder. Minnesota will be visiting Turner Field for final spring exhibition games on Tuesday and Wednesday, so we should likely know what will happen with Diamond by then.
UPDATE: Well that didn't take long. The Braves announced this afternoon that they traded the rights to Diamond for Twins righty-reliever Billy Bullock. Bullock, a big 23 year old power-pitcher, was drafted by Minnesota in the 2nd round of the 2009 Amateur Draft. That's right - the Braves traded a non-drafted free agent for a top round draftee. Another impressive move by Frank Wren. Bullock reached Double A New Britain of the Eastern League last season and has put up some impressive peripherals during his two minor league seasons. His 12.8 K/9 rate in 2010 is borderline jaw-dropping, but control (5.2 BB/9 in '10) will be the main item he'll have to work on.
At first glance, it would seem that Atlanta already has plenty of young arms developing in their system. While that's certainly true, Bullock was highly rated in the Minnesota organization (some ranking had him in the top 10) has some serious upside, if he can address his control issues. He has the potential to be a solid late-inning type guy for Atlanta within the next few couple years. It will be interesting to see where the Braves place Bullock. Double A Mississippi would seem to make sense, with a shot at Gwinnett later in the season if he performs well.
I'm a bit disappointed that Diamond's career with Atlanta is now officially over, though we did get a very good return for him. Diamond's ceiling is probably as a 4th or 5th starter at a time when the Braves seem to be set with starting rotation options over the next few years (Hudson, Hanson, Jurrjens, Beachy, Minor, Medlen, Teheran, Delgado, Vizcaino, Perez, etc.). The Braves could afford to part with him.
Welcome Billy!
UPDATE: Well that didn't take long. The Braves announced this afternoon that they traded the rights to Diamond for Twins righty-reliever Billy Bullock. Bullock, a big 23 year old power-pitcher, was drafted by Minnesota in the 2nd round of the 2009 Amateur Draft. That's right - the Braves traded a non-drafted free agent for a top round draftee. Another impressive move by Frank Wren. Bullock reached Double A New Britain of the Eastern League last season and has put up some impressive peripherals during his two minor league seasons. His 12.8 K/9 rate in 2010 is borderline jaw-dropping, but control (5.2 BB/9 in '10) will be the main item he'll have to work on.
At first glance, it would seem that Atlanta already has plenty of young arms developing in their system. While that's certainly true, Bullock was highly rated in the Minnesota organization (some ranking had him in the top 10) has some serious upside, if he can address his control issues. He has the potential to be a solid late-inning type guy for Atlanta within the next few couple years. It will be interesting to see where the Braves place Bullock. Double A Mississippi would seem to make sense, with a shot at Gwinnett later in the season if he performs well.
I'm a bit disappointed that Diamond's career with Atlanta is now officially over, though we did get a very good return for him. Diamond's ceiling is probably as a 4th or 5th starter at a time when the Braves seem to be set with starting rotation options over the next few years (Hudson, Hanson, Jurrjens, Beachy, Minor, Medlen, Teheran, Delgado, Vizcaino, Perez, etc.). The Braves could afford to part with him.
Welcome Billy!
Braves 2011 Opening Day Roster Now Set
With just four days remaining until the beginning of the 2011 season, the Braves’ 25-man Opening Day roster is set. Just in time, too, as the season begins in less than a week with the team opening up on the road against the Nationals in DC on Thursday, March 31.
First, it was confirmed by the Braves this past Thursday that Brandon Beachy will be the team’s 5th starter. LHP Mike Minor was subsequently optioned to Triple A Gwinnett. Minor certainly pitched well, throwing 10 official spring innings over 3 appearances (2 starts) while giving up just 1 ER. But he had some difficulties over the last week or two with control of curveball, so the team decided to give him more time to work in the pitch at Gwinnett. Beachy also pitched extremely well, surrendering 2 ER over 16 official spring innings spread out over 4 appearances (3 starts). His 4.0 K/BB rate was also impressive. While it would have been nice to have a lefty in the starting rotation, I think the team made the right decision. The Braves invested a significant amount of money in Mike Minor after picking him 7th overall in 2009, so there’s problem with allowing him enough time to fully develop his pitches and further refine his game. Plus, we may end up seeing Mike Minor in Atlanta very soon if Jair Jurrjens is not able to return from his sore right side in time for his turn in the rotation in early April.
First, it was confirmed by the Braves this past Thursday that Brandon Beachy will be the team’s 5th starter. LHP Mike Minor was subsequently optioned to Triple A Gwinnett. Minor certainly pitched well, throwing 10 official spring innings over 3 appearances (2 starts) while giving up just 1 ER. But he had some difficulties over the last week or two with control of curveball, so the team decided to give him more time to work in the pitch at Gwinnett. Beachy also pitched extremely well, surrendering 2 ER over 16 official spring innings spread out over 4 appearances (3 starts). His 4.0 K/BB rate was also impressive. While it would have been nice to have a lefty in the starting rotation, I think the team made the right decision. The Braves invested a significant amount of money in Mike Minor after picking him 7th overall in 2009, so there’s problem with allowing him enough time to fully develop his pitches and further refine his game. Plus, we may end up seeing Mike Minor in Atlanta very soon if Jair Jurrjens is not able to return from his sore right side in time for his turn in the rotation in early April.