Empire State Braves Prospects: 8/16/11

This week's Empire State Braves update includes promotions, options and quality starts. As long as the rain holds off, I will be at Syracuse for the first two games of their series against Gwinnett Tuesday and Wednesday, so I may be able to see one of the Empire Staters in action. Here's how the group performed over the past week (8/9-8/15)....

Courtesy: milb.com

Anthony Varvaro, RHP (MLB - Atlanta/Triple A - Gwinnett)
It was a busy week for Varvaro, who saw time in four games for two different teams. With Scott Linebrink being activated from the DL for Atlanta on Sunday, Varvaro was optioned back to Gwinnett where he picked up the loss in his first game back with the team. He performed as expected for Atlanta, putting up huge strikeout numbers, worrisome walk rates and an impressive .206 BAA. He has a live arm and could realistically be brought up to Atlanta when rosters expand in September.

This Week (MiLB): 1 G (0-1), 1.2 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 1 K, 2 BB
This Week (MLB): 3 G (0-0), 2 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 HR, 3 K, 0 BB
Season (MiLB): 34 G (2-7), 1 SV, 53.1 IP, 3.10 ERA, 60 K, 32 BB
Season (MLB): 7 G (0-0), 9 IP, 3.00 ERA, 16 K, 6 BB

Chris Cody, RHP (Double A - Mississippi)
Cody made his second start of his Braves career this past week, with nothing too noteworthy to report.  His .333 BAA in two starts this season is high, despite solid enough peripheral stats, but I guess it's better to see him around the zone too often at this point than having issues with command.

This Week: 1 G (0-0), 5 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 K, 2 BB
Season 2 G (1-0), 11 IP, 4.09 ERA, 7 K, 2 BB

Braves Status Report: 118 Games (69-49)

The Braves reversed their past couple weeks' performance over the last six games, going 5-1 in the two series against the Mets and the Marlins. While Atlanta performed well, they weren't able to make up any ground on the Phillies, who lead the NL East by eight and a half games going into Friday. Even though the division race doesn't look appealing, the successful week did help the team push their Wild Card lead out to five games over the Giants and still own the majors' fourth-best record.

While the team's pitching has propped up the offense nearly the entire season, roles were reversed this past week. Atlanta pitchers were tagged for an uncharacteristic 4.5 R/G (4.42 ERA), but the bats came through with 5.8 R/G and a .291/.363/.419 slash..one of the better weeks we've seen all season. The offensive prowess was highlighted by Dan Uggla, who is currently riding a 31 game hitting streak. The month-plus long performance is tied for the longest in Atlanta history and second longest in franchise history. The week also saw the end of Scott Proctor. Despite being a consensus "good guy," he simply no longer has a major-league caliber arm, especially for a potential playoff team. Proctor's release meant Arodys Vizcaino, the last of the 'Big 4' was tapped to begin his tenure with Atlanta. While his debut didn't go as planned (0.2 IP, K, 2 BB, HBP), he immediately improves the 'pen for the remainder of the season.

Atlanta heads back to Turner Field Friday for an extended home stand, beginning a three game series against the Cubs. The team will then take on the defending World Series champion Giants Tuesday for an important four-game match-up. Now for the 'cheers' and 'jeers' for the past week....

Empire State Braves Prospects: 8/9/11

Lots of action this week for the Empire Staters. Anthony Varvaro's still with Atlanta and Chris Cody made his Braves organization debut. Let's see how the group did over the past seven days (8/2-8/8)....

Courtesy: milb.com

Anthony Varvaro, RHP (MLB - Atlanta)
Varvaro has stuck with Atlanta since his call-up in late July, seeing time in two games this past week. While his strong strikeout numbers and command issues continue, he experienced his first bit of real trouble with the major league club Saturday against the Mets at Citi Field. He won't be a late-inning bullpen candidate until he figures how to control his walks, but he's proven to be a useful arm in his limited appearances so far.

This Week: 2 G (0-0), 3 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 5 K, 3 BB
Season (MLB): 4 G (0-0), 7 IP, 1.29 ERA, 13 K, 6 BB
Season (MiLB): 33 G (2-6), 1 SV, 50.2 IP, 2.66 ERA, 59 K, 30 BB

Chris Cody, LHP (Double A - Mississippi)
Cody made his first start as a Brave and was comfortably effective in his outing. It will be interesting to see how he performs the rest of the season, but with the organization's relative lack of left-handed starting pitching depth in the high minors (outside of Mike Minor), he should certainly have the opportunity to advance going into next season.

This Week: 1 G (1-0), 6 IP, 2 ER, 9 H, 1 HR, 5 K, 0 BB
Season: 1 G (1-0), 6 IP, 0.00 ERA, 5 K, 0 BB

Braves at Mets: Gameday Photos

I made the trip downstate for Saturday's Braves-Mets game, sitting 14 rows behind the bad guys' dugout. The game obviously didn't go as well as planned as Atlanta dropped the contest 11-7.

It was my seventh Braves game this season. The team is now 4-3 in those games. This was my second game at Citi Field this year, both resulting in losses. Since the beginning of the 2010 season, Atlanta's 8-5 in the thirteen games I've been to, but are only 3-5 in away games. They're also 0-3 in the games I've seen Tommy Hanson start. I'm making the trip to Chicago for two games when the Braves visit Wrigley in late August, so hopefully the team has a bit more luck.

Here a few shots I was able to take in between the rain. I apologize for the quality of the first few pictures. I have a new phone, so I'm not sure what happened there.

Venters warming up with Martinez

Braves Status Report: 112 Games (64-48)

The Braves finished the past week with a stagnant 3-3 record. The team won the series at home against the Marlins and then avoided the sweep at the Nationals with a series finale win on Wednesday. The Phillies have posted six win in a row, putting Atlanta at a nearly-unerasable eight games behind in the division. Going into play Thursday night, they do still hold a 2.5 G lead over Arizona (5.5 over STL) in the Wild Card race, though that margin has diminished significantly over the past two weeks.

The team made a big splash in the trade market this past weekend, picking up Michael Bourn from the Astros. While no move was made to acquire a right-hander to provide help in the 'pen, top-prospect Arodys Vizcaino was recently promoted to Gwinnett and looks to be a likely call-up by September. The team has gone 1-2 with Bourn in the line-up, though no fault to him (he's hit .308 with Atlanta). The team has been hitting the ball (.281 average), but that's been essentially the only way they were able to get on base. They walked just five times (!!!) over the six game span and, outside of Dan Uggla, saw very little power. In fact, the team went without walks from Ross, Gonzo, Prado, Bourn, Freeman, Constanza and Uggla. Martin Prado and Alex Gonzalez had rare slashes of .308/.308/.308 and .261/.261/.261, respectively. With both McCann and Chipper on the shelf, a mediocre pitching performance just isn't quite enough.

The team heads to Queens Friday for a three-game weekend set against the rival Mets. I'll be at Saturday's game, so hopefully I'll catch some decent pictures worth posting on the blog. They then head to Florida Monday for three games before Marlins' 873 fans. So without further ado, here are the 'cheers' and 'jeers' for the past week...

Empire State Braves Prospects: 8/2/11

Lots of news in this week's Empire State Braves Prospects edition! The Atlanta organization added a new Empire Stater in LHP Chris Cody and one 'graduated' (at least temporarily) to the major league Braves in Anthony Varvaro. Here's a review of how the group performed over the past week (7/26-8/1), including a brief bio on Cody.

Courtesy: milb.com

Anthony Varvaro, RHP (Triple A - Gwinnett/MLB - Atlanta)
On July 28th, Varvaro got the call that he undoubtedly has been waiting on for at least the past four months. With Atlanta pitchers seeing plenty of work during the Pittsburgh series, the team optioned Wilkin Ramirez to Gwinnett and brought up Varvaro to serve as the club's thirteenth pitcher. In two appearances with the major league team, he pitched exactly as advertised...extremely unhittable, high strikeout totals and issues with command. Though in just two games, it's already pretty clear he's more effective than Scott Proctor.

This Week (Atlanta): 2 G (0-0), 4 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 8 K, 3 BB
Season (MLB): 2 G (0-0), 4 IP, 0.00 ERA, 8 K, 3 BB
Season (MiLB): 33 G (2-6), 1 SV, 50.2 IP, 2.66 ERA, 59 K, 30 BB

Braves Acquire Lead-Off Hitter Michael Bourn

My Sunday morning sleep-in was interrupted by my girlfriend barging in saying "the Braves got Michael Bourn!" My immediate response was "who did we give up?!" Her: "Schafer, Abreu and two other guys." Me: "Ummm, Delgado or Minor?" Her: "I don't think so?"

So, I get up and see the Braves got Michael Bourn from the Astros for Jordan Schafer, Gwinnett reliever Juan Abreu and two Double A starters in LHP Brett Oberholtzer and RHP Paul Clemens. For what it's worth (and that's probably not a lot), I had Oberholtzer, Clemens and Abreu ranked 8, 9 and 22 in the Atlanta minor league system, respectively. Yes - Atlanta was able to pick-up a Gold Glove/All-Star center fielder without giving up one of their 'Big 4' (or even Hoover or Gilmartin). Now that's not to say Oberholtzer and/or Clemens aren't solid prospects. Both could end up being middle of the rotation type starters and would be one of the top few pitching prospects for any organization outside of Atlanta.

I won't bother going into all the minutia of how great Michael Bourn is for the Braves. You can go here, here and here for that. But I'll leave you with these few nuggets: with Schafer now gone, Bourn has more steals than all Braves combined (39 vs. 27); Bourn's 2011 OBA is nearly 60 points higher than Atlanta lead-off hitters this season (.363 vs. .306); Bourn has 17 more hits than any Brave (130 vs. Freeman's 113); his dWAR is already 1.1, higher than any Brave (Gonzalez 1.0). Be happy Braves fans, be happy.

Welcome to Atlanta, Mr. Bourn!

EDIT: Bourn also comes with a bit of an Upstate, NY connection. He began his professional career in the Philadelphia system, playing Short Season Class A ball with the Batavia Muckdogs in 2003. He hit .280/.404/.296 with 23 steals in 35 games.