The Atlanta Braves have placed center fielder Nate McLouth on the 15-day disabled list with a sore left hamstring. To take his spot on the 25-man roster, the Braves used this opportunity to call up the top prospect in all of baseball, Jason Heyward... oh wait, no, they didn't. Instead, they added to the 40-man roster and recalled outfielder Reid Gorecki.
Look, I'm happy as a cream puff for Gorecki to finally get the call, but he's a 28-year old journey man minor leaguer with moderate pop, moderate speed, and moderate outfield skills. Is that really the best thing for this team right now. The Braves just spent the weekend struggling to score runs agaist the division leaders, so why not call up someone who might have a real chance to make a major impact and energize this team -- Jason Heyward.
Big opportunity missed, consider this fan disappointed.
0 recs | 55 comments
I agree, but not surprised
SUGMG4 - August 17, 2009
5 bucks says
Heyward wont see any MLB action until 2010.
Scott Coleman - August 17, 2009
I guess you're right
It makes no sense to pass him up here if he was anywhere in our 2009 plans.
VivaLosBravos - August 17, 2009
To me, that’s what this move signifies.
cbwilk - August 17, 2009
Damn it. I read the 1st part of that and got all excited. Who the hell is the guy we’re bringing up?
Chesterhighwater - August 17, 2009 via mobile
$$
No way he comes up until September 1.
Yakker - August 17, 2009
Such a ridiculous thing to consider in decision making
I know that it is a reality in MLB now, but it is still tough. Making the playoffs is equal to approximately $30M additional revenue for the season. We are not saving that much by holding Heyward down.
Obviously Heyward is not the only make or break factor to make the playoffs, but I am damn sure he would help.
Sid Bream's Moustache - August 17, 2009
Disagree
Bringing Heyward up now for an extra 45 ABs means losing an entire year — probably his age 26 year — of controlled service.
Do you really think his first 45 ML ABs will be the difference between a playoff spot and not? Are you willing to bet 600 more productive ABs against that?
Yakker - August 17, 2009
No it doesn't.
You keep him down for the same month next year, and it doesn’t matter at all.
MichaelProcton - August 17, 2009
Right, but you have to give back the 45 days somewhere. And I think that if the Braves wait until September 1st, he will not accrue service time in 2009.
If, however, he is placed on the 25-man roster now, he cannot be moved to the 40-man on September 1st, so for 15 days of playing time now you’re sacrificing 45 days of service time.
Yakker - August 17, 2009
why is that date important? i thought june was the arb clock date.
TradeAndruw - August 17, 2009
This stuff is tricky, but here’s my understanding (others feel free to chime in if I get it wrong or miss some nuance):
September 1st is the day that MLB expands rosters to allow teams to call up players on the 40-man roster.
Service time accrues based on days on the 25-man roster. If Heyward’s called up now, he has to be moved to the active roster, and he begins accruing service time. If he comes up on September 1st and he doesn’t start 2010 on the active roster (doesn’t get called up until June 1st 2010), the Braves will have bought themselves more time on his service clock.
Yakker - August 17, 2009
The "clock" isn't from the start.
It’s just days served. So if we called him up now, we could just keep him in the minors a bit longer next year.
MichaelProcton - August 17, 2009
That’s only relevant if he’s not starting 2010 in the majors. 45 days won’t make him a Super-Two if he starts the season in the majors next year, nor will it make him a free agent before 2015.
17843 - August 17, 2009
Right
Isn’t that what I said?
Yakker - August 17, 2009
Wait, what?
Just re-read your message.
So, I think I understand your argument now. However, riddle me this:
— Assume the Braves call Heyward up when the rosters expand on September 1, 2009.
— Start Heyward in AAA in 2010, place him on the 25-man roster on June 1, 2010.
Then the Braves get his 2016 year, right?
Yakker - August 17, 2009
You can't guarantee that.
There is no magical date to avoid Super Two. It’s based on the top 17% of guys with 2+ years of service time. If lots of other young guys make opening day rosters, he could come up sooner. If very few rookies come up early, e could come up in July and it might not matter.
MichaelProcton - August 17, 2009
Oh, come on
No Super Two has had less than two years, 130 days service time any of the last three winters.
In addition, this is a knowable fact, and teams work within this constraint every year. It would be quite simple for the Braves to manage Heyward’s service clock this way.
Yakker - August 17, 2009
This seems dumb.
Now they’ll be forced to DFA somebody to get Hudson back up. What was the sense in that?
MichaelProcton - August 17, 2009
We have no evidence that Heyward is capable of contributing any more than Gorecki
PWHjort - August 17, 2009 via mobile
so?
who cares. jason heyward is the man.
esadb - August 17, 2009
Except that he's a hundred times more talented.
MichaelProcton - August 17, 2009
He allows us to avoid the absolute sham of Ryan Church in center field.
17843 - August 17, 2009
Huh?
Heyward would absolutely not be in center in front of Church. Church is not a great CF by any means, but he’s fine for a backup.
MichaelProcton - August 17, 2009
We also had no evidence
that Tommy Hanson would be a better starter than JoJo Reyes.
VivaLosBravos - August 17, 2009
Bad analogy. Hanson was already dominating AAA, a level Heyward hasn’t played at.
cbwilk - August 17, 2009
Huh?
Because AAA=the majors? Why aren’t Charlie Morton and Jo-Jo Reyes frontline starters, then?
MichaelProcton - August 17, 2009
Has everyone lost their minds today?
Look, he was comparing the Hanson/Reyes move to a possible Gorecki/Heyward one. I don’t think it’s an apt comparison and it has nothing to do with Reyes or Gorecki, but with Hanson and Heyward.
You could make an educated guess and say that Hanson would do well in the Majors because he had been playing so well at AAA, the level just below the Majors. You can’t do the same with Heyward, because he’s played a month at AA, two levels below the majors. Hanson also had a year more of professional experience under his belt than Heyward.
The comparison doesn’t work because you could have projected Hanson’s ML ability better based on where he played in the minors and how he played; Heyward hasn’t played at that level, so he certainly hasn’t dominated it, therefor comparing the two in terms of guessing their ability and second guessing their promotion (or lack thereof) doesn’t work.
cbwilk - August 17, 2009
It's not that complicated
Hanson showed prodigious skill in the minor leagues, and had clearly had more talent than a more identifiable but lower upside guy like Reyes. It’s the same story with Heyward. It’s a lot easy to say that Gorecki is a known quantity, and how Heyward projects to the bigs right now is uncertain, but it’s equally obvious that Heyward’s floor and Gorecki’s ceiling are about on par.
And if it is, you’re still wrong, because the AAA and ML levels don’t possess some ethereal quality of which AA is devoid. it’s completely arbitrary to consider AAA performance and dismiss those of the level immediately its junior.
VivaLosBravos - August 17, 2009
You’re on a roll today. We’ll talk again in another life, when we’re both cats.
cbwilk - August 17, 2009
can't wait.
VivaLosBravos - August 18, 2009
Reyes
has a 1.98 ERA in three partial seasons in AAA.
VivaLosBravos - August 17, 2009
Goreki is also RH which helps our bench a ton.
graf - August 17, 2009
Ya'll need to check your sources cuz...
Nate McLouth homered against Arizona in the game which Atlanta is playing as I type.
Doni S - August 17, 2009
Scratch that...
it was LaRoche. My mistake. Carry on.
Doni S - August 17, 2009
Good one.
MichaelProcton - August 17, 2009
Guess I was right when I made the new signature line. I’ve never wished so hard that had been wrong.
Rhyno18 - August 17, 2009
but I am really happy for Reid
Rhyno18 - August 17, 2009
Atlanta, hide your daughters!
cbwilk - August 17, 2009
Atlanta hell, the whole state of Georgia has been fair game since the move to Gwinnett!
Rhyno18 - August 17, 2009
CB
hahahahahahaha too damn funny yet its soooooo true
TMAC85 - August 17, 2009
it’s too early for this guy to come up, send him to gwinett for a year and if he murders the league there, then we can have this conversation
sepulcher - August 17, 2009
And if he hits there, we can send him to Mexico for a year.
It’s like the veteran version of AAA. That way, he’ll be superproven.
MichaelProcton - August 17, 2009
I don’t see the rush to bring the kid up. I’d rather him be getting ABs at Gwinett than sitting the bench in Atlanta.
kalesi - August 17, 2009
If he came up, he wouldn't be sitting on the bench.
MichaelProcton - August 17, 2009
I was looking for stats earlier, but didn’t find what I wanted.
My impression is Gorecki has been close to great the last 200 or so ABs in Gwinnett – well over .300 with tons of XBHs.
Anybody got any such data handy?
fandave - August 17, 2009
Month-by-month:
June-.303/.358/.606 (99 ABs)
July-.337/.439/.530 (83 ABs)
August-.338/.370/.485 (68 ABs)
MichaelProcton - August 17, 2009
There's not that much of a difference between AAA and AA
The talent level at both levels are quite comparable. AAA squads tend to have journeyman and guys who never stay in the majors, while AA is a haven for hot prospects who are performing.
Saying Hanson was ready because he dominated AAA and Heyward isn’t ready because he hasn’t isn’t a valid argument. The guy has destroyed AA competition, but I do applaud the decision to wait until Sept. 1.
Ninerballin - August 18, 2009
Have you actually watched a lot of AA and AAA games, or are you just regurgitating something you heard someone else say? There’s a huge difference, and anybody who doesn’t think so needs to spend some time at the games.
cbwilk - August 18, 2009
No one has brought up the fact that Heyward is hitting just .231 in his last 10 games.
KC Ryan - August 18, 2009
Burn the witch!
Chopaholic - August 18, 2009
She turned me into a newt
bravesguy311 - August 18, 2009
I know it's exciting and pardon my French....
…but why do you have such a proverbial hard-on for bringing up Heyward? It seems to me that the front office and coaching staff handled the Hanson and Medlen situations well. I trust them to do the same with Heyward. We all saw what happened with one Jeff Franceour by bringing a guy up too early.
AuditDawg - August 18, 2009
Heyward Vs Gordocki should be Heyward Vs Corey Johnson
You often see hitters have better numbers at AAA than AA because the pithcers are around the strikzone a little more and the hitters are seeing more hitable pitches. Is there anyone in here who is aware of a guy named Corey Johnson that we have in A ball Caroline leageue? Plays Center Field and He leads the league in dingers with 29 HR’S 18 2B’s and has 80 RBI 10 SB 358 OBP and slugs 521 886.OPS with a 250 avg in 380 AB’s and the quote from a manager at Myrtle beach who has been at that level coaching for 30 years was this " I have seen Strawberry, Big Mack, Russel Branyon and right on down the line in my years here and this guy has the most power of anyone he has ever seen in that time!!!! Hits the ball further than " ANYONE I HAVE EVER SEEN IN 30 YEARS AT HIS LEVEL" !!!!! Heyward was his teamate earlier this year for 189 AB’s and hit 10 HR’s with a 369 avg and 519 slugging % .888 OPS . The one glarring figure about Corey Johnson is 159 ks in 380 AB’s as oppossed to 39 k’s in 180 AB’s for Heyward. I say cut Greg Norton and let Corey Johnson have 1 pinch hit a game with a few men on. Can you say 3 run homer? That is what the Braves need in the worst way is some power off the bench and Johnson swings the wood with legendary power already. Come on Atlanta and bring up your best guys and let us fight it out the last 40 games with the best we have to offer.
Brickstone - August 19, 2009
Sept 1st callups
Bring up the big cannons and leave the pea shooters behind. We are built for great pitching and the 3 run homerun but we just do not have enough of the 3 run homerun part. When Kelly johnson leads off for you half the season you know you are not a small ball team. When your HR leader only has 15 then you are not a HR team. The Braves need to find an identity and right now they do not know who they are. Bring up Heyward and Corey Johnson and add some thrill and excitement to the stretch. Send Kelly Johnson and Greg Norton down and call up the big two. There is no way these two could hit as bad as Norton and Kelly have hit this year. I would bet my house on it. I would rather see two young pups hit like crap than watch Kelly and Norton kill rallies and slug like a couple of hampsters. Give us something different than the same old failures.
Brickstone - August 19, 2009
You must Login with your SB Nation account and be a member of Talking Chop to post a comment.