The answer is no. From Kevin Goldstein's Monday ten pack at Baseball Prospectus:
Atlanta isn't even pretending Freeman has competition for this job. He's not in the class of Jason Heyward, but he might be close.
Yeah, I'm pretty excited about Freddie Freeman. Though a word of caution; the Braves pretty much just have Eric Hinske as a backup at first base, or maybe even Martin Prado. Their plans rely entirely on Freeman taking to the everyday first baseman's role quickly. If he doesn't, it may be tough to replace him without stealing from another position, or playing some sort of musical chairs with players.
The Braves didn't even put this much pressure on Heyward last year, as they made him earn his opening day roster spot in Spring Training. Actually, come to think of it, I can't remember the last time the Braves just handed a rookie a starting role before Spring Training even started. The only one I can think of in the past decade or so is Adam LaRoche, but he was splitting time with Julio Franco, and I can't remember if the starting role was his before Spring or not.
I hope the Braves don't have to "plan-B" it, but it should would be nice to have a plan-B available.
Goldstein also has some good things to say about Craig Kimbrel in his article.
0 recs | 153 comments
I still say....
….the Braves should work with Ross at 1B in the offseason and in the spring, just in case. I know Mather, Prado, and Hinkse actually have experience there. But it’d be nice to see Ross get some more PA’s against lefties, especially if Freeman struggles heavily against them……which I hope doesn’t happen.
But then there’s the argument that Ross is only good in limited action, which could be the case. But I say it’s worth a shot….
Undocorkscrew - December 28, 2010
....and if all else fails.....
….there’s always Canizares to backup.
Undocorkscrew - December 28, 2010
I was thinking the same thing about Canizares.
Zontar - December 28, 2010
very true..
he would be better than a replacement level player for sure
willlinn - December 28, 2010
He might hit better than a replacement level player...
…but given his defensive issues, his overall level of play will likely be replacement level. But that is okay, he is pretty much a replacement level player.
cavebird - December 28, 2010
How about getting McCann some reps at first?
king of games - December 28, 2010
very good question but...
i wonder if that sends freeman the wrong message..
everyone knows mccann is a face of the franchise player, and that if he is going to extend his career it will be by playing first or third.. we also hope freeman plays with us for forever if he is awesome.. so whats it saying to put mccann in at first?
Any chance in the world mccann could play third ever?
willlinn - December 28, 2010
Freeman doesn’t seem like the type that would take offense. As a rookie he’s going to need off days to stay fresh for the whole season, and McCann could use some off days from catching for the same reason.
king of games - December 28, 2010
What an intriguing possibility.
TheLetter2 - December 28, 2010
I think BMac at 3rd...
Would likely be the worst defensive infielder in the history of baseball.
granman29 - December 28, 2010
We could always make up for it
by putting Schneider and his superior D behind the dish.
J-Freak - December 28, 2010 via mobile
schneider > mccann
Doghnut - December 28, 2010
he has better D
bravesguy311 - December 29, 2010
but still, he could be good in a little less limited action
I had never even thought of this, but thats a damn good suggestion
willlinn - December 28, 2010
I cant help but think that Jorge Cantu would be a great fit as backup for 1B & 3B
This could be a Feb pickup that could prove to be a genius move by FW.
Professor1 - December 28, 2010
Do we have room for him and an OF?
Doghnut - December 28, 2010
Only if Mather doesn’t make the team I think.
king of games - December 29, 2010
I have liked his bat for the Braves for a long time, but unless he can also play CF I just don’t see a fit this year. I like where your head’s at though. Maybe if Chipper isn’t ready we could pick him up with the insurance money.
MWhitexx - December 28, 2010
the reason they made heyward win the job
is because he didnt have a full season in AAA (where Freeman thoroughly proved himself)
willlinn - December 28, 2010
THOROUGHLY!
TCfromDubVee - December 28, 2010
Let no more be said about it! Pah!
TheLetter2 - December 28, 2010
And whatever Heyward did to bulk himself up before ST in 2010....
…….I’d like to see Freeman do the same. The kid seems strong enough already though…
Undocorkscrew - December 28, 2010
Now come on....
Did they REALLY make Jason win the job? Really? Really?
(Or wasn’t it rather taken by sheer force of being?)
carpengui - December 28, 2010
They tried to give the job to Heyward, but he sent it back with a note saying “Why would give me something I already own?”
king of games - December 28, 2010
The players demanded Heyward break camp on the big club...
since it was rumored Frank Wren was contemplating doing what the Nats did with Stephen Strasburg and squeeze and extra arbitration-eligible year out of him by calling him up in June…
TBuzz - December 28, 2010
No, it was Bobby.
He was going to have a say in the decision, and it was obvious he wanted Jason from day one. It was also obviously the correct decision. Hell, Jason stayed in spring training way longer than expected in 2009 because Bobby liked watching him play.
cavebird - December 28, 2010
It was actually Terry Pendelton
He realized the offensive potential and knew how to perfect Heyward’s swing, He’s the genius behind it all.
bravesfan203 - December 30, 2010
I'm not sure there's really a whole lot more we can do
Given the roster as currently constructed we need another OF a lot more than we need another 1B so we really don’t have room to go out and sign a veteran. At the same time, it doesn’t make sense to go out and get a legit MLB-ready 1B prospect because we already have one of those in Freeman. The only other class of player would be a 4A/fringe MLB 1B which we basically have in Canizares.
DeadlyWalrus - December 28, 2010
Andruw Jones can probably play a little 1B....
…..I’m sure that’s been suggested several thousand times though. But if they’re looking for a cheap 4th outfielder who can play all 3 outfield positions as well as 1B, Andruw’s your guy. Not saying he’d be great or even good at CF or 1B, but he’s good on the corners and can play CF and 1B in a pinch.
Undocorkscrew - December 28, 2010
+1
HansonManCrush - December 28, 2010 via mobile
+2
HEYJUDE - December 30, 2010
+3
And Andruw did actually play a little first base in Texas in 2009.
cavebird - December 30, 2010
Scott Thorman was pretty much handed the job.
Granted, he was only 3 ABs short of not being a rook, but we all know how that worked out.
MichaelProcton - December 28, 2010
Freeman is set up for an epic crash, should have kept Lee smh…
HeywardFTW! - December 28, 2010 via mobile
We couldn't afford Lee and Uggla.
Heck, we could still sign Lee, but we can’t afford it. As for an epic crash, I am not sure how signing Lee would have changed anything other than push it back a year. Freeman has to be a rookie at some point or he’ll never play in the majors on a regular basis at all. Freeman has gone through the full course of the minors and has nothing left to prove there. If we fear playing him now, we might as well trade him because we’ll never use him.
cavebird - December 28, 2010
Trade him then! In all honesty I don’t like the kid at all. Very unpopular opinion on here and I will get bashed for it but I’m not sold on him being a future star.
HeywardFTW! - December 28, 2010 via mobile
He may not have traditional 1B power, but he can hit for contact and his glove is spectacular right now. He’s still very young, so his power could develop later.
king of games - December 28, 2010
Oh I see! Because you don’t like him and aren’t sold on him, we should trade him away! Even though you have absolutely no scouting experience whatsoever and have probably never even seen him play besides a few games, we should deal him and sign an aging veteran who was a bad back and thumb.
Its all making sense now…
Scott Coleman - December 28, 2010 via mobile
I can see you leaning back in your chair, stroking your chin in a thoughtful manner.
TheLetter2 - December 28, 2010
Scott Thorman was Atlanta’s first round pick in 2000, and put up a .298/.360/.508 slash line in 81 games at Richmond (AAA) in 2006. He earned a callup, and played in 55 games that year with the big club (133 PAs), batting .234/.263/.438 at the major league level. Despite the difficulty he had at the big league level in 2006, the first base job was his to lose in 2007, because the Braves were sold on the guy.
In 2007, Thorman played in 120 games and put up a .216/.258/.394 slash line while striking out 70 times in 287 plate appearances.
Freddie Freeman was Atlanta’s second round pick in 2007, and put up a .319/.378/.521 slash line in 124 games at Gwinnett (AAA) in 2010. He earned a callup, and played in 20 games that year with the big club (24 PAs), batting .167/.167/.333 at the major league level. Despite the difficulty he had in 2010 at the big league level, the first base job was his to lose in 2011, because the Braves are sold on the guy.
I hope that Freddie takes to the job quickly, and that he is as awesome as advertised. However, there are recent memories of a similar situation that didn’t work out so well for us. Say all you want about people with some scouting experience, extensive scouting experience, or none at all — the fact is that nobody really knows what Freddie is going to do for us next year. The scouts can guess, sure, but we’ve seen them guess wrong before. Because of that, and the relatively fresh memories of Thorman, I have misgivings about not having someone like Derrick Lee on the team from the beginning of the season.
kidnarcolepsy - December 29, 2010
Yes, there is a chance Freeman fails.
But he is good enough that he deserves a chance. If we always keep a guy like Lee on the roster just in case Freeman fails, Freeman will never get a chance, because if you have a player of Lee’s caliber, that player will start and Freeman will just pointlessly mash AAA pitching. With Hinske and the other players we have who can man first base, we have about as good back-ups as a team can reasonably have (if we had better ones, those players would be starters). If we are going to give Freeman a chance, we have to give him a chance. Could he end up like Thorman? Sure. I doubt it because I don’t think his swing is as long as Thorman’s, but you never know. I do know for certain that we would never even find out if we constantly kept a firstbaseman of Lee’s caliber on the roster.
cavebird - December 29, 2010
This is a fine rebuttal,
but still, the whole post from HeywardFTW! was that we should’ve kept Lee and that Freeman was destined for failure. Derrick Lee has a bad back, wrist, and thumb, and he’s only getting older. He’ll command about $7M dollar, and we just don’t have that money to spend when there’s a very good chance that Freeman is ready for the big leagues.
Scott Coleman - December 29, 2010
I don’t think Freddie is destined for failure, either. My concern is that I don’t know if he’s going to succeed to the level that people around here want him to. I mean, people on this site have made “conservative guesses” that we should expect a .800 OPS from the guy in his rookie year. I think that’s expecting waaay too much from a rook. I said the same thing last year, when people around here were talking about how Jason Heyward was going to put up a .300/.400/.500 season in his rookie season. It’s expecting too much.
That’s why I think hedging our bets would have been the prudent move. I think Hinske is supposed to be the bet-hedge there, but I’m not thrilled about it. There seems to be a definite drop-off in Hinske’s value when he plays every day. I’m happy that we resigned him, but if I remember correctly, I was kind of happy that we resigned Greg Norton in 2009, too.
kidnarcolepsy - December 30, 2010
The problem is that there really isn't a better hedge your bets option.
We can’t afford a starting caliber first baseman, and as for back-ups, Hinske is fine. Cantu is no better than Hinske, so signing him doesn’t make much sense.
cavebird - December 30, 2010
I agree with you, but Freeman does have enough holes in his offensive game that it wouldn’t hurt to delay him a year either. He is still very young for a major leaguer after all. However, we should have enough offense to cover him if he doesn’t come out of ST hitting like Baby Pujols.
king of games - December 28, 2010
Keeping him in AAA would only stop his development. What’s he going to do in Gwinnett? Post an OPS of 1.000 instead of .900? Plays really, really good defense instead of just really good defense?
Keeping him in the Minor Leagues would be stupid.
Scott Coleman - December 28, 2010 via mobile
That’s basically what I said. Another year in AAA would just mean he was guaranteed to be ready on both offense and defense in the majors. I’m comfortable enough with him working out the kinks in the majors though.
king of games - December 28, 2010
keeping him in the minors
would STUNT HIS GROWTH
willlinn - December 28, 2010
unless you have a crystal ball it might be wise to not be so authortitative about your stance….because it is ultimately an opinion that you share with others.
there is nothing to suggest it would hurt or help freeman to stay in the minors…I think he should play in the majors, but at the end of the day there arnt very many 20-22 year olds who can handle that job. It seems unlikely that we have found two such players. However at this point we are pretty much stuck with Freeman no matter what, and I think he will do just fine for us. Although I think an OPS over 800 is asking a lot for him at this stage in his career, he doesn’t have the tremendous walk rate to boost his play through a slump that Jason has. Which means there could be a month or two where 95% of the Braves fans will be calling for Freeman to be sent to Rookie ball.
Swo12bv - December 29, 2010
again
do you have any proof? or are you just masking your opinion is the guise of “truth”? should i call you fox news?
apoxonbothyourhouses - December 29, 2010
“blowing smoke out your ass” – could be construed as your “fox news” jab. Do you have any proof that fox news is masking their opinion in the guise of truth or are you just a stupid liberal that’s heard the media say FOX news is bad? Pot meet kettle.
kreese555 - December 29, 2010
+ a dozen infinities.
Chopaholic - December 29, 2010
I will see your dozen infinities
and subtract a BILLION infinities…BEAT THAT!! /maniacal laughter
Doghnut - December 29, 2010
NO POLITICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Swo12bv - December 29, 2010
Seriously.
Doghnut - December 29, 2010
Theres plenty of evidence
But as Swo said, no politics! It’s gondeee’s rule. Politics are divisive. We all love the Braves here :)
Doghnut - December 29, 2010
Haha
Sorry guys. I was drunk and the comment struck a nerve. I was issued a warning and was like “when did I talk politics?!” Apparently, right there. Yep, I did. My bad guys, also Apoxonbothyourhouses, I’m sorry for my knee jerk reaction and my jab at you. Love you tonz dig your bunz!
kreese555 - December 30, 2010
generally when i say no politics its because i am pissed off that political discussion is outlawed here and I want to show that someone else is blatantly wrong. I agree no politics on the baords though, for that very reason,
Swo12bv - December 30, 2010
ummmm
you’re just wrong. care to prove that point or are you just blowing smoke out of your ass?
apoxonbothyourhouses - December 29, 2010
Let’s be honest here…when aren’t I blowing smoke out of my ass?
Scott Coleman - December 29, 2010
TWSS?
Yakker - December 29, 2010
What kind of girls are you pulling in?
king of games - December 29, 2010
Ah, the charms of southern belles..
bwellnjonesco - December 30, 2010
How about this then...
…keeping Freeman in AAA would slow his development. Having already mastered that level, I don’t see much point in his sitting at AAA.
cavebird - December 29, 2010
It seems fairly logical that if a guy masters one level, it makes little sense to keep him there. I suppose you could haggle over what “master” means. But I think few can argue that there is little more he can do there.
Doghnut - December 29, 2010
Seems like that’s the way it worked for me and Contra on Nintendo…
kreese555 - December 30, 2010
That game is epic, one of my all time faves.
king of games - December 30, 2010
Oh yeah, let's keep Lee and pay the man $5-10M in 2011
when we have a Grade-A prospect at the same position who just dominated AAA.
Why is Freeman set up for an epic crash? Because he struggled a little bit in September? You sound silly right now.
Scott Coleman - December 28, 2010 via mobile
this
Plus…. with the rest of the lineup as it is, Freddie F really doesn’t have all that much pressure on him. He’s a gifted fielder and his bat will come around whenever it gets there. Heck, given his glove, he’s probably as valuable as any other possible gap-stopper you could name — even if he hits .220. He’ll be fine.
carpengui - December 28, 2010
His glove alone will probably be more valuable than Troy Glaus was in 2010.
Scott Coleman - December 28, 2010 via mobile
Except
He probably won’t provide anywhere near the level of entertainment that came from watching Glaus fall straight over, stiff as a board, in an attempt to land glove-first onto a ground ball. I mean, I don’t care who you are, that’s funny!
WienerDog - December 29, 2010
If a Glaus falls in the forrest and nobody is around, does it make a sound?
king of games - December 29, 2010
His knees do.
Broccoman - December 30, 2010
recd
Doghnut - December 30, 2010
I couldn't agree more...
I think some people tend to downgrade Freeman because he isn’t Jason Heyward. There are very few 20-21 year old rookies who can hit for big time power. Freeman will likely go through periods where he struggles next year, but he has a real chance of developing into a top tier first baseman when you consider his defense along with what he brings to the plate. There’s also no way to project how much stronger he will get over the next few seasons.
ducheneaux13 - December 28, 2010
I would be EXTREMELY happy with Freeman...
if he posted a .275/.350/.750 along with the solid defense that will erase a few of the short-hop and pick-off errors that dogged Glaus last year…
TBuzz - December 28, 2010
A .750 SLG%?! That could work…
Scott Coleman - December 28, 2010 via mobile
It will almost feel like...
Lyle Overbay is playing 1B for us ;)
TBuzz - December 28, 2010
I smell sarcasm...
but by .750 I meant OPS
TBuzz - December 28, 2010
It worked for Barry Bonds
I hear he had some good years when he was slugging .750
Bronn - December 28, 2010
it was all that b10
Swo12bv - December 29, 2010
Do you really believe...
that St. Heyward would let his mortal friend fail?
BrockSamson - December 30, 2010
The Heyward works in mysterious ways.
king of games - December 30, 2010
I thought it was pretty obvious ...
Plan B is a Hinske/Mather platoon.
Lennox - December 28, 2010
That smacks of being more of a plan-C than a plan-B.
gondeee - December 29, 2010
But really...
…how much better of a back-up is any team going to have than Hinske without the guy being a starter?
cavebird - December 29, 2010
Not to mention Boss, I mean Ross.
10-4 - December 29, 2010
Like a Ross!
Swo12bv - December 30, 2010
There may be some team out there with better backup options at 1B, but I doubt many teams have a better fallback plan than a guy who had a .793 OPS last season getting the majority of the playing time.
Lennox - December 29, 2010
Plan B for 3B, 2B and 1B is Marteeeen and somebody else is in LF.
fandave - December 29, 2010
It is probably just me, but I hate the idea of Marteeeen being jerked around all over the field, he’s better than that and deserves his own position on the field.
bighop - December 29, 2010
Prado has said it himself. He’ll play anywhere he is asked. He just wants to play. I don’t think moving positions will affect him that much.
dlkinser86 - December 29, 2010
No doubt about it, Prado will do whatever is asked of him, and more often than not he will do it well. I just don’t think it is the best use of a very good player to jerk him around from position to position.. The Braves ask for Professionalism from their players, Prado gives that in spades. He deserves to not be jerked around. He started the All Star game at 2B, he gave up 2B for Uggla, happy to go to LF. He’ll fill in for Chipper at 3B, again, happy to do it. Now I’m hearing 1B and 2B too. At some point I have to call bullshit. Prado deserves a spot, not a utility job.
bighop - December 29, 2010
Is it really being jerked around?
Ive never played pro ball (or college baseball…or even high school…) but it seems to me that something like 100-120 games in LF and 40-50 split among 3B, 2B and 1B wouldn’t be that big of a deal. I mean, if you’re good at all of them (and from what I gather he is at least league average at all of them) then it doesn’t seem like it would be a big deal except for having to carry extra gloves.
If he were in the minors or learning a new position, I would feel differently.
Doghnut - December 29, 2010
Jerked around
Is probably the wrong term, but it’s not far off. I feel like he could eventually feel a lack of respect from the organization. He busted his ass to become an All Star 2B, moved to LF for Uggla and basically is going to be an everyday Utility guy. He’s not batting in the order where he feels most comfortable, eventually a frustration with it all could begin to sour him. KK was horribly mismanaged, I just hope they don’t bend Prado over so far that he loses that “professionalism” and ends up throwing a fit in Fredi’s office and we lose a really good man. His willingness to move around could be making it easy for him to be mismanaged. Who knows when he might say “enough is enough”.
bighop - December 29, 2010
As long as he gets his 600+ PAs...
towards the top of the order, I seriously doubt Martin cares where in the field he plays. Also, when his extension comes up next year as long as he is taken care of I doubt they’ll be an issue.
Granted, as an OF he’ll probably never get voted in as an All-Star, and would probably have to be leading the league in hitting to be picked…but if those are the gripes of Martin Prado then I think we’ve underestimated how great of a clubhouse guy he is…
TBuzz - December 29, 2010
You are making a lot of assumptions.
There is no evidence that Martin cares about any of this. And he isnt going to be a utility player — he is going to be a left fielder that plays 3B when Chipper gets injured. All of the other positions seem to be conjecture on TC not based on reality (especially 1B).
Doghnut - December 29, 2010
I agree
I am making assumptions. Completely unfounded assumptions. But I have managed people for 20+ years and they can only be moved about so many times before they develop something of a bad attitude. People take pride in their jobs, I doubt Prado is really that different. I hope they find him a permanent position before long, that’s all.
bighop - December 29, 2010
We don’t really know. He may take pride in being able to contributing defensively all over the field, which few players can effectively do.
Because I was curious, I looked back to see exactly how much time he, Hinske and Mather have actually logged at 1B over the last three seasons, and discovered that, in fact, none of them have been there much at all. Prado had only 61 games and 313.0 innings; Hinske only 33 games and 298.1 innings; and Mather only 11 games (4 games, 11.0 innings in majors, with MiL count on innings not readily available). From this, I continue to think Marteeeen is our best back-up at 1B.
fandave - December 30, 2010
I didnt realize Martin had played there nearly as much
Doghnut - December 30, 2010
The majority was in ’08, but IIRC he looked comfortable and did a solid job there.
fandave - December 30, 2010
But Prado isn't a backup...
he starts in LF. So to put him at 1B opens a hole in LF. We need one more starting caliber player.
Mr. Sanchez - December 30, 2010
The same is equally true for 3B or 2B.
The point I’ve been making is that if Prado is the Braves’ best available defensive substitute at 1B or 3B, and these are higher priority defensive positions than LF, he should be and likely will be moved around as needed to put the team in the best possible position to win baseball games.
And that is still the primary objective, isn’t it?
fandave - December 30, 2010
I think the primary objective needs to be 8 quality position starters and quit moving people around or using platoons, but I realize it’s not going to happen in 2011.
bighop - December 30, 2010
But we’re not talking about starters. We’re talking about if one of our starters gets injured. Few, if any, teams have extra starters sitting on the bench.
Doghnut - December 30, 2010
it may or may not matter to him...
it’s hard to say. As a college player I played first and third my freshman and sophomore years and my junior year they decided that I should play LF. I am a fairly big guy and not very quick so it made me uncomfortable even though I had played there some throughout my life.
I would rather have a good idea where my name was going to be on the lineup card every day, but hey Martin is a better athlete with one leg than I was so maybe he has no problem with it.
MWhitexx - December 29, 2010
While he's out...
doing whatever is asked for him, I’d like to have him sign that 8 year, $20MM contract I had Frank Wren draw up, even if the naysayers think we should only give him six seasons. I’m sure we can afford to be wrong on the last $5M in this case…
But seriously, I love this guy.
-C
cthabeerman - December 29, 2010
Yeah, I think its mostly you.
The only reason he’s set to play LF at all is that is where the team needs him to play.
If / when our regulars at 3B, 2B or 1B are out of the lineup, he is pretty clearly our best available replacement at each of these positions (at least based on the projected 25 man roster we’re looking at today), all of which are higher priority defensive positions than LF; and therefore the team will likely need him to play 3B, 2B or 1B any given day, based on whatever the situation may be. He is presumably willing to roll with this plan and also reasonably comfortable with this plan, and certainly he and the team understand that the objective is to maximize the chances of winning as many games as possible, day in, day out x 162.
Of course, on the other hand, your point is a good one: For any player to bounce around between four positions on a frequent, every week kind of basis is less than ideal and obviously comes with the potential risk of disrupting his mojo. Hopefully, Marteeeen can handle it just fine, but my guess is we will have to wait and see how it goes and what Freddi G. decides to do as the season plays out.
fandave - December 29, 2010
You make excellent points
But Prado seemed to thrive when he went from a bench utility guy to starting 2B. He was arguably the team’s MVP in 2010. I’d hate for him to be misused and lose some of that “mojo”. He has stated openly that he doesn’t really like leading off in the order, but gets put there anyway. At some point isn’t there a risk of alienating him from management if he does everything asked of him but he never sees the reward of winning a position and being able to stay there?
bighop - December 29, 2010
Honestly, I don’t think so. He is a sweet, humble guy who feels absolutely blessed to be in America, playing baseball for a great organization and making more money than he ever even dreamed of seeing.
Of course, all standard disclaimers apply: Just my impression and my opinion, FWIW, has no quantifiable or objective reality-based proof, etc., etc., etc.
fandave - December 29, 2010
Fair enough
My concerns are based on what might happen between his ears, maybe I should have put some disclaimers on my post too.
bighop - December 29, 2010
It depends largely on whether Mather makes the team (which I think he’s going to have to have an awful spring while someone else has a fantastic one in order for him to not make the team) and how his D compares to Prado’s at LF/3B/1B if he does.
Hinske at 1B/Prado in LF is probably going to be a better backup option for 1B than whoever ends up being our 4th OFer as long as we’re facing a RHP.
Lennox - December 29, 2010
Why do you think that is a better backup option than Hinske in LF/Prado at 1B?
My thought is Prado will be superior defensively at 1B and that because 1B is a higher priority defensive position than LF, he should be at 1B and Hinske (or Mather or Young or ???) should in LF.
fandave - December 30, 2010
Because I’m assuming that Prado’s defensive value in LF is going to be similar to his defensive value at 1B, and Hinske looked dreadful in LF last season, so our overall defensive would be better with Hinske at 1B and Prado in LF than it would the other way around.
And Hinske’s bat is better (or at least more proven) than Young, Mather, or whoever ends up our 4th OFer, so you’d rather get him in the lineup.
Lennox - December 30, 2010
I wouldn’t assume that the overall D is better with Prado in LF and Hinske at 1B rather than vice versa, but acknowlege that could reasonably be the ultimate decision.
fandave - December 31, 2010
Can Freddie play 3b?
I know that isn’t really the topic of discussion. But he is supposed to be above average defensively. And Ive read he has a good arm. If chipper needs a less physically strenuous position could they swap?
Alex H - December 28, 2010 via mobile
he did in HS.
but the Braves don’t really seem to want him over there. I doubt that we will see him play anything but 1B.
MWhitexx - December 28, 2010
I’m not doubting his glove one bit he’s a very solid defender it’s his bat I’m worried about. He’s not going to being smashing doubles of major league pitchers consistently and doesn’t have enough power to be a consistent homerun threat.
HeywardFTW! - December 28, 2010 via mobile
Your ass
You’re talking out of it
ATLandUNC - December 28, 2010
I completely disagree on the offense
I expect Freeman to have his struggles like any other rookie, much less a very young rookie, but I think the Sept call-up will help settle him down come ST and April. Freddie hits the ball hard, he’ll get his share of doubles and HR’s.
bighop - December 28, 2010
where can I get this
free Matt Young? I hear he is pretty good or something…
atlbravosfan - December 28, 2010
there is a disclaimer….its free matt young with a purchase of a a matt young of equal or greater value
Swo12bv - December 29, 2010
ah, i see it’s like the free Tibet I claimed last year. They said that after you take ownership you have to declare war on China…
MWhitexx - December 29, 2010
Prado is the backup plan for 1B
Prado might even be the right handed part of the platoon if FF struggles against lefty. Prado is easily the most important piece of our team heading into next year. He has to be healthy.
LEastCoastBears - December 28, 2010
Yep.
This.
kreese555 - December 28, 2010
Errrr … how in the world is Prado going to be the RH half of a platoon when he’s going to be playing full time in LF?
Lennox - December 28, 2010
he isnt playing full time in left
we will have to see what subs are stars.. but if we end up with the strongest sub being an outfielder, which would be ideal, then prado will be a super utility so that we can have the outfield sub in more games
willlinn - December 28, 2010
Where exactly is this information coming from? I’ve heard nothing to suggest Prado is anything but the everday LFer.
king of games - December 29, 2010
I thought it was common knowledge...
…that when, for example, Chipper is hurt, Prado will play third and someone else will play left. I think willlinn is right but wrong; Prado in a sense will be “super utility” because he will fill in at third or second if and when needed and play left field otherwise. On the other hand, Prado will play every day, so he won’t be a utility player in that sense; he just might play different positions different days.
cavebird - December 29, 2010
If Mather pans out, he might end up as the backup/fill-in 3B. I don’t think I’ve seen anything from Wren or FG saying Prado would move. I could be wrong though.
king of games - December 29, 2010
Prado may move around the field some out of necessity, but he’s not going to be reduced to a bench/platoon role.
Lennox - December 29, 2010
I think we can safely guess that (in absence of significant injuries) Prado and Uggla will both play as close as possible to every day (150-162 games); Chipper will liklely miss somewhere between 25 – 40 games; and Freeman will likley be taken out for 10 – 25 games based on matchups and slumps.
fandave - December 30, 2010
I will be the first to admit, I haven’t seen much of Freeman. All I know about him is what I’ve read on this site and some others. But, reading this, I had to go back and watch his first HR off of Halladay. his swing reminded me a lot of Chase Utley’s. Does anyone else see it, or am I just imagining things?
dlkinser86 - December 28, 2010
Short armed, compact swing that flies quick through the zone
I can see it
ATLandUNC - December 28, 2010
I cant help but think that Jorge Cantu would be a great fit as backup for 1B & 3B
This could be a Feb pickup that could prove to be a genius move by FW.
Professor1 - December 28, 2010
Anyone got a prospectus subscription that can tell us what Goldstein said about Kimbrel?
ATLandUNC - December 28, 2010
He said...
..Kimbrel looked like a protypical closer and could be a very good one or something like that.
cavebird - December 28, 2010
The problem is, if Prado has to play first,when Chipper gets hurt you got real problems.
Broccoman - December 28, 2010
Thats when the dude above’s Cantu idea looks pretty good.
MWhitexx - December 28, 2010
His name is the professor so he must be smart
JonnyBravesFan - December 29, 2010 via mobile
I don't see how Cantu really improves the situation.
Look at the numbers, he’s no better than Hinske. In fact, his career numbers are scarily similar to Hinske’s (both have a career .776 OPS).
If Freeman struggles and we have Prado play first and send Freeman down and then Chipper gets hurt, we just bring Freeman back up. That’s about all you can do. If we get a ton of injuries, we’ll be in trouble; but then again, any team would be in trouble in that situation; back-ups are just that. If you have to put too many of them in the lineup, that is trouble for any team.
cavebird - December 29, 2010
i think the main difference between Cantu and Hinske is that Cantu posts his nbrs as a everyday player, generally. We know that Cantu as a 3B/1B for 140 games is gonna give us a 775 OPS, whereas Hinske has generally been a bench bat and occasional starter, he may be worse when exposed to starting everyday.
Its just the unknown factor, IMHO. not to say Hinske has never started, but i still give the edge to Cantu. That said, it doesnt make sense to pay Cantu bc he won’t provide that much more than Hinske and thus won’t be worth the money we pay him.
Swo12bv - December 30, 2010
It's a crapshoot between the two.
But since we already have Hinske, there doesn’t seem to be any need to have Cantu; that’s would be duplicating what we already have. And it isn’t like Cantu is an improvement with the glove, because he’s pretty bad in the field everywhere, pretty much like Hinske.
cavebird - December 30, 2010
I completely agree
Bring back Julio Franco as competition.
JMar99 - December 28, 2010
hahah
Rec’d
The Devil Wears Prado - December 29, 2010
I don't see Freeman having no competition as a bad thing
I really don’t see any pressure on him at all. He’s going to be hitting 6th/7th depending on the matchup, get plenty of days off, and be told “The job’s yours kid, just relax and let the game come to you.” Without another option breathing down his neck and the pressure to perform, he’ll be in a low risk/high reward situation. Hit .220, play excellent defense, job’s yours. Hit .270 with 15 hr’s and play excellent defense, job’s still yours. Our lineup is such that we don’t NEED him to be an anchor in the lineup (like we did Heyward) and therefore he’ll be able to play relatively stress free. I’m all for it (obviously)!
kreese555 - December 28, 2010
Not worried for a change here
Freeman is going to be great fit for us and he is going to be ready as soon as the first pitch is thrown opening day. Canizares would be nice to have as backup but the Braves already have Hinske for that role and Prado is a diestraits emergency so I would not look for him to make the opening day roster unless their is a serious injury to Freeman which if that happens we are pretty much screwed anyways.
Holty_Panthers_Fan - December 28, 2010
I agree.
Let’s face it, even if Freddie struggles at first, we are best placed by letting him play through it. We are a limited budget team and Freeman has the potential to be both good and cheap. It benefits us to let him figure it out. If he is absolutely horrible, we have plenty of medioce guys to fill in while he goes down to Gwinnett and figures it out.
cavebird - December 28, 2010
If I can only go to sleep and wake up when Spring Training starts. Oh, how I wish.
Sparhawk - December 28, 2010
PLATOON PARTNER!
I have been saying this for 4 mos now…the Braves need a decent RH bat that can play either 1B….or LF. When a tough leftie comes to the plate then this person would play 1B instead of Freeman (if this person is a LF then Prado comes in and plays 1B and the RH side of the platoon goes out and plays LF.). The Braves have too many “holes” in their lineup …going into the season….to have a 3rd hole if Freddie struggles…and a 4th hole if Chipper can’t come back. a RH platoon partner would protect Freddie….and would provide some insurnace should he struggle….(or if Chipper gets hurt as this person could then platton with Hinske in LF).
I tend to look at lineup depth as how it stretches from top to bottom….right now the Braves will be playing with a whole from their SS and their CF. You have to assume that you will get no better then league average….but likely worse out of both. You can hope for more, but you have to assume the worst. (Yes Gonzalez has some pop …but doesn’t walk and his OBP has been under .300. He is fine if he is one of the few holes….but).
The Braves have a few parts that might work out in CF…but going into the season yo uhave to assume it is going ot be a mess….so know that gives you TWO holes.
I don’t think they Braves are expecting Freddie to be a instant #4 hitter…but if he struggles to the point of demotion…then what? That gives us 4 holes (including the pitcher) out of nine in our line up….not good.
Now what if all of that takes place AND Chipper isn’t able to come back or gets hurt again…then what? We play with only 4 solid bats in the lineup? The Braves need at least one more piece of insurance to help shore things up. I know they like Mather…but I am not sure if I am comfortable with him as the designated platoon guy to start the season…he hasn’t proven to be Matt D against lefties yet.
calbers - December 29, 2010
Platooning won’t help him learn to hit lefties. I’m not really a fan of ever platooning players you may be counting on later, except in limited situations. Platoons should be vets or replacement-type players mostly.
Broccoman - December 29, 2010
There is only so much we can do here.
We have a limited budget, which is pretty much gone. As for production, we’ll get league average production for a SS out of Gonzalez; he is what he is. It isn’t good at the plate, but league average for SS’s isn’t very good.
I agree with Broccoman that a platoon partner isn’t a good idea for Freeman’s development. We want Freeman to be an every day player and if we don’t let him hit against lefties, he’ll never learn to hit against them. Sure there will be some struggles, but that is what happens.
As for only having four solid bats as a possibility, that is true, it is possible, but then again we won 90 games last year with mostly only four solid bats last year. We got nothing out of LF, CF, and SS all year last year, and 3B and 1B were sometimes pretty ugly, too. No, we don’t have a full lineup of all-stars, but outside of teams with huge payrolls, nobody really does.
cavebird - December 29, 2010
Back up thirdbaseman
How about the Braves get some extra insurance at third by signing ex UGA player Jeff Keppinger? He’s available fairly cheap, & has a good bat.
jaybravo - December 31, 2010
You must Login with your SB Nation account and be a member of Talking Chop to post a comment.