Talking Chop

aaaannndd

Chipper where? He definitely is not a clean up hitter.

drumzalicious - May 25, 2010 reply

In the bizarro world where Young hits leadoff, Chip could hit 6th. The #3 hitter often gets 4-5 more ABs per week than a 6 or lower hitter, and I would much rather our best hitter (Heyward) get those extra chances.

no way chipper hits 3rd

It might would play out like

Young
Prado
Chip
Heyward
Glaus
McCann
Hinske
Escobar
McLouth
P

drumzalicious - May 25, 2010 via mobile reply

You know the chances of Bobby slotting Chipper that low in the order are pretty slim.

Smoltz's Beard - May 25, 2010 reply

Yes

Great to see good stuff from Schafer. Triples aren’t a traditional sign of power but it does mean he did hit the ball hard. Plus he drew a walk and didn’t strike out. All the right things from him tonight. Let’s hope he gets back to raking so he can make it tough for Atlanta to leave him in Gwinnett all season.

The single was on a bunt and it was a thing of beauty

BraveSaluki - May 25, 2010 reply

So far, he has only 8 games and 35 ABs in Gwinnett, and 18 games and 74 ABs at all three levels.
I’d like to see him raking too, but a little patience would seem to be in order.

fandave - May 25, 2010 reply

I don't want him up right now

But come July/August, I’d like for him to be pushing Cabrera and Diaz a bit harder. I’ve got patience, but any good sign from Schafer is going to get me excited.

Matt,

how many bad starts did Hale have? He as you said, was dominant, and still has a 6+ ERA. He looking like he can move up at some point this year?

GoBravesNY - May 24, 2010 reply

Hale

He was terrible as a starter but he has been lights out as the extended relief guy. That’s what Matt is talking about. Since he’s been demoted to the pen his velocity is back up from 90-92 as a starter to 95-96 as a reliever.

Jay212033 - May 24, 2010 reply

That was the theory all along with Hale

That he wouldn’t cut it as a starter, but the Braves were smart to try him as one anyway, just to see if they’d strike gold. Major League starters are more valuable than even the best relievers. But it seems like he just wasn’t going to translate as one.

Plus starting in the minors allows you to work on things over the innings...

you can’t in short work. But damn if Hale can’t gun that damn thing, and Whitmer is BIG as is Hefflinger..

Off Day? Oh I think not

I just got back from Indianapolis, it was good to see our AAA guys under the lights.
THE GOOD: Tim Gustafson. He had a Derek Lowe-esque start to his game, throwing a lot of pitches and not being terribly effective, but then finding a groove and dominating for a few innings. At the plate, he was a monster, hitting a ground rule double that landed and stayed on top of the scoreboard in left and later crushing another ball to left for a home run. His K came as a result of bizarro managing, as he was asked to bunt with runners on second and third, even with two strikes (the squeeze was not on).
THE BAD: Schafer led off the game with a triple, but the batters behind him couldn’t get him in.
THE UGLY: Freddie Freeman. 0/5 at the plate and an error in the bottom of the ninth that could have been a game-ending double play, but instead put the tying runner at third and the winner at first by letting a routine grounder go under his glove.

But in any case, good show G-Braves, you’ve earned yourself a

RAINBOW LLAMASAURUS LOVES THE AAA BRAVES

BraveSaluki - May 24, 2010 reply

Blah

If you were going to head to Indianapolis for a game, it should be tomorrow’s game, so you can give us a report on Chris Resop (!).

I’m going to have to find a game where he’s starting at Gwinnet to go and see him, assuming he’s not called up before I get the chance.

Resop is becoming more and more relevant to my interests, we might be able to get a decent prospect out of him…

We might but I kinda doubt it. I think we’d be better off going for an older “non-prospect” that our scouts have identified as a possible useful player.

Hopefully

The Braves could get a C+ prospect for Resop. Personally I don’t want to see Resop back in ATL, you can blow a straight 95+ mph FB by AAAA hitters but ML hitters……not so much.

C+ would be very decent!

he'd be under team control for so long...

we might want to hold on to the guy if he’s actually capable of sustaining this level (not #s wise, but as least with his stuff, control, etc).

I’m very jealous you got to go to the game. Isn’t Victory Field a beautiful place to watch a game?

bbxxj - May 25, 2010 reply

Cody must be hurt, he’s only been pinch hitting lately.

cbwilk - May 24, 2010 reply

I was thinking the same thing too.

Scott Coleman - May 25, 2010 via mobile reply

Maybe they are trying to make him more selective by giving him only one chance to get a hit..

HAHA

Wasn’t trying to be funny, but I’ll take it..

If he is refusing to make adjustments in his swing, per Gondee’s ST interview, something needs to be done to get him to understand what he needs to do…

If you only get one chance a night to hit for awhile, then you are gonna think extra careful about what your swinging at…

i suspect with the mini slump he was in that they might be working on stuff with him. Earlier in the year when he slumped he took a couple of days off and came back to go on a tear.

yondaime4 - May 25, 2010 reply

Thanks for the recap.

Braves got lots of love on the BA Hotsheet this week. Mike Minor #2, Juilo #13 Adroys

Former brave Tony Pena Jr. also got a mention. He’s a RP in the Giants system & is pitching really well.

FitzFan - May 25, 2010 reply

I keep forgetting to check the hotsheet…thanks for the reminder.

Smoltz's Beard - May 25, 2010 reply

no problem. i forget to check myself most weeks. the last 2 hotsheet chats also had a lot of Braves mentions.

FitzFan - May 25, 2010 reply

yeah good week to be a Braves pitcher.

yondaime4 - May 25, 2010 reply

If Julio keeps up his ridiculous line for the rest of the year, is there ANY chance he pulls out the #1 prospect spot for 2011? I know he definitely has a shot for 2012, but is 2011 just being unrealistic?

It seems pitchers rarely make it to the very top of the prospect list. They are traditionally less of a sure thing than hitters. I’m thinking he will probably make top 20 for 2011 if he keeps up the current pace.

chopc - May 25, 2010 reply

I think it is very possible. Look at how high Martin Perez (young pitcher in AA/skippedA+) of the Rangers is…Teheran is making him look like, well, a LOSER…

Perez

He’s a really good pitcher but the Rangers are rushing that kid.

I agree

People were ranking him in their overall top 10 MILB prospects coming off a season were he dominated the SALLY (not as hard as Teheran), skipped high A, and pitched respectfully in a few AA innings as a 18 year old.

Currently, Perez has just been OK in AA this season. Judging by the looks of it, Teheran might be dominating AA as a 19 year old.

2011

Bryce Harper will be the top prospect even if he doesn’t play a game this season. And that’s why I really don’t put much stock into where players are ranked although it’s great to have your players highly regarded. But Teheran will be Top 10 definitely if he continues to perform at this pace.

Just within the Braves’ own system he’d have to do some amazing things to jump over Freeman. Freddie is just a year older, playing every day, and playing well, 2 levels higher. He’s got a ton of talent and potential in his own right and it playing surprisingly well for his age. Plus, he’s an everyday player, which is always a more sure thing than a pitcher. So far, I’m not seeing a situation where Julio overtakes Freddie.

cbwilk - May 25, 2010 reply

Aces win World Championships...

fizzbot - May 25, 2010 reply

Teams still have to score for the "Aces" to win

Prime example all of our great pitching in the 90s but not enough hitting lead to only ONE championship.

The playoffs are a crapshoot

acie4mvp - May 25, 2010 reply

Still the point remains you have to score to win

No matter how good your pitching is you still gotta score.

Evidence:

2 weeks ago

acie4mvp - May 25, 2010 reply

Lol yep!

We couldn’t hit against pitchers with a 9+ ERA.

gotta have the aces though, they are more of a premium,

philly had lee
ny had sabathia, aj

tons of teams with good offenses die in playoffs, 2 aces though and u can make it and win WS,

fizzbot - May 25, 2010 reply

Teheran’s next start at MB will say alot. If he continues at his current pace, he will be in AA long before the season is up. I’m not sure how Teheran’s stuff will hold up in AA right now, but I’m assuming there would be similiar results.

If it plays out like above and Teheran is pitching nicely at AA, then I would say he would definitely be the top prospect of, atleast our organization. This of course, is no knock on Freeman, who would be right behind him. Freeman’s steady stats just aren’t enough IMO, to prevent a hot Teheran pitching into AA as a 19 year old.

IMO, The end of season prospect lists might look like this: Teheran a top 10 prospect, Freeeman top 20, Delgado, Minor, and Vizcaino coming in the top 40.

And if Lopez continues his pace

He’ll crack the Top 100. Our pitching is super impressive so far but the offenses on the farm are terrible! How many times have our teams been SO on the farm? We’re probably going to set the record for getting SO this season by an organization.

which is why we have to focus on drafting bats this year.

chopc - May 25, 2010 reply

I think we can afford to go light on the pitching this year…

Why, it's not like they'd be ready any time soon...

or that we couldn’t deal from excess pitching to gain bats. Even given the lack of positional prospects on the farm, I’d say ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, draft best available.

Completely agree. I don’t care how stacked out pitching is, you can never have too much of it. Pitchers are more volatile so the depth will thin out as they advance. Also, young pitchers can be used to acquire elite talent at other positions and if we were ever to be short on pitching, other teams are very unlikely to give up their top pitching prospects so we would be screwed. Sure we could use some position players in our system but that shouldn’t keep us from taking the best player available.

Why rush him?...

we don’t have a need now, or next year. He can finish A+, maybe make a couple starts in AA, spend next year in Pearl, and we’d still have to possibly move someone out to make room. I don’t possibly see any way that Teheran “will be in AA long before the season is up” barring something crazy like allowing 3 hits over 45 innings and 5 starts. Delgado goes up before him, and in all likelihood he finishes the year in Myrtle.

Because it's unfair for the other team's hitters..

He needs to face hitters that will force him to make adjustments, that’s how he will learn. If he is mowing these guys down without making adjustments, then he is not learning to be a better pitcher.

Soaring through the competition looks sexy for your stats, but to me, it’s just wasting Teheran’s innings. I’m not saying that is happening now, but if he’s still dominating the Beach in a few weeks, there’s no point in him being there. Let him get the innings where he won’t always be able to breeze his way out of trouble.

Assuming his next 5-10 starts...

will be as dominant as his last 5-10 is a BIG stretch imo. If he can do it, I’d agree on sending him on up, but let’s see that happen first.

I’m pretty sure facing guys 3, 4, 5+ years older than him with Myrtle will “force him to make adjustments”, and he won’t be mowing them down like he did in his debut there.

You have to atleast consider it, since he has been extremely consistent since the beginning of the season…

He’s figured out exactly what to do with his fastball and his changeup…IMO, (A) level hitters just aren’t gonna be able to catch up with him..

Only time will tell...

I hope your right, but I just think he will need a little longer to adjust to facing guys several years older than him. Randall Delgado was the youngest pitcher in the league if I’m not mistaken, and Teheran is pretty much a full year younger (RD in early Feb, 1990, and JT in late Jan, 1991).

after seeing him pitch a LOT of games in person, I can at least say that he is very consistant and solid. His composure and presence are well above normal for his age. I would be very surprised if he falters in MB….FWIW…..

rbravesfan - May 25, 2010 reply

I mean, you would figure the first start in a new league would force the most pressure, wouldn’t you? He’s obviously comfortable and that first start does nothing but boom his confidence through the roof…

Also, I don’t think anyone has pointed out that the team Teheran faced, Winston-Salem, is easily the best team in the Class-A Advanced (31-13 rec). It was also an away game. Julio is a Jedi Master..

he's also really on his game right now...

if he can sustain it for the next 5-6 starts, then we can start thinking about a trip to Pearl for him, although I’d assume if Randall Delgado can keep his production up, he’d go first.

That’s a lot of ifs. I’m guessing Teheran doesn’t pitch at AA this year.

cbwilk - May 26, 2010 reply

Was wondering overall, how much do you guys think age plays a part in some of the struggles for our teams on the offensive side of the ball? I mean, it seems to me like most of our guys are younger than their competition. Everyone can’t be like #22. Would love to hear y’alls thoughts on this?

Sorry for the bad grammar!

jdmarine - May 25, 2010 reply

Grammar looks better than most on here, haha.

I’m far from an expert on the minor league rosters, but from what I’ve seen it just seems to be a general lack of talent that’s causing the offensive struggles. Guys like Cody Johnson are pretty young for their levels, but overall the Braves just don’t have many good young hitters at all.

And as a side note, it doesn’t help that almost all of our promising hitters are on different teams. Freeman, Johnson. Milligan – all at different levels. With none of the teams having more than one of the big-bat prospects, its hard for them to pack together runs sometimes.

I think our current struggles are simply due to lack of talent. We usually have an older team in Danville and it seems like our Rome team is usually pretty young but other than that, I think we keep in line with the norm.