Impressive Stat of the Night:Ryan Weber of the Danville Braves has induced 37 groundouts vs just 7 flyouts in his last 4 games.
Gwinnett 5, Scranton W/B 2
The Braves are experimenting with Christian Martinez as a starter and in just two games it has been successful. He has allowed just 1 earned run through his first 11.2 innings as a starter and has 9K vs just 3 BB. The Braves definitely need more starting pitching depth throughout the minor leagues. Wes Timmons goes on my shortlist of guys who deserve to appear in the majors but probably never will get a chance.
Tennessee 5, Mississippi 3
There are a couple of items in this game I found interesting. First, I did not realize that Tyler Pastronicky is just 20 years old. That puts his exploits in a different light for me, especially considering he is in AA right now and doing well. We might actually have a good SS prospect in this guy. All of a sudden our INF depth is looking pretty good. The other item of note is Yasser Gomez, the Cuban defector we signed a couple of months ago made his debut tonight and any time you reach base 4 times I would consider it a successful debut. I don't know much about the guy except that he is 30 years old, but I wouldn't be surprised if he profiles similarly to Yunel Escobar offensively.
Myrtle Beach 4, Frederick 1
Now THAT is the Julio Teheran that I know and love. He had a rough 3 game stretch where he wasn't super-human but tonight he reminded me that he is the best pitching prospect in the minors. I get really excited when I think about what we have with him, but sometimes I worry about that delivery of his. Mycal Jones hasn't been scorching the ball like he was last month but I was honestly expecting a drop off as the league caught up to his hot streak. He has been a bit cold in July but he has leveled off recently and still has better numbers for Myrtle Beach than he did in Rome.
Lexington 3, Rome 2
I just want to point out something about Edward Salcedo's struggles at the plate so far. One of my favorite tools for deciding if a guy is hitting the ball well is how many XBH a guy has vs how many hits he has. Salcedo has 7 XBH in Rome vs just 13 total hits. That is 54% of his hits going for extra bases (SSS warning). For some perspective Albert Pujols had 93 XBH out of 186 hits last season for 50%. No I am not saying Salcedo is Albert Pujols, but what I am saying is while he isn't making consistent contact, when he does make contact it is solid contact. Contact skills are often the last skill to come when a guy is promoted in the minors, so don't hit the worry button on him yet.
Pulaski 1, Danville 4
Andrelton Simmons has hit safely in 8 of his last 10 games with an XBH in 3 of his last 4 games. Simmons wants more than anything to prove he can hit in professional baseball and I would be ok with that as well considering our pitching depth and lack of impact middle infielders. I may be the only person on this website that put Ryan Weber on my midseason prospect list but when you have a 4-1 GB/FB rate for the year I am going to pay attention. He was demoted from Rome unfortunately but has been getting better and better at Danville and I hope he gets another chance in Rome by the end of the year.
GCL Braves 7, GCL Phillies 4
This just in: Matt Lipka owns the GCL. I don't remember any hitter this season filling up a boxscore like Lipka did today. He is third in the league in SB and 5th in hitting and is top 10 in OPS. Also just in: Cody Johnson is the same hitter in the GCL as he is in the Southern League.
DSL Rangers @ DSL Braves - Postponed
0 recs | 75 comments
Agree on Salcedo. When a guy isn’t hitting many singles, sometimes it’s because he’s hitting a ton of fly balls (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing), but sometimes it’s just bad luck. He’s going to hit, though.
Bill Shanks tweets that Brandon Beachy will be promoted to Gwinnett (yay! I get to see him!) and Julio Teheran will be promoted to Mississippi tomorrow. Really unbelievable how Teheran started his full season debut in the Sally League and he’s going to make it to AA before August. And he’s only 19!
PWHjort - July 23, 2010
I like teheran being promoted but does he deserve it more than Delgado?
yondaime4 - July 23, 2010
I thought Delgado should've been promoted a month ago.
I guess they don’t want to let him throw his slider this year.
PWHjort - July 23, 2010
its also stupid that he actually has another weapon
yondaime4 - July 23, 2010
The XBH / H thing is the basis of POW, a great statistic to determine power. Good stuff yond
BenDuronio - July 23, 2010
It was.the.sole reason I.was enamored with braeden schlehuber last season despite how low secondary stats. Turns out he is just terrible.
yondaime4 - July 23, 2010 via mobile
could be an issue of when their next turn in the rotation is coming up. This gives Teheran a few days to get there and settle in, and I would think Delgado would be going there soon after his next start as well. I expect it to be a little rougher on these guys going forward, but they haven’t disappointed yet.
JFP - July 23, 2010
One possibility is Teheran is going to get shutdown somewhat soon
Teheran’s innings are already significantly higher than his previous career, so maybe they’re planning on getting him some starts in AA, shutting him down early, and then promoting Delgado to fill the hole for the rest of the year
nixa37 - July 23, 2010
Both got promoted. I hate that Bill Shanks had this up before I did, because I guarantee he didn’t know it before I did.
cbwilk - July 23, 2010
Wow.
Keith Law said in his chat today that he thinks Beachy can start in MLB. “Interesting” was the word he used to describe him. Great to see him getting the chance in AAA.
I think we might be rushing Teheran just a bit… I’d rather move up Delgado at this point, although you can’t really argue much with what either of them has done this year. At any rate, they’re both so talented that it probably doesn’t matter much which gets promoted when.
Jacob Peterson - July 23, 2010
I think Wren just said “Let’s see what the kid can do” because obviously there is little he is learning right now and they may want to see how he handles some adversity.
Pavy848 - July 23, 2010
JT is an animal.
Scott Coleman - July 23, 2010 via mobile
Just curious, but are you saying...
Teheran made his “full season debut” this year? Cause he made 7 starts for Rome last year.
Mr. Sanchez - July 23, 2010
Yes, but this is his first full season. He started at Danville last year, which means his season didn’t start until late June. So even if he played for a full season team, last year wasn’t a full season.
cbwilk - July 23, 2010
Understood,...
jand was just clairfiying details. And I assume that’s what PWH meant as well as he follows the system, but well, I was just clarifying that point that this was his first “full season” with “full season teams” but he had played at the “full season” level before. Damn that’s confusing.
I’m guessing both will be in the big league camp next February.
Mr. Sanchez - July 23, 2010
So...
Anyone ready to give up on Cody Johnson? I’m slowly getting there.
Scott Coleman - July 23, 2010 via mobile
He just plays to the level of his competition.
Apparently, if you want a possible 35+ hrs and 2k a game just promote him on up. Batting avg isn’t a good indicator of ability anyways.
Honestly, he confuses me like the Bermuda Triangle of hitting.
Pavy848 - July 23, 2010
He’s off my radar until the Ks comes down to around %25
JFP - July 23, 2010
He’s 21! 21! Ahhhhh! 21!
cbwilk - July 23, 2010
21, and he was lost in AA and even worse in the GCL (SSS, but still.)
Scott Coleman - July 23, 2010 via mobile
What? You’re smarter than this. He’s got what, like 3 games in the GCL? And it’s rehab. He was lost the first month in AA, then he went on a tear, then he got hurt. I’m betting when he gets back to Mississippi he’s gonna do what he always does, hit a bunch of homers and strike out a ton.
cbwilk - July 23, 2010
I never said I was giving up on him. I guess I’m…increasingly worried. He’s still young and has a ton of time to figure it out, but he has to start improving just a little.
One problem is I (and most of us, for that matter) don’t know much about injuries in the minors. Maybe CJ’s injury was really bad and I don’t know it. All I’m saying is that I’d really like to see Johnson show a little improvement before the season ends. There’s only like a month left, right?
Scott Coleman - July 23, 2010 via mobile
He nearly tore his hamstring. He was limping while just walking nearly a month later. He tried to play through it for a while and did horribly while he did. I’m not comparing him as a hitter to Chipper Jones in any way, but when Chipper had leg problems, he had problems hitting. If one of the best contact hitters ever can be affected that much by hurt legs, then a guy like Cody, who’s nowhere close to one of the best contact hitters doesn’t stand much of a chance trying to play through a leg injury and come out looking good.
cbwilk - July 23, 2010
I had no idea.
Scott Coleman - July 23, 2010
Well, he didn't make any improvements from last year
His performance in AA is exactly what you’d have expected from him last year, based on his numbers. He actually hasn’t made a significant stride at all as a professional hitter, even though he had a very adequate season in Myrtle Beach last year. There’s Major League hitters who have a ton of power and big holes in their swing, but Cody Johnson swings much more like Pedro Cerrano, with no Jo Bu to help him hit curveballs.
All the power in the world doesn’t help if you can’t make contact, and as he moves up and finds pitchers more capable of throwing breaking balls for strikes, the less impressive he has been.
Bronn - July 23, 2010
Last year was only adequate? He had a .861 OPS for MB and led the league in homers. I’m not sure how much more you want out of a guy who you know is a power hitter. He’s never going to be a contact hitter like Freeman or Heyward.
You say as he’s moved up the ladder he’s found pitchers harder to hit, but that’s not entirely true. His average at MB was slightly lower than the year before at Rome, but he got on base more and slugged more, so he was a better hitter at the higher level. The only time he’s really tanked was this year in April when he was striking out every other at bat. He got crazy hot for a week or so, then hurt his hamstring (see above, this was a serious injury) and his numbers went to crap. He’s improved as he’s moved up the ladder. His strikeout rates (before this year) have stayed the same, which is inherent improvement because if he really isn’t improving then he should have been striking out more.
I know everyone is ready to write him off, but he should at least get some leeway because of the injury. Obviously he was terrible to start out, but he made some adjustments after that and then the injury prevented us from seeing whether or not he could continue it. Let’s see what he does the last month of the year, when he’s healthy with some experience at the level.
cbwilk - July 23, 2010
I'm all for giving guys a chance
But I saw his struggles coming this year. During the offseason, I said something like “He’s going to have to improve a great deal just to have a decent year at AA, and I don’t think he will.” And so far, he’s lived up my expectations, struggling to make contact even more than he ever has, and even though he does hit home runs, he’s just not bringing enough to the table. He swings too often and doesn’t make contact often enough. I’m not expecting him to be a major league ready hitter at age 21-there’s lots of prospects who struggle at AA and go on to success. But generally, those guys who struggle don’t have the mountains of strikeouts that Cody has.
Bronn - July 23, 2010
I guess it’s easy to predict failure. When a guy fails, like most of them do, you look right, and when a guy succeeds you can always say, “Well, he put the work in and surprised us all.”
cbwilk - July 23, 2010
Well written
When you consider the vast majority of prospects fail, it is not difficult to expect failure.
I think anyone who has followed Cody Johnson knows that he is having similar problems to what he has always had. He has one tool (power) that is as good as anyone’s, and everyone wants to see the other parts of his game come up enough to where he can take advantage of it at a major league level.
Kenny483 - July 23, 2010
Still cb...
that his K rate is remaining strong in GCL isn’t a good sign. The idea that he can maintain that 35% K rate into the bigs just doesn’t seem to hold. He really needs to do something to either improve his contact rate or his obp. I agree he made strides last year, but so far this season has been a bit of a waste, and shown he still has significant problems making contact. I’m still a believer in the kid, and understand he’s awfully young for his level. But, well, the problems aren’t going away.
Mr. Sanchez - July 23, 2010
I don’t think the problem will ever go away. I think he’s going to strike out a lot for his entire career. But I really can’t find that many, or any players, to compare him to for the purposes of reasonably extrapolating how his career might turn out. We could assume there are plenty of players who’s struck out ton who’ve failed that we’ve never heard of, but as far as I can remember for the Leagues he’s played in, and I can remember about 15 years or so of the Carolina League, nobody as young as him has had that kind of success.
He gets compared to other big sluggers who K a lot, Reynolds, Dunn, Howard, and folks say their Ks were never as bad in A ball, but they were all a few years older at the same level, so who knows what they would have done. People have even compared him to Russell Branyan, a less successful version of his type of batter, but even he was older at the same level. Mike Hessman might be the only good comp, since he was the same age, and I’ll argue up and down that he’s had an outstanding career, he’s just never been given a chance to play with any regularity in the Majors.
So far, yes, Cody’s season has been a waste, but we all knew going into the year that he could tank at AA this year and still be young enough to return to AA next year and still be age appropriate, so why the concern? He’s got another year to prove himself at AA and still be considered a good prospect just based on his age and his one amazing tool. And this year isn’t over yet, he could still salvage things to an extent with a strong August.
cbwilk - July 23, 2010
Couple of counter points...
while I’m not saying he should become Jason Heyward or Tony Gwynn in contact, but a reduction would certainly help. Getting it closer to 25-30% of Ks, instead of the 40-50% he has been, would be a big help. Like you, I don’t expect him to become a completely different player. But the current rates he’s whiffing against AA guys isn’t promising. He has time, but in that time he must make adjustments and improve getting on base and making contact when he swings.
As for the comp players, see Dunn.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=dunn—001ada
He was not “older at the same level”, but in fact killing AA/AAA at 21 (which Cody is now), and cracking the big league roster that same year. Reynolds and Howard were older in their progression, but Russell Branyan was in AA at 21, maybe a bit behind Cody’s progression but not much. Chris Davis seems like a similar path as Branyan. I agree on the difficulty finding a comparable player, but those two seem close enough. And the argument of Dunn as older isn’t true (although I’ll grant you the rest are valid).
I guess the concern is, and with the injury he hasn’t had a chance to show any, but the lack of adjustment. Yeah, I expected this year to be a waste, but I’d hoped we’d see improvements in the second half. Like you say, he did improve from month 1 to month 2, and I’m certainly not throwing in the towel, but like with all minor leaguers, he’s got a lot to work on before he can be considered a major league option. I think part of it is how long he’s been in the system. He’s been around I think 4 or 5 years now, and the problems he has now are the same ones he had then with seemingly little improvement. He has time to improve, but as of yet hasn’t shown the ability (or willingness, like say Yunel) to make those improvements. Not saying he can’t, cause I’m still on your side of this issue, but just playing devil’s advocate I guess.
Mr. Sanchez - July 23, 2010
I’d forgotten that Dunn caught up because he skipped high A. Yeah, he was insane that year.
Before this year though, Cody’s K rate was right at 35%, which is where it’s always been. Again, I argue improvement by the simple fact that it didn’t get worse, even though he moved up levels. Of course, that got blown out of the water by that 50% rate to start the year. I think he’s proven he can succeed with a higher K rate (though not as high as he had going this year), just like some other guys prove over their careers they can somehow get away with things other players can’t. I just want to see what he does when he gets back to Miss.
cbwilk - July 23, 2010
On this, I wholeheartedly agree...
What he does over the next couple months and into next year will be a much better estimate of what he’s capable of than his first few months in AA where he struggled initially, and after finding his groove then suffered the debilitating injury.
Mr. Sanchez - July 23, 2010
On this, I wholeheartedly agree...
What he does over the next couple months and into next year will be a much better estimate of what he’s capable of than his first few months in AA where he struggled initially, and after finding his groove then suffered the debilitating injury.
Mr. Sanchez - July 23, 2010
I've given up on him already.
Callous, but true. Not that my opinion really matters, but I’ll start paying attention to him when his gets his K rate below 25%.
soup du jour - July 23, 2010
this
the kid is fatally flawed and it’s something you don’t just eliminate in a year or 2 if you’ve been unsuccessfully trying to fix the problem for something like 4 years now.
telemakhos - July 23, 2010
Especially
When he’s been quoted as saying that he isn’t going to change his approach.
Bronn - July 23, 2010
Changing your approach and refining your approach are two different things. He’d never be successful trying to be a contact hitter, cause that would eliminate what makes him worthwhile, his power. He doesn’t have to change his approach to get better, only refine it to work better.
cbwilk - July 23, 2010
RE: Yasser Gomez
From what I remember reading, he’s much more comparable to a Gregor Blanco type hitter than to Yunel.
J-Turn14 - July 23, 2010
Yeah
I heard Gomez was a Blanco type hitter but with a better contact rate and plays plus D in CF w/ a plus arm.
Jay212033 - July 23, 2010
I’m pretty pumped about this Pastornicky kid. If he is legit then we got 2 decent/good SS for the price of 1. I am okay with that, plus our middle infield seems to have some depth to go with our pitching and outfield depth!
Pavy848 - July 23, 2010
plus we got something of value for JoJo
Swo12bv - July 23, 2010
I like what Pastronicky brings to the table. I really think he’s got a good chance to be a solid MLB player. Maybe not a starter, but easily an Omar Infante-type utility guy. Which of course means: guaranteed All-Star! That trade was a steal!
Seriously, though, it’s pretty impressive how much better our middle IF depth is compared to a year ago. Mycal Jones, Salcedo, Pastronicky, Lipka, heck even Simmons is doing OK. That is a huge improvement, even if none of those guys is a top prospect (yet).
Jacob Peterson - July 23, 2010
I know this has no place here, but i didnt feel like fanshotting this….Fangraphs posted an article about the 5 more untradeable players in baseballl….Arod officially has the worst contract ever…we had discussed this briefly and me and Pac, i think, argued over who was worse Howard and Wells (i win Wells was 2nd Howard was 3rd….jk).
Arod’s contract is really really dumb…even for the Yankees who tend to overspend
Swo12bv - July 23, 2010
I’m still amazed at what little publicity ARod is getting for his 600 chase. I don’t care about his past and what may or may not have happened. Give the guy his due, Yankee or not.
Pavy848 - July 23, 2010
i agree….600 HR is important and he should be getting more attn.
but at the same time…its all fake so its hard to quanitfy his ability….its the same stupid shit as with Bonds…both were easily Hall of Famers regardless of using steroids (if you asssume they didnt use when they were younger and not wearign size 10 hats).
i dont even consider Sammy Sosa ever hit 600…to me his numbers arent real…
but that said it should get a bit more coverage, its a big deal
Swo12bv - July 23, 2010
It’s not a big deal. The guy’s probably still on something. He cheated for a long time, much longer than he admitted to. His career shouldn’t be applauded, it should be denounced.
cbwilk - July 23, 2010
Disclaimer: I know way would ever condone using any substances, I freaking arrest people for pot for crying out loud lol
I understand that. Still how many players have used banned/unbanned substances and stunk up the stadiums they played in? His natural talent earns him some recognition even if he was a fool who tried to increase his status/salary/etc through some aid. At least he “spoke about it” and didn’t deny it like those other cowards.
I’m not saying throw a parade for him and his 600 hrs; I don’t care if you asterick the crap out of it in any stat book. It’s still a monumental stat that deserves some recognition for at least his longevity (although aided) and athletic ability (again aided).
Pavy848 - July 23, 2010
Ugh, bad typing late at night. Change know to no in disclaiming. I apologize for my crap spelling ha
Pavy848 - July 23, 2010
He spoke out about it after he got fingered, so he doesn’t get any credit there. There’s no accomplishement in a career built off of PEDs. Who knows what kind of numbers he’d have put up without them. Maybe he wouldn’t even be playing anymore. We can’t just assume that his natural talent would have carried him. He cheated, and cheated a lot, and I’m not giving him any credit for his career.
cbwilk - July 23, 2010
Touche
Pavy848 - July 23, 2010
One quick question that I’m not real sure of:
Does roids help speed up hand/eye coordination or is it a keeps you not broken down/increase stamina plus adds stupid strength (those rages must come in handy for going yard) type thing in sports?
Pavy848 - July 23, 2010
It speeds up your swing
Which in turn gives you an extra split second before you need to commit to swinging at a pitch. Plus the extra swing speed helps you hit it harder, which will lead to more HR and hits in general.
nixa37 - July 23, 2010
Ah, thanks.
Pavy848 - July 23, 2010
Bonds got fingered and never spoke about it
Hell he lied to a grand jury after he got fingered.
I’ll always still hold it against users, but if they come clean I can at least feel some pity for them.
nixa37 - July 23, 2010
Yeah, but I don’t buy his coming clean either. Again, he only admitted it after he was fingered, and then only admitted it for the period that encompassed what he was fingered for. He’s a liar, the very act of cheating is a lie, so even his “admission” was a lie.
cbwilk - July 23, 2010
I cannot contain my laughter at that comment. Sounds like an episode of SVU
telemakhos - July 23, 2010
I’d like to read a conclusive study on the positive effects that steroids have for baseball players before I go out on this kind of limb. This is a very broad statement without good evidence to back it up. You assume that either only hitters took steroids or that only hitters benefit significantly from their effects. However, it might be true that a lot of pitchers were using and that steroids are more benficial for pitchers. The problem is, NONE of us actually knows exactly what we are talking about, yet we act like we do.
buzzdeadwax - July 23, 2010
All I know is that 100% of cheaters have cheated, meaning anything they’ve done is tainted.
cbwilk - July 23, 2010
Not only that, the douche still tried to play innocent & blamed the female reporter who outed him for stalking him.
He is a phony douche of the highest order!
FitzFan - July 23, 2010
Well said.
Lizziebeth - July 23, 2010
Lipka
Any way he gets promoted to Danville soon with Simmons there or Rome with Salcedo just for a little taste?
braves32 - July 23, 2010
I feel like he might see Danville right at the end of the season.
cbwilk - July 23, 2010
There's little doubt that he could play in Danville right now..
The only problem is finding playing time for everyone.
J-Turn14 - July 23, 2010
I loved this pick when we made it
And he’s exceeding my and everyone elses expectations!
Jay212033 - July 23, 2010
I dunno...
I expect a 1st round pick to make it to the majors in September, fresh out of high school or not.
soup du jour - July 23, 2010
LOL
If you expect that then you need not keep up with the minors lol!
Jay212033 - July 23, 2010
Nah, just poking a bit of fun at your 'everyone elses' expectations.
There could be some who expected more power. He’s certainly exceeded mine, I can tell you that much.
soup du jour - July 23, 2010
I totally agree with you on the whole Wes Timmons thing
Rhyno18 - July 23, 2010
I disagree, but only because I have a long list of players who deserve to make the Majors but never will.
cbwilk - July 23, 2010
well, my list is pretty much only guys that played in the Braves organization. I don’t normally get all chummy with players from other organizations like you do:)
Rhyno18 - July 23, 2010
Still, with Timmons D and ability to make contact...
you’d think he could at least catch on the end of a bench, ala Langerhans.
Mr. Sanchez - July 23, 2010
A few years ago he definitely deserved to get called up, and the team was bad enough that there was no reasonable excuse for him not to have been.
cbwilk - July 23, 2010
Hell he has nearly 20 sb this season as well and he has amazing plate discipline. Sounds like leadoff to me
yondaime4 - July 23, 2010 via mobile
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