We had an odd week with a lot of good performances from hitters but not a whole lot of good from our pitchers. I'll be honest, it is a bit of fresh air and none of the bad pitchers were our superstars.
Who's Hot?
- Willie Cabrera - 7-18 4 2B, HR, 6 RBI, 2BB, 2K- I actually didn't even think Willie had been that good this week but that is what I get for doubting him. What else is there left to say about this guy? He is 3rd in the league in OPS, 1st in doubles, 2nd in average and 4th in SLG. In July he has more homers than he had the rest of the year and has put up an impressive 1.088 OPS.
- Julio Teheran - 7IP 3H 1R 0BB 9K - Julio decided to make his last start in Myrtle Beach one of his best. Again, what else is there to say about this guy? Sure he got roughed up in a 3 game stretch in the Carolina League, but those were just blips on the radar. He and Delgado both deserve the promotion they got.
- Matt Lipka - 10-27 2B, 3B, HR, 10 RBI, 6 SB - I don't normally put short season guys on this list but Lipka has been amazing in July and this past week especially. While he has yet to tap into his power in any significant way, every other aspect of his game has been impressive including his plate discipline. I can't rave enough about this guy.
- Andrelton Simmons - 11-28 4 2B, 4 RBI, 1 SB, 1 CS - Andrelton Simmons wants to play the file really bad and he is doing everything within his power to make sure that happens. He had a rough adjustment period when he first signed in June but since then he has been at least solid with the bat. His plate discipline could use some work but we knew he was raw in most phases of the game. At the very least I think he has earned another year to try and play the field.
Honorable Mentions: Gwinnett - Freddie Freeman, Wes Timmons, Christian Martinez; Mississippi - Tyler Pastornicky, Randall Delgado; J.J. Hoover, Cory Harrilchak; Phil Gosselin, Steven Kent; Danville - Evan Gattis, Jakob Dalfonso, David Rohm, Barrrett Kleinknecht, Ryan Weber, Kyle Farrell
Who's Cold?
- Jordan Schafer - I won't even use any stats here other than his OPS at Gwinnett was .509 for the year. Formerly the Braves 'Centerfielder of the Future' Schafer has had a rough season and it culminated in a demotion to AA a couple days ago. Rumors have it the Braves wanted to get him away from his comfort zone and send a message to him. I guess we will see if the message hit home or not.
- Craig Kimbrel - 4IP 3H 3R 2HR 3BB 5K - Kimbrel had his worst week of the season after a rough showing last week as well. He has allowed runs in 4 of his last 5 appearances and has walked at least one batter in 7 straight appearances. That totals up to 13 walks in his last 8 innings with 5 runs allowed. He is still striking out bunches of hitters but it looked like he had turned a corner with his control. I hope it is just a blip on the radar and not.
- Brett Oberholtzer - 4IP 10H 8R 1BB 2K - Brett had found a bit of a groove coming out of the bullpen for the Pelicans and even carried that into a couple of starts when he was needed but he crashed and burned this week. In Myrtle Beach he has a 5.24 ERA as a starter vs just 2.25 out of the pen with better component ratios across the board (SSS warning). I think he may have found his future role.
- Caleb Brewer - 3IP 6H 3R 3BB 3K - A few people were really high on Brewer coming into the season because he throws very hard and he had a solid season in the GCL last year. He started strong in June but since then the wheels have come off. He has allowed 3 runs or more in 7 straight starts and has walked 3+ in all but two of those starts. For the season he has 26 BB vs 24 K in just 40 innings of work. He is going to have to get his control straight
Dishonorable Mention: Gwinnett - Todd Redmond, Jose Ortegano; Mississippi - Richard Sullivan; Myrtle Beach - Matt Crim; Rome - Edward Salcedo, Todd Cunningham, Chris Masters, Robinson Lopez
Defense
Any word on how Lipka has been playing defense? What about Simmons? I know he was supposed to be the best defensive SS in the draft.
ruxsin - July 26, 2010
Jordan Schaffer is without a doubt the most overhyped prospect I can think of with the Braves in maybe the last 20 years. I am not at all surprised by his poor season. I remain mystified as to why the vast majority of Braves fans remain convinced that he is a future MLB star in the making.
I haven’t seen much word on him recently, but Cody Johnson seems to have hit a brick wall in AA. I’m not seeing a promotion to AAA for him by the start of next season.
Zontar - July 26, 2010
Wonder how Schafer plays out if the plan was to give him...
a month or two in AAA last year? If no wrist injury and the time in AAA to work on weak points, just where would he be in his development. If only we had a better option than Josh Anderson last spring to compete with him.
Mr. Sanchez - July 26, 2010
Wonder how things would have played out if he hadn’t lost 50 games due to the HGH fiasco that is was wrongly convicted of..
dkinser86 - July 26, 2010
unless of course
he was actually on HGH
got suspended, and is now terrible
I continue to think this most likely.
kbertling353 - July 26, 2010
But he wasn’t really terrible till he got hurt…
yondaime4 - July 26, 2010 via mobile
he was just kinda terrible
kbertling353 - July 26, 2010
When was he terrible before he got hurt?
yondaime4 - July 26, 2010
He wasn’t, but that baseless claim supports his unfounded theory.
cbwilk - July 27, 2010
He was suspended for hgh back when they did not test for hgh. That’s just a little bit fishy to me, so I’ll never quite believe that he was on it unless I see some proof or hear it from him.
As for his performance since, most (if not all) of his 2008 season was after the suspension when he went on to hit .269/.378/.471 (adds up to an .849 OPS). His 2009 season was eaten up by an early wrist injury that he has not since fully recovered from. I hold a distant hope for his future, but he’s certainly no sure thing.
telemakhos - July 26, 2010
Are you serious?
Guilty or not, you’re going to believe a guy unless he admits to it?
MichaelProcton - July 30, 2010
…Jordan Schaffer is without a doubt the most overhyped prospect I can think of with the Braves in maybe the last 20 years…
My, my, my… Have we forgotten about Bruce Chen and even Jeff Francoeur so quickly? Both of those guys were really riding the hype machine.
On thing about Bobby, good or bad, is that he’s got a habit of deciding that some kid is ready based on a good spring. It doesn’t matter if he’s pulling him out of A-ball (Furcal) or if the kid has had some minor seasoning in higher levels (Schafer, Heyward), Bobby makes some snap decisions in this regard. I can’t say that it’s always backfired, but I know there are cases where it has.
theatlfan - July 26, 2010
Andy Marte.
10-4 - July 26, 2010
Andy Marte could still have been good except his plate discipline, which was borderline elite level, reverted to 4 year old wiffle ball bad.
yondaime4 - July 26, 2010
If you're scared about Cody...
Take a look at Russell Branyan’s numbers at a similar age. He’s still got a shot to make the bigs.
MichaelProcton - July 30, 2010
Will Willie Cabrera ever get promoted to AAA? He sure does deserve it and a chance to reach the majors
Braves24 - July 26, 2010
Teheran
is JT more like Smoltz, Maddux or Glavine?
MBL1 - July 26, 2010 via mobile
he throws harder than maddux and glavine
but if he turns out to half as good as any of them, i’ll be ecstatic
kbertling353 - July 26, 2010
Hard to make the comp to any of those guys. He is a change/curve guy who hits 96 on the gun. His mechanics arent traditional but he has pretty good control. I don’t know who that sounds like but its not really any of those 3
yondaime4 - July 26, 2010 via mobile
sounds like AJ Burnett
kbertling353 - July 26, 2010
-1
Burnett is a FB/Curve guy! JT has a solid 3 pitch mix and his change is his best pitch to me. His best comp to me is still Pedro Martinez.
Jay212033 - July 26, 2010
FB/Curve/Change
Is like everybody in the MLB.
I just wanted to scare you guys with the Burnett comparison.
kbertling353 - July 26, 2010
sounds like
he’s awesome
MBL1 - July 26, 2010 via mobile
Plz promoteeeeee willie!!
Everytym i read about lipka i love the pick more snd moree dudes an animal!! N i think every1 is impressed by how cabreras bn tearin it up i jus really cant understand y they wont promote him!! Well if he keeps pace sooner or later theylll prob have too or mayb even use him as an extra in 1 of our deals b4 the deadlineee
SkipTOoMyL0U_ - July 26, 2010
I act think teheran reminds me alittle of pedro martinez..u guys remember wen he came into the league throwin 95! Damn i hope hes close to that form wen he gets called up :)
SkipTOoMyL0U_ - July 26, 2010
Who's hot
wondering how you rate who’s hot. The Marek kid in Gwinnett pitched 22 consecutive scoreless innings as of this past saturday. More than any other pitcher in Gwinnett this year. Hot or Not?
llabyug - July 26, 2010
definitely hot, but we do it week by week and I rarely rate a single reliever for pitching 4 good innings a week.
yondaime4 - July 26, 2010
Once the rosters expand maybe they can call him up as extra depth for the bullpen wouldnt hurt to have sum1 else to turn too then chavez i cant really trust him in the late innings
SkipTOoMyL0U_ - July 26, 2010
yep
kbertling353 - July 26, 2010
This. It’s the unfortunate nature of the weekly thing, but it’s really had for a reliever to have a week that’s just plain better than everyone else.
cbwilk - July 27, 2010
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