Atlanta Braves Morning Chop (AFL/Hart)
Hart Will Bring Swagger to Atlanta
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seemingly has it all. Great family, great golf swing, great clothes, great tan, great legacy in the front-office fraternity. And up until recently, he had great flexibility to enjoy all of these things at his own pace.
But Hart also has great baseball insight and a great competitive fire. And these are the traits his good friend John Schuerholz leveraged in convincing Hart to take on this greater role and greater challenge with the Atlanta Braves. Hart, the Braves’ newly named president of baseball operations, is going to be more tied up in his work life than he’s been in years, but he has an opportunity to simultaneously groom a fine young general manager candidate in John Coppolella and turn the Braves back into a World Series-caliber ballclub.
It was an opportunity the competitive Hart wavered on the last few weeks, but, ultimately, couldn’t pass up.
Arizona Fall League Check-up
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It’s been a few days since we took a look at our Braves in the Arizona Fall League, so let’s revisit now. The team – the Peoria Javalinas – is having a real roughly go of it: they are now 3-10-2 on their season, and 2 of those victories came within the first few days of play. So frankly, the entire team is struggling, but many of our Braves’ minor leaguers are sharing in the misery.
The Hitters
- Daniel Castro – SS. How bad is this Peoria team? Castro is hitting.250. He’s the 4th best hitter on the squad. Ouch. Castro has 1 steal (not been caught yet) and is 8/32 with 4BB/4K, a double and an RBI. He’s made just 1 fielding error as well. All that actually looks okay, given this group.
- Edward Salcedo – RF. At least he’s been error-free out there. In all honesty, I can’t understand the conversion to RF. Yes: he’s a total bust in the infield; but Salcedo has no future in RF, either. Anyway, he’s hitting .224 (11/49 in 12 games) with 4 doubles, 4BB, and 14 strikeouts (in a logjam for 2nd on the team). So why is he in Arizona instead of an actual prospect?
- Kyle Wren – LF/CF. One game last week gave us hope that Kyle was going to bust out, but either the competition level or the inconsistent playing time (just 5 games) is hurting Kyle a lot. .167 average (3/18). He’s not even attempted a steal yet. Probably frustrating for him, too – he’s not being used nearly enough to warrant his presence in AZ. Given the team’s play, maybe it’s time the coaches try some other players – like Wren.
The Pitchers
- Aaron Northcraft – RHP. He’s doing okay. 3.86 ERA in 3 starts (9+ innings). His WHIP is too high (1.50) due to excess walks (5), but that’s been his issue as a pro. Does not have overpowering stuff, so has to nibble a bit. Some days you’ll get those calls; some days you won’t.
- Nate Hyatt – RHP. Nate was the surprise pick to go to the desert, and he’s making the most of it: 1.80 ERA in 5 innings of relief work with 3 BB, 6K and a 1.00 WHIP. Good job by him.
- Brandon Cunniff – RHP. Brandon has been hit pretty hard: 10 hits (including a homer) in 6.2 innings. 6K and 2BB are good, though the hits reflect a 1.80 WHIP and 4.05 ERA – a lot of damage control work.
- Ryne Harper – RHP. I had high hopes for him, but he’s also been hit hard. Ryne stays in the strike zone a lot (excellent K/BB ratio, evidence by 7K/1BB this Fall), and that may be part of the problem here: 7 hits (incl. a homer) in 6 innings, but a lot of damage (7.50 ERA). Still, a 1.33 WHIP suggests that better damage control would be helpful for him.
Braves in Other Winter Leagues
- Elmer Reyes – Licey/Dominican League. .304 average in 5 games, 2 steals (caught once), 7/23, 2b, 4 RBI, 2K.
- Lay Batista – Aguilla/Dominican. 0.00 ERA in 4.1 innings, 0.23 WHIP (0 hits, 1 walks, 2 K).
Notable Ex-Brave
- Randall Delgado – Licey/Dominican League. 1.80 ERA in 5 innings, 0.80 WHIP, 5K, 0 BB, 3 hits.