Getting To Know The Atlanta Braves Outfielder Cedric Hunter?

Much ink has been spilled about the current Atlanta Braves roster…

The Atlanta Braves traded stars Justin Upton, Evan Gattis and Jason Heyward over this past offseason and now Melvin, B.J. Upton is down with an injury.  This leads to the Braves having an all new outfield in 2015.  The Braves signed Nick Markakis to take the place of Heyward in the outfield but he’s still recovering from offseason neck surgery.

So as we start examining who should be in the Braves outfield on opening day, we start with the Spring Training opening day.

Atlanta officially tweeted out their lineup for their March 4th game against the New York Mets this morning…in left field and batting ninth is once highly touted prospect, Georgia’s own Cedric Hunter.

Who is Cedric Hunter and what could he offer the Atlanta Braves?

Currently 26-years-old, he turns 27-years-old on March 10, Hunter was the Mississippi Braves left-fielder in 2014. Once a highly-touted prospect in the San Diego Padres’ farm system, he has seen his value shoot up and crash down, but has found consistency in his older, more wiser years.

After rising through the Padres’ organization receiving promotions 3 straight years and being ranked on most lists as the Padres’ best prospect, he had a nightmarish season in 2009, where he posted a .625 OPS in 577 ABs for Padres Double-A affiliate.  That’s B.J. Upton bad and, needless to say, that shiny top-prospect status was ripped to shreds.  In 2010, he set out to rebuild the value once lost, and while the stats were most definitely not that sexy, it was a step in the right direction. In an interview with Bill Center, Hunter had this to say about his lost 2009:

"“I learned a lot in 2009. I wasn’t used to failure. I had never really experienced that before. And I was real young. I got down on myself.  For some reason, I hit a wall after the first month. Most my problems were in the first half of the season. But it was a tough lesson. If you don’t keep moving forward, it gets tough. The 2009 experience was a wake-up call. It made me work harder. I was better prepared and a better player last year.”"

It looked like he once again had a future in baseball. However,  it proved over the course of the next year that it wouldn’t be in the Padres’ organization.  2010 wasn’t particularly kind to him and the stalling he experienced in 2009 came back in 2011.  At the end of the 2011 season, after receiving a very short call-up to the Majors, Hunter was released from the Padres’ organization, where he was picked up by the St. Louis Cardinals. He somewhat rebounded with the Cardinals, but at 24, it wasn’t enough for the Cards to keep him around.  Once again, he became a Minor League free agent, of which he was picked up by the Cleveland Indians. It was in Akron, Ohio, Cleveland’s Double-A affiliate, where a 25 year-old found his stroke again. Posting a .912 OPS through 61 games, that included 12 home runs, he was promoted to Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate, and the stall button was pressed again.  Loosened by Cleveland at season’s end, the Braves swooped in, and he was brilliant in Mississippi.

In 120 games for the Mississippi Braves, Hunter had an .881 OPS, by far his best since his first year in the Minors, slugging 30 doubles, 4 triples, and 14 home runs.  Adding to that, he only struck out 11% of his ABs, and walked 10% of his plate appearances.  Is it possible that, at 26 years of age, Hunter has figured the game of possible out?  Maybe.

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But is Cedric Hunter a “Quad-A” ballplayer?

If you’re not familiar, the dreaded Quad-A player label is a term given to players who just aren’t a fit for the major leagues.  The stereotypes listed below are the norms for players who receive said labeling.

Quad-A Stereotypes:

1. Only skill is hitting-? No.  Hunter played LF at Double-A, yet he’s played CF for the majority of his career in the Minors.  He’s not the DH, 1B, LF type that frequent the dreaded Quad-A level.

2. Difficulty making adjustments? Yes, yet maybe not. He has not made the full adjustment to the Triple-A level yet, but his numbers in the Southern League, a notorious pitchers’ league, might suffice for the “adjustment” argument.

3. Fringe talent that failed at the Major League level-? No. Hunter received 5 plate appearances in the Majors with 1 walk and 1 single; hardly a fail or a success.

4. Inflated stats due to league played in?  No. As stated above, the Southern League is one of the most difficult leagues in the Minors for hitters, and Hunter hit well.

Where does he fit in on the Atlanta Braves roster?

Hunter played left-field last year in Mississippi, but as stated before, most of his time in the Minor Leagues was spent in center. While his arm is likely too weak to play there full-time, he could definitely cover both left field and center field off of the bench, or in a platoon.  The Braves would be wise to look at platoons at one of the positions, and that’s where Hunter could provide some value.  A platoon in left field with Jonny Gomes is most likely.

We’ll be watching this afternoon to see how he does on the Braves Spring Training’s Opening Day!!