Atlanta Braves Old Friends: How is Spring Going?
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The Braves traded away or otherwise opted not to retain a lot of firepower in the off-season. A whole host of other players departed as well. This is a quick look at how these – and other recent players are doing so far with their new clubs.
JASON HEYWARD (CARDINALS) – What else would we have expected? .412 (7 for 17) with 3 runs scored, 2 RBI. Oddly, though, that’s from 7 singles – no extra base hits. Still, once you throw in 2 walks, a .474 OBP will work.
JUSTIN UPTON (PADRES) – .300 with 2 blasts and 3 RBI in 20 AB. That gets him a 1.083 OPS, though there is a warning beacon in sight: 6 K’s against just 1 walk.
EVAN GATTIS (ASTROS) – Gattis is currently nursing a wrist ailment, but was hitting .357 in 14 AB prior to that with 3 RBI and a double. 2 walks against 2 K’s give him a .438 OBP.
DAN UGGLA (NATIONALS) – Uggla is now hitting .250 with 1 home run, 3 RBI and a double in 20 ABs. He has walked 4 times (2nd on the club – Harper has 6, but he’s hitting .176) and K’d 3 for an OBP of .400 and .850 OPS. Dan is actually out-hitting every second baseman on the club except Cutter Dykstra, who will probably start at AAA for them, though Yunel Escobar is on the shelf with a mild oblique strain. Neither Uggla nor Dykstra is on their 40-man roster at this point.
Los Angeles Angels infielder Kyle Kubitza (75). Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports
KYLE KUBITZA (ANGELS) – Doing just fine, thank you: hitting .300 with a homer and a triple in 20 trips. Patience is Kyle’s mantra, and that’s also costing him a bit so far as he looks for “his” pitch: just 1 walk and 7 strikeouts. Probably more importantly for him, though, Kyle has not yet been charged with an error in his 10 fielding chances (4 PO, 6 assists).
J.R. GRAHAM (TWINS) – Maybe relief pitching is the right thing for Graham: 4.1 innings over 3 games, 3 hits allowed, no runs allowed (2 BB/2 K). 1.15 WHIP. Nicely done for the Rule 5 pick.
ERVIN SANTANA (TWINS) – Just 4 innings so far, giving up 4 hits and 2 walks – but no runs.
AARON HARANG (PHILLIES) – Just 2 innings so far, giving up 3 hits and 2 walks, but no runs. No, that’s not sustainable, but it was his lone outing thus far.
AARON NORTHCRAFT (PADRES) – The other ‘Aaron’ we had in the organization has made 2 appearances for 3 innings, but has given up 3 runs via 5 hits and a walk… no strikeouts.
CHASEN SHREVE (YANKEES) – As a team, the Yankees are pitching out of their minds… to the extent that Shreve’s stellar 1.80 ERA looks almost pedestrian by comparison. Still, that’s solid over 5 innings of work with 1 walk and 5 K’s. His WHIP is 0.60 – the lone run allowed coming on a homer.
DAVID CARPENTER (YANKEES) – So far his 6.75 ERA in 4 innings looks bad compared to his teammates, but we know he’ll be all right in the end.
SEAN GILMARTIN (METS) – Started well, but not doing well lately: 10.38 ERA in 4.1 innings. Getting hit just as hard this Spring as… Bartolo Colon.
JORDAN SCHAFER (TWINS) – Always streaky, Schafer is starting slow with a .231 average in 13 AB (2 RBI, double). Oddly has one steal, but has been caught 3 times.
ANTHONY VARVARO (RED SOX) – 3 appearances, 3 innings, 3 hits, 3 strikeouts, 3.00 ERA. The balanced numbers aside, that’s pretty decent.
TOMMY LA STELLA (CUBS) – Not a great start: .238 in 21 AB with 2 walks, but 5 K’s – quite uncharacteristic of him.
Hat tip for the reminder from @GoBraves101905 of two that I inadvertently omitted
DAVID HALE (ROCKIES) – 3 outings for 7 innings and has been roughed up a bit: 6.43 ERA. 9 hits allowed with a walk and 7 strikeouts… at least he’s clearly throwing balls in the zone. Still in the mix for Colorado, though not yet showing up on their rotation depth chart, which is long of names, short on overall talent.
GUS SCHLOSSER (ROCKIES) – A single two inning outing (a start) in which he gave up 2 earned runs for a 9.00 ERA. 4 hits contributed directly to that. 1 strikeout, but no walks. He has been assigned to the Rockies minor league camp.