Atlanta Braves Juan Jaime Designated for Assignment

(58) reacts as he plays catch during batting practice before a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

If Fredi Gonzalez has been consistent about anything it’s this:  if you walk hitters, he doesn’t want you pitching for him.

This is certainly not a knee-jerk reaction from a single 3-walk outing yesterday afternoon that resulted in a loss to the Mets.  This is the continuation of a pattern that has plagued Juan Jaime throughout his professional career:

• 2014 (Majors):  6.57 BB per 9 innings
• 2014 (AAA): 7.90
• 2013 (AA):  6.00
• 2013 (AFL):  6.10
• 2012 (A+): 5.79

More from Tomahawk Take

• Atlanta Braves 2012 Prospect Review: Joey Terdoslavich
• Braves News: Braves sign Fuentes, Andruw’s HOF candidacy, more
• The Weakest Braves Homers Since 2015
• Atlanta Braves Sign Joshua Fuentes to Minor League Deal
• Braves News: New Year’s Eve comes with several questions about the 2023 Braves

There’s more, but you get the idea.  If you’re asking “how did he last this long?”, there’s a simple answer:  his velocity (upper 90’s, touching 100 mph) also led to high numbers in the next column:  strikeouts per 9 innings.

The trouble has been, though, that this 27-1/2 year-old has been “on” one day and “off” the next – a Jekyll-Hyde personality complex that clearly isn’t working at the major league level.

So in two outings this season (the first of which required considerable “settle down” coaxing from his catcher), Jaime completed 1.1 innings and walked 4 batters – one for every out recorded.

Admittedly, there was some surprise that Jaime even made the Opening Day roster in the first place after walking a team-high eleven hitters during the Spring campaign in just 8.2 innings.  Undoubtedly, that happened because he was out of options and would have to clear waivers to be sent to the minors.

That requirement is now in effect… and I expect it’s a good bet that he’ll clear and head to Gwinnett.

Sugar Ray Marimon

Sugar Ray Marimon (73) delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

Fun fact:  that’s his real name – it’s not a nickname.

I’ll hit the important stats first:  during Spring, he walked just 2 in 7 major league innings, striking out 5 with a 1.29 ERA and 1.00 WHIP.  He’s been even better at AAA:  in 3 innings (one outing), he K’d a pair while walking none and giving up exactly nothing else… not even a base-runner.  So he can not only handle a quick outing – he can go multiple innings as well.

Marimon is 26-1/2 and hails from Cartagena, Colombia.  The right-hander is 6’1″/195 and came to Atlanta as a minor league free agent this past winter from… this is a switch… the Royals.  In 2014, he was split between AA and AAA, posting a 2.14 and 3.56 ERA, respectively in 104 innings with the only organization he had ever known up until this Spring.

Now this new management is sending him to the majors for the first time.