VIDEO: Player Spotlight Atlanta Braves Hector Olivera Crushes Two Pitches

Hector Olivera has played in five games with the Gwinnett Braves since returning from a hamstring injury.  Olivera was traded to the Atlanta Braves on July 30 for Alex Wood, Jose Peraza, Jim Johnson, Luis Avilan and Bronson Arroyo.  Olivera suffered the injury on July 13 while still a part of the LA Dodgers organization.

Many felt as though the Braves gave a lot away in this trade, but after seeing Olivera play I’ll have to disagree.

On Tuesday evening, I attended the Charlotte Knights vs the Gwinnett Braves game where Olivera played DH.  Once I saw the lineup, I was a little upset that he wasn’t playing third base, but at least he was in the lineup.

It was rumored over this past weekend that Olivera would be called up to the Braves on Monday, but the Braves front office must have thought twice about this move.

He needs more time in the minors….how long?  Probably not much time, but still needs work.  We’ve cover Olivera plenty of times here at Tomahawk Take, but third base is still a new position to him.  His bat is there, but needs more time on the field with Gwinnett.

I read the article on MLB.com with Freddie Freeman talking about working out down in Florida with Olivera.

“When that trade first went down, you were like, ‘Man, that’s a tough one to swallow,'” Freeman told Mark Bowman.  “Then you see what he looks like and you see his swing and you’re like ‘OK, this could be someone special for a few years.  He is an imposing figure in the box.  He’s got the Barry Bonds arm guard thing, he [leans out over the plate] and he swings hard.”

Freeman was correct with his comments…this guy is a monster.

I was extremely pleased with the performance Olivera showed the Charlotte crowd.  One thing I did pick up on was his language barrier.  He was only talking to one or two other guys and spent must of his night sitting by the stairs by my seat (reference the picture above).

Olivera went 2-4 with a RBI double on Tuesday.  I was able to capture both hits with my iPhone.

Take a look at Olivera’s night through my eyes

Hector Olivera from Jeff Schafer on Vimeo.