Atlanta Braves place Bartolo Colon on the DL, now who pitches on Saturday?
By Jeff Schafer
Braves Place 44-year-old Colon on DL, who gets the ball on Saturday?
The Atlanta Braves announced on social media this afternoon that they have placed starting pitcher Bartolo Colon on the disabled list with a strained left oblique. Oh, yeah…a “strained left oblique.”
Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters prior to Tuesday night’s game that Colon was dealing with the oblique injury for a little while and has “been getting treatment.” It’s unknown when exactly Colon started feeling the pain in the oblique, but I’m guessing it started right after his first outing of the 2017 season…can you sense some sarcasm?
Does he have an oblique injury? We’ll probably never know for sure, but Colon is on the 10-day disabled list and really that’s all that matters at this point.
In his first 12 starts of this season, he holds an ERA of 7.78 while giving up 11 homers, 17 walks and 60 runs scored in 59 innings pitched. If you haven’t been tuning into every Colon start, he’s been awful.
With moving Colon to the 10-day DL, the Braves will have to fill a space on the roster and in the starting rotation. The corresponding move that the Braves made on Tuesday, was to bring up relief pitcher Jason Hursh from Double-A Mississippi.
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Hursh is on the 40-man roster so the move made sense for the time being. He’s been pitching very well with Mississippi — in 10 appearances he holds a 1.23 ERA with 10 strikeouts, five walks and 10 hits given up in 14.2 innings pitched. Hursh began the season in Triple-A Gwinnett, but after being called up to ATL and quickly being sent down, he was assigned to Mississippi.
The 25-year-old made his 2017 debut on Tuesday night and was hitting 97mph on the radar gun. He pitched one complete inning, gave up one hit and had a strikeout against the Phillies.
Hursh is trying to impress so he can stay in Atlanta longer. I say longer because most are expecting him to be sent down come Saturday…the next time Bartolo Colon was suppose to take the mound.
So Now Where Do We Go?
Here’s what we know…on Saturday June 10, the Braves will play a doubleheader against the New York Mets. Game one will be the makeup game from May 4th and two is your regular scheduled matchup starting at 6:00pm ET.
What we’re currently completely unsure about is who will take the hill for Atlanta?
Maybe the Braves have the Mets right where we want them…hide who they’re facing so they won’t be ready…it may work, right?!?
The Braves definitely have a few options for these two games…let’s go through the list real quick
Okay, before I got any further…Snitker has already put his foot down with the Medlen rumor. He told the media that though he’s pitching well, he doesn’t want to rush him and maybe they’ll see in about three weeks.
Now, before we get into everyone else…I’ll say the Braves have 38 guys on their 40-man roster. So two spots are open if they want to add someone.
Jackson…I’m throwing this out there not because I think he can start and give us a solid five or six innings, I’m thinking the Braves got with the bullpen game. Atlanta currently has nine relief pitchers in the pen…can they afford this in a doubleheader game? Probably not. Our next off day isn’t until June 15.
Wisler is almost a lock for one of the starts. The 24-year-old started 19 games for the Braves in 2015 and 26 games in 2016. All six appearances in 2017 have come out of the bullpen, but when the Braves sent him down to Gwinnett this past time, they wanted to stretch out his arm to start. He was able to get one start in with Gwinnett going five innings, gave up six hits, two runs, two walks and had four strikeouts. He’s scheduled to pitch again in Gwinnett on Friday.
Albers is definitely the odd-ball here. The Braves could bring the 31-year-old up for a spot start to see what he’s got. He’s currently 4-1 with a 3.13 ERA in 12 appearances for the Gwinnett Braves. Probably is, Gwinnett has been using him out of the pen and as a starting pitcher. He most recently pitched on June 4 out of the bullpen. He’s an option as he has MLB experience. Albers pitched with Minnesota in 2013, Toronto in 2015 and Minnesota again in 2016.
Lucas Sims cruised through April and mid-May posting a 2.16 ERA in seven starts. He was on the fast track to Atlanta. Then, his last four outings have been forgettable. In those four games, he’s given up five, four, three and six runs with a combined 10 walks. Though his most recent outings haven’t been great, there is still a good chance the Braves call-up the 23-year-old. Sims is on the 40-man roster so another move wouldn’t have to happen.
Newcomb is an interesting choice here for the Braves. He’s ranked as our #4 best prospect in our minor league, but the left-handed pitcher has continued to have issues with walks. The 23-year-old is built like a hoss — 6’5″, 255-pounder. Newcomb is expected to start on Wednesday for Gwinnett, so if they skip his start or he doesn’t throw a lot in the game, this situation could be cleared up a lot. The more and more I think about it, I’m expect the Braves to call him up to start on Saturday.
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A Few Side Notes
- Snitker told the media on Tuesday that he expects Colon to be ready to pitch when he becomes eligible on June 16.
- Braves officially cut ties with Emilio Bonifacio. Atlanta gave Boni his release papers on Tuesday afternoon.
- Top prospect Ozzie Albies is on the 7-day DL with a left-foot contusion