Atlanta Braves News: The morning chop, box score, Dansby Swanson sent down, new top 20 prospect rankings
By Jeff Schafer
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: Well…that game didn’t go as planned. The Atlanta Braves sent Aaron Blair to the hill on Wednesday afternoon as he took the spot of recently traded Jaime Garcia. Blair, once a top prospect, is still only 25-years-old, but has been given many chances to perform for the Braves. He continues to struggle though. He doesn’t have many pitches in his arsenal, especially good pitches to get hitters out on. I think the next move for the Braves and Blair is to move him to the bullpen and see how he does there. Even with the Gwinnett Braves, he hasn’t pitched well.
Arizona’s starting pitcher Patrick Corbin came into the game with a 3-0 record and a 0.59 ERA in four starts and two relief appearances against Braves in his career. Not a good set up for success. Corbin pitched well on Wednesday going six innings, giving up two runs, four walks and had five strikeouts. The Braves were able to get to Corbin, but not enough.
Blair couldn’t last the Braves over three innings which meant our bullpen had to get 15 outs. Luke Jackson pitched the 4th inning and gave up a blast to J.D. Martinez. Akeel Morris pitched really well, but way too long. After already throwing two solid innings, Brian Snitker left Morris in for a third. Morris threw 52 pitches on Wednesday….yeah.
Braves have a day off on Thursday and will be back at it again starting on Friday. Weekend series against the Phillies in Philidelphia.
Braves lose 10-3
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ender Inciarte CF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | .298 | .346 | .402 | .748 |
| Brandon Phillips 2B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .286 | .328 | .434 | .762 |
| Freddie Freeman 1B | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .332 | .435 | .683 | 1.118 |
| Matt Kemp LF | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .289 | .335 | .477 | .812 |
| Tyler Flowers C | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | .301 | .391 | .456 | .847 |
| Sean Rodriguez RF-3B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | .150 | .370 | .300 | .670 |
| Johan Camargo 3B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .305 | .325 | .477 | .802 |
| Ian Krol P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Dansby Swanson SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .213 | .287 | .312 | .599 |
| Aaron Blair P | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 2.000 |
| Luke Jackson P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Danny Santana PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .205 | .252 | .362 | .614 |
| Akeel Morris P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Nick Markakis RF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .273 | .353 | .378 | .731 |
| Team Totals | 36 | 3 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 42 | .306 | .381 | .389 | .770 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Blair, L (0-1) | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 15.00 |
| Luke Jackson | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4.09 |
| Akeel Morris | 2.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.23 |
| Ian Krol | 1.2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6.03 |
| Team Totals | 8 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 11.25 |
Braves’ top prospects for 2017: Midseason composite rankings
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: FOX Sports South, in conjunction with eight other media outlets, put together a brand new midseason top 20 Atlanta Braves prospect list. Tomahawk Take was included in their composite rankings and for that, we thank FOX!
After exploding onto the scene in the Fall League in 2016, Ronald Acuna is jumping up everyone’s board with his outstanding 2017 season. Acuna is only 19-years-old and just continues to rake wherever he goes. He’s currently playing as the youngest guy at the Triple-A level and is outperforming almost everyone. In 2017, he’s played with the High Single-A Florida Fire Frogs, Double-A Mississippi and now Triple-A Gwinnett. Since being called up to AAA, he’s batting .269 with three homers and three doubles. He’s cooled off within the last few weeks — which I believe is a good thing so we don’t rush him too quickly — but remember his age.
Braves number one draft pick is pretty high as well. Kyle Wright comes in at #5. Because of his high workload in college, the Braves are monitoring his innings this year. He’s only pitched in two games so far with the GULF Braves and thrown 3.2 innings. Look for a big 2018 from the 6’4″ 200-pound righty.
"FOX Sports South pieced together a composite top-20 ranking for the Braves’ 2017 top prospects to help balance out various projections. Using available prospect lists and projections from eight different sources, players were awarded points for top-20 rankings. (For example, a No. 1 ranking earned a player 20 points, a No. 2 ranking earned 19 points, No. 3 earned 18 points, etc. The highest-possible score was 160.) The eight lists are as follows:"
"Tier 1: Scored double-digit points on every prospect listTier 2: Scored double-digit points on at least one prospect listTier 3: Scored points on at least two prospect listsFastest Risers Since Preseason CompositeCristian Pache: +10 (Previous: 19)Ronald Acuna: +7 (Previous: 8)Luiz Gohara: +4 (Previous: 11)"
Next: Kurt Suzuki prospering in Atlanta
North Port Commits $4.7M Toward New Atlanta Braves Spring-Training Complex
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: The Atlanta Braves continue to search for a new home for their Spring Training facilities. The Braves have been wanting to leave the Disney complex at the Wide World of Sports for a couple years, but continued to be slowed by many obstacles in finding a new place. Could this step forward finally get us a new Florida home? I hope so. Personally, these stories are getting old. I know it’s a lot of money and each county wants to make sure it’s the right move, but let’s go! Maybe, that’s the coffee kicking in…
"The approval came on a 3-2 vote, with some commissioners worry that several details about the complex and associated were not specified. In addition, some commissioners wanted to see the money put toward other community needs, such as a new hospital.But at the end of the day the payment was supported by the mayor, and a swing vote provided by Commissioner Chris Hanks, who had also expressed doubts about the project. But in the end, he said a yes vote would present a positive image of the city. From the Sarasota Herald-Tribune:“We talk about the negative aspect of everything,” Hanks said, zeroing in how his fellow board members picked at the economic impact of the complex, while discounting positive reports. “We never once mention all the positive scope, all the positive studies."