House That Hank Built
Fansided

Atlanta Braves Spring Chop: Notes from Tuesday, Feb 20

By Alan Carpenter

CINCINNATI, OH - JULY 19: Pitcher Mauricio Cabrera #62 of the Atlanta Braves and catcher Anthony Recker #20 of the Atlanta Braves talk at the mound in the tenth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on July19, 2016 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Atlanta defeated Cincinnati 5-4 in 11 innings. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - JULY 19: Pitcher Mauricio Cabrera #62 of the Atlanta Braves and catcher Anthony Recker #20 of the Atlanta Braves talk at the mound in the tenth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on July19, 2016 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Atlanta defeated Cincinnati 5-4 in 11 innings. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

A few quick hitters today – after all, we need to watch our pace of play.

The Atlanta Braves will be relieved to know that MLB will not be enforcing the Spring Training Road Rules for a while.  That’s the rule requiring teams to send at least 3 of their players normally expected to be on the 25-man roster on road trips.

The Braves just got everyone into camp on Sunday, and yet are playing formal games this weekend – starting Friday at Port St. Lucie against the Mets.  From there, they continue down to West Palm for an ‘overnighter’ against both residents of the new facility down there:  the Astros and the Nationals.

That’s three straight road games, with difficult travel if they were going to swap out veterans in the process.

But because of the compressed Spring schedule this year, MLB is going to allow teams to forgo that requirement until March 1st.  That will allow the teams to work in the ‘regulars’ more slowly – similar to that of a normal Spring schedule.

But what that does mean is that a whole bunch of prospects are going to get a lot of playing time this weekend.

So to the Mets, Astros, and especially the Nationals:   allow me to introduce you to Mr. Acuna.

The Loose Cannon

John Le just let us in on the DFA status of 24-year-old Mauricio Cabrera.  His drop from the 40-man roster harkens back to the last time the Braves had a reliever with a fastball that consistently hit triple digits:  Juan Jaime.

Jaime is still just 30 years old, and after a 2016 hiatus, is still pitching – in the Mexican League…kinda.

His problem was the same as Cabrera’s:  a 100 mph fastball with no idea where it was going.

Jaime’s major league career – all 13.2 innings of it (2014-15) – featured a 12.51 strikeouts-per-9-innings rate… and a walk rate of 8.56 per 9.

Cabrera?  Actually was very good at times in the majors over 38.1 innings, with a 7.51 K rate and 4.46 walk rate.

Unfortunately, those figures were the very best he had to offer, for Cabrera’s minor league stints were comparable to Jaime’s.

You hate to see that kind of talent unable to be harnessed, but that was the case for both of these hurlers.

An Aside – a Ray of non-hope?

The contest for best baseball team in Florida this year might come down to a series between the University of Florida and UCF (I know – partisanship aside, it’s the Gators).

We know what the Marlins are doing, though Derek Jeter has apparently forbidden the use of the word ‘rebuild’.  Might I suggest “demolition” instead?

More from Tomahawk Take

But when you head up I-75 toward St. Peter, can somebody explain to me what the Rays are doing?

Their only real addition?  Adding 1B C.J. Cron from the Angels.  With a good year, he might hit 2.5 fWAR with 30 homers.  But that’s probably optimistic.

At this point, I’m frankly wondering why – or how – Chris Archer is still with the club.  Or Kevin Kiermaier.  If I’m Alex Anthopoulos, I’m calling about both of these players and Dickerson.

At this moment, though… I knew he was fast, but Mallex Smith is apparently the starting outfielder for the Rays at both corner positions, and is Kiermaier’s CF backup!

Next: A DFA for the Mo Express

Strange things going on in St. Pete… but at least there’s baseball this weekend.

Home/Braves News