Atlanta Braves: first game results of some notable top prospects
From Chipper to Acuna, there have been a lot of ‘first games’ for lots of Braves’ players that we’ve followed… some outcomes have been better than others as we look at the history.
Unless you’re just not paying attention at all, you’ll have heard that Ronald Acuna is making his major league debut for the Atlanta Braves tonight in Cincinnati – which happens to be a favorite opponent for many of our former stars to begin their careers. But how did some of those Braves’ better hitting prospects far in their own first games?
Ryan Klesko
Klesko peaked at the #2 prospect behind Chipper in both 1992 and 1994 – not a bad ranking at that. He got cups of coffee in the majors in both 1992 and 1993, though 1992 was forgettable: he was hittless in all 15 plate appearances while striking out 5 times and walking none. In fact, he only reached base once – the result of an error.
His first game was September 12th, 1992 at Houston: 1 time up and 1 time down – via strikeout. Happily, he wasn’t needed that day as Atlanta put a 9-3 drubbing on the Astros.
That time on base came during his last game that season – October 4th. Something to build on for the off-season, perhaps?
Javy Lopez
By contrast, Lopez broke in strong. In just 9 games in 1992, he hit .375 over 16 plate appearances and only K’d once.
His debut came a week after Klesko’s – on September 18, 1992. The opponent was Houston (again), but this came in Atlanta. 1 for 1 – Lopez broke in with a double that day.
Unfortunately, that was too little and too late since Houston smacked the Braves around for a 13-3 count.
As for his prospect ranking, Chipper was still number 1 in 1993, but Lopoez sneaked in at the #2 prospect ahead of Klesko for that year.
Chipper Jones
Today, the hype is all about Ronald Acuna Jr, but can you possibly imagine how big it might be with the MLB Network, twitter, and cable TV coverage if Chipper Jones had debuted today instead of 1993?
Jones missed the entire 1994 season after a devastating knee injury at the end of 1994’s spring training. But the #1 overall pick from 1990 got a taste of the majors in late 1993.
On September 14, 1993, Chipper was inserted as a pinch hitter against Cincinnati and singled… 1 for 1. He made 5 other game appearances that year, but finished 2 for 3 at the plate with a walk and strikeout besides the hit.
In that game, the Braves smoked the Reds 10-3.