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Atlanta Braves News: Cristian Pache Set to Make His Major League Debut

By Jake Mastroianni

PORT ST. LUCIE, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 23: Cristian Pache #77 of the Atlanta Braves looks on prior to the Grapefruit League spring training game against the New York Mets at First Data Field on February 23, 2019 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
PORT ST. LUCIE, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 23: Cristian Pache #77 of the Atlanta Braves looks on prior to the Grapefruit League spring training game against the New York Mets at First Data Field on February 23, 2019 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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The time has finally come as the Atlanta Braves top prospect will make his big league debut on Wednesday night against the Washington Nationals.

It made sense for Cristian Pache not to make his debut on Tuesday when the Atlanta Braves actually called him up to the active roster.

With the late news of Nick Markakis and the late call-up, I think they made the right decision not to rush him into his first game.

But everyone had a feeling that Wednesday could be the day that we finally get to see the top prospect in action.

And now that speculation has become a reality.

The 14th overall prospect according to MLB.com will start in left field and bat ninth for the Braves on Wednesday.

While the glove of Pache is what people rave about the most, Atlanta already has a Gold Glove player in center field with Ender Inciarte.

Outfield defense has been downright terrible of late with Marcell Ozuna out there — and even Markakis.

Now with Pache, Edner, and Adam Duvall they suddenly have one of the best defensive outfields in all of baseball.

While there has never been a question about the defense of Pache, we’ve been waiting for his bat to develop and we saw signs of that in 2019.

At Double-A Mississippi he hit .278 in 392 at-bats with a .340 OBP and 11 home runs.

He finished the season in Triple-A hitting .274 in 95 at-bats and a .337 OBP to go along with just 1 home run.

In the first spring training this year he was showing a lot of promise as well with 7 hits in 26 at-bats, including 2 home runs and 3 stolen bases.

And then he continued to impress in summer camp and may have even pushed to start the season on the active roster if not for an ankle injury.

He apparently has fully recovered from that and is ready to make an impact at the big league level.

I’ve never been as high on Pache as those in the Braves’ system who think he could be a superstar one day once he grows into some power and changes his approach at the plate.

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Either way, I’m really excited to see what the 21-year-old can do and hope he can bring some energy and excitement to this team that is lacking with Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ozzie Albies injured.

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