Talking Chop - The Atlanta Braves blog of record

Talking Chop 2010 Community Top Prospects

1      Jason Heyward, OF
2      Freddie Freeman, 1B
3      Julio Teheran, RHSP
4      Arodys Vizcaino, RHSP
5      Mike Minor, LHSP
6      Craig Kimbrel, RHRP
7      Christian Bethancourt, C
8      Randall Delgado, RHSP
9      Zeke Spruill, RHSP
10    Cody Johnson, OF
11    J.J. Hoover, RHSP
12    Adam Milligan, OF
13    Brett DeVall, LHSP
14    Dimaster Delgado, LHSP
15    Jose Ortegano, LHSP
16    Cory Gearrin, RHRP
17    Cole Rohrbough, LHSP
18    Brandon Hicks, SS
19    Jacob Thompson, RHSP
20    Brett Oberholtzer, LHSP
21    David Hale, RHRP
22    Robinson Lopez, RHSP
23    Scott Diamond, LHSP
24    Tyler Stovall, LHSP
25    Andy Otero, LHSP

This list was compiled here.

Graphical Player 2010

Talking Chop blogger gondeee contributed the Atlanta Braves analysis to John Burnson's Graphical Player 2010, the perfect companion for any fantasy baseball player, available here.

For a preview of the book, click here. The book is a run-down of every baseball player who could have a fantasy impact in 2010, with not only analysis from a team expert (like me for the Braves), but a huge sampling of stats presented in graphed format so you can easily see trends.

Atlanta Braves Roster

pitchers	#	Pos.
Juan Abreu	-	P
Manny Acosta	46	P
Jesse Chavez	43	P
Kyle Cofield	-	P
Michael Dunn	31	P
Tommy Hanson	48	P
Tim Hudson	15	P
Lee Hyde	-	P
Jair Jurrjens	49	P
Kenshin Kawakami	11	P
Derek Lowe	32	P
Jeff Lyman	-	P
Stephen Marek	65	P
Kris Medlen	54	P
Peter Moylan	58	P
Eric O`Flaherty	34	P
Jose Ortegano	-	P
James Parr	40	P
Todd Redmond	66	P
Jo-Jo Reyes	37	P
Takashi Saito	-	P
Luis Valdez	50	P
Jonny Venters	-	P
Billy Wagner	13	P

catchers	#	Pos.
Brian McCann	16	C
David Ross	8	C
Clint Sammons	5	C

infielders	#	Pos.
Brooks Conrad	26	2B
Yunel Escobar	19	SS
Troy Glaus	25	3B
Diory Hernandez	27	2B
Omar Infante	4	SS
Chipper Jones	10	3B
Martin Prado	14	2B

outfielders	#	Pos.
Gregor Blanco	1	CF
Melky Cabrera	53	CF
Matt Diaz	23	RF
Eric Hinske	20	LF
Nate McLouth	13	CF
Jordan Schafer	24	CF

Braves Announce Non-Roster Spring Invitees

by gondeee on Feb 8, 2010 7:35 PM EST Comment 35 comments

The Atlanta Braves announced the final list of their non-roster invitees for spring training today. The list includes top prospect Jason Heyward, expected to seriously compete for the starting right field job this spring. It's been debated over and over here at Talking Chop as to whether or not the Braves should start Heyward in the majors or give him more time in the minors, but we really have to wait and see how he performs in spring training.

Top first base prospect Freddie Freeman also got an invite for the second consecutive year. It will be interesting to see how he performs in his second major league spring training. Shortstop Brandon Hicks will also be in his second major league spring training.

Top draft pick from 2009, Mike Minor, gets an invite to spring training, as well as top draft pick from 2006, outfielder Cody Johnson. Two interesting pitchers to watch include reliever Craig Kimbrel, who some consider a future closer candidate, and Eric Cordier, a talented oft-injured former second-round pitcher who many expect to turn a corner this year. Diminutive and speedy outfielder Matt Young also received an invite.

The obligatory extra catchers also received invites, Jesus Sucre and Braeden Schlehuber, who join veteran invitees Orlando Mercado and the yearly sighting of J.C. Boscan.

Previous players receiving invites include position players Joe Thurston, Brent Clevlen, and Mitch Jones. Thurston has a chance to earn a role as a utility infielder, and Jones could contribute off the bench or in the outfield if Heyward fails to make the team.

The final three invitees are bullpen candidates Mariano Gomez, Chris Resop, and Scott Proctor, who will likely still be rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

35 comments | 0 recs | Share

Bill Ballew: Braves Prospect List Q&A 2010, Part 1

by gondeee on Feb 8, 2010 8:49 AM EST in Prospect Reviews Comment 46 comments

The fourth and final installment of our prospect list Q&A's for 2010 ends with Baseball America's Bill Ballew. Bill covers several teams for BA including the Braves, where he does a terrific job of keeping BA readers informed about the team's prospects during the season. Bill penned this year's Atlanta Braves top prospects for Baseball America, which was released back at the beginning of November. We had a great Q&A with Bill last year and the year before, and this year he was kind enough to once again be very detailed with his answers (hence the two-part Q&A).

Q: Give us your prediction of where Jason Heyward will start the season, and what kind of year he will have. Is Heyward ready to be an everyday major leaguer from opening day 2010?

A: He could handle the job now, but I believe the Braves will do the prudent thing and send him to Gwinnett for a few months before throwing him to the wolves. After all, Tommy Hanson's experience last year definitely topped the first-year performance of Jordan Schafer. I know there were some injury issues there, but I believe the Braves need to look at the big picture over the long haul and let him see Triple-A pitching for two or three months. Only 20, Heyward is a man-child with an incredible feel for the game. He has everything you want in an outfield prospect. On a lesser team, he would be a sure thing to open the season in the big leagues, but the Braves have the wisdom to do the right thing and bring him as the weather warms this summer.

Q: Where would you rank Arodys Vizcaino on the Braves prospect list? How does he compare to Julio Teheran and Randall Delgado, who are your 3rd and 4th ranked Braves' prospects?

A: Vizcaino would rank between Teheran and Delgado on my list at this point. I haven't seen him pitch, but from everything I've been told by some reliable scouts, front-office types and others, he has some impressive all-around ability. I've seen Teheran and Delgado, and I believe both of them have a very bright future. Teheran was pushed initially in 2008 and wasn't physically ready to pitch in the Appalachian League. He lived up to the hype last year and looks ready to start making rapid progress. The light really came on for Delgado during the last half of 2009 at Rome and I wouldn't be surprised to see him split this season between Myrtle Beach and Mississippi. Delgado may be the best of the three. Of course, with pitching, so much depends upon who stays healthy. All three will be fun to watch develop this year.

Continue reading this post »

46 comments | 0 recs | Share

Atlanta Braves Fan Confidence Continues to Inch Up

by gondeee on Feb 8, 2010 8:37 AM EST Comment 2 comments

As the season approaches ever so closer each day, the confidence of Atlanta Braves fans seems to be rising. For the third straight two-week period the Atlanta Braves Fan Confidence poll saw a rise in the confidence level. Starting back on January ninth when the poll went from 65% to 70%, then followed with a 71% two weeks ago, and now it is up again to 74%.

Since the Braves have made zero moves in the past two weeks, one can only assume that the approaching call of pitchers and catchers is yielding more optimism. The Braves Caravan could also have something to do with breeding optimism in the hearts of Braves fans. Whatever the reason, it's nice to see that the fans are getting more excited about this team this season, and hopefully that will continue throughout spring training.

Fcp-20100205_medium

2 comments | 0 recs | Share

The Atlanta Braves Weekly Wrap... Braves Caravan Edition

by gondeee on Feb 7, 2010 12:55 PM EST in Weekly Wrap Comment 14 comments

Here's a look at the major stories in the world of the Atlanta Braves for the week ending on February 7th:

In the Press...

The 2010 Braves Caravan has its own blog, continue to check it out for all the latest happenings with the Caravan.
Mark Bowman did a Q&A with Brian McCann.
David O'Brien talks with Tim Hudson about his upcoming season.
A Braves Caravan stop in Jason Heyward's hometown brings back memories.

At Talking Chop...

TC did a Braves prospect Q&A with Bill Shanks, here is part-1 and part-2.
I did a blog radio/video interview about the Braves off-season happenings with HotStove.com.
I spent Friday morning at Camp Roger, talking with players and coaches, and taking some pictures.
Notes and photos from the Braves Caravan stop at the Sun Trust Club at Turner Field.
royhobbs wraps up the top stories around the NL East for the past week.

Notable FanPosts and FanShots...

Lizziebeth shared her photos and experience from the Braves Caravan stop in Evans, GA.
alligatorimpersonator shared his photos and experience from the Braves Caravan stop in Macon, GA.
MTSU11 shared their photos and experience from the Braves Caravan stop in Franklin, TN.
pacgnosis takes an in-depth look at what we can expect from Troy Glaus' defense at first base.

Braves Player Previews...

granman29 kicked off our Braves player previews with Billy Wagner.
Andy Braves Fan previewed our second baseman, Martin Prado.

14 comments | 0 recs | Share

Martin Prado: Atlanta Braves 2010 Player Preview

by gondeee on Feb 6, 2010 3:33 PM EST in Community Projections Comment 101 comments

This player preview was written by Andrew Chin who posts here as Andy Braves Fan.

Martin Prado could be the lynchpin for the Braves success in 2010 with the bat and with the glove. On offense Prado will likely be hitting in the second spot in the lineup in front of the venerable Chipper Jones. His ability to "set the table" will be extremely important in a lineup that does not have a lot of power in the middle. On defense Prado will have to play well to shore up a questionable Braves infield. To his left stands Glaus, a new first baseman with a long injury history and little experience at his position. To his right stands Yunel, a lightning rod of a shortstop with potentially great defensive prowess and a potentially disastrous tendency to make mental mistakes.

So what will Martin need to do in order to succeed in this vital role?

Continue reading this post »

101 comments | 0 recs | Share

Things Read in Other Moms' Basements - Around the NL East 02.06.10

by royhobbs on Feb 6, 2010 10:00 AM EST in Around The NL East Comment 44 comments

Dsc05137_medium

Welcome to a very rainy and miserable edition of Things Read in Other Moms' Basements, news and happenings from around the rest of the National League East. I'll take the blame for those of us who are sitting in inclimate weather this weekend, allow me to absorb the blame; I saw it fit so bathe the dog, and much like washing your car, doing such a task can only result in the ensuing precipitation, in order to ruin your efforts and cleanliness.

Rain or shine, by the time you guys will be reading this, I'll likely be in a sugar-induced coma somewhere in Raleigh, North Carolina, because rain or shine, it's once again that time of the year in which I participate in North Carolina State University's annual Krispy Kreme Challenge, where I'll have run 2.2 miles, downed a dozen original glazed, and run 2.2 miles back, in under 60 minutes.

So hopefully, the rest of you will remain dry, comfortable, and not feeling guilt-ridden and physically ill as I will, so in the meantime, have some links from around the rest of our division.

I figured, I'll give the Nationals a break; they had a rough week, what with Orlando Hudson feigning interest in going to Washington, only to go to a team that a long time ago, was Washington. And to make matters worse, PECOTA said "syke" on their previous projected standings, and tucked the Nationals back to where they were the last two years - last place.

~~OPS guy: Orlando Hudson leaning towards the Nationals~~ ~~- MLB.com~~
~~According to Adam Dunn, Orlando Hudson does indeed want to come to Washington~~. BTW, the other Orlando, Orlando Cabrera, signed with the Cincinnati Reds. You heard it here first - the Reds are playoff bound.
BUT, money seems to be a problem - MLB.com
O-Dawg has come out and expressed his interest in the Nationals, but they're having some difficulty agreeing on the dollars and cents part of it. He made $3M roughly with incentives that took him close to $7M in 2009 with the Dodgers, but the Nationals are only offering $3M-ish with incentives to get him to $4M. Either the Nationals will bend and give in, or they'll turn their interest to Adam Kennedy, who is kind of their fallback plan.
Nevermind, O-Dawg signs with the Minnesota Twins - MLB.com
This kind of came out of nowhere, since the Twins were a late edition into the Hudson hunt. And, with that, the Nationals pounce all over Adam Kennedy.

The rest, after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

44 comments | 1 recs | Share

The View From Braves Pre-Spring Pitching Camp (Camp Roger)

by gondeee on Feb 5, 2010 7:18 PM EST in Beat Blogging Comment 37 comments

Here are the photos I promised from my time this morning at the Atlanta Braves pre-spring pitching mini-camp, nicknamed Camp Roger. For a full summary of my day, go to this post.

Cr0_medium
Sometimes it's lonely for Roger at Camp Roger. The Braves pitching coach looks on as his pitchers throw.

Continue reading this post »

37 comments | 1 recs | Share

Braves Caravan Friday; Wren, Schuerholz, Chipper Q&A

by gondeee on Feb 5, 2010 6:36 PM EST in Beat Blogging Comment 18 comments

Braves Caravan 2010 made a stop at the Sun Trust Club at Turner Field, with participants Zane Smith, Roger McDowell, John Schuerholz, Chipper Jones, Tommy Hanson, Lee Hyde, and James Parr.

View full size photo »

After I finished watching Camp Roger and talking with many of the pitchers attending, I headed over to the Sun Trust club to a Q&A for season ticket holders that was part of the Braves Caravan. Much like I summarized Camp Roger earlier, here is a bullet point summary of that Q&A:

The participants were Zane Smith, Roger McDowell, John Schuerholz, Chipper Jones, Tommy Hanson, Lee Hyde, and James Parr. The even was moderated by Don Sutton, who was quite funny.
Chipper said that off-season newspaper and radio reports of his demise and tough 2009 campaign served as motivation for him during his workouts this winter. He said that he and his father found what was wrong with Chipper's swing, apparently his hands were out of position at the trigger point. He has apparently fixed this and believes it will help lead to a turnaround in 2010.
Schuerholz said he believes that no team is as deep in the starting rotation as the Braves. He also said that Martin Prado was the catalyst in the Braves' lineup last season.
Schuerholz said that the game plan Bobby Cox has is to start a platoon of Matt Diaz and Melky Cabrera in left field and Jason Heyward in right field. He then hedged a little on Heyward and followed up his original statement by saying Heyward will have to earn his job, but that he has the inside track on the right field job.