4/18 Minor League Update

by yondaime4 on Apr 18, 2008 10:57 PM EDT in Minor League Recaps Comment 9 comments

Richmond 0, Rochester 1

J. Reyes - 5IP 2H 0R 2BB 4K

B. Lillibridge - 2-3 2B, BB, SB, CS

B. Canizares - 1-3 BB, 2K

Another excellent start from Jo-Jo. This really makes me wonder why Chuck James got the call from Atlanta to take Glavine's place. Even the hidden numbers look good: He threw 89 pitches and 64 for strikes. I wonder why they aren't letting him go longer into games? Anyways, he hasn't allowed a run yet this year and has 18K in 14IP with a .79 WHIP. Wow. Who is pitching better: Jo-Jo or Tommy?

Mississippi 2, Birmingham 3

D. Hernandez - 1-5 HR(1), RBI

K. Kaaihue - 2-4 2 K

D. Evans - 7IP 6H 3R 2BB 7K

Evans pitched well and Hernandez had his first homer, but aside from that there isn't much positive going on for these guys. They have the worst ERA in the Southern League (by nearly a run), the second worst .OPS (by .002) and the most errors. They really need some help. Maybe Atlanta can demote some players to help them. Send Chipper down there for a couple of games.

Myrtle Beach 4, Kinston 2

P. Britton - 1-3 RBI, K

J. Owings - 2-4 2 K, 1 SB

R. Marcial - 3-4 RBI

G. Lopez - 5IP 2H 0R 2BB 4K

There wasn't much to this game really. Long time prospect and holder of the "Best Name in the System" award, Gonzalo Lopez pitched very well for the first time this season. Scouts have always said he has a really live arm, but he just hasn't ever put everything together. Britton had an error and a passed ball. Kevin Gunderson, the Pelican's closer, hasn't allowed a run this year, but he has walked 5 in 7.2IP. He could be useful, but that walk rate bears some watching. Hanson throws tomorrow for the Beach.

Savannah 1, Rome 3

C. Rodriguez - 2-4

J. Heyward - 2-4 RBI, 2 K, SB(5)

F. Freeman - 1-3 2B, Rbi

S. Evarts - 6IP 4H 1R 1BB 4K

Another excellent start from Steve Evarts. He issued his first walk of the year giving him a 14/1 K/BB ratio..... Lets prorate that for a second shall we? Lets assume a 200 strike out season would come out to 14 walks for the entire year. I'll take that. That is Maddux like control. He had a roughly 11/1 ratio last year so he does have amazing control, but I think he will have to learn to waste some more pitches as he moves up the ladder. Just so you know, this pitching laden team has the worst ERA in the Sally League. That is a bit surprising.

Lets do a hypothetical question tonight. If the Braves demoted Chipper to AA, assuming he played 140 games, what kind of season do you think he could put up? I think he would do something like .400/45/120 with 1.300 OPS. What do you guys think?

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best name in the system

the best name in the system clearly belongs to Francisley Bueno

by Swo12bv on Apr 18, 2008 11:28 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Marcial!!

Absolutely love the guy….glad to see him have a great game!

by secondbass on Apr 18, 2008 11:35 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah I haven’t really seen or heard of him, what can you tell us about him?

by yondaime4 on Apr 19, 2008 12:14 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

My impressions

Robert Marcial is a guy who has been in the Braves’ organization for a while now. He was the 2nd baseman at the University of Nevada while Kevin Kouzmanoff was the 3rd baseman. When he’s been at Rome, he’s always a ‘fan favorite’ – he’s a genuinely nice guy. When he plays, he plays hard – he’s a threat to steal all the time, and his head is always in the game – after every pitch, he watches to make sure the pitcher gets the ball back from the catcher because if he ever doesn’t, Marcial will be on 2nd. Sounds small, but it could happen, and Marcial will be ready. His defense is great as well, and he plays almost everywhere – 2nd, short, 3rd, LF, RF that I’ve seen. He got the ‘Mr. Hustle’ team award last season in Rome.

The bad part about him being sort of a ‘super sub’ is that he gets lost in the shuffle. Marcial was 2nd on the team in hitting to Chase Fontaine last year (he was in the .270-.280 range), and then the draft happened and the Rome Braves got Brandon Hicks and Travis Jones. You certainly can’t fault the Braves for starting those two every game, but Marcial saw his playing time go way down, and his average took a huge hit.

I’d love to see Marcial get a shot some day – a real, full-season chance to prove himself. I’m guessing he’d be alright with getting to the majors as a utility guy, but he’s got to get that playing time in the minors.

Okay, off my soapbox.

by secondbass on Apr 19, 2008 8:41 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Why Chucky over Jo-jo?

Jo-jo threw 5 innings today and thus wouldn’t be available to start tomorrow. Tomorrow, however, is James’ turn in the rotation anyways (I think) so it works out perfectly for him to get the spot start tomorrow.

I see what you’re saying though. I don’t disagee that Reyes is probably the more deserving pitcher to be with the big club.

by pett-man on Apr 19, 2008 12:10 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Conversely

They could have thrown Reyes tonight in place of Bennett and used Bennett tomorrow. I think maybe they are still stretching him out some. Most of the minor league pitchers are starting to push past that 5 inning barrier now.

by yondaime4 on Apr 19, 2008 12:14 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well...

It’s possible, but not very likely in my opinion.

Reports are that it was in the afternoon when doctors said Glavine’s hammy hadn’t healed enough. Many websites are using the phrase “during the game” but it’s difficult to say how accurate that is.

The Richmond Braves are in Rochester. It’s unlikely that Reyes could have traveled from Rochester to Richmond in that short time frame and still had an adequate amount of time to prepare for the start.

by pett-man on Apr 19, 2008 12:32 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs