Braves September Call-Ups: Part 2

In part 1 I examined the batters that could be called up when rosters expand in September; in part 2 I will look at the pitchers who could be called up. Pitchers are usually players that team promote a little slower, as their adjustment period to a new league can take longer, so we may not see as many bold moves with our young pitchers as we hopefully will see with some of our young hitters. That said, there's still a good argument to promote some of our top prospects to the majors for a taste of the highest level of competition.

The Braves best pitching prosepct, Tommy Hanson, is the first person I would promote in September. Now I understand the need to be cautious with young pitchers and not over-tax their arm, so when I call for Hanson to be called up I fully understand that means more wear on his arm. But Hanson has not yet met last year's innings total as the Braves have had him skip several starts this year, moving him along with caution. His dominance in double-A is an indication that he is likely only a year or so away from a full-time role in the majors, and with that in mind it may be worth seeing how he handles a start or two in the majors (could it be any worse than Reyes or Morton -- who should also stay in the rotation to work out their problems). The organization may have other plans for him -- like the AFL -- but in an effort to know what kind of pitching we have for next year, we need to see how Hanson handles the bigs.

Another pitcher in a similar situation to Hanson is Kris Medlen. He has found success as a starter, but may project more as a reliver or setup man down the road -- something the Braves certainly have a need for. Medlen would be a good September callup for the bullpen.

Another guy who may get a call is James Parr. He might be added to the 40-man this winter anyway, and the team may want to go ahead and see what they've got in him.

I would recommend to the team to call up as many pitchers as they can. Many of our top line guys like Boyer and Ohman have been badly oversued and spreading out their appearances as much as possible for the rest of the season would probably be the best thing for their arm and their ability to be healthy next year. So Beuno, DeSalvo, Ridgway, and anyone else that's healthy probably needs to be in Atlanta just to eat up innings. We may also see Chuck James getting one more chance, perhaps out of the bullpen. His 40-man roster spot could seriously be in jeopordy.

By calling for so many promotions now, I'm going on the premise that it's better for a lot of these kids to take their licks now, rather than next year when we will presumably be trying to compete from day-1. This season is trashed, so let's use what's left of it to try and develop these young prospects and maybe get a jump on next year.