I raised the concerns that there are plenty of high end prospects who were called up too early and it hurt their development. Will that happen with Heyward? Maybe, maybe not. I just think that it is a legitimate concern that needs to be raised.

I am not saying that I am against bringing up Heyward. I am saying that it might not be as good of an idea as everyone seems to think…. and it could be a disaster.

Is the risk worth the potential reward? Even with a guy this advanced in his approach, there’s still a chance you are rushing him too quickly and you will hurt his development. Hopefully we’ve learned from Davies, Francoeur, Saltalamacchia (to an extent), and now Schafer, that the potential of destroying them or hindering their development is too great to push a kid.

Jason Heyward is a HUGE piece of the puzzle going forward and if you screw that up, you don’t just set him back but the entire franchise back a couple years. After him, there are no more premium position players in the minors. Freeman is nice and it’s always good to see a 19 year old with that average and OBP, but he’s going to have to show more power before he’s a well above average first baseman…

I think you have to wait until the team is out of the playoff hunt. Coming to the bigs is enough pressure. Not to mention that he is very young. I think the added pressure that would come with the Braves in the race coupled with the tremendous amount of hype already surrounding him would be a lot to overcome.

Wait until are games aren’t important and then let him get a taste of major league pitching.

Unlike Francoeur, Heyward has all the skills that you’d want from a major leaguer. The only reason not to call him up is the financial stuff, but the Braves aren’t (yet) such a small payroll team that they are forced to make moves based on arbitration clocks. With Church unable to play, there’s no reason not to call up Heyward and give him a shot. If he struggles, then you send him back down. It’s not the end of the world. Prospects get called up, struggle, get sent down, and return later and excel all the time. And what if he doesn’t struggle? Then he could be better than any player the Braves could reasonably have acquired at the deadline. The team could sure use another good power, good OBP bat.

Would that start his arbitration clock or is that only if he plays before June?

It is plainly obvious from hearing what is said about Heyward from anyone who has spent significant time around him that his mental makeup, personality, and maturity are more than sufficient. I see no reason to continue to keep him in the minors. I sincerely doubt that he is going to develop any further than he already has until he is given the opportunity to play at the ML level and I don’t believe he is so fragile that it will damage him in some way if he does encounter some adversity, rather it will only serve to make him stronger and better than he already is.

I think the only hessitation that I have is if he is mentally ready for the adjustments he’ll have to make after a few weeks in the big show. Does the organization and the people making the decisions think he can handle struggling and being strong enough mentally to push through and make adjustments, something that our former right-fielder could not do. Being 20 years old he might not yet have the mental makepup, but again, if he does then why not. Physically he seems ready and AA is offering him nothing in terms of competition.

For some reason I get the feeling the Braves will wait until September to call him up. A September call up won’t affect his arbitration years and, whether you believe it or not, the Braves are seriously concerned with him becoming a free agent early. If he produces like he probably can once he gets called up, I think Wren does everything he can to get Heyward signed to an Evan Longoria type deal.

I don’t see any reason to put off calling Heyward up any longer. At the rate the Braves are going, they’re looking at .500 and third place; Heyward might shake them up enough to win a few more ballgames. Call Freeman up in September and see what he can do.

I don’t see the prob. why not call him up,unless he has some type of Grienke mental problems it wouldn’t hurt him, if he does well give him a contract, if not send him back down. Look at many of our young men in uniform who have been in combat before turning 20 and are doing OK, I think we underestimate players under what? 22?21? We need some more power hitting and Heyward and Freeman could certainly help. BRING THEM UP.

I posted this the other day on a previous post …but my point remains…..
I have a question…and I really don’t mean this as a leading question…but a legit question: What is the differene between AA and AAA pitching?

I was always under the impression that within the last 10 years the best pitching prospects are often in AA and that the stuff you see in AA is as good, if not better, then what you see in AAA. That being said…if you can hit a really good AA fastball you can probably hit a MLB fastball and you would not benefit from seeing any more fastballs in AAA.

However, I was always under the impression that you saw more veteran pitchers in AAA. More pitchers that have learned a thing or two about pitching…have had time in the majors….but lack the pure stuff to be an MLB regular. What that means to me is that you will see guys who throw more change ups…more sliders…more curves…and may be able to throw their mediocre fastball with more accuracy then the 21 year old in AA.

That being said…wouldn’t Heyward benefit from seeing at least SOME time in AAA? I would think that right now he is seeing, reacting, and killing the ball. I would rather see him get some ABs against more veteran "crafty" type pitchers and see how he fairs. I have a feeling that with pitching at the A and AA level it is not so much about scouting and identifying the weakness of the hitter, as it is developing your pitcher and having him execute on his strengths. Therefore with someone like JH’s talent…are we going to see the holes in his swing yet? I would argue no…he is simply that good of a hitter that a fastball and questionable offspeed pitch at AA is going to be esay. The thing that would show the holes-location…changing of speeds…breaking stuff away etc he really hasn’t seen yet. However, he will at least get a taste of that at AAA.

 So my response would be NO-He may not be done with his MiLeague "seasoning yet." I fear that the risk of him coming to ATL straight from AA is greater then the reward. I don’t have a problem with him getting to ATL at the end of this year-but if that is the plan move him to AAA now and let him get 75-100 ABs at AAA THEN make the call

Just put up an article on the frontpage of the MLB site about Heyward. It’s by Olney, but it is a good read. Insider required:

http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4378304&name=olney_buster

Anyone look at Justin Upton?

He is similar in a lot of ways to Heyward. He got called up, wasn’t to hot. then re started the next season in AAA. came back up and played better.

All im saying is Heyward IMO should go to AAA first. If he is still destroying AAA then great call him up.

As someone else pointed out. A lot of the guys in AAA are guys who are more “polished” from experiences in the majors even if they are journeymen. I think he could do with some experience of “getting pitched to” before he comes up to the majors.

I dont think he would stink it up if he got called up now. However, i wouldnt mind him having all the preparation he can

What about Freeman? No one has really mentioned him. I’m not saying he should be called up before Heyward just curious as to peoples thoughts on him being called up.

Personally i think the guy should go with Heyward to AAA. He may not come out mashing like Heyward does but he always makes the adjustment at every level and just produces.

I am heading down there to catch a game, but will I get a chance to see Heyward?

Maybe off the subject, but I think we need to try and sign LaRoche to a 3 year deal and if Freeman proves he belongs in the Majors we can trade Adam at that time. We are gonna have the same issue next year as we have this one: Lots of contact hitters with very little power. I know Heyward should be a big help in that area, but even if he does put up 25+ homers in his first full season we still need a power bat at 1B. Freeman isn’t ready. He probably won’t be ready at any time next year. I see him being useful in 2011 and probably not before.

SO U PULL MY BLOG DOWN JUST TO WRITE THE SAME STORY I WROTE YESTERDAY NICE ONE ’’gondeee’’

Freeman, maybe wait. I think that at the worst, Heyward could be as good as Ryan Church is now. So if there’s a chance he could increase the output in RF, put him in.

Freeman’s not doing poorly by any means, but he’s obviously not in the same league as Heyward, and he might need some more seasoning, probably at AAA to start next season.

 SINCE IM IN AFGHANISTAN A WHOLE 11.5 HRS AHEAD OF YOU GUYS BTW AND IT WAS A VENT NOT A LETS DISCUSS BTW.
 LOVE THE ROD RIDING BACK-UP POSSE THOUGH,LOL.
ITS NOT A BIG DEAL JUST THOUGHT IT WAS FUNNY THAT SOMEONE WOULD COPY AND PASTE MY ENTIRE BLOG THATS ALL.