Atlanta Braves Minor League Recap: 5/16
by yondaime4 on May 16, 2010 10:15 PM EDT
in Braves Minor League Recaps
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PrintLehigh Valley 3, Gwinnett 1
- J. Schafer 1-5 K, .222 Avg
- G. Blanco 1-2 2B, 3BB, .275 Avg
- M. Jones 1-5 HR(5), K, .256 Avg
Gwinnett can't muster any offense against the Iron Pigs on a day that Freddie Freeman had off. Mitch Jones has posted a .975 OPS in May based on some pretty solid power numbers. His plate discipline has still been pretty shoddy but he hits the ball with authority. Jordan Schafer has a combined .718 OPS between his three stops with a 7/10 BB/K rate across 50 ABs. He isn't striking out a lot, but walking enough to offset it. I'd just like to see some of his power return before I think he is fully ready.
West Tennessee 1, Mississippi 0
- M. Minor 8IP 2H 0R 1BB 11K 3.43 ERA
Mike Minor has been dealing in his last 4 games with 40K in just 24 innings and just 3 hits allowed over his last 14 innings. At this point if the Braves needed a starter I wouldn't be surprised if they took a long hard look at Minor before going to someone in AAA. Too bad for him that his offense was up against one of the hottest pitchers in the minors.
Salem 3, Myrtle Beach 2
- M. Daniel 2-3 2 2B, BB, .143 Avg
- S. Sime 2-4 K, .306 Avg
- M. Crim 5.2IP 7H 3R 1BB 8K 3.72 ERA
Another day another loss for the Pelicans. Matt Crim was solid and had his first game of the year with more than a K per inning. Unfortunately for Crim the offense was nearly nonexistent behind him. The newly acquired Matt Daniel picked up his first hits with the Braves organization and hopefully going forward he can help boost this troubling offense. For anyone in the area of Winston-Salem tomorrow night, Julio Teheran should make his first start for Myrtle Beach.
Charleston SC 1, Rome 0 - Suspended in 3rd
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Has Mike Minor said anything...
about why he’s been so successful in 2010? I saw him pitch in November in the AZ Fall League and his pitches didn’t look like they were capable of striking out 13 hitters per 9 innings. I know he wasn’t exactly in mid-season form, but the numbers he’s putting up this season are ridiculous.
Also, if anyone is within driving distance of the Mississippi Braves, you gotta do a recap of the game.
And if anyone was wondering, here are the 2 videos I shot of Minor in the AFL:
"(Jason Heyward) is like the Grim Reaper -- you know he's going to get you, you just don't know where or when."
Seattle’s AA team. I know Liddi, Triunfel, and Ackley are legit prospects as well as Carlos Peguero who has been one of the hottest hitters in the minor leagues so far. So pretty good competition I would say.
?????????
I have read from more than one artricle that Minor’s velocity has increased.I have a question for youdaime4 what has he topped out at so far this year.In his draft profile I read he was able to get it up around 93.His strikeouts have been up this year I was just wondering how much did his velocity go up.I also read he worked on his secondary pitches this off-season it must have paid off some being he is putting up better K numbers.
by LakersMania on May 16, 2010 10:58 PM EDT reply actions
I don’t think he gets it up higher than 94 maaaaaybbee 95 from time to time. I think the big thing is he has gone from sitting at 88-90 to sitting at 90-92. In college he kept the reins on the fastball for more movement, but now it appears he has increased his velo, whether or not he is sacrificing movement i do not know.
I would absolutely love to hear from someone close the the situation there to figure out what is going on. All we have so far is speculation. Is his velocity really up that much? Is he using his newly found curveball and his slider to rack up these strikeouts? It’s pretty sick when a guy has the fastball/changeup combo to make it but also throws in 2 breaking balls like that. Is he just so polished that he needs to move up to face better competition? Mike Leake has shown he hasn’t needed a minor league warm-up. Basically I don’t know but I really wish someone close to the situation would speak up somewhere. I’m dying to find out what exactly we have on our hands here.
Minor has always had a slider and curve. He ditched the slider his Sr season to work with the curve more and sort of post the feel for both in the process.
by yondaime4 on May 17, 2010 9:49 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
He’s always had the slider but he didn’t pick up the curve until the summer before his junior season at Vandy. Even with his slider, he was more of a fastball/changeup pitcher before his junior season. I watched him several times at Vandy and there were games where he said afterward that he was able to ditch his changeup and still be successful because of those breaking balls. His ability to use all those pitches was one of the reasons I was high on him coming into the draft.
The Slider was supposed a plus pitch before he picked up the curve. If he has regained the feel for both pitches that could very well be what is making him so unhittable in his recent games. If he is throwing 4 plus pitches with command he is going to be pretty dominant.
essentially
a left handed Hanson because apparently Hanson has developed his Change Up
by drumzalicious on May 17, 2010 2:09 PM EDT up reply actions
I’d like to see Minor get 3-4 more starts at AA. If he keeps dominating then send him to AAA. I think if we need another starter then we can try a guy like Resop who has been pretty darn good himself recently. That being said it would be nice to eventually get Minor a cup of coffee this year and have him in next year’s rotation.
who would you take out of the rotation to put in Minor for 2011 team?
by romone_braves91 on May 16, 2010 11:05 PM EDT up reply actions
While Resop has some value
I’d trade him ASAP. He’s a AAAA type guy.
Have the Braves ever called up a player from AA to the Show?
by romone_braves91 on May 16, 2010 11:04 PM EDT reply actions
No problem. The way our depth chart stands now, I doubt Minor would be called on to make that jump but it has happened before.
I don’t see why not if he is as good as advertised so far. I think the Braves could use a solid lefty starter just to mix things up a little (esp for the Phillies).
by romone_braves91 on May 16, 2010 11:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Francoeur and Kyle Davies from the 2005 season. And Raffy Furcal made the jump from Myrtle Beach.
"(Jason Heyward) is like the Grim Reaper -- you know he's going to get you, you just don't know where or when."
by Scott Coleman on May 16, 2010 11:14 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
To be fair, 2005 season was kinda weird b/c everybody was hurt at one point or another. Braves did not have a choice in the matter.
by romone_braves91 on May 16, 2010 11:18 PM EDT up reply actions
FYI on Schafer
He said that he won’t be hitting for power for a while because of his wrist. While it doesn’t hurt it just is very weak. Said won’t be 100% for 2 years after surgery. That doesn’t mean he can’t play, just that he won’t be hitting for his true power for a another year or so. Also he has lost some muscle because he couldn’t work out with the wrist ailing this winter. So the power numbers won’t be there but look for a solid OBP to see if he is doing well.
thanks for that
im sure we would have had a ton of people saying he isnt the same because of his power #s
I wonder if he is also losing regular hits because of that. Like rocket singles aren’t rockets anymore they are soft grounders, meaning more easy to field
by drumzalicious on May 17, 2010 3:27 AM EDT up reply actions
I saw some ex-Braves at games today. I saw the Wilmington Blue Rocks, the Royals’ High A team, and they had Jamie Romak and Jairo Cuevas with them.
Romak was traded with Adam LaRoche for Mike Gonzalez and Brent Lillibridge a few years back and he’s pretty much stagnated at the High A level, now playing for his 3rd team in the Carolina League. He’s only played 97 games at AA, hitting a lowly .187 with a .619 OPS, but at High A, in over 1000 plate appearances, he’s hit .247 with a .793 OPS. We talk about 4-A guys all the time, but rarely mention A and a half guys. I also thought it was interesting he’s playing mostly 3B for Wilmington, his original position but one he hadn’t played since 2004.
I’m sure most of us remember Cuevas because before the 2009 season he kept bouncing between the Braves and Royals on waiver claims. It was so unusual that it became comical, especially since he was hurt at the time and, as predicted, missed all of the season. He’s back and healthy, but he’s also 26, playing in A ball, and not pitching well. It’s a shame, because Jairo is a great guy, but it was an odd story that had a fairly anti-climactic result.
I also saw an independent league game featuring the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, who have three guys who played for various Braves teams last year, John Halama, Kody Kirkland, and Bryan Dumesnil (who didn’t play).
Halama, who had a 4.48 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in 16 games for Gwinnett last year, picked up the win with a complete game where he allowed 1 earned run and struck out 6. He’s played for the Blue Crabs at least part of all 3 seasons they’ve existed, and he’s the closest thing they have to a pitching legend.
Kirkland, who split last year between Gwinnett and Mississippi, hitting .212 with a .603 OPS in 105 games, started at second base and went 2-4 with an RBI. He hasn’t hit much in affiliated ball the last few years, but he’s doing well in Indy ball.
Pretty interesting day.
I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it: https://www.createspace.com/3407939
www.dropoutproductions.com
Oh, I forgot to mention that today was the first time I’ve ever seen John Halama act like a human being and not a robot programed to hate.
I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it: https://www.createspace.com/3407939
www.dropoutproductions.com
He was just nice and actually talked to us instead of just grunting as he angrily walked past. It was a refreshing change from the other 10 times I’ve seen him.
I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it: https://www.createspace.com/3407939
www.dropoutproductions.com
Mike Minor
has had an interesting season. In 5 starts he has given up 4 or more runs in his other 3 starts he has given up 0 runs. I’m still up in the air about how i feel with him going from a Glavine lefty to a Santana lefty. Both in their prime are arguably two of the better left handed pitchers my concern is just that I hope he isn’t over exerting himself for this new found velocity.
As far as a timetable on Minor. I would like him to stay in AA till at least half way through the season. If he goes another 4-5 starts pitching some quality starts (6IP 2ER) and still getting the K’s then see how he fares in AAA. If he does good there then he could very well have a shot at cracking the rotation next year. If the team trades someone I’m going to guess that it will be J.J.
Kawakami is not as bad as people are making him out to be plus he has given us an opening to the Japanese market. Hudson and Hanson are of course staying. Lowe could move to the pen as the Braves 15mil closer but if not then it will def be J.J. to go. He will be going to arb for the first time this offseason and with his agent publicly speaking out on his dislike of signing players through extension in their arb years he will likely have us in the Lincecum numbers for arb in a year or so.
J.J. also yields the highest return for that RH bat that we will be seeking going into next year. So if we were to trade for it J.J. could be the piece that gets it. One possible target would be Nelson Cruz and I would have no complaints.
I’d prefer to hold onto JJ unless you can get an affordable cost controlled bat in return. I’m just a little worried about relying on KK and Lowe for another couple of years. Of course if Minor keeps dominating and Medlen proves capable of starting then I could easily change my mind.
Nelson Cruz
is cost controlled. we would essentially be trading arb cases by trading JJ for Cruz. If we did that our lineup next year would be pretty solid
Prado 2B
Chipper 3B
Heyward RF
Cruz LF
McCann C
Escobar SS
Freeman 1B
Schafer CF
by drumzalicious on May 17, 2010 2:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Only thing I worry about is that Cruz is 29 already
Another uninnocent, elegant fall into the unmagnificent lives of adults...
by Smoltz's Beard on May 17, 2010 3:43 PM EDT up reply actions
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