Atlanta Braves Minor League Recaps: 5/7
by cbwilk on May 8, 2010 1:17 AM EDT
in Braves Minor League Recaps
Email
Print
Gwinnett 0, Syracuse 7
Well, I was hoping that the veteran G-Braves lineup would be able to rough up ulta-phenom Stephen Strasburg, but the powerful righty needed just 65 pitches to shut them out over 6 innings, striking out 6, and allowing just a single to Gregor Blanco and a walk to Joe Thurston. He was even great at the plate, driving in a run with a single and plating another with a suicide squeeze. Unfortunately, this guy is really good and the Braves are gonna have to see him a lot for the next 6 or 7 years, but fortunatley after that he'll probably sign and insanely huge contract with the Yankees or Red Sox and they won't have to see him much then.
Mississippi 6, Birmingham 3
Jacob Thompson has by far his best appearance in AA and even if he did give up a few too many hits, he also limited the damage by not walking anyone. Donnel Linares is on a nice run; he's 6 for his last 12 with 3 doubles and an RBI in that span. No player in the organization other than Jason Heyward has more homers than Cody Johnson. It's still early, but right now he's on pace for 37 home runs. And yes, he's also on pace for 204 strikeouts, and granted, stirking out in 41 percent of your plate appearances is terrible, but if a guy ended a year with a .274 average, 37 home runs, and 95 RBI, wouldn't that be more important than the strikeouts?
Myrtle Beach 5, Lynchburg 6
Gerry Rodriguez is the next best home run hitter in the organization after hitting a pair of bombs tonight. He even threw out a runner at second base from right field. Gerardo Avila and Cory Harrilchak each added a pair of hits as well. JJ Hoover was a dominant workhorse for Rome last year, but aside from his first start he's been fairly ineffective for the Pelicans this season. He's having some issues with repeating his arm slot and that's affecting his control. Pelicans pitching coach Kent Willis is one of the best in the Minor Leagues so hopefully they can work to correct the issue and get JJ back on track.
Rome 3 Asheville 4
Brett DeVall makes his season debut and pitches pretty well, even if a few errors allowed some unearned runs that caused him to take the loss. After getting hit hard in his last appearance, Cory Rasmus comes back with a vengeance, striking out 6 on the way to 4 shutout innings. Braeden Schlehuber is 4 for 11 with double since coming off the DL this week. Myke Jones definitely has things moving in the right direction, even if his average remains well below the Mendoza Line. In his last 4 games he's 6 for 14 with 3 doubles and 3 RBI.
70 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Strasburg
As much as I don’t want the Braves to face him for the next ten years, I still hate hearing the yanks will just automatically get him. It just makes me think of other teams talking about Heyward that way. Makes me sick.
"Braves fans in the hizzy" -Boog
"Is that like the crib?" - Joe
by GwinnettBraves on May 8, 2010 2:06 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
The thing is, Strasburg is pretty clearly mostly concerned with the money, so I’d say it’s a slam dunk that he’ll bolt Washington for the cash once he’s able to. Heyward is in a great situation in Atlanta, it’s his home, and if they’re willing to pay him what he deserves, which will likely be a ton, he’s probably not going anywhere.
I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it: https://www.createspace.com/3407939
www.dropoutproductions.com
But Washington isn't poor...
if I’m not mistaken they made a pretty competitive offer to Tex, and in addition to that, baseball will have different salary rules by then. Maybe not a hard cap, but the next CBA likely changes things somewhat.
You know why I love these posts?
Because the dumbass morons who only post negative shit on TC during the loses usually stay away from here. It’s one of the few threads I read anymore after a loss. Gotta love the minor leagues.
"(Jason Heyward) is like the Grim Reaper -- you know he's going to get you, you just don't know where or when."
if you constantly post about the dumbass negative morons, doesn’t that make you one as well? Just ignore it.
I’m an author on this site. It’s my job to help keep them away.
"(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 8, 2010 1:29 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
So guys,
any chance Cody Johnson turns into a Mark Reynolds-type? I think that’d be exactly what the Braves need. We haven’t had a big bopper in the lineup since who, Andruw in 05? Maybe Sheffield for a few seasons back in the early 2000s? They’ve been pretty rare for the Braves.
Gotta keep the faith in CJ.
"(Jason Heyward) is like the Grim Reaper -- you know he's going to get you, you just don't know where or when."
When Mark Reynolds was 21 he played at South Bend, which is Low A. He hit .253 with a .773 OPS. 19 homers and 76 RBIs, striking out 107 times (striking out in 22% of his PAs). At the same level, 2 years ago as a 19 year old, Cody hit .252 with a .786 OPS, 26 homers and 89 RBI, striking out 177 times (34% of his PAs). So yes, he struck out considerably more. He also hit for basically the same average, more home runs and RBI and a slightly higher OPS, while playing a full two years younger at the same level. There’s nothing about Reynolds’ performance as a minor leaguer, when compared to Cody’s, to suggest he’s remarkably better. In fact, based on the huge age difference and their relative equal level of play, the assumption could be made that Cody is a better prospect than Reynolds was.
I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it: https://www.createspace.com/3407939
www.dropoutproductions.com
It has nothing to do with who was a better prospect. The question was what are the chances of Cody Johnson turning into an all-star caliber slugger in the major leagues. 1) Even an really good prospect at the age of 19 has a high fail rate and 2) prospects who strike out 40% of the time don’t often succeed either so while he could turn into Mark Reynolds, the chances aren’t that great.
So rather than actually compare the stats between the two and make some logical conclusions based on how they stack up you’re just going to fall back on the safety net that most guys don’t pan out. Fair enough.
I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it: https://www.createspace.com/3407939
www.dropoutproductions.com
Actually I was just answering the question. It was a simple one with a simple answer. If you don’t like me mentioning the fact that lots of prospects don’t succeed well then I guess you don’t like to deal in reality.
Of course that’s reality. But if we’re always gonna fall back on that then why bother talking about any prospect? The reality is that most, nearly all, of them are going to fail, so why bother wasting the time to evaluate their merits or chances? I’m just asking to have an intelligent discussion about them rather than falling back on the “reality” when you’re either bored with the conversation or out of ammo.
I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it: https://www.createspace.com/3407939
www.dropoutproductions.com
I’m glad you agree. Then you should also agree my initial response to the question was right on. And trust me, I’m not out of ammo but you’re right, I do get tired of it when people can’t realize the significance of 40% k-rates and continually offer up comparisons that don’t work.
I love it when someone can’t realize that 5 weeks of a season doesn’t tell the whole story. Yeah, it’s 40% now, but it’s pretty likely that it’ll be right back to the 34 or 35 percent he’s had every year. And every year he’s been pretty good at the stuff you’d expect, home run total, RBI total, and OPS, which are the important things with a slugger.
But yeah, you were right on. Congrats. I guess TC should just stop bothering to post about the minor leaguers since it’s mostly a waste of time. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.
I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it: https://www.createspace.com/3407939
www.dropoutproductions.com
No problem. But it would probably be better if you continued to post but this time without jumping down someone’s throat because of an honest answer.
Oh and k-rates rise at each level. It happened with every guy you love to compare CJ to. CJ as gone from 30%/38%/40% at R/A/A+ ball. Notice the 3 years of data. Now you may think he’ll reverse the universal trend of almost every minor leaguer but don’t act like that’s likely because it isn’t. Most, if not all, low average sluggers in the major leagues were high average sluggers in the minors. It’s very very difficult to be a low average slugger in the low minors while being able to continue with the same amount of success at every level increase. It just doesn’t happen.
I’ll just down whoever’s throat I want chief. Don’t worry about how I do what I do. I don’t have to constantly focus on the negative side of player because there’s always some guy like you who loves nothing better than to talk down a guy so that when he fails, because as we’ve established they almost all do, you can look like a genius.
I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it: https://www.createspace.com/3407939
www.dropoutproductions.com
Almost, almost, there we are. The stats no longer support you so now I’m just a negative person. There’s nothing wrong with wanting a player to succeed. I really hope CJ does, but I’m not going to sit here and tell people he’s the next Adam Dunn. Have you checked Dunn’s 21-year-old season compared to what Cody is doing now? Those 2 years you keep talking about have long passed him by so why don’t we just be realistic and stick to the facts.
That seems to be the pattern...
and we can hope the #s cb posted above aren’t quite as good as they become at the end. After all, we’re talking about the #s of one of the youngest guys (if not the youngest) in his league.
There are a handful of guys who are younger, including Mike Stanton, but yes, he’s definitely among the youngest. And he’s clearly made some adjustments and turned around his terrible start. I love how the haters are nowhere to be found when a guy turns things around a little.
I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it: https://www.createspace.com/3407939
www.dropoutproductions.com
the sub .300 obp bothers me...
as do 5 errors, and 5:40 B:KK, including 2:13 in the last 10 games. He’s on a power tear right now, with 5 HR in his last 9, so there are certainly some things to be positive about, but those negatives aren’t dead. They likely will always be there, but just improve them a little, or walk a little more so the obp is at least in the mid 3s. Right now he’s just looking a little more Chris Davis than Mark Reynolds. Either way no one will have a definitive answer for a while, as we can expect him to spend at least this year and next in AA/AAA, and then the usual young player’s roller coaster of adjustments once in the majors.
but cj’s minor league numbers can’t be compared to reynold’s major league numbers straight-up. to demonstrate: research the numbers — reynolds’ K% as a minor leaguer was much lower than cj’s. i mean, if we substituted reynold’s line from last season with numbers from his best minor league season then we’d be talking about a guy who was an MVP candidate instead of a one-dimensional power hitter (something i’d love to have in atlanta right now).
still, as others point out, cj is young for the league and his power is undeniable. he makes things fun to watch and has plenty of time to improve (and is maybe in the process of doing so right now!). so, i am always eagerly looking for cody’s batting line on these updates and i hope that will continue right up to the big club.
The biggest point about comparing Cody to guys like Reynolds or Howard or Dunn is that Cody has always been a year or 2 younger than those guys at the same level.
I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it: https://www.createspace.com/3407939
www.dropoutproductions.com
How about Chris Davis though?...
later start, but 21, 22 is about the same levels. We’d like a better result than what he’s done so far, and they seem to have similar strengths/weaknesses.
mostly...
except dunn was 21 in AA/AAA (and putting up some pretty amazing lines, by the way). but your point stands; it’s a maturation process and we’re all just waiting for things to click — and i admit that 30+ homer power will keep me entertained until then.
Fail
This is why I don’t comment this early.
Where’s Schafer****
60% of the time, it works every time
He went 0-3 with a walk, no K’s.
Shouldn't Wes Timmons get a shot at 3B over that Chipper guy everybody talks about?
And whats the story with Avila?
Leads our minor leagues in SLG%, has a great AVG and OBP. Is he legit?
60% of the time, it works every time
he is a bit old for the Carolina League. He was a former Mariners signee who was granted free agency last season and promptly scooped up by the Braves.
Yeah, definitely a bit too old to get excited about, but hey, if he gets moved up and keeps hitting like this it’ll be worth keeping an eye on. But, realistically, I think he’s probably playing at the highest level he’d be that successful at. He’s a little too bulky and slow to think he’d play well higher up.
I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it: https://www.createspace.com/3407939
www.dropoutproductions.com
WOW
“but fortunatley after that he’ll probably sign and insanely huge contract with the Yankees or Red Sox and they won’t have to see him much then.”
Imagine that team if they can get Strasburg, Jurrjens, Hanson, and Heyward.
Nice to see Rose without the CS...
and it is interesting to see Gerry Rodriguez continue his climb.
Rome’s pitching seems constantly plagued by errors in every recap. Is anyone one player the main culprit? Nice to see Devall back though, and Rasmus rebound.
On Hoover, he had pretty bad control problems last year too if my memory is working right.
Also, any word on Jake Hanson? Is he hurt or in extended spring?
Sadly
He actually did have a CS in the game, his 14th of the season
11 for 25 is just awful
60% of the time, it works every time
Man, milb.com adds those CSs way late. I did this at 130 am and it wasn’t there. No, that’s a horrible percentage. And I have no idea why, the guy is lightning fast.
I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it: https://www.createspace.com/3407939
www.dropoutproductions.com
from the looks of it,...
this one at least wasn’t a pickoff (says 3rd, so I’m assuming he tried stealing 3rd after he swiped 2nd and got nailed). We had multiple CS in this game, which seems to be pretty common for Rome.
just went and saw...
ARGH!
I was checking the rotation for when they come to Augusta later this month. At this premature stage, it looks like I’m getting Hale on Monday, Masters Tuesday, with Teheran on Wednesday and Vizcaino for thirsty Thursday, missing Devall. That would be if the current pattern holds through the rest of the month, and hopefully I can catch at least 2, if not 3, of Robinson Lopez, Ryan Weber, Paul Clemens, and Cory Rasmus in relief.
Clemens is heading to Myrtle Beach today, so you won’t be seeing him.
I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it: https://www.createspace.com/3407939
www.dropoutproductions.com
yes but if I had a guy who hit 37 HRs and only posted an OPS of .799 I wouldn’t be thrilled about it.
Cody Johnson
Interesting about Cody Johnson, but I’m not sure why you have him listed at .247 and project him to hit .275. Optimism? Cody is an all or nothing guy. He’ll either become a major league power hitter or completely and utterly fail. I really don’t see any middle ground for him, given his hitting flaws and his reputation and I wouldn’t want to bet on which he becomes. I could see him becoming another Rob Deer type player in the majors with fewer walks.
As far as Heyward goes, I don’t think it’s realistic at all to expect the Braves to match any future offers to keep him. The Braves haven’t been willing to pay market value on their own players in more than a decade. Heyward will either sign at a discount or leave via free agency. I don’t see the current owners as being willing to match free agent prices. Perhaps the best thing the Braves can do is gamble on Heyward’s health and ability and make him an Evan Longoria type offer either this season or next if they want to keep him long term.
Yeah, good call. I completely misread Cody’s stats. The .274 was his OBP, which is actually .283 now. Yes, that average would be much less impressive. Still, the point about the production remains.
I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it: https://www.createspace.com/3407939
www.dropoutproductions.com
It all remains...
he does great damage once the bat hits the ball. It’s just that frequency of putting the bat on the ball, and his butt on a base (meaning the lack of walks), that is the problem.
Rome
last night was Breast Cancer Awareness night in Rome. The team wore sweet pink jerseys and they got auctioned off after the game. Money went to a local breast health/cancer charity. Every single jersey was sold and some got pretty pricey. Cancer is something that pretty much touches everyone at some time or another so we are very proud that our team is TUFF ENOUGH to join the fight !!!
Cory Rasmus
He’s not getting enough attention but he’s been lights out this season. He’s still a very young guy and if he finishes in MB this season still doing as well as he is he’ll be back in that Top 15 range. The Rome announcers said he was touching 95 last night so his velocity is coming back.
I’ve been saying for years that once he got healthy he was going to be great so it’s good to see my buddy has my back. He’s a great kid and he’s put a ton of work in to get healthy and it’s fantastic to see it paying off so well.
I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it: https://www.createspace.com/3407939
www.dropoutproductions.com
I would think that, especially of the relievers, he’s the next most likely to move up.
I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it: https://www.createspace.com/3407939
www.dropoutproductions.com
I saw him throw a little live BP in ST and it looked pretty good. A fair amount of movement and getting in there pretty fast. Several guys talked about how good he was throwing too, which is usually more telling than what you can see yourself.
I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it: https://www.createspace.com/3407939
www.dropoutproductions.com
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Talking Chop
Related FanShots on Talking Chop
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
- James Loney: Umpires should call pitches from behind mound — and be robots with replay
- Magglio Ordonez set to retire after 15 seasons
- Barry Bonds thinks it will be ‘very sad’ if he doesn’t get into the Hall on his first try
- Chris Johnson’s glove webbing had a Spidey sense at Coors Field — for one play, at least
- Jonathan Lucroy breaks hand after suitcase falls during search for sock
