BRAVES NEWS
Braves could look internally to fill closer’s role
Braves beat writer Mark Bowman touches on the club’s bullpen situation, namely the closer role, in his latest piece for MLB.com. With Edwin Diaz off the market, the high price for Craig Kimbrel, and various other options that could be dubious propositions in the closer role, GM Alex Anthopoulos believes that an internal candidate could emerge.
“I’m not comparing [Minter] to Edwin Diaz at all,” Anthopoulos said. “But Edwin Diaz in 2017 had solid numbers, and when he was 23 [in ‘18], he took a step. So why can’t A.J. Minter take a step now that he’s been through it? He’s talented enough to do it. I’m not saying we’re counting on that or banking on that. I don’t want to put that on him. But similar to when I got this job and we said we might be better than people think because we have all this young talent, we won’t be shocked if any of these guys have good years because they’re talented.”
Mock draft: Who will the Braves take at No. 9?
A mock draft six months prior to the actual MLB Draft may not carry a lot of weight regarding the order of players, but it can give a general idea of which prospects are the most highly-regarded heading into their season of draft eligibility. Here is the projected selection for the Braves at number nine.
9. Braves: Brennan Malone, RHP, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)This is a compensation pick for the Braves not signing last year’s first-rounder Carter Stewart. But don’t expect that to mean Atlanta will be conservative here. The Braves don’t shy away from high school pitching and Malone’s combination of arm strength and velocity will be very intriguing.
3 things to know about the Braves exciting righty Freddy Tarnok
Our own Wayne Cavadi writes about young right-hander Freddy Tarnok, who has shown flashes of brilliance in his brief professional career. Take a look at the Wayne’s observations inside.
Blast from the past: Looking for a Leo Mazzone effect
As he so often does, Ivan takes a deep dive into the Leo Mazzone effect, trying to nail down how effective Mazzone was while serving as pitching coach in Atlanta. It can be difficult to decipher the effect of any pitching coach, but Ivan quantifies the differences Mazzone made before, during, and after his time with the Braves pitching staff.
MLB NEWS
Eovaldi, Red Sox agree to 4-year deal
Carrasco, Tribe agree to extension through ‘22