Just another onMason weblog

Baseball fans know what I’m talking about. Spring doesn’t arrive with “April Showers” or “May Flowers.” Spring isn’t here when the temperature exceeds a certain threshold. Hell, Spring’s arrival doesn’t even depend on Punxsutawney Phil‘s shadow-seeing abilities.

It arrived today, and with less than two weeks until the first Spring Training games, this baseball fan couldn’t be more excited.

Back to the pitchers: Will the Braves’ young staff made of some of baseball’s top prospects rival the Phillies’ “big four?”

Derek Lowe: If we get the Derek Lowe who pitched in September of last season, we will be in good shape. Lowe is a solid pitcher that we are, unfortunately, paying way too much for at $15 million a season. He is good for 15-17 wins and his veteran presence is important and influential among the many young starters who fill out the rest of the Braves rotation. Not to mention, Lowe has valuable playoff experience with the Red Sox and Dodgers (two bigger market cities), sporting a 3.21 ERA in the postseason.

2010: 4.00 ERA / 16-10 / 136 SO / 1.37 WHIP

Tim Hudson: Coming off a dominant 2010, fans expect nothing but great things from Hudson in 2011. Finishing fourth in Cy Young Award voting, Hudson relinquished any doubts that he would not be able to be successful after receiving Tommy John’s in 2008. Hudson has potential to be a 20 game winner in 2011 after winning 17 in 2010 with a 2.83 ERA.

2010: 2.83 ERA / 17-9 / 139 SO / 1.15 WHIP

Tommy Hanson: Another stud from the Brave’s seemingly endless supply of farm talent. After a dominant rookie campaign in 2009, going 11-4 in 23 starts, Hanson struggled in 2010 going 10-11 with a respectable 3.33 ERA. He has great stuff and potential to be a great pitcher. Will 2011 be a breakout year for Tommy Hanson?

2009: 2.89 ERA / 11-4 / 116 SO / 1.183 WHIP

2010: 3.33 ERA / 10-11 / 173 SO / 1.174 WHIP

Jair Jurrjens: JJ is an interesting case, as some project him to be traded at the deadline if he can bring a strong return. Jurrjens only started 20 games in 2010 due to an injured hamstring, leading to a disappointing followup to his strong 2009 campaign. With so many wildcards and “ifs” in the Braves starting lineup, it would be interesting to see what Jurrjens could bring in a trade this summer.

2009: 2.60 ERA / 14-10 / 152 SO / 1.214 WHIP

2010: 4.64 ERA / 7-6 / 86 SO / 1.393 WHIP

Mike Minor: The Braves projected fifth starter after showing that he was capable as a big league starter when called up in 2010. Some might remember Minor‘s impressive 12 strike-out performance against the Cubs in August. Ranked 4th among Braves prospects by Baseball America, Minor joins the company of Freddie Freeman, Julio Teheran and Arodys Viscaino on this impressive list.

2010: 5.98 ERA / 3-2 / 43 SO / 1.574

Also worth mentioning…

Kris Medlen: Medlen was huge for the Braves in 2010, filling in for injured Jair Jurrjens and becoming the Brave’s 5th starter. He started 14 games and went 6-2 on the season with a 3.68 ERA. Expect to see Medlen doing big things for the Braves again in 2011.

Brandon Beachy: Only pitched 15 big league innings, so there isn’t much to draw on from that. However, Beachy‘s minor league stats are impressive. Since 2008, the 24-year-old is 11-4 with a 2.55 ERA and 228 SO in 208 innings pitched. Expect to see Beachy in the bullpen or even the starting rotation sometime in 2011.

Julio Teheran: Top Atlanta prospect with nasty stuff. He is going to Disney with the rest of the Braves this Spring as a non-roster invitee. Nothing but a bright future for this 20-year-old kid.

• Will Freddie Freeman live up to his hype this season? http://bit.ly/ekeJN2 #
• Julio Teheran is invited to Spring Training…any chance of making opening day rotation? Watch this, I think so. http://youtu.be/jBz9yIft_RQ #

I’m sure you’ve all read and heard about the hype surround top Braves prospect Julio Teheran. Check out this video and you can see for yourself some of the stuff he has. (the last pitch is the best!)

(Credit to ScoutingtheSally for this great video)

(Also to Jason Stubler for showing it to me!)

On November 3, 2011 the Braves acquired Joe Mather off waivers from St. Louis. Some fans might remember Mather from the marathon game between the Mets and Cardinals last Spring where he came in to pitch in the 19th and 20th innings and ultimately got the loss for St. Louis. After this, he was sent back down to the minors and not heard from again for the rest of the season.

So, who is Joe Mather? He only has 211 at bats in two brieft stints with St. Louis since 2008 and not great numbers to show for them. The 28 year old now finds himself in a much more important role with potential for many more plate appearances now that he is one of Atlanta’s utility players. Chipper Jones’ knee is unproven and Mather could find himself spending substantial amounts of time playing left field, as Prado would have to fill in for an injured Chipper at third. (knock on wood!)

The Braves must have some faith in Mather beyond his numbers if they signed him to fill this role.

Hitting only .233 in his big league at bats, fans might not have been too happy with the signing. Digging a little deeper and looking at Mather’s minor league stats shows that he just might have some potential to make things happen in a Braves uniform:

• Mather has been in the minors since 2001, racking up a total of almost 3,000 at bats
• In 2007, playing at the AA and AAA level, Mather hit 31 home runs and batted .271
• In 2010, Mather hit .275 while knocking in 46 in 376 at bats

There are also some negatives:

• Mather has a career .255 batting average and .332 OBP in the minors
• Consistency: after great power numbers in 2006-2007, Mather was quiet in 2008-2009 before making a slight resurgence in 2010.

It will be interesting to see what kind of role Mather plays for the 2011 Braves and if he succeeds at fulfilling that role. At the very least, we have a utility guy who has been playing professional baseball for 10 years and has a lot of experience under his belt. I don’t think he’s gotten his opportunity to shine in the bigs with only a few small stints with the Cards. 2011 will be a chance for Mather to prove he is worthy of playing and staying on a Major League roster.

The Braves rarely give an opening day slot in the starting lineup to a rookie without them winning it in Spring Training first. This is exactly what they are doing with rookie Freddie Freeman, who only has 24 major league at bats.

blogs.ajc.com

Freeman and Braves rookie phenom Jason Heyward made their journey through the minors together and were roommates. Heyward received the call last year as we all know and began his rookie campaign with a very loud bang, finishing with a line of .277 / 18 home runs / 72 RBIs while missing almost 40 games due to a thumb injury.

Now it’s Freddie’s turn. Unlike Heyward, Freeman will enter his rookie season with a few at bats under his belt along with one very exciting one that involved him hitting a monster shot off of the National League’s Cy Young Award recipient.

I had to opportunity to ask MLBTradeRumors.com writer Ben Nicholson-Smith if he thought Freeman would match or exceed Heyward’s rookie numbers.

“I doubt that – but it sounds like [Freeman] can be a capable first baseman,” says Nicholson-Smith. “I’m thinking a Gaby Sanchez-like season is in order.”

Gaby Sanchez, rookie first baseman for the Marlins in 2010, hit .273 with 19 home runs and 85 RBIs. While these numbers aren’t outstanding by any means, they are solid.

Freeman, 21, is still young and has a lot to learn. He will probably have his struggles during 2011, just as any young player should. Will he prove to be as consistent as Heyward was? I think he will be more than a capable first baseman for the Atlanta Braves, with potential to have a rookie of the year season.

When the Braves traded a few prospects to the Pittsburgh Pirates for All-Star Nate McLouth back in June of  2009, I imagine they were feeling pretty good about their new, young center fielder.

gimmysports.com

Fast forward 1 year: As of June 2, 2010, McLouth had a .179 batting average as a Brave.

Simply put, McLouth wasn’t living up to his high expectations. He wasn’t even putting up numbers that would be expected of an average center fielder in the bigs today. If you thought it was bad at that point, don’t worry, it gets worse.

Fast forward about a week: June 9, 2010 – McLouth collides with Braves rookie Jason Heyward and leaves the game with a concussion. Things weren’t looking good for Nate.

Only playing in 85 games during 2010, Mclouth hit .190 with 6 homeruns and 24 RBIs. With his speed and power combination, McLouth is a rare breed that can be utilized as a great leadoff man and a run producer at the same time. With his recent numbers, he has performed neither one of these roles successfully.

So we see the stage set for one of two things in 2011: a comeback player of the year type season, or more of the same that will probably end McLouth’s days in Atlanta as young players, such as Jordan Schafer, are more capable of playing center.

I am rooting for him because, like many others, I can easily see his potential as a dangerous threat at the top of the lineup. In addition to that, McLouth is a fierce competitor and a great clubhouse guy. There really isn’t much dislike about McLouth (except for his numbers, of course!) and I think Atlanta fans are really hoping to see him succeed this year.

…and it was highway robbery.

I guess Uggla, a Silver Slugger recipient this year, was only worth super-utility man Omar Infante and reliever Mike Dunn to the Florida Marlins.

Infante, as we all should remember, came up big for the injury-plagued Bravos this season and was controversially named to the National League All-Star Team by fellow NL East manager Charlie Manuel.  Infante hit .321 this season in just under 500 at bats. Don’t get me wrong, this is a very respectable number, however Infante just doesn’t have the track record to be able to guarantee future results resembling his career 2010 season.

Dunn is a reliever who has only logged 23 innings in the big leagues. Although the young lefty showed some promise this season, the crowded Braves bullpen limited his innings and would likely continue to do so next season.

Now Braves fans, you should be thrilled with this trade!  Uggla will add a feared right handed bat to the middle of the Braves lineup…one that has hit over 30 home runs in each of his last 4 seasons.  It is also worth noting that Uggla’s numbers are insanely good at Turner Field.  He is a .354 career hitter in Atlanta with 12 homers and a 1.051 OPS.

The Marlins almost seemed desperate to trade Uggla due to the fact that the two parties could not agree on a contract extension. Uggla enters free agency following the 2011 season.  Uggla was holding out on a 5 year, $71 million deal.  Sounds like a bargain to me!  You be the judge.  Should the Braves go ahead and lock him up for a long term deal?  Or is he another rental?