WHERE ARE THE HITTERS???

[rico43]

Before the M-Braves scored five times in the sixth inning tonight (Thursday), driving in only two of the runs, the ORGANIZATION had been shut out three times today, and had a cumulative 32 scoreless innings. Only Rome, which was rained out, was not part of the futility.

ATLANTA: 0 RUNS, 4 HITS (3 singles, Freeman double)
GWINNETT: 0 RUNS, 3 HITS (all single)
CAROLINA: 0 RUNS, 3 HITS (all singles)

With Mississippi shut out until the sixth, that adds up to 32 scoreless innings.

Might the Braves want to dump some of their minor league hitting instructors, like right now?

Gwinnett: 24 homers, 13th in a 14-team IL
Mississippi team batting average: .233, last in the SL
Carolina team batting average: .235, last in the CL, also last in HRs with 16
Rome: .250, but last in HRs with 18

[msstate7]

We're either horrible at scouting good hitters or developing them one

[Russ2dollas]

We don't have many. Hence the talk about a college bat or trading Tehran.

Swanson and albies are prob good but not elite hitters

Peterson is hot and cold. So is Ruiz p. Neither hits enough for their spot.

Davidson doesn't hit enough. Most exciting hitters are 19 or less.

Mallex still looks like a fourth of u platoon to me
Inciarte looks like a bottom of the order hitter to me
Adonis doesn't hit enough for his spots and nowhere near enough with his awful d.
Markakis....sigh

Looks bad for a long time to me

[rico43]

The singlel most discouraging thing to me is that NO ONE hitter is making any kind of apparent progress besides Albies, and he's hit the wall now as well.

[nsacpi]

When HO finishes his suspension, our hitting will not be so bad.

[The Chosen One]

When HO finishes his suspension, our hitting will not be so bad.

He's batting 1/1 off the field.

[KB21]

The singlel most discouraging thing to me is that NO ONE hitter is making any kind of apparent progress besides Albies, and he's hit the wall now as well.

Albies is also 19 years old and in AAA. Both he and Dansby Swanson are high level hitters that will be big time additions to the club when they are ready.

[Horsehide Harry]

When HO finishes his suspension, our hitting will not be so bad.

I wonder if we could get Beyoncé's face on all the balls...

[Preacher]

Acuna was playing well before getting hurt -- anybody know what his timetable is?

[Julio3000]

I'm not bugging out about Albies hitting a wall, because he's ridiculously advanced for his age.

Swanson looks like he's going to be a baller.

After that, though, there is not a lot to be excited about beyond guys who are fairly new to shaving.

[Russ2dollas]

Acuna was playing well before getting hurt -- anybody know what his timetable is?

I know u mean to play this year but his time table is 2020

I just don't see how we get a decent offense without making a major trade.

[NinersSBChamps]

He's batting 1/1 off the field.



We don't know how many times he swung and missed though.

[nsacpi]

Freeman, Markakis, Aybar and Inciarte came into the season as our established major league hitters. All four have been below their usual standard to one degree or another. Our top two prospects (Albies and Swanson) have done fine. Ditto for Acuna before his injury. Yepez was doing ok until getting hurt too. Mallex Smith has done about as expected and validated my expectations that he can be a major league regular. Ruiz has been up and down but was promoted aggressively. Dyskstra is showing he is a hitter. Lien got hurt in the first game and hasn't played since.

Which leaves the two real disappointments: Davidson and Riley. But that is always relative to expectations. I've been more cautious about those two, especially Riley, than most people around here.

I think we'll have a solid team next year:

OF: Smith, Inciarte, Markakis (with Adonis Garcia as the fourth OF)
3B: one of Prado/Turner/Desmond/Freese/Uribe
SS: Swanson/Albies
2B: Albies/Swanson
1B: Fredito
C: Ramos/Wieters/Sanchez/McCann

I have a feeling we could move one of our outfielders and bring in someone like Kemp or Braun.

[The Chosen One]

Hopefully Ronald comes back strong so we can Acuna Matata our 3rd base issue.

[blueagleace1]

Was thinking about this earlier today..

Cleveland has a need for OF help with the suspension of Byrd and Brantley still shelved on the DL. How would this sound for both teams...


Cleveland gets:

Nick Markakis
Kelley Johnson
Andrew Thurman- (if the first two aren't enough)

Braves get:

Jose Ramirez- (Would become our everyday 2B or SS until Swanson/Albies are ready and then would be a nice UTL player)
Fransisco Mejia- (Gives us a legitimate catching prospect who has all the ingredients to become an above average catcher)

[bravos4evr]

Mejia would be a nice grab for us, his bat is developing and the scouting reports on his defense seem decent.

My only beef is he is probably 3+ years away from MLB. I would prefer to try and grab a catcher who is a little closer to big league ready. But he would be a good grab that's for sure. (plus the Braves could maybe work a deal for a guy like Ramos in free agency to fill that gap)

[Horsehide Harry]

Was thinking about this earlier today..

Cleveland has a need for OF help with the suspension of Byrd and Brantley still shelved on the DL. How would this sound for both teams...


Cleveland gets:

Nick Markakis
Kelley Johnson
Andrew Thurman- (if the first two aren't enough)

Braves get:

Jose Ramirez- (Would become our everyday 2B or SS until Swanson/Albies are ready and then would be a nice UTL player)
Fransisco Mejia- (Gives us a legitimate catching prospect who has all the ingredients to become an above average catcher)

How about:

Cleveland gets Inciarte and Freeman and the Braves get Frazier, Bradley, Aiken and Mejia

[blueagleace1]

How about:

Cleveland gets Inciarte and Freeman and the Braves get Frazier, Bradley, Aiken and Mejia

I don't want to come across as an a$$hole but it's pretty obvious by now that YOU want to trade all our current MLB assets to acquire prospects. We get it, you want to take the full tear-down. rebuild from scratch method and frankly I don't understand (and trust me I've read your argument several times) why. We've got a nice little core of: Freeman, Teheran, Inciarte, Wisler, and Smith TO BUILD ON with reinforcements (Swanson, Albies, Newcombe, Blair, Allard, Freid, etc) close to being ready to help and not to mention what will be added next week and in the international market. The big thing for me is that the core I mentioned above (minus Mallex) are established big leaguers and not prospects who could become perennial All-Stars, bust, or anything in between. It would be different if that core above we're soon to be free agents (remember the Hayward/Upton dilemma) and we weren't going to be able to retain them, but that's not the case as we have them all locked up long-term and some at very team friendly deals. Like I said, if those guys were nearing the end of their contracts I'd be all for trading them to acquire more assets but that's just not the case. Coppy has made it pretty clear that Freeman nor Teheran will be going anywhere unless we receive an overpay (ala Shelby Miller) and in that case -just as I was in the Miller deal- I'm more understanding and receptive.

Again I'm not trying to be a douche but I just can't understand your continuous desire to trade Freeman, Teheran, and Inciarte when they are entering their prime and under team control for many years.

I truly believe this team can be extremely competitive with a few tweaks such as:

1.) Trading Markakis and acquiring a LF/RF bat with decent pop (doesn't have to be a bopper)
2.) Siging Ian Desmond to play 3B or that outfield spot
3.) Getting an everyday catcher
4.) Signing Greg Holland
5.) Possibly going after a veteran starter as a #4/#5




Above is my opinion and that only.

[nsacpi]

I truly believe this team can be extremely competitive with a few tweaks such as:

1.) Trading Markakis and acquiring a LF/RF bat with decent pop (doesn't have to be a bopper)
2.) Siging Ian Desmond to play 3B or that outfield spot
3.) Getting an everyday catcher
4.) Signing Greg Holland
5.) Possibly going after a veteran starter as a #4/#5



I think this is close to what the plan for 2017 is. Desmond would be a great get to play third. But there some other options on the FA market: Prado, Turner, Freese and Uribe. Realistically, we're looking at about a .500 team for next year.

[blueagleace1]

I think this is close to what the plan for 2017 is. Desmond would be a great get to play third. But there some other options on the FA market: Prado, Turner, Freese and Uribe. Realistically, we're looking at about a .500 team for next year.

Exactly right and any of those guys would make sense, although the thought with Desmond is he does have 20/20 potential (he did it for 3 straight seasons in 2012-2014) and could essentially protect Freeman. Prado would be my second choice (he and Desmond can/could play multiple positions) followed by Freese.

[Horsehide Harry]

I don't want to come across as an a$$hole but it's pretty obvious by now that YOU want to trade all our current MLB assets to acquire prospects. We get it, you want to take the full tear-down. rebuild from scratch method and frankly I don't understand (and trust me I've read your argument several times) why. We've got a nice little core of: Freeman, Teheran, Inciarte, Wisler, and Smith TO BUILD ON with reinforcements (Swanson, Albies, Newcombe, Blair, Allard, Freid, etc) close to being ready to help and not to mention what will be added next week and in the international market. The big thing for me is that the core I mentioned above (minus Mallex) are established big leaguers and not prospects who could become perennial All-Stars, bust, or anything in between. It would be different if that core above we're soon to be free agents (remember the Hayward/Upton dilemma) and we weren't going to be able to retain them, but that's not the case as we have them all locked up long-term and some at very team friendly deals. Like I said, if those guys were nearing the end of their contracts I'd be all for trading them to acquire more assets but that's just not the case. Coppy has made it pretty clear that Freeman nor Teheran will be going anywhere unless we receive an overpay (ala Shelby Miller) and in that case -just as I was in the Miller deal- I'm more understanding and receptive.

Again I'm not trying to be a douche but I just can't understand your continuous desire to trade Freeman, Teheran, and Inciarte when they are entering their prime and under team control for many years.

I truly believe this team can be extremely competitive with a few tweaks such as:

1.) Trading Markakis and acquiring a LF/RF bat with decent pop (doesn't have to be a bopper)
2.) Siging Ian Desmond to play 3B or that outfield spot
3.) Getting an everyday catcher
4.) Signing Greg Holland
5.) Possibly going after a veteran starter as a #4/#5




Above is my opinion and that only.

And, I have said this before, I think your way is better for 2017. But, I think the team quickly slides back from whatever high water mark 2017 allows. Freeman (assuming he stays healthy) is passing his prime right now but is becoming more expensive yearly. The cost/production curve is wrong with him. I strongly believe that you really can't play BOTH Mallex AND Inciarte in the same outfield (and am convinced that to play one, you can't have a hole in a traditional power position such as 3B). Given that, I would like to maximize Inciarte's value. Teheran is someone I could see keeping EXCEPT I think he is clearly the best trade option for the market since Stras re-signed throughout the rest of 2016.

I don't want to give any of the veterans AWAY. I want to maximize their value to the rebuild. Is Freeman more valuable as a declining $20M 1B in 2018 or as a trade piece who brings back 2-3 hole filling young pieces and also frees up his committed salary for use in other areas? Is Inciarte (or Mallex) more valuable as a 4th outfielder in 2018? What about Teheran? Is he more valuable in 2018 as a solid #2 than bringing back the value that you can get for him today?

The Braves have a chance to load the system with young talent. They've done a decent job acquiring pitching (and if they've done a good enough job then Teheran is not needed long term) but still haven't addressed the absolute dearth of power in the minor league system (or at the ML).

None of the vet players that I want to see moved are generational type talents. They aren't the face of the franchise that selling $10M #10 jerseys each year. They are good players signed to reasonable contracts who should have good to very good trade value which will hurt short term but help more than the hurt long term.

I don't like watching bad baseball. But I don't want to see extended mediocre baseball with no true chance at greatness either. Extended mediocre baseball is what I think plans like yours are settling for with an eventual fall back to rebuild within 5 years. I don't want that.

I realize that my way has more risk. But, I risk for greatness.