Wright seems to be turning it on
Graffanino
"I am a victim, I will tell you. I am a victim."
"I am your retribution."
Rio Ruiz has been coming on. I still hold out hope he can be a useful bench player. He's learned to play corner outfield and first this season.
"I am a victim, I will tell you. I am a victim."
"I am your retribution."
Good to see Wright have no stamina problems in a 7 inning start.
He was likely going to get a shot at the rotation before Newcomb.
I get the sense that Weigel to the bullpen is a consensus that was formed shortly after he was drafted. I haven't quite understood why it had such force, though his injury setback might force it on him. He might have lost his window of opportunity. We'll see.
jpx7 (08-14-2018)
jpx7 (08-14-2018)
I would live to see Wilson get a shot, not sure that will happen sadly. Good problem to have I guess.
Anderson and Wentz are currently in A ball, there is no reason to even think about making room for them anywhere...
SP is certainly a strength, but there is no need to trade guys just to clear some perceived logjam.
The good news is there is no reason to sign that $10M+ veteran guy to round out the rotation, as the opening day rotation will likely be Folty, Gaus, Newk and Teheran.
The Braves have used 12 SPs so far this year, and we know AA values pitching depth above almost everything else (he learned it from the Dodgers).
The other 8 guys who have started a game for the Braves this season:
Sanchez - gone
Soroka - likely needs time in AAA, will likely not be allowed to pitch a full 180+ inning load in 2019
Fried - candidate for 2019 rotation, can be shuttled up and down
Wisler - gone
McCarthy - gone
Touki - candidate for 2019 rotation, can be shuttled up and down, still has a lot of work to do on command
Gohara - candidate for 2019 rotation, can be shuttled up and down, still has a lot of work to do on being a pro
Allard - not a SP option imo
So that's 4 guys in the rotation on opening day for sure, and 4 more that can ride the AAA shuttle...a total of 8 SPs.
They will need more...
Wright - candidate for 2019 rotation, can be shuttled up and down
That's about it for guys who could realistically impact the 2019 MLB rotation.
That's 9 SPs...and the Braves have already used 12 so far this year. This notion that there is some logjam that must be cleared is silly and completely uninformed. After all, they had to trade for Gaus this year because they didn't have enough quality MLB SP options.
Last edited by Enscheff; 08-14-2018 at 11:23 AM.
jpx7 (08-14-2018)
Anderson is now in AA.
He obviously won't have a spot for him at least until the very end of next year, but he's closer than I think anybody thought he'd be at this point.
Everyone is down on allard. Trade value likely nothing. Think we could try and make a loogy throwing junk?
When thinking in the terms of the next couple of years, I was more thinking of the average main-stays. I also agree with Soroka being a no doubt rotation spot if healthy (and specifically said that in my original post as well). I am just skeptical... a 60 day DL stint for a shoulder after it didn't heal from the first stint is very concerning. Tommy John is no big deal to me anymore... a shoulder problem that lingers can be a career killer and it seems to take a good long while to actually figure out if its an actual problem or simply just fatigue/temporary injury. In also thinking of averaging out the next couple of years, I don't include Teheran because I think he will be gone in some form or fashion somewhat soon... considering he's only signed through next year. So, I am not projecting the rotation for the next couple of years... for the first time I'm just seeing sustained success in the young guys (unlike with the Wisler, Blair, etc... experiments) and we have 2 or 3 guys that could really make a push to be a dominant ace. Based on the peripherals and what I've watched... the guys I listed are the ones that I see the most high end potential with and are currently pitching solid in the majors or are knocking on the door.
Allard's only 20. I think there is time to make him into something. Remember, Mike Minor was kind of a junkballer early in his minors career and then got some velo later on.
jpx7 (08-14-2018)