MINORS FINAL 4/11/18: A BIG Nothing Day

[thethe]

This feels all too similar to the "Send Ohtani to the Minors" argument from 2 weeks ago.

Its crazy. Acuna is ready. Kid looks like he can be a superstar. The team is ready to be competitive. CALL HIM UP!

[msstate7]

I just don't see the rush. What will it hurt to let him string together 5 games of hitting the ball and not striking out 40% of the time?

[UNCBlue012]

DOB just said he doesn't expect to see Acuna until he starts hitting.

[thewupk]

I just don't see the rush. What will it hurt to let him string together 5 games of hitting the ball and not striking out 40% of the time?

What is he going to learn at AAA by hitting well in 5 games that he hasn't learned last year? He needs to be facing major league pitchers.

[msstate7]

What is he going to learn at AAA by hitting well in 5 games that he hasn't learned last year? He needs to be facing major league pitchers.

If he knows everything there is to know about hitting AAA, why the 38% k rate and 0.348 ops? Again, what is the rush?

[msstate7]

I wish there was a way to know if teams are pitching acuna different this season so far. No idea how much scouting AAA teams do, but it would be interesting to know if they are attacking acuna in a certain area

[bravesfanMatt]

The Braves probably won’t bring him if he is struggling because of perception. They said he needs to be down to learn how to adjust when the league adjusts. If they bring him up while he sucks then they will have egg all over their face. You can’t say one thing and then do the other without a reason. Even if it is a couple games that he goes and gets a couple of hits. That will be enough. But if he is K’ing 3 out of 4 times and popping up the other then they will have to keep him down.

[50PoundHead]

I just know roster decisions shouldn't be based on a couple of games. If he had started with the big club and didn't hit in a few games would you send him down because he 'wasnt ready'? Acuna has more than proved he is ready to be in Atlanta and should be once we have gained that extra year of control.

At the same time, I don't want to see him yo-yo'd back and forth between Atlanta and Gwinnett. I trust that the staff will know when the time is right both in terms of readiness and contractual control.

[thewupk]

If he knows everything there is to know about hitting AAA, why the 38% k rate and 0.348 ops? Again, what is the rush?

Because anybody can look horrible or great in a few games. If you thought Acuna was ready before playing a game in AAA then these games should not matter because they don't.

[thewupk]

At the same time, I don't want to see him yo-yo'd back and forth between Atlanta and Gwinnett. I trust that the staff will know when the time is right both in terms of readiness and contractual control.

That wouldn't be good. I'd expect a Swanson type leash on him. No need for him to go back to AAA unless he is one of the worst hitters in MLB for a few months.

[GeorgiaGirl]

Bowman said he thought he'd be up Saturday in Chicago but added "if he struggles, he thinks the Braves will wait a few more days" on that tweet I saw.

Like I said, I think there's a real chance that he's decided that he doesn't care at all about what he does in the minor leagues since the odds are he's going to be up soon anyway, given how old he is. I doubt its he's pressing, it's he's too relaxed. At the same time, it's possible that he's getting overly aggressive with his swing like that guy on YT said, which can cause strikeout problems, or, and this would be the issue that could cause him to stay in the minors for a month+, teams adjusted to him and he needs to adjust back (he KILLED AA, but despite the fact he mostly did kill AA, he actually DID struggle for a short stretch that suggests that teams adjusted to him some).

[Southcack77]

Because anybody can look horrible or great in a few games. If you thought Acuna was ready before playing a game in AAA then these games should not matter because they don't.

Is that a banana in your ear?

[Southcack77]

Bowman said he thought he'd be up Saturday in Chicago but added "if he struggles, he thinks the Braves will wait a few more days" on that tweet I saw.

Like I said, I think there's a real chance that he's decided that he doesn't care at all about what he does in the minor leagues since the odds are he's going to be up soon anyway, given how old he is. I doubt its he's pressing, it's he's too relaxed. At the same time, it's possible that he's getting overly aggressive with his swing like that guy on YT said, which can cause strikeout problems, or, and this would be the issue that could cause him to stay in the minors for a month+, teams adjusted to him and he needs to adjust back (he KILLED AA, but despite the fact he mostly did kill AA, he actually DID struggle for a short stretch that suggests that teams adjusted to him some).

Or maybe he got secretly hit in the face. Or contracted Herpes. Or his dog died.

Or maybe he's struggling with the way that he's being pitched and needs to make an adjustment.

[thewupk]

Is that a banana in your ear?

You tell me. Anybody that thinks Acuna's performance so far in AAA should be a deciding factor on if he should be called up next week is dumb. You either thought he was ready to be on the team at the end of ST or not. If you did then what he's doing now should not be a factor in that.

[jpx7]

Like I said, I think there's a real chance that he's decided that he doesn't care at all about what he does in the minor leagues since the odds are he's going to be up soon anyway, given how old he is.

I sincerely hope that's not the case, as it doesn't show a lot of respect for his AAA teammates and opponents, and—while by no means utterly damning—doesn't really reflect very well on him, either, character-wise.