Wentz with four shutout innings and six Ks with no walks.
Wentz with four shutout innings and six Ks with no walks.
Good grief. The kid has barely pitched in the minors at all. He needs to be staying in AA for the majority of the year.
Beyond that, his current BABIP is insanely low, particularly given his K rate. That ERA is going to rise. He's been pitching outstanding, particularly considering age versus level, but he hasn't been dominating to the point he should have a 1.29 ERA if that makes any sense.
Acuna bases clearing double. Off the top of the RF wall, missed an opposite field grand slam by about three feet.
Acuna is blistering AA. SSS and all. But still.
Blair was a top 50ish prospect when we traded for him, he was nowhere near Gant and the rest. After he struggled we sent him back down and gave him 3-4 starts to get straightened back out, and then brought him right back up before he fixed himself and he got shelled some more. We treated him like a yoyo. Blair has gone from being awesome in AA/AAA to not being able to handle AAA hitters. His control disappeared after that first major league callup and never recovered.
It's easy for pitchers to be completely mishandled and have their confidence destroyed. There are countless examples of pitchers over the years who failed badly with one organization and popped up elsewhere to have good careers. Jake Arrieta for example got shelled as an Oriole and we've seen what happened with the Cubs. Blair was always a #4 starter type with a little bit of upside, but we turned him into a guy that's not even AAA quality.
I'm still trying to figure out how Acuna generates the power he does. He's not physically impressive.
Braves will have 4 top 100 hitting prospect by mid year.
Albies
Acuna
Jackson
Maitan
Im cautiously optimistic about Jackson but I don't see him as a top 100 prospect unless he does it all year and improves his walk rate
Easy athleticism that's how. Watching him is fun because he's a "glider" sometimes. Remember Andruw...would make it look so easy it became a loafing type thing. (Of course he was benched once for easy loafing...ha). Acuna is unique. Great wrist strength just because. Right/Right Center he shows uncanny gap power.
I think Jackson will get respect quick. He is not far removed from being called the best prep bat in a few years and he's hitting with a tremendous amount of power at an age appropriate level. If he does this for a whole season he's not just top 100...he'll be top 50.
I think Sims has a chance to make some of the mid-season Top 100 lists. He looks to be the most major league ready of our current group of AAA starters.
The only positional player Albies is hitting better at Gwinnett is catcher