GDT: ATLANTA (ss) vs DETROIT, 1:10

[rico43]

Cancelled, rain...these stats don't count (but do they ever!)


Atlanta (ss) 100 2 -- 3 5 1
Detroit 100 0 -- 1 0 1


ATLANTA (6-16-2)

Inciarte CF 1-2, R, 3B
Bonifacio RF 1-2
Freeman 1B 0-2
Garcia 3B 1-2, R
Lalli DH 0-1, BB
Olivera LF 1-1, R, 2 RBI, HR
Peterson SS 1-2
Austudillo C 0-1
Brignac 2B 0-1

Gant RHP 4 IP, 0 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K


vs

Greene

[bravesfanMatt]

I think we are going to like this Ender guy..

[zbhargrove]

I don't see how we trade Ender anymore after seeing what he's done this Spring. I think he's turning into more of a long term piece that's a building block of the team now.

[UNCBlue012]

Don't look now, but Jace's average is at .293. He's been great the last week!

[50PoundHead]

Don't look now, but Jace's average is at .293. He's been great the last week!

They've been moving him around so much that it had to be a little distracting even in the relatively relaxed atmosphere of spring training.

[50PoundHead]

Boom goes the dynamite (or at least a firecracker).

[zbhargrove]

Good to see a homer from Olivera... if he can stay healthy, I'm getting excited about his potential.

[clvclv]

Wonder if we're seeing the #5 starter in Gant while Folty makes a start or two at Gwinnett to build up a little more stamina with either Chacin or Norris tossed away as soon as he's ready.

[mossy]

I didn't see all of Grilli's outing, but he threw a nice slider to end the inning, and his arm looks live.

[zbhargrove]

I didn't see all of Grilli's outing, but he threw a nice slider to end the inning, and his arm looks live.

Other game... but he struggled early. Look a bit rusty at first and then settled. Still hope we start with him as setup and Viz as closer. I think its good for us to see if he can be a dominant closer for a whole year since he's likely the future.

[Tapate50]

Gant is getting hard to discount at this point

[CJ9]

I hope we don't make Gant a long reliever to start the year. Use him as a starter in the big leagues or at AAA. No need for him to waste away as a long man until we get a better idea of who he is.

[nsacpi]

I like Gant, but I don't like the idea of of skipping a guy from less than half a season of AA to the majors. Unless they are an uber prospect like Heyward or Andruw. And even with those kinds of guys it would not make sense in a season you are punting.

We did not do Bethancourt any favors last year by giving him a big role on the ML team without his having established a baseline of success in AAA.

[50PoundHead]

I like Gant, but I don't like the idea of of skipping a guy from less than half a season of AA to the majors. Unless they are an uber prospect like Heyward or Andruw. And even with those kinds of guys it would not make sense in a season you are punting.

We did not do Bethancourt any favors last year by giving him a big role on the ML team without his having established a baseline of success in AAA.

I may be a little old-fashioned in my approach, but I agree. At the risk of being vetro-centic, I'd rather go north with a veteran and allow him to pitch himself off the team as opposed to jumping a guy who may not be ready and then may yo-yo back and forth between the bigs and AAA (or even AA).

[clvclv]

I like Gant, but I don't like the idea of of skipping a guy from less than half a season of AA to the majors. Unless they are an uber prospect like Heyward or Andruw. And even with those kinds of guys it would not make sense in a season you are punting.

We did not do Bethancourt any favors last year by giving him a big role on the ML team without his having established a baseline of success in AAA.

In this situation, it actually would make some sense if you consider...

He likely doesn't fit as a long-term rotation piece, and the guys you're more interested in tinkering with service-time clocks are Blair, Jenkins, Newcomb, and Sims. So...

Why not give him a shot since he's pitched so well? It sends the message that JS wasn't kidding when he said service-time considerations aren't going to stand in anyone's way as far as the brass is concerned. Gant has been better than those other four guys all spring. If he flops before June, you'll have Folty ready soon with Perez on standby plus Banuelos, Jenkins, and Blair all potentially ready by then.

I just don't see the harm in giving him a handful of April starts while he's on a roll. If he stumbles, send him back down. If he doesn't, you've got a great situation even earlier than expected - you can begin considering the returns you might get for him, Jenkins, or Sims sooner.

[nsacpi]

He likely doesn't fit as a long-term rotation piece, and the guys you're more interested in tinkering with service-time clocks are Blair, Jenkins, Newcomb, and Sims. So...

Imo Gant's chances of being a long-term rotation piece are about as good as the guys you listed. He's obviously figured out a few things in the past year that make him a much more interesting prospect than was the case a year ago.

[clvclv]

Imo Gant's chances of being a long-term rotation piece are about as good as the guys you listed. He's obviously figured out a few things in the past year that make him a much more interesting prospect than was the case a year ago.

Which makes this situation that much more awesome IMO - if the brass and our scouts are more sold on him than Sims or Jenkins, you can start floating them in talks for bats. Like I said, I just don't think a handful of April starts can hurt him. He's arguably been the hottest Pitcher in our system since he came over, so reward him. If you let him make the April 12th start and he bombs, Folty should be ready by the time the 5th starter is needed again or you could use Perez if he needs another week.

We're in a position where you should be able to go start-to-start with whomever the #5 is at this point. If Gant keeps pitching well and Folty gets ready, toss whichever one of Chacin or Norris is pitching the worst. If Manny has a few good starts for Gwinnett, toss the other one at that point. You'll be approaching June by then and can save face by holding Blair back a little longer to manipulate his clock by saying we need to find out about Folty and Banuelos before he can be promoted.

I think we'd all love to at least get something for Norris and/or Jhoulys if possible, but it's not likely going to be enough to make it worth leaving Folty or Manny in AAA any longer than we absolutely have to - the logjam is coming sooner rather than later, so they're going to have to start deciding who they want to keep and who they want to deal sooner than they wanted IMO.