GDT #59, 6/6/14: Braves (Teheran) vs. Diamondbacks (McCarthy); 9:40 EDT

[nsacpi]

I love that people continue to underrate the Braves recent prospects. So many people look so stupid on guys like Gattis/Simmons/Wood and soon to be TLs.

Teheran too. There were a lot of doubters two years ago.

[thethe]

I'll never understand why people were down on Teheran. Guy destroyed AAA as a 20 year old. THat doesn't happen all that often.

[rico43]

I assume everyone heard Chip give the wrong score when they signed off last night (4-2!). That ought to lead to a benching or something.

[thewupk]

Heyward hates baseball.

Yeah. Imagine how good he would be if he cared even a little.

[yeezus]

I'll never understand why people were down on Teheran. Guy destroyed AAA as a 20 year old. THat doesn't happen all that often.

I think it was mostly a few things:
1) His K rate when he destroyed AAA wasn't that good.
2) The following year he really struggled between the majors and minors (albeit because he was working on new things, but still, it gave me pause).

You never know with pitching prospects, either. I was iffy on him a few years ago. After last he got on a roll last year though, he was nasty. And he's even better this year. Guy has absolutely everything to be a STUD. Told my buddy in work before the season started he'd finish top 5 in Cy Young this year, and that looks to be about correct.

[AerchAngel]

I assume everyone heard Chip give the wrong score when they signed off last night (4-2!). That ought to lead to a benching or something.

His late grandpa is rubbing off on him. May Harry Caray rest in peace, the one I enjoyed listening to when growing up via WGN.

[cajunrevenge]

Teheran too. There were a lot of doubters two years ago.

When you put up a 5 era your second time around AAA your going to see your stock plummet. Teheran was aggresively ranked every year before that. Every fan base thinks their prospects are underrated by the "experts". The only way to look smart as prospector is to not make projections and just talk in hindsight. Personally my favorite is Sickels at minorleagueball.com. he has done a good job of predicting the success of Beachy/Gattis/La Stella.

[Gary82]

I assume everyone heard Chip give the wrong score when they signed off last night (4-2!). That ought to lead to a benching or something.

Yeah, Brian Jordan can fill in for him.

[Gary82]

I'll never understand why people were down on Teheran. Guy destroyed AAA as a 20 year old. THat doesn't happen all that often.

You must have been in a coma the year he stunk up AAA. I wasn't ready to give up on him, but I was concerned about his potential.

[gilesfan]

The Braves tinkered with Teherans delivery and it destroyed his change up, rendering him completely incompetent vs lefties and also hurt his velocity. The concern was that if something didn't get done, he would never amount to much as a starter. Either Teheran gave up on the changes (which is what I think happened) or he figured out how to make the new delivery work with his change up.

[gilesfan]

I love that people continue to underrate the Braves recent prospects. So many people look so stupid on guys like Gattis/Simmons/Wood and soon to be TLs.

What did anybody say about Simmons? Was there a person alive that said he wasn't a great defender?

[gilesfan]

La Stella is doing what everyone would expect (except crazy high BaABIP at the moment). Singles hitter that doesn't strike out, no speed, no power, below average defense. This from fangraphs sums him up:

We know that Tommy La Stella has two thirds of what he needs in order to show a good batting average. But if you want to know his downside, look at Marco Scutaro. Scutaro is elite when it comes to contact, has good plate discipline, but his lack of power has kept his career batting average under .280.

For the Braves, a .280-hitting second baseman with patience would be an upgrade, no matter how much power or speed he has.

[thewupk]

La Stella is doing what everyone would expect (except crazy high BaABIP at the moment). Singles hitter that doesn't strike out, no speed, no power, below average defense. This from fangraphs sums him up:

We know that Tommy La Stella has two thirds of what he needs in order to show a good batting average. But if you want to know his downside, look at Marco Scutaro. Scutaro is elite when it comes to contact, has good plate discipline, but his lack of power has kept his career batting average under .280.

For the Braves, a .280-hitting second baseman with patience would be an upgrade, no matter how much power or speed he has.

It's going to depend on where La Stella levels out at in regards to his K rate. Scutaro isn't a bad comparison but for his career he has never had his K rate below 10% until the last 3 years. And during that time frame his average is 301. I think La Stella will walk more than Scutaro but the other comparisons are valid. He looks like he makes solid contact rate and if his K rate stays under 10 I think he will be close to a 300 hitter in the majors. If it creeps into the low teens he won't have the power to make up for it and his avg will slide into the 260-280 range.