Braves Sign Cuban

[rico43]

... Bartolo Colon made one more start for the Twins than he did for the Braves (14-13), going 4-6 with a 5.50 ERA.

... Andrew Albers, virtually given away to the Mariners after going 12-3 for Gwinnett, went 5-1 for Seattle with a save in nine games (six starts)

... Shae Simmons came off the 60-day DL for the Mariners in September (elbow) and appeared in eight games the final month

... The Braves have signed pitcher Daysbel Hernandez to a minor league contract. He is a right-hander, 21-year-old Cuban. Some reports said he was an outfielder, but what few stats available on him from Cuba indicate he only pitched on the island

... Roger McDowell spent 2017 as pitching coach for the Baltimore Orioles. Their team ERA was 4.96; only Detroit 5.36 was worse in AL.

... The Braves have never had the eighth pick in the draft before.

... Ronald Acuna struck out 144 times in 557 at-bats, which was only fourth-highest in the farm system. The big whiffers: Connor Lein, 160 in just 374 at-bats (plus a .187 average); Xavier Avery, 159 in just 371 at-bats (Georgia native, former Orioles No.1 ); and Braxton Davidson (155 in just 362 at-bats, walking only 66 times, hitting .213). AAA vet Sean Kazmar, who hit .284, struck out only 40 times in 363 at-bats

... Brett Cumberland was hit by a pitch 41 times. Marcus Mooney at Rome was hit 25 times; Ray-Patrick Didder was hit 21 times after being hit 39 times in 2016.

... In his minor league time, Ozzie Albies stole 21 bases and was thrown out only two times. Ronald Acuna led the Braves system with 44 steals, but was thrown out 20 times.

... Touki Toussaint, Tyler Pike, Joey Wentz, Luiz Gohara, Bryse Wilson, Ian Anderson, Sean Newcomb and Lucas Sims all struck out better than a batter an inning. Surprisingly, Kolby Allard and Mike Soroka did not.

... Among the relievers, Thomas Burrows struck out 92 in 66 innings; Adam McCreery struck out 92 in 60 innings; Jacob Webb struck out 74 in 65 innings; Corbin Clouse, 72 in 57 innings; Ryan Lawlor, 61 in 47 innings.

[rico43]

Really hoping that someone qualified as a baserunning coach is added to the staff in 2018.

[clvclv]

... Bartolo Colon made one more start for the Twins than he did for the Braves (14-13), going 4-6 with a 5.50 ERA.

... Andrew Albers, virtually given away to the Mariners after going 12-3 for Gwinnett, went 5-1 for Seattle with a save in nine games (six starts)

... Shae Simmons came off the 60-day DL for the Mariners in September (elbow) and appeared in eight games the final month

... The Braves have signed pitcher Daysbel Hernandez to a minor league contract. He is a right-hander, 21-year-old Cuban. Some reports said he was an outfielder, but what few stats available on him from Cuba indicate he only pitched on the island

... Roger McDowell spent 2017 as pitching coach for the Baltimore Orioles. Their team ERA was 4.96; only Detroit 5.36 was worse in AL.

... The Braves have never had the eighth pick in the draft before.

... Ronald Acuna struck out 144 times in 557 at-bats, which was only fourth-highest in the farm system. The big whiffers: Connor Lein, 160 in just 374 at-bats (plus a .187 average); Xavier Avery, 159 in just 371 at-bats (Georgia native, former Orioles No.1 ); and Braxton Davidson (155 in just 362 at-bats, walking only 66 times, hitting .213). AAA vet Sean Kazmar, who hit .284, struck out only 40 times in 363 at-bats

... Brett Cumberland was hit by a pitch 41 times. Marcus Mooney at Rome was hit 25 times; Ray-Patrick Didder was hit 21 times after being hit 39 times in 2016.

... In his minor league time, Ozzie Albies stole 21 bases and was thrown out only two times. Ronald Acuna led the Braves system with 44 steals, but was thrown out 20 times.

... Touki Toussaint, Tyler Pike, Joey Wentz, Luiz Gohara, Bryse Wilson, Ian Anderson, Sean Newcomb and Lucas Sims all struck out better than a batter an inning. Surprisingly, Kolby Allard and Mike Soroka did not.

... Among the relievers, Thomas Burrows struck out 92 in 66 innings; Adam McCreery struck out 92 in 60 innings; Jacob Webb struck out 74 in 65 innings; Corbin Clouse, 72 in 57 innings; Ryan Lawlor, 61 in 47 innings.

The exact reason I found it rather odd that they're talking about adding TWO relievers - I could see one, but between those guys and the fact that we're soon going to have enough young arms at the MLB level that someone's going to have to transition to the pen if somebody's not traded, you'd think that money would be better spent on extensions or elsewhere.