MONDAY MINORS FINAL 5/7/18: Riley, others on move; Javier finds morning glory

[Tapate50]

Touki has a 2.92 FIP this year at AA with an okay walk rate (and about 13 k's per 9)

In terms of surprise call-up guys, he's towards the top of the list. I could absolutely see him breaking in with the bullpen in the second half.

One of the guys I had in mind when i say I don’t think we will have to have a high end BP guy at the deadline. We have arms

[thethe]

The early success of Touki/Anderson/Wilson are a great sign of being able to keep the pipeline filled.

AA could get real crafty and trade a guy like Folty/Newk if they have a tremendous rest of the season for a boatload of prospects who are close to major league ready and keep the window opened for longer. There are so many options to fillout the rotation for the next 5 years.

[Russ2dollas]

That’s probably been the biggest leap, the biggest question answered, even more than the initial “long swing”/bat-speed concerns.

This shows that klaw is willing to change based on data.

I felt like the consensus was he moved from no way could he be 3B to maybe an average 3B. Now it seems like avg is a reasonable projection and maybe plus. That is great news.

I'd like to see similar projections on the swing and approach.

Nobody is saying Riley is Dustin Peterson. The question is if Riley is worth getting really excited about and/or passing on a free agent this off season.

[Enscheff]

"The Scoop: When the season began, the Braves had three positions where the team’s 2019 plans were unclear. Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Albies and Dansby Swanson were set in the infield. Ronald Acuña and Ender Inciarte were going to be two of the outfielders. But third base, one outfield spot and catcher were wide open. Riley, who was just promoted to Triple-A, has played well enough that third base is not really a question mark for 2019 anymore. Riley’s .393/.394/.677 stat line in a month at Double-A this season is even more notable when you remember that he is the youngest hitter in the league. (JJ)"

Can't remember here who was asking for non-brave source to pimp Riley. Here you go

Pretty sure it was KLaw (terrible prospect guy) who came out with the bat speed ding on Riley. Pretty much no other prospect guy agreed with him, and all of them determined it was a swing length issue. If it wasn't exposed in AA, I don't think it's very likely to be exposed in AAA. It will likely take MLB heaters to expose the issue if it's going to be an issue.

Adding a RHed Jake Lamb to the lineup for league minimum would be huge, especially considering the Braves will probably have less money to spend than we had originally assumed.

[chop2chip]

Pretty sure it was KLaw (terrible prospect guy) who came out with the bat speed ding on Riley. Pretty much no other prospect guy agreed with him, and all of them determined it was a swing length issue. If it wasn't exposed in AA, I don't think it's very likely to be exposed in AAA. It will likely take MLB heaters to expose the issue if it's going to be an issue..

Do we have data w.r.t. the average fastball velocities by level?

I wouldn't at all be surprised if AA is close to (maybe higher?) than the major leagues due to the negative correlation between age and velocity, though that's likely entirely offset by selection bias (i.e., pitchers that throw harder are more likely to make it to the big leagues).

[Enscheff]

Do we have data w.r.t. the average fastball velocities by level?

I wouldn't at all be surprised if AA is close to (maybe higher?) than the major leagues due to the negative correlation between age and velocity, though that's likely entirely offset by selection bias (i.e., pitchers that throw harder are more likely to make it to the big leagues).

You could probably dig it up, but my statement was based off an educated guess about the types of pitchers in AA vs the guys toiling away in AAA.

Maybe Riley won't able to guess fastball as easily in AAA, so who knows. I would be surprised if he struggles though.

[sturg33]

Gohara scratched tonight.

Speculation is a call up for bullpen work

[SJ24]

Gohara scratched tonight.

Speculation is a call up for bullpen work

This is huge.

The entire country of Brazil has this young man's back.

No pressure, kid!

[msstate7]

Gohara scratched tonight.

Speculation is a call up for bullpen work

Why would we do that? If his velocity was really down that much last start, this is a bad move

[Garmel]

I hope Gohara will eventually work himself into shape. If not he's headed to the bullpen permanently.

[msstate7]

Pache 1-1, 2b

[Orphan Black]

Riley with a single in his first AAA AB

[SJ24]

Pache 2-2

Riley 1-1. Single in his first AAA at-bat

[thethe]

So Riley man - Where are we spending money in 2019?

[EstebanBugatti]

So Riley man - Where are we spending money in 2019?

"What money? The Braves are broke for the next decade!"- Liberty Media Execs...Probably.

[Garmel]

Riley strikes out on his second at-bat.

[thethe]

Riley strikes out on his second at-bat.

Good thing we have Camargo

[Hulavol]

Bryce Harper

[msstate7]

Bacon...
2.0 ip 0 h 0 er 0 bb 0 k
Season era = 0.79

[UNCBlue012]

The amount of quality depth in our minor league system is just insane.

Oh, and I’m insanely excited about Touki.