It's official: Aaron Blair being recalled to make his first MLB start

[50PoundHead]

On a good side, I do really like Castro so far.

At the very least, he's showing himself to be a solid three-position IF guy who plays a decent SS. Nice guy to have around. He and Jace Peterson could be valuable cogs when Swanson and Albies take the MI starting jobs in the next couple of years.

 

[nsacpi]

At the very least, he's showing himself to be a solid three-position IF guy who plays a decent SS. Nice guy to have around. He and Jace Peterson could be valuable cogs when Swanson and Albies take the MI starting jobs in the next couple of years.

Yup. I had the same thought about Castro and Jace being nice bench players. One lefty, one righty. Can both play all over. Good defenders.

 

[50PoundHead]

Yup. I had the same thought about Castro and Jace being nice bench players. One lefty, one righty. Can both play all over. Good defenders.

And when you have guys like Castro and Peterson, you can afford to have a couple of "bat only" guys on the bench.

 

[clvclv]

That is correct.

When the Cubs suck they might have a few thousand unsold seats per game. The Braves in a similar spot are lucky to sell half the tickets for any given game.

The Braves are lucky to sell half the tickets for any given game - when they're a contender.

There ya go - fixed it for ya.

 

[smootness]

We can save more future money by holding him back a couple weeks, but we can save even MORE money by holding him back until after the first couple weeks of NEXT season...and then we can save even more by holding him back longer than that...

I get the concerns, but at some point you have to call a guy up when he's ready. I would much prefer our FO to make decisions like this based on what is best for the prospect than what might be best for payroll 3-5 years from now. I want them to consider that, but everyone acts like it's an obvious black and white decision to save more money, and it's not.

 

[zitothebrave]

And when you have guys like Castro and Peterson, you can afford to have a couple of "bat only" guys on the bench.

Given the constraints of a NL bench, having 2 IFs who're defense first doesn't make sense. Now if one is super utilities who can play CF as well that's a different story. What it boils down to is you have 5 slots. 1 has to be used for a backup catcher, 1 has to be used for a backup SS, 1 has to be used for a backup OF. Leaves 2 spots on the bench. Traditionally that's where your bat only guy comes into play, your PH specialist. Then you have one slot left, do you utilize that on Jace Peterson? Or would you rather have a true PR specialist or another backup OF? or at least someone who can bring a little thunder.

 

[nsacpi]

Given the constraints of a NL bench, having 2 IFs who're defense first doesn't make sense. Now if one is super utilities who can play CF as well that's a different story. What it boils down to is you have 5 slots. 1 has to be used for a backup catcher, 1 has to be used for a backup SS, 1 has to be used for a backup OF. Leaves 2 spots on the bench. Traditionally that's where your bat only guy comes into play, your PH specialist. Then you have one slot left, do you utilize that on Jace Peterson? Or would you rather have a true PR specialist or another backup OF? or at least someone who can bring a little thunder.

Jace has been playing the OF and with a little more experience there has the tools be a decent backup in CF. Between him and Castro the defensive spectrum (except for catcher) is covered. The other two bench guys should be there mostly for their bats. One lefty, one righty. Doesn't matter what they do defensively.

Also if our future starting outfield has two guys who can play CF, there is less need for a backup at that position on the bench.

 

[50PoundHead]

Given the constraints of a NL bench, having 2 IFs who're defense first doesn't make sense. Now if one is super utilities who can play CF as well that's a different story. What it boils down to is you have 5 slots. 1 has to be used for a backup catcher, 1 has to be used for a backup SS, 1 has to be used for a backup OF. Leaves 2 spots on the bench. Traditionally that's where your bat only guy comes into play, your PH specialist. Then you have one slot left, do you utilize that on Jace Peterson? Or would you rather have a true PR specialist or another backup OF? or at least someone who can bring a little thunder.

5 slots. C. 2 IF. 2 OF (one who can play some 1B). Peterson appears to be very capable of playing the OF and maybe he gets some time in CF as the season wears on. I think one of your back-up OFs is a bat only guy (someone like Brandon Moss) and the other is someone who can log some time in CF. I think Peterson can be a mid-.600 OPS guy with some speed and versatility and I think that fits.

 

[chop2chip]

So, it looks like the Super 2 fear was a bit pre-mature?

 

[KB21]

Blair has some mechanical issues he needs to work on, so he is getting sent down for a bit to do that. Straight from his dad, Aaron is throwing across his body which is causing his fastball to pull to the glove side or run to the arm side.

 

[Braves1976]

Blair has some mechanical issues he needs to work on, so he is getting sent down for a bit to do that. Straight from his dad, Aaron is throwing across his body which is causing his fastball to pull to the glove side or run to the arm side.

I knew he looked off but I wasn't sure what the issue was, hopefully he can spend a few weeks or so in AAA and get that worked out and come back strong to stay.

I also want Gant to get the next shot to fill his spot in the rotation.

 

[GovClintonTyree]

Blair has some mechanical issues he needs to work on, so he is getting sent down for a bit to do that. Straight from his dad, Aaron is throwing across his body which is causing his fastball to pull to the glove side or run to the arm side.

Great post, KB. Thanks for the info.