Spring Training Thread

Wright's stuff looked good. couldn't spot his fastball and got down 3-0 then finally grooved one down the middle for the homer. the single was chopped right off the plate so no way Riley was throwing him out.. all his breaking stuff looked crisp.
 
msstate7 said:
Braves have a really good hitting lineup.
Braves have a really good pitching staff.
I think the braves feel defense at ss is much more important than hitting
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I think this might be it.

I'm not as sold on the line up being great outside of SS. LF and DH worry me. In theory that should be the easiest places to fix on a roster, but we seem to have the curse of Ron Gant on us in LF.

But if the team feels like they get avg production from LF and DH and everyone else averages out to their projections, then I can see punting on SS offense for SS defense. You hit Shewmake 9 and maybe he outhits Max Fried.

Another option is that they feel Grissom isn't quite ready. If you think Grissom potentially is a real piece, then protecting his service time and his development would make some sense. Or they could want Grissom to earn the job vs being given to him and maybe they feel he hasn't earned it.

Shewmake is not a guy. If he plays we are looking at Rafeal Belliard at SS based on what he's done in pro ball. Maybe he is back to his college approach and he can have a great hit tool and no power and get to a 300-325 OBP. He could be a 1-2 WAR guy if he has a great glove and isn't a total embarrassment in the 9 hole.

I haven't seen Grissom at SS. It sounds like he had one bad error. Sounds like his arm has looked ok. Most people seem to be questioning his range.

Do we think the Braves are looking at deciding between:
1. Above avg defense and 600-650 OPS bat
2. Below avg defense and a 750 OPS bat

If so, I'd probably do option 1 and hope Grissom develops in triple A to avg defense and/or a 800-850 OPS bat.
 
bravesfanMatt said:
Wright's stuff looked good. couldn't spot his fastball and got down 3-0 then finally grooved one down the middle for the homer. the single was chopped right off the plate so no way Riley was throwing him out.. all his breaking stuff looked crisp.
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I thought the same. I'm not concerned about his first start as long as he looks healthy, and he did.
 
Outside of the 2 homers and the double by Rasorryio. I don’t think a ball had an EV over 100.

And how does a runner standing on second not score on a double to the wall in right center field.

Hint: Ozuna is a horrible base runner.
 
I will say this - Eddie looks really good. He's hitting the ball with authority and consistently getting to balls I haven't seen him get to since his Minny days (or the WS run, at least).
 
I think they gave Shewmake a few games to see how he does with consistently playing... I still think Grissom is the guy.
 
Olson has been a beast this spring. He will have an MVP season imo and will benefit a ton from the new shift rules.
 
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