Kyle Davies

With the Braves likely to bring up Kyle Davies soon, most likely for a May 24 start against the Mets, lets take a look at the man who would replace John Thomson:

First things first: he's a Decatur GA boy, which also happens to be the home of your intrepid correspondent. The Braves picked him in the 4th round of the 2001 draft straight out of Stockbridge HS.

Career minor league stats are here:

His 2005 numbers are here:

He has consistently posted ERAs in the mid-2's in A and AA, striking out more than one batter per inning at each stop, with impressively low hit ratios. His prospect status got its biggest boost at AA Greenville last year -- 40 hits vs. 73 Ks in 62 innings as a 20-year-old is outstanding. The 9 HRs were a bit high, though, and may have portended a struggle against tougher competition.

He's had 9 starts with Richmond so far, and has posted a ~5 ERA, giving up a hit per inning and walking a batter every other inning. He's still getting his strikeouts, so it's evident that he has the stuff to succeed.

Bottom line: Davies appears to have what it takes to earn his keep with the big club, but he's not quite ready. I'm looking forward to seeing him -- but only briefly this season.

UPDATE: Looks like Hampton will
miss his next start, meaning Davies major league debut will probably come against the World Champion Red Sox at Fenway Park this Saturday. Good luck, kid!

UPDATE #2: To get back at M Norman for messing up my earlier post, I offer this juicy tidbit in reference to one of his earlier missives.