Brave-O-Matic Midseason Grades (Part 2)
Catcher
Johnny Estrada -- Last year's production was largely the result of his .314 BA. The hits aren't falling with the same regularity this year, and I think his present line of .278/.320/.404 probably represents his true level of ability. There aren't any great NL catchers right now, so he rises near the top almost by default. His throwing has improved greatly -- up to 36% CS rate from 19% last season. No errors and only 2 PB so far. I wish his contract was a year longer -- we could use him for one more season splitting time with McCann, but he'll likely seek (and deserve) a multi-year contract elsewhere. Grade: B
Eddie Perez -- Organizational loyalty and the perceived need for more seasoning among our minor league catchers explained Eddie's continued presence on the roster at the beginning of the season. McCann's performance has kept Perez stowed on the DL, where he'll probably stay until September. Grade: Inc. (unlike his playing days)
Brian McCann -- Our top catching prospect was promoted when Estrada got leveled by Darin Erstad, and was kept in favor of Brayan Pena when Johnny returned. He's shown immediate power (albeit in just 30 AB), and has earned the John Smoltz seal of approval as his personal catcher of late. That means he stays. Grade: B+
First base
Adam LaRoche -- His rate stats (.263/.324/.451) are a tick below what he hit last year, but he's second on the team in RBI with 47, largely due to staying healthy and hiting well with RISP (.308/.380/.508). He's very slow, of course, but still decent defensively. He tends to stray too far to his right to field grounders, but I haven't seen it come back to haunt us -- so far so good. We were severely disappointed in LaRoche at this time last season, so if he repeats his second half performance from last year (.302/.368/.576), we will be quite pleased. Grade: B-
Julio Franco -- What can you say? The first player in major league history deserving of HOF induction based on general coolness continues to defy expectations. It's not enough, either, to say that he's playing well for a 46-year old -- he's just plain producing once again. He's hitting .278/.338/.476, he's 4-4 in SBs, and still gets the job done in the field. Also one of the top pinch-hitters in the league. Grade: A
Second base
Marcus Giles -- As usual, he's missed some time with various injuries, but has avoided catastrophe so far. He hit poorly in May (.259/.316/.426) but regained his stroke in June (.302/.410/.479) to somewhat regain his 2003 form. He's worked hard to become a decent fielder, and nobody hangs in tougher on the double play. If he can stay healthy, he should continue to produce, though the promise of greatness he flashed two years ago is beginning to fade. Grade: B
Pete Orr -- Every bench needs a guy like this. Orr, 26, has never been considered a top prospect, so you know he's got to be happy with his role on the team. Reserve players must love playing for Cox, as he's found a way to get Orr into 62 games already, and Orr has been a real asset as the last guy off the bench. It must be said that his success at the plate (.298/.333/.404) has almost everything to do with singles dropping in -- he could go Lockhart on us at any time. Nick Green was a better fielder. Still, Orr's fun to watch -- all hustle, all the time. Grade: B+
Shortstop
Rafael Furcal -- Along with Andruw, the most polarizing player on the team. With Andruw on an epic tear, Raffy is now the designated love-him-or-hate-him Brave. The haters have a point -- Furcal is terribly undisciplined at the plate. There's no reason a 5'9" leadoff hitter shouldn't walk at least 80-85 times per season, and an OBP of .298 is flatly unacceptable. Still, he grades out higher now than he would have 2 weeks ago, when his batting line bottomed out at .220/.272/.343. He's now at .240/.298/.367 and, hopefully, rising. Now for credit where credit is due: he's stolen 28 bases with an 85% success rate, and his fielding has never been better. By all available metrics he looks like the Gold Glove frontrunner, and it's an aspect of his game we're sure to miss when he departs after the season. Grade: C+ (batting - D+, fielding - A)
Wilson Betemit -- Betemit's story is well-chronicled, the tarnished prospect given one last shot and finally (thus far) makes good. His hitting approach, which admittedly has faltered a bit lately, has been something of a revelation. He's shown good patience and a willingness to go with the pitch -- the exact opposite of what you might have expected. He's doing his best to salvage a decent career. That said, our groundball pitching staff may be in serious trouble if we go into next season with a Chipper-Betemit left side of the infield next season. Grade: A-
Third base
Chipper Jones -- Chipper began the season as though he'd read reports of his imminent decline -- on May 16 he was hitting a cool .333/.464/.631. Then the injuries started to crop up, diminishing his effectiveness until finally ending up on the DL until sometime after the All-Star break. He's avoiding surgery, but it remains to be seen how effective he'll be once he returns, and indeed, how long he'll be able to continue playing this season. A reasonably healthy Chipper will doubtless bolster a lineup that's been hitting over its' collective head lately, but reports (including in this space) of the team's demise after the loss of Chipper were greatly exaggerated. I'll continue to maintain that he'll have "DH - Angels" on his resume before it's all said and done. Grade: Inc. (B+ while he was healthy)
Other infielders
Andy Marte -- Showed decent power and fielding range in his brief debut. He's probably ready now, but Betemit's good play will likely relegate Marte to Richmond for the rest of the season. He'll be on the field somewhere on Opening Day 2006.
Brayan Pena -- A hot start with the bat earned him a promotion when Perez was injured -- unfortunately, he hit poorly and gave no indication that he can handle major league catching duties. With McCann and Saltalamacchia, the Braves future at catcher seems set, so Pena will likely become a AAA nomad.
Left field
Kelly Johnson -- I admit that I'd never heard of Johnson before this season, and he wasn't listed in our top tier of prospects. But he began the season strongly at Richmond, and was tabbed over McCarthy (who's now hitting very poorly) when the Raul Mondesi Experience left town for good. He started 1-30 (as you may have heard about once or twice) -- since then, he's Ted Williams (.353/.457/.647) over his last 81 PAs. That won't continue, of course, but I submit that anyone who can put together two weeks like that is almost guaranteed to have a future. Grade: A- (would be higher, but the 1-30 counts, too)
Center field
Andruw Jones -- He's always been streaky, but this is ridiculous:
4/5 - 5/3 (26 G) .234/.308/.394 10 R, 3 HR, 12 RBI
5/4 - 5/20 (14 G) .396/.448/.981 16 R, 8 HR, 16 RBI
5/21 - 6/8 (18 G) .134/.171/.179 4 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI
6/10 - 7/1 (21 G) .397/.484/.987 17 R, 14 HR, 28 RBI
Fortuitously, his recent play has coincided with Chipper's injury. We trail the Nationals by 4 games, but without Andruw's production it's safe to say the deficit would have been twice as large. Taken all together, Andruw is having an All-Star season, and has nosed his way into the MVP hunt (or would have, if not for Derrek Lee's sick season). As you may know, he can play a little center field. Grade: A
Right field
Ryan Langerhans -- Has gained more playing time as the season has progressed, and has been fairly mediocre (.247/.330/.414). Mediocrity, of course, representing a massive upgrade from the contributions of Jordan and Mondesi. He appears to have been well-schooled -- his batting stroke looks simple and repeatable, and he exhibits a strong arm and precise form in the outfield. Lack of present competition means his job seems safe for the rest of the season, but in the long run he looks like a decent fourth outfielder. Grade: C
Brian Jordan -- Does one thing a week to help the team. A timely hit, a decent catch, excellent head cheerleader. He's had a fine career and seems like a good guy, but he's obviously through, and I look forward to future success in his efforts to help rebuild south Fulton County. Grade: D
Raul Mondesi -- Remember him? Believe it or not, he was not the worst player in 1991-2005 Braves history. Four words: Ken Caminiti, first baseman. Grade: F
Johnny Estrada -- Last year's production was largely the result of his .314 BA. The hits aren't falling with the same regularity this year, and I think his present line of .278/.320/.404 probably represents his true level of ability. There aren't any great NL catchers right now, so he rises near the top almost by default. His throwing has improved greatly -- up to 36% CS rate from 19% last season. No errors and only 2 PB so far. I wish his contract was a year longer -- we could use him for one more season splitting time with McCann, but he'll likely seek (and deserve) a multi-year contract elsewhere. Grade: B
Eddie Perez -- Organizational loyalty and the perceived need for more seasoning among our minor league catchers explained Eddie's continued presence on the roster at the beginning of the season. McCann's performance has kept Perez stowed on the DL, where he'll probably stay until September. Grade: Inc. (unlike his playing days)
Brian McCann -- Our top catching prospect was promoted when Estrada got leveled by Darin Erstad, and was kept in favor of Brayan Pena when Johnny returned. He's shown immediate power (albeit in just 30 AB), and has earned the John Smoltz seal of approval as his personal catcher of late. That means he stays. Grade: B+
First base
Adam LaRoche -- His rate stats (.263/.324/.451) are a tick below what he hit last year, but he's second on the team in RBI with 47, largely due to staying healthy and hiting well with RISP (.308/.380/.508). He's very slow, of course, but still decent defensively. He tends to stray too far to his right to field grounders, but I haven't seen it come back to haunt us -- so far so good. We were severely disappointed in LaRoche at this time last season, so if he repeats his second half performance from last year (.302/.368/.576), we will be quite pleased. Grade: B-
Julio Franco -- What can you say? The first player in major league history deserving of HOF induction based on general coolness continues to defy expectations. It's not enough, either, to say that he's playing well for a 46-year old -- he's just plain producing once again. He's hitting .278/.338/.476, he's 4-4 in SBs, and still gets the job done in the field. Also one of the top pinch-hitters in the league. Grade: A
Second base
Marcus Giles -- As usual, he's missed some time with various injuries, but has avoided catastrophe so far. He hit poorly in May (.259/.316/.426) but regained his stroke in June (.302/.410/.479) to somewhat regain his 2003 form. He's worked hard to become a decent fielder, and nobody hangs in tougher on the double play. If he can stay healthy, he should continue to produce, though the promise of greatness he flashed two years ago is beginning to fade. Grade: B
Pete Orr -- Every bench needs a guy like this. Orr, 26, has never been considered a top prospect, so you know he's got to be happy with his role on the team. Reserve players must love playing for Cox, as he's found a way to get Orr into 62 games already, and Orr has been a real asset as the last guy off the bench. It must be said that his success at the plate (.298/.333/.404) has almost everything to do with singles dropping in -- he could go Lockhart on us at any time. Nick Green was a better fielder. Still, Orr's fun to watch -- all hustle, all the time. Grade: B+
Shortstop
Rafael Furcal -- Along with Andruw, the most polarizing player on the team. With Andruw on an epic tear, Raffy is now the designated love-him-or-hate-him Brave. The haters have a point -- Furcal is terribly undisciplined at the plate. There's no reason a 5'9" leadoff hitter shouldn't walk at least 80-85 times per season, and an OBP of .298 is flatly unacceptable. Still, he grades out higher now than he would have 2 weeks ago, when his batting line bottomed out at .220/.272/.343. He's now at .240/.298/.367 and, hopefully, rising. Now for credit where credit is due: he's stolen 28 bases with an 85% success rate, and his fielding has never been better. By all available metrics he looks like the Gold Glove frontrunner, and it's an aspect of his game we're sure to miss when he departs after the season. Grade: C+ (batting - D+, fielding - A)
Wilson Betemit -- Betemit's story is well-chronicled, the tarnished prospect given one last shot and finally (thus far) makes good. His hitting approach, which admittedly has faltered a bit lately, has been something of a revelation. He's shown good patience and a willingness to go with the pitch -- the exact opposite of what you might have expected. He's doing his best to salvage a decent career. That said, our groundball pitching staff may be in serious trouble if we go into next season with a Chipper-Betemit left side of the infield next season. Grade: A-
Third base
Chipper Jones -- Chipper began the season as though he'd read reports of his imminent decline -- on May 16 he was hitting a cool .333/.464/.631. Then the injuries started to crop up, diminishing his effectiveness until finally ending up on the DL until sometime after the All-Star break. He's avoiding surgery, but it remains to be seen how effective he'll be once he returns, and indeed, how long he'll be able to continue playing this season. A reasonably healthy Chipper will doubtless bolster a lineup that's been hitting over its' collective head lately, but reports (including in this space) of the team's demise after the loss of Chipper were greatly exaggerated. I'll continue to maintain that he'll have "DH - Angels" on his resume before it's all said and done. Grade: Inc. (B+ while he was healthy)
Other infielders
Andy Marte -- Showed decent power and fielding range in his brief debut. He's probably ready now, but Betemit's good play will likely relegate Marte to Richmond for the rest of the season. He'll be on the field somewhere on Opening Day 2006.
Brayan Pena -- A hot start with the bat earned him a promotion when Perez was injured -- unfortunately, he hit poorly and gave no indication that he can handle major league catching duties. With McCann and Saltalamacchia, the Braves future at catcher seems set, so Pena will likely become a AAA nomad.
Left field
Kelly Johnson -- I admit that I'd never heard of Johnson before this season, and he wasn't listed in our top tier of prospects. But he began the season strongly at Richmond, and was tabbed over McCarthy (who's now hitting very poorly) when the Raul Mondesi Experience left town for good. He started 1-30 (as you may have heard about once or twice) -- since then, he's Ted Williams (.353/.457/.647) over his last 81 PAs. That won't continue, of course, but I submit that anyone who can put together two weeks like that is almost guaranteed to have a future. Grade: A- (would be higher, but the 1-30 counts, too)
Center field
Andruw Jones -- He's always been streaky, but this is ridiculous:
4/5 - 5/3 (26 G) .234/.308/.394 10 R, 3 HR, 12 RBI
5/4 - 5/20 (14 G) .396/.448/.981 16 R, 8 HR, 16 RBI
5/21 - 6/8 (18 G) .134/.171/.179 4 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI
6/10 - 7/1 (21 G) .397/.484/.987 17 R, 14 HR, 28 RBI
Fortuitously, his recent play has coincided with Chipper's injury. We trail the Nationals by 4 games, but without Andruw's production it's safe to say the deficit would have been twice as large. Taken all together, Andruw is having an All-Star season, and has nosed his way into the MVP hunt (or would have, if not for Derrek Lee's sick season). As you may know, he can play a little center field. Grade: A
Right field
Ryan Langerhans -- Has gained more playing time as the season has progressed, and has been fairly mediocre (.247/.330/.414). Mediocrity, of course, representing a massive upgrade from the contributions of Jordan and Mondesi. He appears to have been well-schooled -- his batting stroke looks simple and repeatable, and he exhibits a strong arm and precise form in the outfield. Lack of present competition means his job seems safe for the rest of the season, but in the long run he looks like a decent fourth outfielder. Grade: C
Brian Jordan -- Does one thing a week to help the team. A timely hit, a decent catch, excellent head cheerleader. He's had a fine career and seems like a good guy, but he's obviously through, and I look forward to future success in his efforts to help rebuild south Fulton County. Grade: D
Raul Mondesi -- Remember him? Believe it or not, he was not the worst player in 1991-2005 Braves history. Four words: Ken Caminiti, first baseman. Grade: F
posted by Sam Bass | 10:37 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home