Midseason Grades (Part 3)

Continuing the longest-running midseason report in history:

Wilson Betemit

Heir to Mark DeRosa as the guy who hits well enough to start, but can't crack the lineup. He may have a better case than DeRosa, but only because of the current state of the team. In the days of yore, having a young supersub IF was acceptable, even necessary. Because we were winning, there was no organizational pressure to see what DeRosa could do as a regular -- he was injury insurance. We have to look at Betemit differently, because we're looking to the future now. We must find out if he can handle a starting job, so we must find a place for him. He's done all he can do in his present role.

Truth be told, he and DeRosa are a lot alike -- they can both hit .280 with some walks and doubles power. Both sport iron gloves, from all available evidence. Here's hoping that Betemit does more with his shot, once he gets it, than DeRosa did.

Grade: B+


Todd Pratt

Before last season ended I went on record hoping the Braves would acquire Pratt for 2006. Estrada was on his way out the door, McCann showed himself ready for a starting role, and I opined that Pratt would be a useful one-year veteran bench presence. John Schuerholz, evidently an avid reader of Brave-O-Matic, agreed and promptly signed him.

For all I know, he may indeed provide a "useful bench presence", but his field presence thus far can best be described as "washed up", as evidenced by his .189 batting average and poor defense (highlighted by a passed ball and error on a SB attempt last night, both of which led to runs). Seems like a good enough guy, but I'd much rather see Brayan Pena at this point.

Grade: D- (I know, should be an F, but since he was my idea and all...)


Pete Orr

Although he and Pratt have basically the same batting line (Pratt: .189/.245/.274, Orr:.213/.234/.307), Orr has actually been a valuable pinch-hitter this season:

As PH: .323/.344/.484
As starter: .136/.156/.182

He's also given us a good glove at 2B -- no errors, good range factor. At least he's giving us something -- not much else to say.

Grade: C


Brian Jordan

One of the Aged Three (along with Pratt and Remlinger -- how's that working out?) -- Jordan hit well in April and had a couple of nice moments, but has been useless since. At least his injury is legit -- I don't think you can fake a broken clavicle, but maybe we can conjure up some rehab issues to keep him out until the inevitable late-September swan song.

Grade: F


Other position players:

Scott Thorman was brought up to replace Jordan -- so far I can't really tell the difference. Brayan Pena was light-years better than in 2005 during his brief callup, and may have a future after all. Tony Pena, Jr. showed up to collect his first ML hit and to (hopefully) remind his employers of Rafael Belliard. And future batting champion Martin Prado stopped by to say hello.