I think Hodges may wind up slipping through the cracks. It doesn’t seem like the Braves are giving him a serious shot at the fifth starter slot (though I think he might do well there), preferring to use either Wright or a rookie. He might wind up in the pen, but as no more (to begin with) than the fifth or sixth guy, and won’t get much work.
Is he really suited to a bullpen spot? He’s usually considered a finesse-type pitcher, but his statistics didn’t show that last year. He struck out more than a batter an inning but gave up too many walks to be successful. (By the way, I am sick of talking about Braves pitchers who walk too many people. I expect Bobby and Leo are sick of looking at them.) Hodges started last year pitching sporadically but reasonably well, including one decent but short start. In May and June, Bobby started using him a lot out of the pen and he at first responded well. On June 13, he was 3-0 with a 1.64 ERA. And from that point on, almost nothing went right for him. He was probably nursing a tired arm (he did go on the DL in late July) but by the end of the year Bobby had lost confidence in him. I don’t know if it’s been regained yet.
I went to 5 games last year and 2 of them were Trey Hodges victories. He did lose something as the year progressed and I’m not certain if he will get it back. The window is very narrow for players of his ilk and his chance may be gone. Had he grabbed the 5th starter role last year, he may have come up with more wins than the best forgotten Reynolds. Right now, he would be better off winning 15 at Richmond and hoping that a Tampa Bay will take a chance the following year.
Has Russ(ofer)Branyan been cut yet?