Let me hear you say “Huh?” Wise, whose real name, like another Braves outfielder, is “Larry”, (DeWayne is his middle name) was sort of a prospect in the Blue Jays system. Not really a prospect, even a prospect in the sense that Damon Hollins once was. He had a good campaign in the rookie league back in 1997 and got sent up the chain even though there was no evidence he could hit. He got callups to the big club in 2000 and 2002, but was awful, hitting .172/.207/.284 in 134 ABs, mostly in the second go-round.
Since he turned 20, Wise has exactly one campaign — a half-season in the Southern League — where he was useful, hitting .297/.350/.471 in 2002. His career minor league slugging percentage is .399. But he hits lefty and plays good defense, so the Braves gave him the backup outfield job. There’s no evidence that he’s better than Gary Matthews Jr., but then there’s not much evidence that Matthews is any good and Wise is slightly cheaper. I’m pretty certain that Damon Hollins is better than Wise, but he hits righty, so so much for the Mayor. I doubt that Wise will be on the roster in two months. Either the Braves will figure out a way to get Branyan or somebody on the bench, or they’ll get a real backup OF who hits lefty.
Dewayne Wise Statistics – Baseball-Reference.com
Dewayne Wise – MLB and Minor League Statistics – The Baseball Cube Stats
So is he better or worse than Darren Bragg?
I assume they sent Hollins back to Richmond to work on hitting left-handed.
I don’t think that there’s anything left for Hollins to learn in Richmond. He’s probably memorized the phone book by now.
Wise is capable of putting up essentially the same line as Bragg2003 — decent OBP, not much power — and with his defense and speed that would be an upgrade. But not much of one. Also, they really need to give Drew regular time off. When Marrero gets back, that might happen, but not with Wise.
The problem I see here is that Wise and Garcia are both “25th guys.” Only room for one like that on the bench.
I WAS DEWAYNE’S COACH IN HIGH SCHOOL. THIS KID HAS MORE RAW ATHLETIC ABILITY THAN ANYONE I’VE EVER SEEN. HE IS A 5 POINT PLAYER, HE JUST NEED’S AN OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY EVERYDAY. GARCIA CAN’T HOLD THIS GUY’S JOCK STRAP.
Where did Dewayne Wise go to high school?