I know that a lot of people have felt the lack of minor league coverage around here for the last year or so. I really don’t feel comfortable on the subject and lack the skill and knowledge needed to do it justice.
I have asked Jay Watson to fill the hole. Jay will introduce himself in a bit, but the plan for now is for him to review what’s going on in the minors every couple of weeks.
I’m going up to Pearl tonight (I won tixs for tonight) and then again Saturday night….
MS lost last night… scored 4 runs in the first and never scored again! “The Barons took the lead when Mississippi threw a pitch out on a double steal. Molina was caught between third and home but Saltalamacchia threw the ball into left field allowing Molina to score the go-ahead run.”
that also became the winning run I believe… Salty’s struggling, but the few times I’ve been up he’s done well so maybe he’ll do well tonight!
I spent some time yesterday looking through minor league stats, and I came across a few names that look like they could help in the bullpen or rotation right now. Granted, these are AA players, but, so was Frenchy, McCann and McBride. So why not give these guys a try. The names that stuck out were Will Startup and Phil Stockman. They cant be any worse than Reeksma…..
no I don’t think they could be any worse! I’ve seen Will several times… he’s good… got a great future ahead.. he’s just 21 so I don’t want to rush him up, but he is very good!
I don’t see Startup getting moved up anytime soon, but there’s no telling what management will do if the bullpen stays this bad.
Sure, Reitsma’s been bad, but I don’t want to see Startup get the Devine treatment. Startup, like Devine, is a former college (UGA) player. Often those guys are pretty polished coming into a system and move up fast. They can also plateau quickly, though, because they may not have much room for improvement.
Will Startup was a great closer for UGA on their WS team a few years back. He was the best closer I saw that year other than Houston Street. He was a real bulldog on the mound(i should be shot), but Im not sure he’s got major league closer material. However, the success he’s had thus far is promising.
Wayne Franklin intrigues me. He’s got some MLB experience and has posted good numbers at richmond. How do we have so many middle of the road lefties?
I’d take Stockman over Wayne Franklin. Stockman, though id assume he’d be erratic, can at least make hitters miss.
Wayne Franklin has ML experience but all hes shown in that expericne is that he can get pounded really hard (and hes hadplenty of time, its not a small sample size thing)
thats what they once said about Remlinger, Karsay, Hammonds, just wait until Leo…..
Anyone else think we should start looking to the minors for a reliable closer? I mean it is pretty early but I’m just not confident in reitsma and we really do have a plethora of solid relievers all throughout the minors. Heck Kevin Barry may not be a DOMINANT reliever at AAA but since they put him in a starting roll last year at the mid point he has been quite solid if not above average as a starter. He needs a job somewhere. Will Startup is a closer we drafted out of UGA last year and here are his stats on the year at AA: 15g, .75 ERA, 24 IN ,27/6 K/BB ratio. I mean i know we rushed devine last year, but this guy has been dominant everywhere. Maybe just maybe Devine wasn’t the closer of the future we got out of last years draft.
To begin with, I am glad that Mac has opted to provide some addtional coverage of the minors. I really hated to see No Pepper leave active service and we still need the resources and analysis it provided.
With respect to closers, I also hope that Startup stays in AA for awhile. If the Braves have to go inside, Stockman warrants a look. After that, Startup and Zach Schreiber are promising. Devine should be given a season (if necessary to heal and learn) to develop.
The root of the problem comes from the fact that the Braves have tended to devalue the development of relievers. While Wohlers and Rocker were exceptions, the Braves have never been all that keen on the guys who often rack up big numbers from the minor league affliates.
Drafting Devine (which I see as a response to the disastrous trade for Kolb) may well reflect a shift in this perspective. I would not be surprised to see the Braves draft another high profile (higherthan Startup) reliever (Justin Masterson at San Diego State comes to mind) in the draft.