In our last Atlanta Braves Roster Take, there were a whole lot of players optioned to the minors and/or moved to minor league camp. Those names:
- A.J. Minter
- Chad Sobotka
- Chris Nunn
- Jasseel De La Cruz
- Jacob Webb
- Bryse Wilson
- Huascar Ynoa
- Bryce Ball
- Thomas Burrows
- Trey Harris
- Kurt Hoekstra
- Greyson Jenista
- Connor Johnstone
- Carlos Martinez
- Kyle Muller
- Braden Shewmake
We also added Jeremy Walker to this list due, in large part, to shoulder injuries that sidelined him through spring, before it was abruptly halted. He gets added back into the mix of spring candidates.
Adding to the list above, there were more spring cuts:
In case you’re late to the game, here are our previous 5 pieces in this series if you need to play catch-up.
- Atlanta Braves Roster Talk: The Locks and the Battles
- Atlanta Braves Roster Talk 2: Opening Day
- Atlanta Braves Roster Talk 3: Opening Day
- Atlanta Braves Roster Talk 4: Opening Day
- Atlanta Braves Roster Talk 5: Opening Day
Atlanta Braves Roster Talk: The Locks
This is back to getting tricky once more. If the season really could be delayed until nearly June, that likely means Cole Hamels is back in the mix for locks on the roster, assuming health isn’t a problem. What a world. For now, he’s added back on as a lock.
POSITION PLAYERS
- Catcher: Travis d’Arnaud
- 1st Baseman: Freddie Freeman
- 2nd Baseman: Ozzie Albies
- Shortstop: Dansby Swanson
- Left Field: Marcell Ozuna
- Center Field: Ender Inciarte
- Right Field: Ronald Acuña Jr.
- Bench: Nick Markakis, Tyler Flowers, Adeiny Hechavarria, Adam Duvall
THE PITCHING
Starting Pitchers: Mike Soroka, Mike Foltynewicz, Max Fried, Cole Hamels
Relief Pitchers: Mark Melancon, Will Smith, Shane Greene, Chris Martin, Luke Jackson, Darren O’Day
Lock, but role undetermined: Sean Newcomb
TOTAL LOCKS: 22
Braves Roster Talk: 4th & 5th Starting Pitchers
Sean Newcomb, Felix Hernandez, and Kyle Wright could very well be competing for 1 rotation spot and that is most unfortunate for those 3 as all had remarkable springs, and showed above average control and swing and miss stuff.
- Sean Newcomb– 45%
- Felix Hernandez-45%
- Kyle Wright-10%
- Touki Toussaint– 0%
Breakdown: Sean Newcomb deserves to start. Felix Hernandez deserves to start. Kyle Wright deserves to start. As of now, only 1 will and in all likelihood, that won’t be Kyle Wright considering he can go back to the minors and be ready when one falters and/or gets hurt. As you can see, I don’t know who that 5th spot goes to, and I guess they’ll be a lot going on behind the scenes that we as fans will never no in order to make that decison.
Braves Roster Talk: Reliever(s)
*Reminder that if Newcomb makes the team as a starter, his vacancy will create 2 spots needed in the bullpen. Pfeifer was up there in % for this group in my last piece, but was optioned to AAA, so there’s some guys that have benefitted from that move.
- Sean Newcomb-55%
- Touki Toussaint-20%
- Patrick Weigel– 25%
- Grant Dayton– 5%
- Josh Tomlin– 25%
- Tyler Matzek– 38%
- Chris Rusin– 38%
- Jeremy Walker- 5%
Breakdown: Matzek and Rusin seem like they’re battling it out to be the 2nd lefty in the bullpen after both Tucker Davidson and Phil Pfeifer were optioned. If Newcomb makes the roster as a reliever, Matzek and Rusin will either be pitching in AAA or pitching with another team when baseball resumes. I’d like to see Touki get the last spot in the bullpen, but my gut tells me they’d give it to Tomlin.
Starting 3rd Baseman
I’m still holding out hope that both Camargo and Riley make the roster and share time at 3B while subbing around the infield and outfield. There’s no clear frontrunner here:
- Johan Camargo: 50%
- Austin Riley: 50%
Breakdown: They both look really good and good teams carry their best 26. That’s what Anthopoulos believes…from his mouth.
Bench Bats (1)
- Johan Camargo– (should he not be starting 3B) 50%
- Charlie Culberson– 50%
——————
- Charlie Culberson– 60%
- Alex Jackson– 10%
- Austin Riley– 0%
- Yonder Alonso– 10%
- Yangervis Solarte– 15%
- Peter O’Brien– 5%
Breakdown: Peter O’Brien keeps hitting dingers and for that, he made this list because 5 of the other 6 aren’t doing jack squat. Still feels like it’s Culberson’s to lose if the Braves don’t give Riley and Camargo the split time spot.
Thanks for reading our Atlanta Braves Roster Talk #5. If you enjoyed this piece, check out this piece on Tyler Matzek that was written in August of last year.
I figure that Wright will start in AAA since Newk and Felix have both thrown the ball so well. Whether or not that is the correct way to go remains to be seen. I really hope we keep both Riley and Johan on the roster as that puts the best players in Atlanta on opening day so let’s hope AA keeps his word…lol
Ryan,
I was scared to comment because I thought I might get your cooties. Thanks to Putter for taking the shot of cooties for all of us.
@cliff
I’m confused.
Like Ryan, I live in the FL panhandle and there seems to have been a big shift in behavior over the past couple of days. I was out at a Sam’s on Sunday morning when the store opened, and while paper products and some cleaning supplies were gone, most other things were readily available. The store was busy, but manageable and we got most of the things we needed so we won’t have to return for a couple of months.
This morning, I went out to my neighborhood Publix to pick up a couple of things at about 7:20 (it opens at 7:00). Normally the store is pretty empty at that hour. This time, the store was already extremely busy with long register lines. Paper products were gone as expected, but the meat counters were almost completely empty, and the freezer sections had been decimated. It was jarring and I left without buying anything since it wasn’t worth hanging around a crowded register area for just a couple of items that I could live without.
This is a big spring break area and I haven’t been to the places where the tourists hang out (and don’t plan to), so don’t know what it’s like there. But it seems like the change in tone from the WH (and therefore also from Fox) has had an impact.
I’ve been very disappointed with the residents of Tampa Bay. If you’ve been watching the news, you’ll know that Clearwater Beach made the news because of the huge Spring Break crowds. I get it, and it took me a little too long to conceptualize everything, but baseball doesn’t return until the curve flattens, and that ain’t helping it.
Floridians love their freedom, I guess.
Just passed our local Irish pub. Hundreds of people celebrating St. Paddy’s 1 mile from my house.
You can have a lovely St. Patrick’s in the comfort of your own home! Here are some Irish bands I’ve been enjoying lately:
• Fontaines D.C. (Dublin)
• No Spill Blood (Dublin)
• Wood Burning Savages (Derry)
• And So I Watch You From Afar (Belfast)
And then, of course, there are the Undertones — the greatest Irish rock band, ever.
Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market was wiped out of potatoes, canned meals, bread, eggs, flour, and lunch meat. Most soap was gone, hand sanitizer has been gone for weeks. They were restocking paper products. Otherwise unremarkable, but I live in a college town and it’s spring break.
@3,
The post sat online, uncommented upon, for about 5 hours. So, it was an attempt at a joke utilizing the ancient concept of cooties as an analog to coronavirus. In other words, did coronavirus cause people not to comment?
@9
Ahh…gotcha.
@2 I just wanted to break the glass…lol
New thread!
https://bravesjournal.mystagingwebsite.com/2020/03/18/looking-back-at-game-seven-of-the-braves-1992-nlcs/
My St. Paddy’s Day: Spent inside my LIC apartment across the street from Queensboro Plaza/59th Street Bridge… sipping a pint of Guinness (from a can) while listening to The Pogues’ “If I Should Fall From Grace with God.” Weird, but not bad.
Working from home, I’ve begun to play my old vinyl records one after another (halfway, as a means to force myself to get up & move every 15/20 minutes) … coupla few records I haven’t played in forever that I forgot were great: The DBs – “Repercussion,” Meat Puppets’ “Up on the Sun” & Trouble Funk – “Saturday Night Live!”