Category: Player Analysis 2007

The most-normal closer in Richmond, called up as part of the Braves’ attempt to confuse us. (It’s working!) Acosta was signed out of Panama by the Yankees as a putative 17-year-old in 1998, though his first stateside...

So fantastically uninteresting that he’s been on the team a week and I’m only now getting to him, Corky Miller really isn’t that bad of a player. That’s not to say that he’s good, but as backup...

Acquired for Kyle Davies, when (as I’ve stated before) I’d have taken anything for Davies at this point, so I’m pretty happy. As a starter, Dotel was a hot prospect in the Mets chain in the late nineties, but...

The slugging first baseman that the Braves need, and have lacked (other than for a couple of months of LaRoche) since Andres Galarraga. Teixeira is from Maryland but played college ball at Georgia Tech, where in 2000 he was the...

The Braves’ top pitching prospect (having passed Matt Harrison) was drafted in the second round of the 2003 draft, out of a California high school. He pitched well in rookie ball, but in 2004 got off to a rough start in...

I really don’t see the point. The Braves, basically, traded Macay McBride for an older pitcher with a worse track record who is having a worse season. Ledezma, a Venezuelan, was signed by the Red Sox in 1998 at the...

The Braves’ third-round draft pick in 2000 and one of approximately 3,000 Atlanta-area high school pitchers the team has taken over the last decade, Boyer slowly rose through the system as a starter, not doing anything...

A Cuban defector, listed at 24 but who knows if that’s his real age? Unlike most Cubans, he went through the draft process and was chosen by the Braves in the second round in 2005. For some reason they assigned him to...

Expected to be called up to make the start on Saturday. Cormier is supposed to be ready the next time the fifth slot comes up, so unless Carlyle is lights out it will probably be his only chance for now. Carlyle was a second...

Just a guy, not a player who pushes you to a championship but not one who drags you away, making him a better bet than the other backup infielders around here. Prado has little power but hits for a decent average and will take...

Anthony (wouldn’t he be better as “Tony Lerew”? Let’s get on that.) was an 11th round draft pick in 2001. He rose through the lower parts of the system with no problems — a 2.22 ERA in rookie ball,...

I wanted the Braves to give the first crack at left field to Gregor Blanco. This is ironic in a way because Harris’ career demonstrates why one should be suspicious of players who, like Blanco, have speed and on-base...

Drafted out of high school as a sandwich pick in 2003, Jarrod showed a little power and good plate discipline in rookie ball in his first campaign. His first year in full-season ball in Rome, he played ordinary-good baseball,...

McBride probably needed to go down, but this guy? Not promising. A 28-year-old lefty from St. Louis, Colyer was drafted by the Dodgers in the second round in 1998 out of a community college. He didn’t do anything much as a...

Redman was a first-round pick of the Twins out of Oklahoma (which I guess will make Joe Simpson happy, if nobody else) in 1995. Following an uninspiring minor league career, he got a cup of coffee in 1999 and was up for good in...

Since I’ve already listed 13 pitchers, I don’t see how there’s room for anyone else unless more than one person goes, so earning your way onto the staff in spring is going to be tough. The most prominent other...

Ladies and Gentlemen… The Dyin’ Hawaiian, the Volcanic Disruption, the Possessor of the Pictures, the Unclutchest Pitcher of All… Tyler Kali Yates! Yates’ overall stats (50 IP, 46 K, 31 BB, 6 HR, 396 ERA)...

Paronto was probably the Braves’ most valuable reliever last year. That says more about the Braves’ bullpen than Paronto, but Wickman only threw 26 innings, Villarreal was used almost entirely in low-leverage...

Hmm. Well, Villarreal started the season as one of the Braves’ primary setup men, but was awful and got kicked to long relief, where he started pitching better. Meanwhile, the starters were getting knocked out of the game...

McBride was generally great in 2005 despite a 5.79 ERA; he had one bad outing and ridiculously bad luck, opposing hitters hitting almost .500 against him on balls in play. He hurt his forearm — a scary injury, since it was...