OOTP16 - Atlanta Braves

[WeagleWeagle]

5/22/2016

7....

Atlanta Braves (18-21) 2 @ San Francisco (22-16) 4

San Francisco, CA - Andrelton Simmons hit a 2 run HR in the top of the 8th. That is the single good thing that happened Sunday night. It's not like Atlanta's pitching staff has collapsed. Once again the Giants were held to a maneagable margin. Teheran only lasted 4 innings but that was mostly due to his wildness. Still the Braves just keep not scoring. This road trip should have been at the least a 3-4 trip. It turned into 0-7 & now the Braves get a day off to think about how bad they suck at hitting before a quick 2 game series with the Baltimore Orioles. A team that knows how to score runs.

WP: Jeff Samardzija (5-2) 7.1 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
LP: Julio Teheran 1-5 4.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
S: Sergio Romo(9) 1.0 IP, 2 H, K

Player of the Game: Jeff Samardzija

3rd Pick Scouting
Each game report I am posting a scouting report of a guy that I am considering for my top 5 picks. All ratings are from my scout Brian Bridges

SP Garrett Gooden | Throws: Right | Age 18 | 6'5" 210 lbs | 73 POT
Stuff: 35/75 | Movement: 40/55 | Control: 30/55
Fastball: 45/65 | Curveball: 45/75 | Changeup: 30/70
Pitcher: 40 | Stamina: 55 | Hold Runners: 45
Brian Bridges Thoughts: Gooden is going to be a big league starter who will compete for a #1 role. Great potential. This kid could put up some serious strikeout numbers. Feisty, great temperament, really goes after hitters. Has some decent sink on his fastball down in the zone, but his other pitches are predictable. A lot of his breaking stuff hangs, and he hasn't been able to figure that out yet. Has pretty average command of his pitches. Nothing spectacular. Always up for a good game of cards with teammates.
My Thoughts: I highly doubt Gooden is sitting here in round 3 but if he is would be hard to pass up. I actually think he could make a really good reliever with that high level stuff but low control. He is a pretty easy signing so I expect he is gone by end of 2nd round. You have to like his size & age & the potential there for some really nasty stuff.

Minor League Review

Pawtucket (27-16) 7 @ Gwinnett (26-19) 2
- LF Cedric Hunter 2-4, RBI(29) (.244)
- 2B Pedro Ciriaco 3-3, 2B(2), RBI(3), R (.265)

Mississippi (22-20) 3 @ Jacksonville (20-22) 1
- SP Wes Parsons W(3-3) 7.1 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 BB, 2
- SS Daniel Castro 2-5, 2B(2), HR(2), RBI(3), 2 R (.225)
- CF Matt Lipka 1-5, 3B(2), RBI(14)

Mississippi (22-21) 0 @ Jacksonville (21-22) 3
- C Keith Curcio 2-3, 2B(8) (.260)

Carolina (20-23) 1 @ Winston-Salem (21-22) 3
- CF Joseph Daris 1-3, 2B(9), RBI(18)

Charleston (25-11) 5 @ Rome (21-15) 1
- LF Danny Reyes 3-5, 2B(10), R (.270)
- C Matthew Kassowticz 2-4 (.244)
- SS Edwin Diaz 1-3, 2B(7), BB (.315)

MLB News
- WAS LF Jayson Werth suffered setback will be out 6 more weeks with a fractured finger
- CLE loses stup SP Carlos Carrasco for 10-11 months with torn ulnar collateral ligament
- NYM 3B Mike Moustakas hits for cycle against Francisco Liriano & the Pirates
- Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays joins the 20 game hit streak club
- MIN Eddie Rosario win AL Player of the Week
- STL RF Jayson Heyward wins NL Player of the Week
- Top 5 Power Rankings: TOR, SF, OAK, TEX, LAD
- Bottom 5 Power Rankings: BAL, ATL, ARI, TB, MIN

[WeagleWeagle]

5/23/2016

Braves on BYE

3rd Pick Scouting
Each game report I am posting a scouting report of a guy that I am considering for my top 5 picks. All ratings are from my scout Brian Bridges

3rd Pick Preference Order
1.) SS Cayman Richards
2.) SP Garrett Gooden
3.) SP Cole Sands
4.) 3B Dylan Bohnert
5.) SP John Pomeroy

Minor League Review

Pawtucket (28-16) 5 @ Gwinnett (26-20) 2
Box scores messed up

Mississippi (22-21) 0 @ Chattanooga (21-23) 4
Box scores messed up

Carolina (20-24) 4 @ Salem (23-21) 6
Box scores messed up

Greensboro (14-23) 1 @ Rome 0
- LF Danny Reyes 3-5, 2B(10), R (.270)
- C Matthew Kassowticz 2-4 (.244)
- SS Edwin Diaz 1-3, 2B(7), BB (.315)

MLB News
- Arizona loses best reliever in Joakim Soria for 4 months due to bone chips in his elbow
- ATL SS Andrelton Simmons has 2nd highest WAR for position players in baseball with 2.0
- TB SP Matt Moore is 1-5 with the best FIP in baseball at 2.31, baseball can be so cruel

[WeagleWeagle]

Series Preview

To say that Atlanta's west coast tour was a diaster would be an understatement. Atlanta is reeling off 7 straight losses as they stumble home to Turner Field to take on another struggling team the 16-23 Baltimore Orioles. Baltimore has brought the runs this year with young 1B Christian Walker having a breakout year with MLB leading 11 HRs. 2B Dustin Ackley, 3B Manny Machado & 1B Justin Moreneau are all batting over .300. Offense has not been a problem. Pitching on the other hand has been atrocious. Baltimore's starters are 15th in the AL in ERA with a sad 5.92. The good news for them is that they get a weak offense in Atlanta. If you took the pitchers off Atlanta & stuck them with Baltimore's lineup you would have a World Series contending team. Should be interesting to see who can breakthrough in the quick 2 games skirmish.

Expected Pitching Matchups
Game 1
RHP Ubaldo Jimenez 2-1, 5.86 ERA, 4.94 FIP, 0.1 WAR
vs
LHP Brett Anderson 2-2, 4.89 ERA, 4.09 FIP, 0.4 WAR
Game 2
RHP Eddie Gamboa 3-2, 4.91 ERA, 3.69 FIP, 0.7 WAR (AAA)
vs
RHP AJ Cole 3-2, 1.72 ERA, 2.55 FIP, 0.9 WAR

Primary Lineup
SS Chris Taylor
2B Dustin Ackley
3B Manny Machado
CF Adam Jones
DH Christian Walker
LF Carlos Quentin
1B Justin Morneau
C Matt Wieters
RF Dariel Alvarez

[WeagleWeagle]

5/24/2016

Return of the Offense

Baltimore Orioles (16-24) 3 @ Atlanta Braves (19-21) 7

Atlanta, GA - In the bottom of the 3rd it was like a bright ray of sunshine broke through some very dark skies as the Braves offense scored 3 runs. You would have thought the fans in Turner Field had just witnessed game 7 World Series victory. The Braves offense finally but together 2 great offensive innings scoring 3 in the bottom of the 3rd & 4 in the bottom of the 5th while Brett Anderson put in a fine showing on the mound to keep Baltimore's powerful offense quiet most of the day. It all started with a one out Mallex Smith bunt for single. Dian Toscano poked one through the left side to bring Simmons up with 2 on & 1 out. The hot hitting shortstop came through with an RBI single. Christian Bethancourt continued the single party to load the bases. Freddie Freeman with bases loaded then of course struck out (something he has been doing too much lately) but Christian Villanueva came through with a single to plate a 3rd run before Destin Hood grounded out. In the bottom of the 5th the Braves struck again. Bethancourt got on with an infield hit, Freddie Freeman walked, Villanueva flew out & Destin Hood made up for earlier ground out by singling home Bethancourt. Then with runners on the corners Jace Peterson stepped in to face a new LHP Nick Hagadone. On a 2 strike count he turned on a pitch to line it down the RF line. He wouldn't stop till he reached 3rd base to give him his NL leading 5th triple & 2 RBIs. Brett Anderson even joined the fun as he executed a perfect squeeze bunt to put the score at 7-0. The Orioles would get 2 back in the top of the 7th off of Anderson thanks to singles by Carlos Quentin & Jonathan Schoop. In the top of the 8th Tanner Roark surrendered a solo shot to Dariel Alvarez but that would end all scoring as he & Sean Marshall would keep Baltimore off the scoreboard the rest of the way. The win snaps a 7 game skid & gets the Braves a step closer to .500 again.

WP: Brett Anderson 7.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
LP: Ubaldo Jimenez 4.1 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, BB, 2 K

Player of the Game: Brett Anderson

Minor League Review

Pawtucket (28-17) 3 @ Gwinnett (27-20) 5
- 1B Conrad Gregor 2-4, R (.376)
- DH Barret Kleinknecht 2-4, HR(3), RBI(7), 2 R (.222)
- SS Zach Cozart 1-2, HR(1), 3 RBI(5), R (.190)
- RF Domingo Santana 1-4 (.185) --> looking at his numbers make me sad

Mississippi (22-23) 5 @ Chattanooga (22-23) 11
- DH Braxton Davidson 1-3, 2B(4), R (.319)
- RF Conner Oliver 1-3, RBI(27), R (.284)
- 2B Jordan Edgerton 1-4, 2B(2), 3 RBI(11) (.176)

Carolina (20-25) 4 @ Salem (24-21) 17
- 17 runs ??!!!
- C Tanner S. Murphy 2-4, 2B(10), RBI(21), R (.264)

Greensboro (15-23) 5 @ Rome (21-17) 3
- C Matthew Kassowitcz 1-4, HR(8), 2 RBI(22), R (.237)
- SS Edwin Diaz 1-4, HR(8), RBI(28), R (.304) --> This kid is turning into a stud

MLB News
- CHC ace SP Jon Lester hurled a 3 hit shutout against the Kansas City Royals as the Cubs won 6-0

[WeagleWeagle]

5/25/2016

Huge 6th Inning Lifts Atlanta Past Baltimore

Baltimore Orioles (16-25) 4 @ Atlanta Braves (20-21) 10

Atlanta, GA - It was probably AJ Cole's weakest start of his rookie campaign. But for the first time all season he was backed by a powerful offense so it was ok. The righty surrendered a solo shot to Orioles slugger 3B Manny Machado in the first to push Baltimore ahead immediately. But Atlanta wasn't going to go quietly like last week when they fell behind early. Dian Toscano opened bottom of 1st with single, then Simmons reached on an error. Freddie Freeman then singled & Toscano attempted to go home from 2nd but was gunned down. But that didn't stop Atlanta from scoring in the inning as Miguel Gonzalez walked the next 2 batters to score a run. But Jose Peraza would strike out with bases loaded to end the threat. Baltimore jumped ahead again in the top of the 4th on a Christian Walker sac fly. But again Braves responded in the bottom half. The heating up Jace Peterson singled, then Braves skipper WeagleWeagle made a really weird decision that proved brilliant. He had the struggling Peraza bunt Peterson over to bring up the pitcher Cole who made the head scratching decision look like genius with a double down the LF line to score Peterson. Later in the inning Dian Toscano would single home Cole to push Atlanta ahead 3-2. In the top of the 5th Baltimore tied the game thanks to a Dustin Ackley single but would strand 2. Braves would keep the back & forth affair going in the bottom of the 5th thanks to a Jose Peraza ground out scoring Markakis. Then in the bottom of the 6th the Braves would send a loud & firm message that this game was over. A Smith walk & Toscano hit by pitch would set the table for the Braves backstop Christian Bethancourt who entered game as pinch hitter for Pierzynski to face the left handed Brian Matusz. In his major league career he has 3 HRs before this season. After a 349 foot blast he now has 5 in 2016. It took one pitch for Bethancourt to break open the game. Freddie Freeman wouldn't be outdone as the Bravos went back to back with his 412 ft solo blast. Markakis followed with a wimpy single & Jace Peterson walked. Peraza for 2nd time in game grounded out but drove in Markakis in the process. Then things got wackier as relief pitcher Cody Martin singled home Peterson in his first at bat of the season. Braves pitchers now had 2 RBIs in the game. When the dust settled it would be 10-3 Braves & besides a Chris Taylor solo bomb off Martin in the following inning that would be it for scoring. Atlanta now feeling much better about themselves & only 3 back of the resurging Marlins will have a day off before a 3 game homestand against the struggling Phillies

WP: AJ Cole (4-2) 5.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, BB, 5 K
LP: Miguel Gonzalez (2-4) 5.0 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

Player of the Game: Dian Toscano 4-4, 3B, RBI, R --> Now batting .333 since being called up

- Matt Wisler will be out a further week with his oblique strain

Minor League Review

Gwinnett (27-20) on BYE

Mississippi (23-23) 13 @ Chattanooga (22-24) 2
- SS Daniel Castro 3-4, 2B(3), 3 R (.264)
- CF Keith Curcio 2-4, HR(3), 4 RBI(14), R (.269)
- SP Tyrell Jenkins W(6-3) 7.0 IP, 6 H, ER, 4 K --> Outstanding start for his return from DL

Carolina (21-25) 9 @ Salem (24-22) 5
- CF Joseph Daris 2-6, 2B(10), HR(3), 3 RBI(21), 2 R (.361)
- 3B Dustin Peterson 2-5, 2B(6), HR(4), 2 RBI(20), 2 R (.235)
- SS Yeudi Grullon 2-3, 2B(5), RBI(14), R, BB (.214)

Greensboro (15-24) 5 @ Rome (22-17) 6
- LF Danny Reyes 3-4, 2B(11), RBI(13), 2 R (.277)
- DH Aldo Koutsoyanopulos 2-5, HR(5), 2 RBI(20), R (.209/.252/.391) --> He doesn't make a ton of contact but when he does he hits it far
- CF Alex Verdugo 2-4, 2B(8), RBI(15), R (.224) --> average is steadily climbing

MLB News
- Arizona loses SP Chase Anderson for 4 months with torn labrum
- SEA James Paxton throws complete game shutout against the Tampa Bay Rays
- ARI sends 29 yr old RHP Daniel Hudson & $910,000 in cash to Orioles for great RHP prospect Hunter Harvey
- BOS pitcher Matt Barnes out for 5-6 months with shoulder inflammation

[WeagleWeagle]

5/26/2016

Braves on BYE

Minor League Review

Lehigh (23-25) 5 @ Gwinnett (27-21) 2
Box scores messed up

Mississippi (23-24) 3 @ Chattanooga (23-24) 10
Box scores messed up

Winston-Salem (21-25) 1 @ Carolina (22-25) 2
Box scores messed up

Rome (23-17) 5 @ Asheville (18-22) 4
- CF Alex Verdugo 1-4, HR(6), 3 RBI(18)

MLB News
- CLE SP Mike Minor first to 7 wins...
- Houston Astros have scored most runs so far this season
- New York Yankees lead major leagues in HRs thanks to 9 each by Chris Davis, Mike Napoli & Mark Reynolds

[WeagleWeagle]

Series Preview

The 18-25 Phillies & the Braves get together for the 3rd time this weekend. Philadelphia has the slight edge in the season series at 4 games to 3. Injuries have been the theme for the Phillies all season long. Chase Utley, Ike Davis, Cody Asche, Domonic Brown & Yovani Gallardo are all inactive on the DL. Cole Hamels is 0-4 with 6.71 ERA. Maikel Franco is hitting .209 with a single HR. Their best pitcher right now is Chad Billingsley. Things are not pleasant in Philadelphia. Now they travel to Turner Field where they meet a Braves team that found their bats in the last 2 games. Philadelphia sends the bottom of their rotation against the top of the Braves. All of this lines up for a possible sweep for the Braves but Atlanta has shown this year they play to the level of their competition & the last last place team they faced swept them. The Braves are hoping Jace Peterson's resurgence continues coupled with Simmons hot bat & Bethancourt's out of nowhere power. Could be a very big series for Atlanta.

Expected Pitching Matchups
Game 1
RHP Nathan Eovaldi 2-4, 3.57 ERA, 3.78 FIP, 0.7 WAR
vs
LHP Alex Wood 4-4, 2.49 ERA, 2.74 FIP, 1.8 WAR
Game 2
LHP Adam Morgan 1-2, 5.73 ERA, 5.07 FIP, -0.1 WAR
vs
RHP Shelby Miller 3-2, 2.54 ERA, 3.24 FIP, 1.1 WAR
Game 3
LHP Cole Hamels 0-4, 6.71 ERA, 4.45 FIP, 0.4 WAR
vs
RHP Julio Teheran 1-5, 6.37 ERA, 5.68 FIP, -0.3 WAR

Primary Lineup
SS J.P. Crawford
2B Odubel Herrera
3B Maikel Franco
C Tommy Joseph
CF Colby Rasmus
LF Austin Jackson
1B Kelly Dugan
RF Gerardo Parra

[WeagleWeagle]

5/27/2016

Late Innings Doom Braves

Philadelphi Phillies (19-25) 3 @ Atlanta Braves (20-22) 2

Atlanta, GA - Alex Wood pitched 7 brilliant innings & carried a 2-0 lead into the 8th, so manager WeagleWeagle decided to send him back out there. That proved to be a poor decision... Wood got 2 quick outs & looked to be cruising through another inning when his command suddenly left him. He walked Jordan Danks & then hung a fast ball that J.P. Crawford smacked for a double. That put runners on 2nd & 3rd with 2 outs and Carlos Ruiz coming to the plate. WeagleWeagle went to setup man Shae Simmons to get one out. That's all they needed to escape this dangerous situation. He immediately walked Ruiz. But that wasn't enough as with bases loaded 2 outs, Simmons plunked Maikel Franco scoring the first run... The next batter Tommy Joseph then singled to bring home the tying run. Going to the pen again, WeagleWeagle called in 0.00 ERA Sean Marshall who got a Kelly Dugan flyout to leave without any further damage but the lead was lost. The top of 9th did not get better for the bullpen. Luis Avilan entered the game & surrendered a lead off single to Freddy Galvis, then a sac bunt moved him to 2nd. Avilan struck out the next man he faced & once again all Braves needed was one out to escape scary situation. Austin Jackson entered the game as pinch hitter & smashed a line drive back up the middle on the first pitch he saw to score Galvis & put the Phillies ahead. Atlanta had a shot at in the bottom of the 9th. Mallex Smith worked a leadoff walk. Toscano laid down a perfect sac bunt to move Smith to 2nd. Andrelton Simmons singled but for some reason Smith decided to hold at 3rd which proved costly as the Braves next two hitters & top sluggers Christian Bethancourt & Freddie Freeman each struck out giving Giles the save and the Phillies the win. Shelby Miller heads to the mound tomorrow hoping for some kind of run support & a victory.

WP: Joely Rodriguez (1-1) 1.0 IP, K
LP: Luis Avilan (1-1) 0.2 IP, 3 H, ER, K
S: Ken Giles (9) 1.0 IP, H, BB, 2 K

Player of the Game: Alex Wood 7.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K --> dude has no luck

Minor League Review

Lehigh (24-25) 7 @ Gwinnett (27-22) 6
- 1B Conrad Gregor 2-4, BB (.366)
- 3B Adonis Garcia 2-3, 2B(6), RBI(21), 2 R (.241)
- C Kyle Higashioka 3-4, 2 HR(5), 4 RBI(14), 2 R (.303)

Montgomery (24-24) 6 @ Mississippi (23-25) 5
- Both teams scored 2 in last inning
- 1B Levi Hyams 4-4, HR(7), 4 RBI(39), 2 R (.310)
- LF Braxton Davidson 1-5, 2B(6), R (.288)

Winston-Salem (22-25) 3 @ Carolina (22-26) 0
- 2B Carlos Franco 2-4 (.214)

Rome (23-18) 2 @ Asheville (18-22) 3 (11)
- SP Tyler Ivey 7.2 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB, 5 K --> Recently moved him from pen to starting role, doing very well
- 2B Chris Thibideau 1-2, 2B(11) (.248)

MLB News
- Mets SP Matt Harvey is out another week for his mild shoulder sprain
- TOR 3B Josh Donaldson has now hit safely in 25 straight games

[WeagleWeagle]

5/28/2016

Braves Hang On

Philadelphi Phillies (19-26) 4 @ Atlanta Braves (21-22) 5

Atlanta, GA - The Braves attempted to blow a 4 run lead & almost accomplished it. The offense however brought their big sticks today, specifically Andrelton Simmons & Christian Bethancourt who are both on pace for career highs in HRs. In Bethancourt's case he has already reached it. In the bottom of the 1st, Simmons blasted a 365 ft HR to LF to open the scoring. In the bottom of the 5th there was another blast this time a 3 run variety by Christian Bethancourt who now has 6 doubling his career total entering 2016. Shelby Miller carried a shutout into the 7th when he surrendered solo HR Colby Rasmus. In the top of the 8th Miller headed back out & this time surrendered a 2 run blast to JP Crawford. He navigated his way out but carried a 4-3 lead to the 9th for RJ Alvarez. Alvarez was looking to redeem himself from the fiasco in San Diego. He failed... A 1 out walk put Kelly Dugan on first. Ruiz singled him to 2nd & then Jordan Danks singled him home to tie the game. Shae Simmons entered the game & surrendered a single immediatley loading the bases with 1 out. But he came back with a strikeout & groundout to send a tie game to the bottom of the 9th. The Braves wasted no time ending it. Nick Markakis doubled off of Burke Badenhop. Then Dian Toscano walked the Braves off with a single & Atlanta escaped a near collapse with a W. WeagleWeagle announced after the game that RJ Alvarez is no longer the closer after blowing his 4th save.

WP: Shae Simmons (1-0) 0.2 IP, H, K
LP: Burke Badenshop (1-1) 0.0 IP, 2 H, ER

Player of the Game: Shelby Miller 8.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 7 K

Minor League Review

Lehigh (24-26) 4 @ Gwinnett (28-22) 6
- RF Domingo Santana 2-4, 2B(4), 2 R (.212)

Montgomery (24-25) 5 @ Mississippi (24-25) 9
- LF Braxton Davidson 3-4, 2B(7), 2 RBI(8), R (.317)
- RF Conner Oliver 1-3, RBI(30), R (.295)
- 2B Jordan Edgerton 3-5, HR(6), 3 RBI(28), 2 R (.275)

Winston-Salem (23-25) 11 @ Carolina (22-27) 3
- just bad...

Rome (23-19) 5 @ Asheville (19-22) 7
[I]Box scored unavailable[/B]

MLB News
- Mets bad news continues David Wright out 1-2 weeks due to sore elbow
- The D'Backs & Orioles agreed on trade: C Dallas Tarleton goes to Baltimore for minor leaguer C Chance Sisco

[WeagleWeagle]

5/29/2016

Hamels Finds His Form

Philadelphi Phillies (20-26) 4 @ Atlanta Braves (21-23) 1

Atlanta, GA - Cole Hamels has struggled most of the season. Entering Sunday night's game he had an ERA of almost 7 & 0 wins. But that all changed when he faced a weak Braves offense. Hamels plowed through 8 innings giving up only one run on 5 hits & a walk while striking out 4. Braves were fooled & off balance all night hitting weak grounder or easy popups. On the other side Julio Teheran was ok but wasn't missing many bats. He lasted only 5 innings surrendering 7 hits but only 2 runs. Unfortunately he had no run support all day. After losing another series to a bottom place team the Braves get ready to visit Milwaukee for a 3 game series. The Brewers are in last in the NL Central so of course they will dominate Atlanta....

WP: Cole Hamels (1-4) 8.0 IP, 5 H, ER, BB, 4 K
LP: Julio Teheran (1-6) 5.0 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 4 K
S: Ken Giles (10) 1.0 IP, 2 K

Player of the Game: Cole Hamels

Minor League Review

Lehigh (24-26) 7 @ Gwinnett (28-23) 2
- CF Todd Cunningham 3-5, 2B(7), HR(3), 2 RBI(19), R (.273)
- 2B Elmer Reyes 1-4, 2B(4), R (.243)

Montgomery (24-26) 0 @ [B}Mississippi (24-26) 1[/B]
- SP Lucas Sims W(3-6) 5 H, BB, 6 K
- 1B Levi Hyams 2-4, R (.312)
- 3B Jameson Henning 1-2, 2B(8), RBI(10) (.228)

Winston-Salem (24-25) 6 @ Carolina (22-28) 2
- Been a bad month for the Mudcats...
- CF Joseph Daris 1-2, HR(4), RBI(23), R (.354) --> Left game with injury will be out for 2 weeks

Rome (23-19) on BYE

MLB News
- CWS 1B Jose Abreu returns from injury & wins AL Player of the week hitting .417 with a homer & 6 RBIs
- PIT SS Josh Harrison wins NL Player of the Week thanks a 3 HR week
- Super random fact sent to me by the game but Joey Gallo is leading the majors with HRs at 9... The more you know...
- Top 5 Teams in Power Rankings: SF, TEX, TOR, MIA, COL
- Bottom 5 teams in Power Rankings: MIL, ARI, NYY, MIN, BAL (Yay we moved up! To #22...)
- MLB All Start Voting begins today (I will manually select the all stars the day before the voting end, I want to make sure every team is represented)

[WeagleWeagle]

Series Preview

This week's series will matchup two struggling ballclubs. The Brewers are 20-25 & have gone 2-8 in their last 10 with a 7 game losing streak to start. Atlanta is 3-9 in their last 12 with their own 7 game losing streak. The Brewers will be without the services of SP Matt Garza for a year due to elbow ligament reconstruction surgery, while 3B Pablo Sandoval will be down for at least 2 more weeks. The Brewers are interesting offense. They are tied for 4th in HRs in the NL with 43 but yet are tied for 11th in run scored. Ryan Braun, Tyler Collins & Kennys Vargas all have 7 HRs & bat 3-5. Be very careful through that group.... Former Brave Kelly Johnson starts @ 3rd now with Sandoval out. The Brewers boast one of the worst pitching staffs in MLB but do have Kelvin Herrera lurking in the bullpen. Both teams desperately want a series win heading into June.

Expected Pitching Matchups
Game 1
LHP Jarret Martin 4-5, 6.21 ERA, 4.06 FIP, 0.4 WAR
vs
LHP Brett Anderson 3-3, 4.50 ERA, 4.08 FIP, 0.5 WAR
Game 2
RHP Jimmy Nelson 3-3, 3.08 ERA, 4.61 FIP, 0.3 WAR
vs
RHP AJ Cole 4-2, 2.21 ERA, 2.96 FIP, 0.9 WAR
Game 4
RHP Mike Fiers 2-5, 5.72 ERA, 4.01 FIP, 0.6 WAR
vs
LHP Alex Wood 4-4, 2.48 ERA, 2.63 FIP, 2.1 WAR

Primary Lineup
SS Jean Segura
C Jonathan Lucroy
RF Ryan Braun
1B Kennys Vargas
LF Tyler Collins
CF Carlos Gomez
3B Kelly Johnson
2B Alex Guerrero

[WeagleWeagle]

5/30/2016

Atlanta Plays Long Ball

Atlanta Braves (22-23) 7 @ Milwaukee (20-26) 1

Milwaukee, WI - The top of the 1st was one of the strangest innings you will see but the result propelled Atlanta ahead & on to a dominating victory. Destin Hood struck out in his first at bat. Andrelton Simmons then grounded out. This is when things got weird. Christian Bethancourt walked & Freddie Freeman struck out on a wild curveball that Lucroy dropped. He threw it to first but Vargas did not have foot on the bag allowing Freeman to reach safely. That brought up Christian Villanueva who got a fastball high in the zone & punished it launching his first HR of the season into CF. Atlanta was up 3-0 with 1 hit. That wouldn't be the only HR of the day. In the top of the 4th Freddie Freeman would play touch em all with a solo blast & Christian Bethancourt would hit his 7th of the season in the top of the 6th. Atlanta tacked 2 more on in the 8th with Villanueva driving in his 4th RBI. Meanwhile on the other side, Brett Anderson was dealing & pitched 6 outstanding innings of 4 hit ball. Brandon Cunniff came on in 2 innings of relief & looked real strong giving way to John Cornerly who finished it off with a quiet 9th. It was the exact type of game Atlanta needed to build some confidence & now will try to repeat their strong performance tomorrow with AJ Cole on the hill.

WP: Brett Anderson (4-2) 6.0 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 BB, 3 K
LP: Jarret Martin (4-6) 5.0 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 BB, 7 K

Player of the Game: Christian Villanueva 2-4, HR, 4 RBI, R

Minor League Review

Gwinnett (29-23) 1 @ Pawtucket (30-20) 0
- SP Williams Perez 7.1 IP, 5 H, 5 BB, 3 K
- C Chris O'Dowd 2-4, HR(2), RBI(11), R (.353) --> Hit game winner in top of the 9th

Montgomery (24-27) 2 @ Mississippi (25-26) 5
- 2B Jordan Edgerton 1-4, HR(7), 2 RBI(30), R (.273)
- 1B Levi Hyams 2-4, 2B(9), R (.316)
- DH David Rohm 2-4, HR(5), 2 RBI(28), R (.258)

Wilmington (30-21) 7 @ Carolina (23-28) 8
- RF Jordan Paroubeck 2-5, 2 R (.351)
- C Tanner S. Murphy 1-5, HR(5), 2 RBI(24), R (.256)
- SS Yeudi Grullon 3-3, HR(7), 4 RBI(19), R (.244)

Rome (23-20) 5 @ Savannah (25-19) 4
- SS Edwin Diaz 2-4 (.293)

MLB News
- KC SP Yordano Ventura hurled a shutout in Camden Yards against the Orio

[WeagleWeagle]

5/31/2016

8th Inning Disaster

Atlanta Braves (22-24) 1 @ Milwaukee (21-26) 6

Milwaukee, WI - It was a low scoring affair heading into the bottom of the 8th. Each team had a single run as both starting pitching had been outstanding. The Braves elected to go to the pen after 7 strong innings of Cole. They would later regret it... John Cornerly entered the game in relief of Cole & immediately surrendered a walk to Alex Guerrero. Logan Schafer pinched hit & sacrificed Guerroro to 2nd. Jean Segura followed with a flyout & everything was going well for the young relief man, then... With 2 outs Jonathan Lucroy singled down RF line scoring Guerrero. Ryan Braun then followed with a single to put runners on first 2 bases. That would be it for Cornerly & Luis Avilan would enter the game attempting to keep it a 1 run game. He too would fail... The first batter he faced, Kennys Vargas, worked a full count before lining over Simmons head to plate Lucroy. Tyler Collins then reached on an error by Peraza which scored another. After intentionally walking Carlos Gomez to get to Jason Rodgers, Cody Martin entered the game & surrendered a 2 run single before finally getting Guerroro to strike out. That would make a formerly tied game a 5 run game after 5 run 8th & Milwaukee would get a 1-2-3 inning out of Jim Henderson to get the win. Atlanta's solitary run came back in the 4th on a Christian Villanueva single. The sour 8th ruined what was an outstanding performance by AJ Cole who went 7 innings giving up only 4 hits, 1 ER & striking out 7. With it being the end of June & the amatuer draft approaching expect some changes to the Braves bullpen in the coming days after all the recent struggles.

WP: Francisco Rodriguez (2-1) 1.2 IP, H, BB, K
LP: John Cornerly (0-1) 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, BB

Player of the Game: Jimmy Nelson 6.1 IP, 3 H, ER, 3 BB, 7 K

Minor League Review

Gwinnett (30-23) 11 @ Pawtucket (30-21) 9
- 1B Conrad Gregor 2-5, HR(9), 2 RBI(28), 2 R, BB (.354)
- RF Domingo Santana 2-6, HR(3), 3 RBI(10), R (.203)
- DH Kyle Higashioka 4-6, HR(6), RBI(15), 3 R (.308)

Jackson (26-26) 5 @ Mississippi (26-26) 4
- LF Braxton Davidson 1-3, 2B(8), 2 RBI(10), BB (.301)
- RF Conner Oliver 1-3, 2B(10), R (.290)

Wilmington (30-22) 3 @ Carolina (24-28) 6
- RF Conner Lien 2-4, 2B(9), RBI(21), 2 R (.243)
- SS Wie-Chieh Yu 2-3, 2B(2), 2 RBI(3) (.320)

Rome (23-21) 2 @ Savannah (26-19) 6
- LF Danny Reyes 3-4, HR(3), RBI(15), R (.263)
- CF Alex Verdugo 1-4, 2B(10), R (.226)
- 1B Alec Bohm 2-3, RBI(16) (.229)

MLB News
- Info coming in next post

[WeagleWeagle]

May Review

The month of May has come to an end & the division races are starting to shake themselves out. In the NL, the San Francisco Giants are proving to be top of the class posting a 30-17 record (the best in baseball) while carrying a 4 & half game lead over 2nd place Colorado. Jake Peavy recently went on the DL for the Giants but the combination of Madison Bumgarner, Matt Cain & Jeff Samardzija have posted a record of 18-6 with a sub 3 ERA. NL Central is a free for all with every team not named Milwaukee having lead at some point. Currently the Votto-less Reds sit atop the division with a 24-20 record but St. Louis & Chicago are not far behind. The Cubs got off to a slow start & have dealt with numerous injuries but their young bats are starting to come alive so look for them to push Cincy the rest of the way. In the East things have been up & down for Miami, Washington & Atlanta. The Marlins finish the month where they started (in 1st place) but they were hot & cold in month starting May off losing 11 of their first 14. They then turned around & got hot again winning 12 of their last 14. The Nationals sit only a game behind which is quite remarkable considering the numerous injuries they have had to fight through. After a rough May, the Nats got Harper back & also their wins turning in a 17 win month. Pittsburgh 2B Neil Walker won Player of the Month with an impressive .358 average, 7 HR, 22 RBIs & 22 runs scored & is now tied for 3rd in HRs in the NL with 11. The Dodger's rookie SS Corey Seager won Rooke of the Month honors thanks to .306 average, 2 HRs & 24 RBIs. The Pitcher of the Month comes from a bit of a surprise starting pitcher as San Diego's Odrisamer Despaigne had himself a strong month collecting 5 wins & 0 losses with a low ERA 1.47. If the Padres wanna catch the Giants they will need more of those type of performances from their pitching staff

In the American League things have changed in the AL Central. The White Sox were the best team in baseball after April but Jose Abreu's time on the DL plummetted them in the standings. They lost promising young arm Carlos Rodon for 3 months & so are now down 3 starting pitchers. It will be a tough climb for them the rest of the way. Cleveland has surged ahead in the central thanks in large part to AL Pitcher of the Month & former Atlanta Brave Mike Minor. Minor has come back with a vengeance since returning from Tommy John surgery in 2015 when he was traded away to Arizona & finished with a decent year. The D'Backs traded him to Cleveland in the offseason for his final season of arbitration & man is he earning a big pay day this offseason. He leads the league with an 8-0 record (going 5-0 in May), posted 2.33 ERA in month of May while batters hit only .188 against him. Add in a rotation of Corey Kluber, Johnny Cueto, Trevor Bauer & now Mike Minor will make for a very tough team to handle in 2016. In the East, Toronto has pulled ahead of Tampa Bay & Boston thanks to a lineup that gets on base. The Jays have the top OBP in the AL at .343. Their pitching has been so-so but their lineup will carry them a long way. In the West, Oakland & Texas are dueling for the top spot. Young Rangers 2B Roughned Odor is having himself a season & won Player of the Month honors after batting .372 with 6 HRs & 26 RBIs. The Rangers have done it with a subpar year out of Yu Darvish so far something that is due for change which could mean a strong few months ahead for Texas. Oakland's offense has struggled but their pitching has been ridiculous. Chris Basset has been outstanding & Sean Doolittle might be the best closer in the Major Leagues right now. Houston sits in the bottom of the standings but their young SS Carlos Correa has been outstanding winning June's Rookie of the Month after hitting .340, 6 HRs & 23 RBIs. They will need more of that if they wanna catch Texas & Oakland.

[WeagleWeagle]

May Braves Review

So it wasn't the greatest of 2nd months for the Atlanta Braves as they finished May with a 12-16 record putting them just below .500 at 22-24 overall. The month started great with a 4 game winnings streak including sweeping the 1st place Marlins to move into the top spot themselves. But then they would got 4-17 with a 7 game losing streak in there that included getting shutout in back to back games. They finished the month 4-3 with signs of improvement but there is still a lot to be concerned about.

The strength of this ballclub is pitching. Every starter not named Julio Teheran has been outstanding early this year. AJ Cole & Alex Wood have both posted below 3 FIPs & Shelby Miller is just barely above 3. Those 3 have been the top guys but Brett Anderson has turned in some solid outings after a rough start. On the other hand Teheran has been miserable. 1-6 record with 6.07 ERA & FIP of 5.23. AJ Cole has almost passed him innings pitched despite starting the season in the bullpen. Matt Wisler was assigned to Gwinnett for a rehab assignment. The Braves are going to give him 2 starts before moving him back up. Chances are high Teheran might be heading for the pen on Wisler's return as Cole has cemented himself as a starter in this rotation.

The bullpen has been hit or miss. Sean Marshall has been a MAJOR hit having not surrendered a run 16.1 innings of relief work. The Braves though don't have a closer at the moment as RJ Alvarez has struggled in that role so for now Atlanta will be using more of a closer by committee. Angel Nesbitt has returned to the active roster after a very good month in AAA. He spent some time as closer for Gwinnett & so could move into that role as well. The main issue has been the Braves bullpen struggling to keep inherited runners from scoring. Multiple times WeagleWeagle has gone to the pen looking for a single out out of a guy & ended up with 2-3 runs scored. It has been a rotating door that still needs figuring out & not having Jim Johnson hurts. But Shae Simmons, RJ Alvarez, Angel Nesbitt & John Cornerly all are young arms that have promising stuff that can turn into a deadly pen. The interesting thing is what to do with Tanner Roark & Cody Martin. Martin is going to get a shot at starting again in place of Teheran in the upcoming series against the Cubs while Roark has been demoted to AAA to work on being a starter. The hope is they can either find a 5th rotation arm for 2017 or use them as trade bait in the coming months.

Offensively it has not been pretty for this Braves ball club. Domingo Santana, Jose Peraza, Maxwell Smith & Jace Peterson are supposed to be the young promising core talent of the club. Santana is in AAA struggling to hit above .250, Peraza & Peterson are battling to stay above .200 while Mallex Smith's average has steadily plummeted to .241. Not good stuff... The bright shining spot has been Andrelton Simmons & Christian Bethancourt. Their 2016 season gives hope for the other young guys as both were weak last year at the plate & are now the leaders. Simmons has always been a defensive wizard at short but has struggled to be of value at the plate in his career. This year he is hitting .330 with OBP of .394, a OPS of .828, 4 HRs & 24 RBIs. He is only striking out 7.4% of the time this year too. All these #'s are big time career highs. The question is can he keep it up. Bethancourt has shown surprising power this year leading the team in dingers with 7 HRs. The 2 previous season he had 3 HRs combined. He has become the everyday catcher with Pierzynski going from starting every 3 days to 5 to keep Christian hot bat in the lineup.

One of the few moves that has worked well was calling up international signee Dian Toscano. He has moved to the leadoff spot against righties & leads the team with .339 avg. He is signed through 2019 & provides Atlanta with a nice platoon bat in LF. Destin Hood hasn't been bad either platooning in RF with Markakis. He has only had 24 plate appearances but is hitting .304. Without either of these guys production the Braves could be in really serious trouble.

Looking Forward

The main thing to remember is 2016 is not supposed to be a big year for the Braves. This is supposed to be the stepping stone to 2017 when the new stadium opens & the Braves look to really compete. For that to happen Atlanta needs to decide who they want to build this young team around & develop them. The following are the guys that 100% will be with us for the next few season as guys I want to make our run with

SP Alex Wood
SP Shelby Miller
SP AJ Cole
RP Angel Nesbitt
RP RJ Alvarez
SS Andrelton Simmons
C Christian Bethancourt

These are guys I think have great upside for the future. You will notice a name that is missing & has been missing most of this update....

Freddie Freeman

Well I have gone through our salaries & thought on it a bunch & it's painfully clear that we can't afford Freeman if we want all those guys above & possibly others. Our player payroll is just over $65M which is 29th in MLB. That is actually down from last year & with a demanding, economizer as an owner I don't see it going up in the future. Freddie currently makes 12.5M which isn't that bad. Next year though? That climbs to $20.5M! That is over 30% of our budget. Throw in Nick Markakis's ridiculous $10.5M & you have half our payroll on 2 players... So that means we have to get Freddie off our books by 2017. That hurts to say. He is my favorite player, our stud hitter & foundation of the club. But Frank Wren's dumb contracts are gonna bankrupt us if we don't. So my plan is this, if we are still within 4-5 games of 1st place by trade deadline hang on to Freeman till offseason. If we are greater than that then we are dealing. Markakis will also have to be dealt which will be tough as he is a veteran with a bad contract that is not producing. Might have to dump him for nothing, but for Freddie I want prospects. I want quality players that are 1-2 years from jumping into the majors. What does ease the pain is seeing how beastly Conrad Gregor is doing in AAA. He came over as part of the Santana deal & now leads the AAA in batting avg. He will get his shot either in July or September depending on when we move Freddie

The next level are the guys I am still evaluating for the future, these are guys that have I believe great potential but haven't sold me yet

2B Jose Peraza
2B/3B Jace Peterson
3B Christian Villanueva
CF Maxwell Smith
RF Domingo Santana
SP Julio Teheran
SP Matt Wisler
RP Shae Simmons
RP John Cornerly
RP Cody Martin

The big question mark is Santana. We traded away a good young arm for a powerful bat. We got back a strikout man. He has struggled in AAA & makes me really nervous about the future. I can't call him up till I see improvement & it's not there. Jose Peraza is about 95% lock to stay because of defense. He is an 80 rated defender so between him & Simmons I have best up the middle defense in baseball. But his bat has been terrible & he doesn't walk. The rest of the guys are all guys I like a lot but haven't produced consistently enough for me. There is a very high chance I package Teheran & Markakis together to get something decent back as Markakis on his own is tough sell.

Now quick updates on lineups, rotation & bullpen moving forward in June. The bullpen will probably still move guys around but this is where we start June 1st

vs RHP
LF Dian Toscano
SS Andrelton Simmons
C Christian Bethancourt
1B Freddie Freeman
3B Christian Villanueva
RF Nick Markakis
LF Maxwell Smith
Pitcher
2B Jace Peterson/Jose Peraza

vs LHP
CF Mallex Smith
SS Andrelton Simmons
C Christian Bethancourt
1B Freddie Freeman
3B Christian Villanueva
RF Nick Markakis
LF Dian Toscano
Pitcher
2B Jace Peterson/Jose Peraza

Rotation
1.) Alex Wood
2.) Shelby Miller
3.) Julio Teheran/Cody Martin/Matt Wisler --> These 3 will battle for this spot in June
4.) Brett Anderson
5.) AJ Cole

Bullpen
LR - 2nd place of #3 starter battle
LOOGY - Luis Avilan --> Brady Feigl in AAA will probably take this spot soon
MR - Brandon Cunniff
MR - John Cornerly
Setup - Shae Simmons
CL - RJ Alvarez/Sean Marshall/Angel Nesbitt --> June will decide who is closer rest of the way

The June draft approaches so in the coming days there will be some big changes to organization as the day after draft is big day for me in promoting/demoting guys. I will have a wrap up covering all of that along with post to preview our rookie ball teams. June is a big month for this club. They are only 4 games back of 1st & you can see all the potential there to steal a Wild Card spot but the big thing is development. If these young guys can find their stride that will go a long way in the future for this organization.

[WeagleWeagle]

6/1/2016

Braves Open June With Win

Atlanta Braves (23-24) 4 @ Milwaukee (21-27) 1

Milwaukee, WI - Alex Wood was Alex Wood good & this time he got the run support. It didn't look like he was going to as heading into top of 7th he had given up only 1 R on a solo blast by Tyrone Taylor in the bottom of the 3rd & 3 hits yet trailed 1-0. The Braves offense finally clicked as AJ Pierzynski opened inning with single. Peraza was brought in as pinch runner which proved wise as a Nick Markakis double scored him easily from first to tie the game. Jace Peterson then singled to put runners on the corners. Bethancourt struck out to bring up the strugging Braves rookie Mallex Smith. On a full count Smith got a fastball he could hit & drove it up the middle to score Markakis & put Atlanta ahead. A double steal move the runners into scoring postion which meant both scored on Dian Toscano's single and the Braves had a 4-1 lead. RJ Alvarez worked a perfect 7th & Shae Simmons took the next 1.1 innings & Sean Marshall helped finish a safe 9th to give Atlanta the win & the series. The Braves are off tomorrow before travelling to Chicago to take on the Cubs.

WP: Alex Wood (5-4) 6.0 IP, 3 H, ER, 3 BB, 7 K
LP: Hiriam (1-2) 6.1 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Player of the Game: Alex Wood

Minor League Review

Gwinnett (31-23) 4 @ Pawtucket (30-22) 1
- SP Matt Wisler W(1-0) 5.2 IP, 6 H, ER, 2 BB, 2 K
- 1B Conrad Gregor 3-5, HR(10), RBI(29), R (.362)
- LF Cedric Hunter 3-4, HR(6), 2 RBI(33), R (.239)

Jackson (26-27) 3 @ Mississippi (27-26) 4
- CF Luis Chavez-Gamboa 2-5, 2 R (.133)
- DH David Rohm 2-4 (.263)

Wilmington (31-22) 5 @ Carolina (24-29) 1
- LF Jordan Paroubeck 3-4, 2B(2), R

Rome (23-22) 6 @ Savannah (27-19) 9
- C Matthew Kassowitcz 3-4, BB (.234)
- RF Dwanya Williams-Sutton 1-4, HR(3), 2 RBI(8), R (.206)
- 2B Chris Thibideau 3-3, 2B(13), 3B(1), HR(5), 3 RBI(21), R (.267)

MLB News
- STL Jayson Heyward out for 3-4 weeks with separate shoulder after running into RF wall against SD making a catch
- PIT loses star CF Andrew McCutchen for 5 weeks with a hamstring strain

[WeagleWeagle]

6/2/2016

Braves On BYE

Minor League Review

Gwinnett (32-23) 14 @ Pawtucket (30-23) 1
- SP Jason Hursh W(5-2), 6.1 IP, 5 H, ER, 2 BB, 9 K
- 1B Conrad Gregor 4-5, 2B(9), 2 RBI(31), R (.375)
- RF Domingo Santana 2-4, 2B(5), 3 RBI(13), 2 BB (.209)

Jackson (27-27) 6 @ Mississippi (27-27) 1
- DH Reed Harper 1-4, 2B(4) (.261)

Carolina (24-30) 9 @ [B]Frederick (25-29) 9
- C Tanner S. Murphy 2-4, 2 RBI(28), R (.261)
- LF Dustin Peterson 2-5, 3B(4), RBI(23), R (.225)

Rome (23-23) 1 @ Ashville (23-23) 2
- SP Tyler Ivey L(0-1) 6.0 IP, 6 H, ER, BB, 2 K --> welcome to life as Braves starting pitcher

Rome (24-23) 6 @ Ashville (23-24) 3
- SS Chris Thibideau 1-3, 2 RBI(23) (.265)
- 3B Edwin Diaz 2-4, HR(10), 2 RBI(31), R

MLB News
- MIN CL Glenn Perkins out for 6 months with torn flexor tendon
- CHC LF Yoenis Cespedes out for 8 months with torn labrum
- NYY SP Ivan Nova pitched a 6-0 shutout of the Rangers
- OAK Sonny Gray throws no hitter vs Twins

[WeagleWeagle]

Series Preview

It has been up & down year for the Cubs but they find themselves only a game back of the NL Central lead. Most of the young talent of the farm system has made its way up & now in 2016 Chicago is supposed to be ready to compete. After reaching wildcard last season the expectations were high but the start of the season was rough opening 3-8. The main problem has been offense. Jorge Soler was rookie of the year last season & NL HR King but this year has struggled to keep his average above .200 & Kris Bryant leads the league in strikeouts while barely hitting over .250. Yoenis Cespedes (who they received in deal with DET last season that sent Jake Arrieta to Tigers) is now done for the season which is a huge blow as he was hitting .277/.293/.445/.738 with 4 HRs & 16 RBIs. WeagleWeagle has never beaten the Cubs as Chicago swept both series last season & pounded them in spring training game. Both teams need a strong start to the month.

Expected Pitching Matchups
Game 1
LHP Travis Wood 3-3, 2.67 ERA, 3.10 FIP, 1.4 WAR
vs
RHP Shelby Miller 3-2, 2.65 ERA, 3.31 FIP, 1.3 WAR
Game 2
LHP Eric Jokisch 1-2, 4.44 ERA, 4.43 FIP, 0.4 WAR
vs
RHP Julio Teheran 1-6, 6.07 ERA, 4.95 FIP, -0.1 WAR
Game 4
LHP Jon Lester 5-4, 3.03 ERA, 3.09 FIP, 1.7 WAR
vs
LHP Brett Anderson 4-3, 4.12 ERA, 3.70 FIP, 0.9 WAR

Primary Lineup
C Kyle Schwarber
1B Anthony Rizzo
SS Addison Russell
3B Kris Bryant
RF Jorge Soler
LF John Mayberry Jr
2B Javier Baez
CF Almont Almora

[WeagleWeagle]

6/3/2016

Braves Beat Cubs

Atlanta Braves (24-24) 4 @ Chicago Cubs (24-23) 2

Chicago, IL - The Bravos are back to .500 after a 2 run victory in the series opener against the Cubs. Shelby Miller was again brilliant & got enough offense to outduel Travis Wood. Christian Villanueva opened the scoring in the very first inning. Villanueva was apart of the Cubs organization before being selected in Rule 5 draft by Atlanta. He announced his prescence with a 2 run double in the first. Atlanta would tack 2 more on in the 4th thanks to RBIs by Nick Markakis & Dian Toscano. Chicago struck back with 2 in bottom of 5th but that would be it as Braves bullpen was perfect through 3 innings of work culminating in Sean Marshall getting his first save of season. The lefty will temporarily fill the role of closer as Braves try to sort out Alvarez, Simmons & Nesbitt. Teheran will attempt to actually have a good performance tomorrow for Atlanta

WP: Shelby Miller (4-2) 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 6 K
LP: Travis Wood (3-4) 3.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 6 K
S: Sean Marshall (1) 1.0 IP, BB, 2 K

Player of the Game: Sean Marshall

Minor League Review

Gwinnett (32-24) 6 @ Rochester (23-33) 7
- 1B Conrad Gregor 1-4, 3B(1), RBI(32) (.372)
- DH Joey Terdoslavich 2-3, 2B(3), HR(1), RBI(7), 2 BB, R (.297)
- C Kyle Higashioka 1-4, 2B(8), 2 RBI(18), BB, R (.297)

Jackson (27-28) 4 @ Mississippi (28-27) 7
- DH Braxton Davidson 0-2, RBI (.282)
- SS Reed Harper 1-4, 2B(5), 2 RBI(11) (.260)
- 2B Daniel Castro 2-3, 2B(8), HR(3), RBI(4), 2 R (.307) --> Has been a beast since being sent down

Carolina (24-31) 0 @ Frederick (26-29) 5
- nothing good

Asheville (23-25) 2 @ Rome (25-23) 3
- SP Alec Grosser W(4-4) 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
- LF Jose Morel 1-1, HR(2), RBI(3), R --> Game winning pinch hit HR

MLB News
- Mets RP Jeurys Familia plans to enlist in military at end of season....
- HOU SP Aaron Harang is done for 5 months with torn rotator cuff

[WeagleWeagle]

6/4/2016

Villuaneva Powers Braves to Victory

Atlanta Braves (25-24) 6 @ Chicago Cubs (24-24) 2

Chicago, IL - The one thing Joe Maddon said after yesterday's loss was they needed to not fall down early as they don't play well from behind. So what happened Saturday? Well Christian Villanueva seems to be on a mission to punish the Cubs & after an RBI double Friday to open the scoring he doubled down & blasted a grand slam in the 1st inning to jump Atlanta ahead 4-0. Julio Teheran was on the mound Saturday even though there were talks Cody Martin would get his first start. Teheran must have been reading those rumors as he came out & pitched his best game to date going 8.1 innings, giving up 6 hits, 2 earned runs, a walk & striking out 7. This is the kind of performance they expect out of their former ace. Christian Bethancourt went deep for a team leading 8th time in the 7th inning while inning earlier Mallex Smith drove in his 6th run of the season. Overall it was all Braves as Atlanta got the series win. They will go for the sweep Sunday with Brett Anderson on the mound while Chicago will send their ace Lester out to stop this free fall.

WP: Julio Teheran (2-6) 8.1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, BB, 7 K
LP: Eric Jokisch (1-3) 5.2 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

Player of the Game: Julio Teheran

Minor League Review

Rochester (23-34) 5 @ Gwinnett (33-24) 7
- CF Todd Cunningham 2-4, HR(4), 2 RBI(24), R (.273)
- 1B Conrad Gregor 2-4, 2B(9), HR(11), RBI(33), 2 R (.375)
- C Chris O'Dowd 2-4, 2B(3), HR(3), 2 RBI(13), R (.346)

Jackson (27-29) 3 @ Mississippi (29-27) 4
- 2B Jordan Edgerton 2-4, 2B(4), RBI(31), R (.273)
- 1B Levi Hyams 2-4, 2B(10), 3 RBI(46) (.313) --> Leads all of Southern League in RBIs

Carolina (25-31) 7 @ Frederick (26-30) 4
- LF Conner Lien 2-4, 2B(12), BB, R (.247)
- RF Jordan Paroubeck 1-1, 2B(3) (.360) --> Out with oblique strain (3rd team injury at this level in past week, need to see what is going on)
- C Tanner S Murphy 2-4, 2B(12), HR(6), 6 RBI(32), 2 R (.262)

Asheville (23-26) 4 @ Rome (26-23) 8
- SP Chandler Day 6.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K (3.97 ERA) --> Will spend all of 2016 in Rome
- C Matthew Kassowitcz 2-4, 2 RBI(26) (.241)
- 2B Chris Thibideau 3-4, 2 HR(7), 6 RBI(29), 3 R (.284) --> 29th Rd pick of 2015 is coming alive at the plate

Organization Moves
Draft is in 2 days so starting to make some moves in the minors for promoting/demoting. Unfortunately a few guys that were planned to be moved are injured so will have to wait on them. I will do full write up after draft on all planned organization moves along with mid season recaps for the minors

- Promoted 3B Ian Hagenmiller from Rome to Carolina (.307/.372/.466 6 HRs 21 RBIs)
- Promoted SS/3B Edwin Diaz from Rome to Carolina (.271/.316/.497 10 HR, 31 RBIs)
- Promoted SS Sergio Alcantar from Danville to Rome

MLB News
- SF OF Josh Hamilton out for 4 weeks with sprained ankle
- MIL 3B Pablo Sandoval suffers 3 week setback
- BAL SP Miguel Gonzalez throws shutout vs Houston
- CWS agree to trade with SD sending 25 yr old SS Leury Garcia & 22 yr old minor leaguer 3B Joxelier Garcia to Padres in exchange for 25 yr old SP Robbie Erlin