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Casey and Kelly on the Right
Written by Akshay on January 24, 2009 – 1:22 amThe right side of the infield hasn’t been this good for the Braves in quite a while – not exactly the sentence you were expecting…but let’s look a little more into the “numbers,” which so many fans and “pundits” love to dissect. Casey Kotchman and Kelly Johnson are not exactly household names in the world of baseball. After all, it’s been a while since we’ve had the scrappy second baseman Marcus Giles and gold-glove caliber Adam LaRoche on that side of the field. Instead, Kotchman and Johnson will take the reins. Johnson, who took over for Giles after he left in free agency to San Diego, and Kotchman, who will be the first baseman after a mixture of Scott Thorman and Craig Wilson didn’t work and Mark Teixeira did not do much to add victories to the Braves.
Let’s take more of an in-depth look at the guy who a lot of fans may have blamed for our horrifically bad record against the Phillies last year. Johnson’s dropped pop up in the ninth inning of a game last season allowed the Phillies to score the tying run and later the winning run in extra innings. That error haunted the second baseman, but he did not suffer at the plate. Johnson hit .287 in his second full season in the majors; however his OBP and slugging went down from the previous season. He had 13 more doubles, four fewer home runs, fewer walks and fewer strikeouts than the previous season. While Johnson’s performance at the plate has barely been consistent, many players begin to flourish in their third year in the majors. I took a look at a player who has been in the sports news a little bit because of his selfishness lately – Michael Young. Young hit .249 and .262 in his first one and a half seasons in the majors. Young’s OBP and slugging were a lot worse than Johnson’s, but if that is an indication, the Braves will certainly have what will be an all-star second baseman in the field. Defensively, Johnson made 14 errors each of the past two seasons, but his fielding percentage did go up slightly in more changes than 2007.
At first base, Kotchman leaves a lot to be desired when we compare him to the 180 million dollar man. Kotchman made his major league debut in 2004 with the Anaheim Angels and went back and forth between the majors and minors over the next three seasons. 2007 was Kotchman’s first chance to play every day and he didn’t disappoint. He hit .297 with 11 home runs and 68 RBI. He also drew 53 walks and struck out—get this—ONLY 43 times in 443 at-bats, roughly once every ten at bats. Those numbers are more in the mold of Chipper Jones in that aspect as opposed to Andruw Jones or Johnson or Jeff Francoeur. Kotchman started off last season hitting .287 for the Angels and hit 12 home runs and had 54 RBI in the two thirds of the season he was with them. Unfortunately, his production significantly tailed off to a .237 average with the Braves and just two home runs over the last two months of the season and only 20 RBI. He walked a total of 36 times and struck out 39 times last year in more at-bats than 2007.
Despite only two months of service with the Braves, Kotchman’s production has left many fans restless. Think about it this way though, if you were playing for the best team in the league and you get to the stadium one day and found out you were traded to a team that wasn’t going to the post-season, how motivated would you be to put on your best effort? As professional as Kotchman is, he is still human and there’s always an element of disappointment in getting traded out of the playoff race. The guy is a gold glove caliber first baseman (that seems to be the norm these days in Atlanta) and I predict we will see more of the production he showed with Anaheim than the last two months of this past season with the Braves.
Tags: Casey Kotchman, Kelly Johnson
Posted in General | 12 Comments »
By Colin Ake on Jan 24, 2009 | Reply
Great article, Akshay. Johnson isn't the best second baseman ever, but I think we have reason to hope he develops more this season both offensively and defensively. He's done well so far and I hope he continues to improve.
Kotchman will be a good fit this year too – he's not Teixeira, but he's capable with the bat and outstanding with the glove. Should be a good fit.
By dave on Jan 24, 2009 | Reply
It sounds like with a little more offensive from Kotchman, and a little more defensive from Johnson, we might have something special. I only hope they both love playing for the Braves. Keep up the good work , and God bless.
By Keith on Jan 24, 2009 | Reply
I am on the fence with Kotchman. 1.You must remember that the kid was traded from a team that was a shoe in for the playoffs to a team that had no chance. 2. To top it all off his mother was very ill and the braves gave him a leave of absence. 3. The move was in mid season from the west coast to the west coast. 4.The guy was replacing Tex. This guy will never be Tex but I believe he can be very productive. I would settle for .290 average 20 hr and 90 rbi. Give or take a few hr and rbi this is were his production will be. Hopefully, in a few years Freeman will become what the office believes he can. In the meantime, we can live that kind of production.
By Larry on Jan 24, 2009 | Reply
I really think Kelly is coming into his own. He had the longest hitting streak in the NL last year. At the end of the year he really showed what he is capable of and I think hes going to break out this year. As for Kotchman, not a home run guy but hits the ball on a line quite consistently. When he came over he left a team destined for October to a team jus trying to finish the season without everyone on the DL. He also encountered his mother's illness that kept him out for awhile. A plus side is when we acquired him he was one of the top two in RBI's on the Angels. If he can pick that kind of production back up for the Braves he will change a lot of minds.
By Jonathan on Jan 24, 2009 | Reply
Keith, it sounds like you and I have pretty similar opinions on the issue. I'm hoping for decent production out of Kotchman this year. We can all accept that he's not one that could replace Teixeira, I just want him to silence the critics and hold the spot down until Freeman gets here.
By Jonathan on Jan 24, 2009 | Reply
As long as he doesn't drop too many more of those easy pop flies that would end the game.
By Tim on Jan 24, 2009 | Reply
Last year was only Kotchman's 2nd full year in the majors too. Kotchman has only played in 10 more MLB games than Johnson. Once everything got settled down with his mother he went on a good hitting streak towards the end of the season. People really shouldn't judge him on his time with the Braves but on his time with the Angels the past 2 years. Many scouts say Kotchman is capable of hitting 20 homeruns. I think people will be pleasently surprised by Kotchman this year.
By dave on Jan 24, 2009 | Reply
If Atlanta doesn't sign someone, or trade for an outfielder, or if one of the youngsters doesn't come through for them, I think moving Kelly to left and Prado to second would be a good move for Atlanta. Prado hits well, plays good defensive. Kelly has a great arm, and I think will only get better as a hitter. Prado could add a lot of singles and doubles, and many more rbi chances for the club. I think I remember one of the Braves last year saying Prado was one of the better hitters on the team. IT is indeed going to be an interesting year. God bless
By Akshay982 on Jan 25, 2009 | Reply
There's a possibility we could trade for Brian Roberts from Baltimore (2B) and move Kelly to the outfield…just a possibility though, nothing certain.
By Keith on Jan 25, 2009 | Reply
I believe they would prefer Infante and Prado be reserves. That being said you are correct this could work if all else fails. However, the Braves need to add a power bat to place between Chipper and Brian. The team average will rise in this set up but that's about all.
By dave on Jan 25, 2009 | Reply
I am glad for all the new people that have been brought to Atlanta by trade, and or free agency. I am glad that we do have some options to explore if needed. I feel that Casey and Kelly will be a large part of the success that I truly believe the Braves will have this year. God bless
By Scott C. on Jan 25, 2009 | Reply
The article said exactly what I’ve been saying about kotchman. I mean he went from a great team to a very average team. And leaving your mother as she’s dying probably didn’t help either (she lived in Cali when she was so sick).
I think a .280 avg, 18hrs and 80 RBI would be great. We don’t necessarily need him to be a slugger (we have mac and chipper and hopefully a power-hitting LF). Just solid offensive numbers and great defense and I’ll be happy.
Thoughts?!