Loading ...Medlen Called Up
Written by Colin on May 15, 2009 – 5:44 pmKris Medlen, a right handed starting pitcher from AAA Gwinnett, is being called up to the big leagues. Medlen will make his major league debut Tuesday against the Colorado Rockies. He’ll replace Jo-Jo Reyes in the rotation – Reyes will be moved to the bullpen and a reliever will be moved from the roster. The Braves have not yet announced who that will be as of the time of writing.
Medlen, 23 years old, is 5-0 with a 0.96 ERA for AAA Gwinnett. He received the call over Tommy Hanson, whom I’m sure we’ll see in time. Hanson is 1-3 with a 1.99 ERA. Medlen will do quite alright, hopefully. He’s currently in the middle of a 21 inning scoreless streak. Bobby Cox assessed Medlen as a player with “three plus pitches” and “quick as a cat.” Medlen has apparently picked off a handful of runners already this year.
Medlen reacted with “I’m completely and utterly shocked.” Apparently he thought Hanson was first in line for the bigs too. We’ll see Hanson with time – but no need to rush him when we’ve got stock like Medlen waiting for prime time.
Tags: Jo-Jo Reyes, Kris Medlen
Posted in Roster Moves | 13 Comments »
By gtmurff on May 16, 2009 | Reply
We all knew something had to happen. Bobby gave Jo-Jo plenty of opportunities but going 0-9 in your last 18 major league starts requires adjustment. Hopefully this will be what he needs.
Now onto the decision to bring up Medlen instead of Hanson. I like basing the move on the stats vs popularity. We've heard so much about Hanson, but that doesn't mean it's time to move 45 minutes south of Gwinnett. However, considering the gap that he's filling, you can't go wrong with either guy.
Go Braves!
By David Pierce on May 16, 2009 | Reply
The most intelligent move might have been Morton or another option already there like Parr, Campillo if healthy. I was thinking Morton to showcase him for a potential trade if we can hang in this thing.
Now that is not to say this is the worst option. The worst option would have been of course to do nothing and let Jo Jo stand out there degrading the organization. The second worst option would have been Hanson since 3 weeks from now we can bring him up and save a year on the arbitration clock. Would have been pretty pointless to call him up now.
Medlen is a fine choice provided this is a reward based callup due to his excellent season thus far. If its to showcase him for a trade, I am not happy at all. If we are moving arms I dont want Medlen's name thrown into any of them.
By David Pierce on May 16, 2009 | Reply
Continued
We are just now finally getting back to having a surplus of homegrown SP talent on cusp of making the show permanently following the Teixera raping. Lets not go toss our likely second best arm down there for a rental when a rental may not even be enough to still get us to the postseason.
Medlen has pitched great and hopefull the move will also signal to hanson maybe to work even harder than what he already has. The more we can toughen him up the better, don't want another Jo Jo coming up here thinking he can do what he pleases and not have to worry about losing his status because of lack of farm depth.
By Dan on May 16, 2009 | Reply
Great point, David, and one I have never thought of. Rewarding the best (ie Medlen) sends a clear signal that performance is valued, not your magazine rating. Its hard to ask Hanson to do a lot more, a 1.99 ERA is nothing to sniff at, but this will certainly be a mental test for him.
I am not sure we should be showcasing ANY arms at this point. Our outfield is still a bit weak, but there is not a single glaring weakness that is worth disgarding even a future number 3.
By Mark on May 17, 2009 | Reply
id rather see jo jo put in where bobby puts in carlyle….carlyle is a total embarrassment to himself and the Braves organization. This guy couldnt handle it when he was in the rotation and he cant handle pitching a blowout 6th inning without allowing another 6 runs. I hope Bobby can see this guy cant pitch at the major league level and moves him out of town.
By Jack on May 19, 2009 | Reply
I love the fact that we are producing quality pitching once again. On the other hand we have to make some moves to bring in a power bat in the line up. These new and upcoming pitchers are great but they are not star quality yet. We are not the Braves of the early 90's any more. Scoring just two or three runs and expecting to win games like we did with the dynamic three of the past will not happen very much. We need a power threat and with out it we will finish in third place and remain @ .500 LET'S GET A HITTER FOR RUN SUPPORT! These pitchers need run support.
By David Pierce on May 20, 2009 | Reply
Matt Holliday may be a guy we take a serious look at in the coming months. Oakland is really bad and his contract expires at year's end. Now Holliday will be a bit pricey. I know people are gonna think I am nuts but my choice is Josh Willingham of the Nats. Why go crazy and try and lock down a Carlos Lee or Holliday for a the rest of this year. Willingham is a pretty good player with power. I always have kinda like him for some reason. Sure the other guys hit for a higher average but all we need is a bopper in there. I can care less who it is provided it doesnt break the farm.
By David Pierce on May 20, 2009 | Reply
I disagree about Carlyle, in fact I think Carlyle does a pretty good job in tight situations for us as a long to middle reliever over the last few years. 75% of the time it has been to put a stop to Jo Jo' mess.
By David Pierce on May 20, 2009 | Reply
I think your right that we are about a .500 club. I really don't know if adding a top notch left fielder is going to solve that but it should help quite a bit. What I would like to know is why we didn't fork out the money for Ibanez when we had the chance. It appears as if we still have the pitching without Kawakami. Without Anderson's contract and Kawakami we could have had him easy with Lowe. I don't have a problem with Anderson other than the fact we are a few years late on him being a reliable fielder. Ibanez would have been a nice fit. Bummer I guess.
By Jack on May 20, 2009 | Reply
Willingham is a good choice. I agree. We need a big bopper in the lineup. He does not have to have a great average just the ability to hit the ball out of the park at any given moment. As it is now with our lineup we have good average hitting players. The only real homerun threat is Brian McCain & Chipper ever once and a while. We need protection for Brian. This would force the opposition to pitch in a way they don't have to as of right now. We have pitchers we can let go of to gain a big hitter. I'm not saying trade the farm but we have some choices to make and without making those choices we will remain a .500 club.
By David Pierce on May 21, 2009 | Reply
I am sure we can get our hands on willingham for a very reasonable price. We MAY have the pitchers to give up but it shouldnt take pitcher(s) to get willingham. There are a few nice things about Josh that make sense. He can play third, first and left. All positions that we always need someone to cover at for a game here and there. Plus he is a righty so he can spell kotchman against tough lefties and can hit righties. He is also a southern guy and has a personality that would jive in the Atlanta locker room. He is also arb eligible as well through 20011 i think meaning he is retainable if we want as opposed to lee and holliday. How about prado, coming on strong.
By Mark on May 24, 2009 | Reply
with each game im more and more impressed with kelly johnson, im so happy we didnt get rid of him in the offseason. today for instance, his insurance run pretty much gave us a win….does everyone agree soriano might have promoted himself to closer today? i was very high on gonzalez coming into this year, but it just seems like hes always giving up crucial hits in the ninth in 1-2 run games.
By gtmurff on May 27, 2009 | Reply
Now that Medlen has started two games what are everyone's thoughts? I was certainly hoping for more than 6k's 7BB's and a 9.72 ERA in 8.1 innings. How many attempts does he get? Knowing Bobby, I'd say he's got plenty left.