Center Field Options

When the Braves consider next year’s starting outfield, they have a bevy of players from which to choose.  It’s just the first year the Braves will be plagued with this problem as they have tons of promising young outfielders in their farm system.  Today we’ll look at some of the options in center field.

Mark Kotsay - The Incumbant CF

Kotsay’s contract expires at the end of the 2008 season and he may or may not be resigned.  Kotsay has been effective in Atlanta, batting .299 with 37 RBIs, 6 HRs, and a .346 on-base percentage in 83 games.  He’s been on the DL with back issues (he had back surgery in Oakland that knocked him out for most of last season) but for the most part has been healthy.

Gregor Blanco - The Rookie

Gregor Blanco has played the most time of the young Braves’ outfield prospects, batting .258 with 27 RBI, 11 stolen bases, and a .371 on base percentage.  Blanco is speedy - he’s currently ranked second in the NL in bunt hits with 14.  Blanco has been slowed recently by a bone spur in his ankle, which is growing worse as the season progresses.  He’s doing a pretty good job batting leadoff and has impressed with his time in Atlanta.

Josh Anderson - Rising Star

Anderson has played most of the year in Richmond, but is absolutely tearing up the baseball there. He’s batting .316 with 37 RBIs, a .361 on base percentage, and a whopping 40 stolen bases.  He’s cutting down on strikeouts when compared to years past, and and should definitely be considered when the Braves look at their outfield after the season.  It’d be great to see some speed come back to Atlanta, where we have a history of speedy outfielders.

Jordan Schafer - Once The Future King

Schafer was once heralded as a sure lock for the Braves’ starting center field spot in 2009, but a run in with an HGH suspension (he says there’s a side to the story that hasn’t been told) has limited his playing time and knocked him back a step or two.  He’s batting .269  with 46 RBIs and 9 HRs in just 71 games and has an OBP of .371.  I’d be surprised to see him make the jump from AA ball to the big leagues, but it’s not impossible.  He still has a future with the Braves organization, I’m just not sure it involves a role in center field in 2009.

Who do you think the center fielder should be next year?  Kotsay or one of the youngsters?  I’m excited about Josh Anderson and want to see him in the bigs next year for the Braves, be it in Center or Left.  But with potentially Kotsay, Anderson, Blanco, Brandon Jones, and Matt Diaz competing for three outfield slots, it’s going to be competitive - and fun to watch.

Kotsay To DL, Anderson Called Up

Braves’ center fielder Mark Kotsay was placed on the 15-day DL today after tightness in his lower back prohibited him from even taking batting practice Thursday before the game against the Brewers.  Speedster Josh Anderson was recalled from AAA Richmond and will be in Cincinnati on Friday night for the start of a three-game series against the Reds.

Kotsay, who missed his last four starts, had back surgery in March of last year.  He came to the Braves in a trade for prospect Joey Devine.  Kotsay is not the first Braves outfielder to go on the DL - Matt Diaz is expected to miss about six weeks with a partially torn PCL that will not require surgery.  While Diaz and Kotsay are on the DL, Josh Anderson is expected to share time in center field and left field with Gregor Blanco.

Anderson was acquired from the Astros in a trade last year in November for reliever Oscar Villareal.  He impressed in spring training and was beat out for the fourth outfield spot by Blanco.

Schafer Suspended for HGH Use

The Braves’ star prospect Jordan Schafer, who had a decent spring, was suspended for 50 games after it was revealed he violated the league’s substance abuse policy. Apparently Schafer tested positive for HGH, not something good to see from a young player who is supposedly the future face of the franchise.

Everywhere you read about this guy and his supposed maturity, but I’m not sold on him yet.  Just because you can play ball (apparently with the help of HGH) doesn’t mean you have the composure and maturity you need to be a major league player and the potential face of the franchise.  You can’t convince me he’s ready for the big league level for at least a year or two.

As for his placeholder, Mark Kotsay, the guy has been great so far.  Solid hitter, great arm, and he does his best to cover ground.  Heck, we haven’t even had to add a single point to our “Andruw would have gotten that” counter.

Schafer is going to need to come back from this suspension with some sincere remorse and work hard to make up for this significant shortcoming.  Not only does it cast doubt on his strong spring, but it shows character flaws and immaturity.  I think Schafer has bought into the hype surrounding his rising star career way too much - and has passed way over the line between confident and cocky.  One has to be worried about seeing someone like Schafer go down this path.  The truly good players - character wise - are the Jeff Francoeurs and Brian McCanns.  They keep their mouths shut and play baseball - don’t dig into anything suspect or suspicious, and let their numbers back up the hype surrounding their careers.

Schafer has a long way to go - good thing we have those extra outfielders now, isn’t it?  Josh Anderson next season, anyone?

‘08 Roster Nearing Completion

After last night’s loss to Cleveland, the Braves further thinned out their roster, getting ready for Sunday’s game against the Washington Nationals.  Of course the most notable moves involved the ongoing battles for the limited number of backup spots on the roster.

Brent Lillibridge, impressive as he was in the first half of the spring, got sent back to AAA Richmond, where he’ll get more playing time.  I think this is crucial, since either he or Escobar will likely be trade bait before too long.  He needs to be playing all the time.  Martin Prado gets to stay in Atlanta - his first time starting the season in the majors.  Joining Prado (who played a few innings last night at first, by the way) is new acquisition Ruben Gotay, a switch-hitting contact hitter who can play second, third, and short.

In the outfield, Gregor Blanco beat out Josh Anderson for the backup job.  Anderson got out-hit by Blanco this spring (.260 to .341) and despite his speed, Bobby couldn’t find a roster spot for him.  I like Anderson though - if we have an issue mid-season with Diaz or Kotsay I’m sure we’ll see him (maybe even before Schafer, whom they might want to groom all season long).

Behind the plate, Corky Miller seems to have the backup job.  Brayan Pena is still on the roster too, but he’s out of options and conventional wisdom says he’s traded by the end of the day.  If Pena sticks around, he can pitch in at first as well.

So that leaves the five bench spots going to Blanco (OF), Gotay (IF), Prado (IF), Pena (C/1B) and Miller (C).  I’m not sure what we’ll see happen if Pena is traded - maybe Anderson comes back up?

The Bullpen is finally solid, with slots going to Peter Moylan, Rafael Soriano, Manny Acosta, Will Ohman, Chris Resop, Royce Ring, and Blaine Boyer.  I like this year’s ‘pen.  Lots of arms who have the capacity to be good pitchers throughout the season.

Jeff Bennett and Buddy Carlyle are still fighting for the pitching slot left vacant by Smoltzie, who will start the season on the DL (it’ll be backdated and he’ll only miss one start).  I’d give the edge to Bennett in this one - he’s been impressive, but Carlyle hasn’t put together a bad spring himself.

More as we hear it - our ears are to the ground today as we wait for the final moves to be made.

Braves’ Offense Rolling

Contrary to popular belief, and by popular belief I mean the all-time great former Mets’ GM Steve Phillips’ NL East preview on ESPN.com, the Braves are alive and well and clicking. The Braves, after losing to those Mets today, are sitting at fourth in the Grapefruit League in runs scored. Among teams in the NL East, the Braves finished ahead of all four rivals. Of course, this number doesn’t take into account the Phillies’ playground stadium. The Phillies’ spring training stadium-Bright House Field-does have a short fence, but on the right side of the field as opposed to the left at Citizens’ Bank Park.

Getting back to the team at hand though, the Braves should have little to worry about offensively from their starting nine. Yunel Escobar is hitting a cool .400 this spring after last year’s .326 (319 ABs); more importantly for Escobar, he slugged .557, second only to Chippers’ .658. Of course, this is spring training we’re talking about and stats don’t translate to the regular season, but Escobar’s work ethic and hitting discipline has never been questioned since he was drafted by the Braves.

Other surprises included included Martin Prado (.318 in 66 ABs, most on the team) and Gregor Blanco (.400 in 35 ABs), both of whom have a chance to make the team. Prado more than Blanco, but at this point I think Bobby’s seen enough from Anderson and Blanco offensively to make the decision based on defense and whether they will be proficient in all three outfield spots.

As far as the rest of the cast goes, Francoeur is projected to have a breakout year by many “experts” and fantasy gurus. McCann is healthy again and could potentially put up the numbers he put up in 2006. Teixeira hit just .188 but, again, this is Spring and isn’t really a preview of things to come. He’s been warming up as of late, anyways. Most of the players seem to be getting into form quickly, but to be successful this year, the Braves need to do better against left-handed starters. The team should have little problems manufacturing runs and may even be better with Tex in there from the get-go.

Handicapping The Outfielders

We all know that Jeff Francoeur and Mark Kotsay have their positions locked down. Francoeur remains the face and future of the Braves’ outfield, and Kotsay is the veteran bridge until Jordan Schafer is deemed ready for big-league play. Over in left field we’ve got a slightly different situation. Matt Diaz platooned last year with Willie Harris and put up some decent numbers of his own (a .338 average, a .368 on base percentage, 12 HRs and 45 RBIs).

The question this year is whether Diaz gets his own starting gig in left or platoons with another player. The lead candidate for the possible platoon, at least prior to the start of Spring Training, was Brandon Jones. He’s left-handed, and he has had success in the minors. This spring though, he’s seemed anxious at the plate, striking out too frequently (7 times in 24 at bats).

Some would argue that even had Brandon Jones not written himself out of the playing situation that Diaz deserves to play a full season by himself. He’s certainly a capable offensive player - and even though Terry Pendleton says he wouldn’t teach anyone to start batting the way Diaz does, something has to be working.

Here’s an interesting statistic.  Since the start of 2006, out of all players in the majors with at least 650 at-bats, the players with the highest batting averages are as follows:

This suggests that Diaz is among one of the better hitters in the game. Now most of his starts come against left-handers, but he’s not half bad against the right-handers either.  In 2007, he went 51-146 with 6 HRs for a .349 avg against left-handers. Against right-handers, he went 37-110 with 3 HRs for a .336 avg. His OPS (on base plus slugging) was .932 against lefties and a respectable .813 against righties. I think Diaz is ready for a full-time job, and I believe Cox thinks he could handle it. We’ll see how it unfolds, but right now I think there’s a higher probability he finds himself in left permanently.

We recently had a question to the mailbag about whether or not Josh Anderson could outplay Mark Kotsay for the center field job. I don’t think that’s even a possibility at this point - Kotsay may not have the range Andruw had (or Anderson has), but he has a great arm and the Braves will give him his opportunity. I know some of us are concerned that he’s going to hurt his back playing hard, but he’ll get the starting job out of spring training. I think Anderson will be one of the four players coming off the bench heading out of spring training.

I’ve written enough - but those are our outfielders. Diaz, Kotsay, and Francoeur should be our starters, and we’ll go from there. I expect Anderson will be the main backup, with maybe Jones playing another role. But he needs more development time. A little more patience wouldn’t hurt him.

Braves Down Cardinals 12-5

Tim Hudson was strong in his start today against the St. Louis Cardinals.  Though he gave up two unearned runs, he only gave up 3 hits in four innings.  Scott Thorman led the offensive charge with 4 RBIs and a three run homer.  Matt Diaz helped out as well with three hits in three at-bats, with 1 RBI.  Josh Anderson, fighting for an outfield slot, helped his case with a two for five effort, knocking in three runs and tacking on a stolen base.

Backing up Hudson, Peter Moylan pitched an inning to test out his elbow soreness - and did a great job, striking out one in a perfect inning.  Manny Acosta closed the game out with a scoreless inning, and Chris Resop contributed two scoreless innings with two strikeouts, giving up two hits.

We’ll continue our Yunel Escobar soapbox by mentioning his 1-3 effort with one run scored.  That leaves him at a petty .520 batting average this preseason.  Another one of our favorite infield prospects, Brent Lillibridge, continued to impress with  one hit and an RBI after taking over for Chipper at third base.  If you don’t know about Lillibridge, look him up.  He came to Atlanta, along with Mike Gonzalez, from the Pirates in exchange for Adam LaRoche, and he’s a good prospect at that.

Next up is the Cardinals again - with Jair Jurrjens hoping to continue his very impressive start.  We’ll keep a close eye on the game and keep you updated.

Stompin’ the Phillies: 10-1

Tim Hudson once again gave up one run in his outing today, but the Braves’ bats made sure that the earned run was forgotten in a 10-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.  Led offensively by Mark Teixeira, who went 2-3 with 2 RBIs, and helped by Brent Lillibridge’s 3 hits, 2 runs, and 1 RBI.  Kotsay also contributed with a hit, run scored and RBI, and Francoeur knocked in a couple as well.

The pitching was great on our side as well - Hudson gave up one run and four hits, but beyond that the staff was almost untouchable.  Will Ohman - the left-handed import from Chicago - pitched a scoreless inning and struck out one.  Buddy Carlyle faced 6 batters and had a perfect two innings with three strikeouts.

In addition, Brandon Jones walked twice and scored two runs - looking good on his part.  I really think he gets the job in left field, though Josh Anderson was 1-2 with a run scored.

Good to see the Braves whip up on the Phillies.  Glad to see that we can hold our own - even if it’s against the second-hand pitching.

Keep up the work, boys.  Francoeur took yesterday off because he played golf with Smoltz, Glavine, and none other than Tiger Woods.  Talk about living the big life.

Braves’ Decision: Left Field

I answered this question from PhilliesFlow.com in our perspective trade a couple days ago, and I wanted to take a moment to elaborate on some decisions the Braves have to make. From the article:

What do you see as the biggest decisions the Braves will make between now and the start of the season?

The fourth and fifth rotation spots are crucial. Having a solid back end of the rotation to compliment the Smoltz/Hudson/Glavine trio is something we need to know can hold their own. Be honest, a Smoltz/Hudson/Glavine/Heatlhy Hampton/Jurrjens or James rotation is about as mean as any out there. If everyone is healthy, it’s not a one-two punch. It’s a one-two-three-four punch. Now, it’ll only work for a year or so, but it could be nasty.

I think the other crucial decision is who will fill out the bullpen. We have more pitchers overall than we did last year and I think the bullpen will be stronger than it was, but we need to get our guys picked out and they need to embrace the roles they’re given. The only other key question to be answered is who will fill out the left field platoon with Matt Diaz. I think we’ll likely see Brandon Jones out there, but Josh Anderson also wants a piece of the platoon. That’ll be interesting to watch.

With Kotsay playing Center, we’re going to see some interesting competition for the left-field slots. Matt Diaz has the inside track on one half of the platoon, but we are going to see Brandon Jones (bats from the left side of the plate) try and take Willie Harris’ slot as the other half of the platoon. Of course, speedster Josh Anderson is a very talented outfielder also ready for the big time.  If we throw Jones in the platoon with Diaz, we’re sending a very talented center fielder back to AAA ball.  Something has got to give - we have too many outfielders given the positions we need to fill.  No matter whether we end up with Anderson or Jones in the outfield, they’ll be a good compliment to Diaz.

What do you think will happen with our outfield situation?  Who makes the big league team out of spring training?  Will we trade some of them for bullpen help or will we keep them all on hand?