2019 Atlanta Braves

[Sportsforever]

...and now AJ Minter had to leave after 1 batter today due to "shoulder tightness". I swear; it's like 2014 ST so far after we had a good 2013.

[tonybologna]

Quote: Originally Posted by Sportsforever

Man...reading the things I'm reading from Folty, I fully expect we'll be without his services this year. He said that he had the pain last year, but got used to pitching with it...he had hoped it would be gone when he started this year in Spring Training with rest. When he made his first start it was still there, but the thing that bothered him the most was his velocity was down 6-8 mph on his fastball (he was sitting 88-90). All of those tell me he has an injury, he pitched with it last year, and it hasn't gone away/has gotten worse. I'm fully expecting to here he's getting TJS. The only thing I don't understand is why these guys don't get checked out at the END of the season...if you need surgery, start your clock then and not now. Oh well...

Quote: Originally Posted by Sportsforever

...and now AJ Minter had to leave after 1 batter today due to "shoulder tightness". I swear; it's like 2014 ST so far after we had a good 2013.

Geez! Our pitchers are falling like dominoes. I agree with you 100% on the Folty situation. We didn't hear a thing about him having pain/discomfort last season. He should have had an MRI on that arm/shoulder at seasons end if this was happening.

Now, just like you said he just might be facing a serious injury & Tommy John surgery. Shame on the Braves management for not looking into this at the end of last season. Wonder if Folty kept quiet about it & didn't mention his pain/discomfort to anyone? Doesn't seem that way but it's just now coming out about it so I'm sure someone in management besides Folty knowing also knew about it.

We could be looking at losing 3 pitchers(Folty, Soroka, & Minter) already. Hopefully Minter is just a thing of not having any game pitching & his arm just got sore. Soroka I feel is a big problem because of his injury last season. These are 3 key guys on our pitching staff. Geez! Hate hearing this news so early on in spring training. Makes me feel down a bit now but I do know that we do have plenty of choices for SP's. That's at least a good thing to have.

[KSUowls]

I still want Kimbrel. Even if this pitching staff is 100% having a legit 9th inning guy improves this club so much.

Philly is a concern. They have a good back end guy in their bullpen this year and they still have Nola anchoring down the #1 spot. The rest of the rotation isn't very scary, but neither is Atlanta's (though Atlanta's does have a higher ceiling). That team was a playoff contender for most of the season, and they added two big bats to that lineup. The East is going to be a battle this year. Not too happy about the lack of moves we saw this offseason, but at least this team still have an opportunity for natural progression with so many young guys.

[tonybologna]

Here is our Top 30 Braves Prospects for 2019: http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2019?list=atl

Ranked #3 this year with our farm system. We were #1 back in 2017. I still think personally we should be #2 behind the Padres & ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Add Dansby to the list of Braves players dealing with soreness/discomfort: https://www.mlb.com/braves/news/a-j-...s-game-vs-jays

[TheMatrix31]

More injury bull****. Why can't a team I root for ****ing stay healthy for once?

[tonybologna]

https://www.mlb.com/braves/news/a-j-...-fender-bender

https://www.mlb.com/braves/news/max-...cut-to-blister

[tonybologna]

RP Chad Sobotka has been rocked so far this spring including today's game. He's pitched in 4 games & now his ERA stands @ 16.20 for the spring. Gave up 4 ER's today in 2/3 of an inning. Acuna hit his 1st HR of spring training yesterday which is some good news.

Duvall blasted 2 HR's on Saturday which is what we need out of him. He's battling Ryan LaMarre for that LH bat off the bench & a backup OF'er. SP Kyle Wright made his 2nd start for the spring with 3 solid innings of work. He had 3 K's while giving up only 2 hits with no walks. In his 2 starts he's pitched 5 innings with 6 K's & no ER's given up yet either. He's definitely making a push for the rotation.

[tonybologna]

We're having split squad games today. In one game, Touki started & had his best outing of the spring to date. 3 IP, 0 Hits, & 4 K's. In the other game, Bryse Wilson started & also pitched really well. 3 IP, 1 Hit, & 1 K.

Freeman also hit his 2nd HR of the spring with a Grand Slam. McCann went 2 for 2 & is now batting .500 for the spring so he's making a push for more starts behind the plate between him & Flowers. One player that's a non-roster invitee & tearing it up is Andres Blanco. He went 2 for 2 with 2 RBI & is now batting .455 for the spring.

He's a veteran guy that can play basically all infield positions except 1B. The problem is we have no spot for him on the 25-Man roster. The final roster spot for position players is going to be between Duvall & LaMarre. I would bet or say that Blanco will be @ AAA Gwinnett for the season unless we end up just deciding to let him go & allow him to possibly catch on with another team @ the MLB club level.

Also, some interesting Craig Kimbrel news: https://www.mlb.com/news/craig-kimbr...ors-c297610312

The Swanberson bobblehead: https://www.mlb.com/cut4/charlie-cul...ual-bobblehead (LOL)