Optioned 2B Micah Johnson to AAA Gwinnett.
Optioned RHP Akeel Morris to AAA Gwinnett.
Purchased the contract of 2B Ozzie Albies from AAA Gwinnett.
Recalled RHP Lucas Sims from AAA Gwinnett.
Sent SS Luis Valenzuela to R-GCL Braves on rehab assignment.
Promoted RHP Kyle Wright from R-GCL Braves to A+ Florida.
Released A+ Florida 3B Andrew Daniel.
Optioned 2B Micah Johnson to AAA Gwinnett
0 for 3 with 2 Ks is no kind of season to have, so here’s hoping, at the very least, we let Johnson get some more ABs when rosters expand on September 1. He’s a nice player to have on a bench, so I have to think we’ll see him again.
Optioned RHP Akeel Morris to AAA Gwinnett
The scoreboard stats look great, particularly the 1.23 ERA and 11 K/9, but Morris struggles with walks, benefitted from an unsustainable 90% strand rate, and may have faced unusually easy competition. DRA accounts for quality of hitters faced, and Morris’s DRA is a ghastly 5.64. The sample size was tiny, so it’s hard to really put too much stock into any of the statistics, both the encouraging and discouraging ones. Morris will probably be back at some point.
Purchased the contract of 2B Ozzie Albies from AAA Gwinnett
OFR’s Andy Harris and Micah Smith have been pretty excited about this for a while, and both factor into Andy’s Get to Know a Call-Up article that was posted yesterday. Check it out here. There’s little I can add. It’s a fun day when a major prospect reaches the majors.
Recalled RHP Lucas Sims from AAA Gwinnett
The special nature of the day wasn’t unique to Albies, as Sims also made his MLB debut. 6 innings, 6 hits, one free pass, 3 runs, and 3 Ks. There are worse ways to start a career. Braves fans got a good glimpse of Sims the prospect in the game. He showed good stuff, getting to 2-strike counts on 16 of the 23 batters he faced. But as he whiffed only 3, he also allowed a .400/.438/.733 line with 2 strikes. Despite setting batters up nicely, he couldn’t put them away. Part of that is command – while he did a fine job avoiding walks (which is control), he didn’t do a good job placing the ball where he or Flowers wanted it. It also might be that Sims lacks a true out pitch. It’s too early to really tell for sure at the MLB level, and there’s a very good chance it was just jitters in front of family and friends, but good stuff mixed with inconsistent command was the takeaway from his debut. Hopefully we get to see more of Sims going forward, so we can see if he improves in these areas before hitters learn to take advantage of it.
Sent SS Luis Valenzuela to R-GCL Braves on rehab assignment
When Valenzuela completes rehab, expect him to resume his season with AA Mississippi.
Promoted RHP Kyle Wright from R-GCL Braves to A+ Florida
It’s pretty cool to see your first round pick making a start in high-A ball the same year he was drafted, even if he lasted only two innings in it. The innings weren’t bad – he faced the minimum, striking out 1 – but the team is clearly looking to limit his workload for now.
Released A+ Florida 3B Andrew Daniel
When the team signed Daniel, I mused hopes he could recover the bat he left in rookie ball so long ago. After batting .095/.174/.095, the team dropped him from AA to high-A, where he “improved” to .139/.244/.250. I think the end of a career is nigh upon us, but he got to play professionally for a while, which is more than most of us could ever dream, and that’s pretty nice.
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