The Braves are in the middle of playing 18-of-21 games at SunTrust Park. This should be one of the best stretches of the season, even though Freddie Freeman is still out. In spite of that, this run should be fun for the fans and the team, as we get to wrap our arms around the new ballpark!
A big “Shout-Out” to Matt Adams: for stepping in and swinging a big bat, since Freddie went down! Adams has been squaring up a lot of pitches and doing some damage. Coppy did a real nice job getting Matt in here, without giving up too much. Now the bad news: Adams can’t play LF or 3B in the big leagues. Sure hope Coppy can swing another solid deal for Matt around the trade deadline. There isn’t a fit for him in Atlanta, once Freeman returns.
The fresh breeze this summer will be from seeing guys like Sean Newcomb take the mound for the Atlanta Braves. Newcomb was impressive in his debut and looks like he could stick or be back soon. Recently, I got to see Lucas Sims pitch 8 strong innings for AAA-Gwinnett and he looks like a guy that’s ready for the fMLB challenge. Several other pitching prospects are not that far behind.
Copy is probably already fielding calls on Jaime Garcia. Got to figure he’s got some marketability right now, after some quality performances. Dickey and Colon don’t appear to be trade candidates, at this point. Might be stuck with them the rest of the season.
Speaking of pitching, the Braves just reloaded with young arms in the MLB Draft. 1st round pick Kyle Wright looks impressive on video at Vanderbilt. He’s commanding 4 pitches and his maturity puts him ahead of the curve.
And thank you Braves for drafting a position player high! Drew Waters is a switch-hitting outfielder and the Georgia player of the year. I’ll be tracking his progress. Good luck, kid!
Sure hope to see down at SunTrust Park soon. We’ve got a lot to talk about!
