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Atlanta Braves cover the bases: Hurston Waldrep’s future, mock draft and more

Theo

Here’s the quote the Atlanta Braves have been looking for all season. “The offense clicked a little more,” receiver Sean Murphy said after a 7-0 win Wednesday. “It’s one of those things where hitting can be contagious. Today, everything clicked. Those are welcome words in Atlanta after a long drought at the plate. Have the floodgates been opened? Let’s dive into the trends with this week’s Braves Digest.

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Every team has a player who doesn’t get enough credit. For this week’s edition of the Power Rankings, we’re celebrating an unsung hero for each team. (Recording Tuesday morning)

Recording: 39-31
Latest power ranking: 6

Unsung Hero: SP Chris Sale

The sky has been falling for months in Atlanta. Spencer Strider is gone for the season. The same goes for Ronald Acuña Jr. The historic offense of 2023 has been replaced by a duller version in 2024. The Phillies are running away with the division and appear likely to end Atlanta’s six-year reign in the top of the National League East.

From the good side? Chris Sale looks a lot like Chris Sale. His fastball velocity remains firm at just under 95 mph. He strikes out nearly 11 batters per nine innings. And he has already made 13 starts. The Braves are going to reach the playoffs. When they get there, their rotation of Sale, Max Fried, Reynaldo López and Charlie Morton could carry them. — Andy McCullough

Latest successes

ICYMI, our national writers have given their thoughts on what they’re hearing and seeing

1. Which young MLB starters who recently debuted are best prepared for success?

Our Eno Sarris went through the data on Braves rookie Hurston Waldrep and other recent arrivals. Sarris noted that previous research on young starters who have recently broken out suggests that good building blocks include:

• A hard pitch (fastball or slider) that the pitcher can command
• A difficult pitch with at least average stuff
• A secondary location with content significantly above average

Here is a Waldrep comparison based solely on pitch movements and release points that is both thought-provoking and edifying:

This, according to Alex Chamberlain’s pitch rankings, shows that Waldrep’s fastball is a dead ringer for Keaton Winn’s in every way except Winn has five extra inches of movement on the pitch. They release at very similar heights with poor extension toward the plate and just okay vertical movement. Extension negates some of the good in their average fastball velocity, and recent research suggests that upwards of 96 mph is necessary for a heater to reap big gas rewards.

Winn is far from an established pitcher, so this isn’t necessarily definitive, but it probably throws cold water on Waldrep’s upside, as he’s nothing remarkable (in a good way) in his fastball, and even Winn’s slider and splitter look slightly superior. because it is harder, with more fall.

2. MLB City Connect: Braves uniforms ranked No. 3

Our editors ranked each uniform using a 1-30 rating system (1 being best), and these totals were then averaged and ranked. Here are their versions of Atlanta’s City Connect jerseys, which won the bronze medal behind the No. 1 Colorado Rockies and No. 2 Miami Marlins.

Tyler Kepner (who ranked them 5th): You have to appreciate a uniform that pays homage to Hank Aaron breaking the home run record in 1974. I never liked the lowercase “a” in those capital letters, so I like that they replaced it here with the “A” ” current. Extremely well done.

Stephen Nesbitt (2): Most City Connects are under the impression that the design process began by prohibiting any remote signings regarding the team’s current look. Not here. Bright white uniforms with blue and red accents and hidden homages to Hammerin’ Hank? It looks sublime. That’s all that matters to me.

C.Trent Rosecrans (12): So close to being good, the Braves uniforms from the 70s are magnificent. But there’s something about its lack of originality that makes me dislike it. But what I really don’t like is “The A”. I think there is a difference between City Connects, throwbacks and alternatives. This one is more retrospective than City Connect.

Jason Jones (3): Adding “The” next to the “A” puts this one above and makes it one of the best of the bunch. Almost all of my friends say they go to “The A” and not Atlanta. I know it’s an homage to Hank Aaron, but “The A” gives it just the right amount of modern flavor.

3. Who did the Braves get in Keith Law’s latest mock draft?

With the MLB Draft about a month away, our Keith Law attempted to predict the first-round picks. As always, he did so based on what he heard from sources in the industry and his understanding of the philosophies of certain scouting directors and general managers.

Atlanta has the No. 24 pick and Law is considering a fit for Braylon Doughty, a right-handed pitcher from Chaparral High School in Murrieta, California. Rumor has it the Braves are doing a sub-slot deal with Doughty here to try to get over the top. on another preparation arm for pick 62.

Chic moment of the week

Pictured in this photograph are 1,415 home runs, 7,064 hits, 579 stolen bases, two legends and countless treasured memories. The Braves were one of many sports organizations, athletes and dignitaries to pay tribute to the great Willie Mays, who died Tuesday at the age of 93.

baseball beat

Our beatwriter David O’Brien has picked out what you need to know.

1. The Braves’ Reynaldo López is the majors’ ERA leader

Alex Anthopoulos acknowledges that when the Braves signed the former reliever and announced their intention to let López compete for the fifth starting job in spring training, they weren’t sure he would win it.

In fact, it appears his wife, Jhilaris, was the only person who believed López was capable of doing what he did in his first stint as a starter since the second half of the 2021 season. a resounding success, leading the majors with a 1.57 ERA.

“Really, I just want to pay tribute to my wife, who was the only one who believed in me, the only one who had confidence in me to be a starter in the big leagues,” López said. “She was constantly telling my agent to keep looking for opportunities where I could be a starter somewhere, so she was the one who kind of kept the faith.”


Reynaldo López lowered his ERA to 1.57 with five shutout innings against the Tigers on Wednesday. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

2. Q&A with Alex Anthopoulos: Braves executive talks team’s prolonged slump

The team’s general manager and president of baseball operations discussed the Braves’ recent dismal offensive performance. He also discussed what could be done to remedy this.

“Look, we didn’t play well. I am stating the obvious,” he declared last Wednesday. “The only thing is you obviously look at the standings (NL East), but the fact that the majority of the National League hasn’t played well has been good for us… So as much as you can look at the standings and you We We’re still looking for playoff spots and such – we obviously need to play better, but the fact that you can keep your head above water when you’re not playing well… we’re lucky the NL didn’t have not played up to his abilities at all levels.

3. Jarred Kelenic moves to the center of the field and leads

When Snitker was asked before Saturday’s game if he placed Kelenic first because he seemed as good an option as any on an injury-depleted roster, Snitker responded: “We miss of options,” punctuated by a sort of laughter. so as not to cry, to laugh.

Whatever reason Kelenic, replacing injured center fielder Michael Harris II, moved to first, it worked: He had three hits, including the first of Atlanta’s four home runs in a 9-game loss. -2 against the Tampa Bay Rays, the third. Braves’ consecutive victory since a five-game skid that was their longest since September 2017.

“He’s good, he can hit,” Marcell Ozuna said of Kelenic. “He gets a little crazy sometimes, but he resets and comes back. He will understand it and be in the right place. I think he will be a good part for us for the rest of the season, after losing (Acuña). Let’s hope he stays healthy.

Did you catch this?

Want a little inspiration? Need a little pep in your step?

Just know that Grant Holmes spent 10 years in the minors and made a sensational debut as a Braves reliever last week.

When asked if he had a message for minor leaguers or other aspiring athletes, Holmes thought for a moment.

“Never give up,” he said. “I mean, there’s always hope as long as you fight for it. Never give up. That’s what I do. Never give up.”

Photo of the week


(Casey Sykes/Getty Images)

Hitting the plate hasn’t exactly been a Braves specialty this season, but Kelenic got things going just two batters into Tuesday’s game. He singled and came home with a blast on Ozzie Albies’ triple.

(Top photo by Hurston Waldrep: Dale Zanine / USA Today)

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