The Outfield

The only sure thing for our current outfield right now is that Jeff Francoeur will be the right fielder to begin the season. I am not sure that this is necessarily the best option, but it is the option that the Braves are ready to begin the season with. Aside from Francoeur there is Diaz who, unless someone else is brought in, will be the right handed portion of the left field platoon. This is were things get interesting as there are plenty of left handed outfielders who will be battling for a spot this spring.

Gregor Blanco, Brandon Jones, Josh Anderson, and Jordan Schafer will all be battling for two spots this spring. The most talented of the bunch is Jordan Schafer and he would only be an option in center field as he is the best defensively. Blanco and Anderson can both play center and Anderson is currently out of options and cannot be demoted to the minors without first passing through waivers. This puts Anderson in the driver’s seat because the Braves are not in position to lose major league ready outfielders with such a lackluster outfield.

Statistically Blanco is the safest option have a high OBP. Anderson has performed well at the major league level but his minor league numbers make one think that he has seen a good amount of luck in his limited major league at bats. Brandon Jones and Jordan Schafer both have power but Jones had a down season last year and we will see this Spring if Schafer is ready to handle major league pitching. Personally, I would like to see a Diaz/Jones platoon in left, Schafer in center, and Francoeur in right. This would provide the team with the potential to hit at least 15 home runs from each outfield position. This would be a drastic improvement over last seasons outfield which totaled only 27 home runs.

The Braves infield is obviously the strong point of this offense. Chipper Jones, Kelly Johnson, Yunel Escobar, and Brian McCann are all plus bats for their positions and Martin Prado is potentially a plus bat at 2B even as a backup. If the outfield is able to produce this season the Braves would have a surprisingly dangerous and balanced offense. This is all dependent on Francoeur, Jones, Diaz, and Schafer bouncing back from troubled 2008 seasons. Hopefully they all were able to work on their problems and stayed focused throughout the off season and intend to come ready to play when the spring training games begin.

Jeff Francoeur Isn’t Very Good

Compared to 15 qualifying RF-

Jeff is 15th in RC/27
Jeff is 15th in OPS
Jeff is 15th in OBP
Jeff is 15th in Pitchers per Plate Appearance.

Time to put him at the bottom of the order Bobby…

Braves vs. Dodgers, First Grapefruit League Game.

…posted by Ben Duronio

The Braves first game vs. a major league team and it just so happens to be against former Brave Andruw Jones. Andruw went 0 for 1, with two walks, and a run scored.

A very low scoring affair for most of the game saw each team rally late against minor league pitchers. The Braves lost the game by the score of 5-4 due to a three run 9th inning from the Dodgers led by a two run walk-off double by 1B John Lindsay.

Matt DeSalvo did not impress in his first outing as a member of the Braves organization letting up 2 hits, 5 walks, and 4 earned runs en route to a 27 ERA. DeSalvo was credited with a blown save and earned his first loss in the Grapefruit League.

Positives-

- Jeff Francoeur gets two outfield assists.

- The CF of the future Jordan Schafer goes 2 for 3 with a run scored in the first Grapefruit League start of his career.

- Minor League 1B Tyler Flowers hit a two run HR in the 9th giving the Braves the lead 4-2.

- Manny Acosta throws a hitless inning and strikes out one.

- Chris Resop, who is competing for a spot out of camp and is currently out of options, had two scoreless innings and struck out two.

Negatives-

- Matt DeSalvo who had impressed Bobby Cox earlier in camp gives up the lead twice(once in 8th inning, then again in 9th) and earns a loss.

- Tim Hudson came out of the gate shaky, giving up a triple to Rafael Furcal. He then got out of the inning but didn’t quite have the same luck in the 2nd where he gave up three hits, a walk, and a run.

- Team combined for only 5 hits.

Next Up

Tomorrow the Braves play the Dodgers again, this time at Disney’s Wide World of Sports. ESPN will be airing the game and Jair Jurrjens will get his first start in the Braves organization. The infielders will be back and starting tomorrow and likely Kotsay as well. Tomorrow should be the first time that the actual lineup possibly minus McCann is unveiled.