Down at the Farm, Minor League Report

Here are some numbers and my opinions on a few notable prospects and their performance thus far.

Chris Resop, RHP, AAA
73.1 IP, 81 K, 27 BB, 1.84 ERA, 1.00 WHIP

Resop killed it at Gwinnett this year and is getting the call up to the major league club today. He was a starter at Gwinnett but will be in the bullpen in Atlanta. Hopefully, this doesn’t alter his performance.

Michael Dunn, LHP, AAA
29.1 IP, 39 K, 12 BB, 0.61 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 2 ER.

That’s a pretty dominant year so far. If not for Venters and O’Flaherty performing so well, Dunn would surely already be on the major league roster.

Christian Bethancourt, C, low-A
192 PA, .242/.265/.317, 2 HR, 8 2B, 6 BB, 23 K, 1 SB

Bethancourt was coming off a solid season at Danville which saw him post a .819 OPS. Due to his solid season many had him as a top ten prospect in the system. This has been a very disappointing season, but he has time to turn it around. It’s unfortunate to see him struggle so much at Rome.

Arodys Vizcaino, RHP, high-A
69.1 IP, 66 K, 9 BB, 2.34 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 1 HR allowed.

Those were Vizcaino’s numbers at Rome before his promotion to high-A. He has only thrown 4 innings since then and, if included, it would skew how dominant he was at Rome. He obviously deserved the promotion and he should pick it back up in his next few starts at Myrtle Beach

Chris Masters, LHP, low-A
62.1 IP, 60 K, 18 BB, 1.88 ERA, 0.99 WHIP

Masters just landed on the DL with a left elbow strain which is never good news. He’s had an incredible season and just found out that he made the SAL All-Star team before he hit the disabled list. You can only hope that it is minor and that he will return as soon as he is eligible.

Cory Rasmus, RHP, low-A
51.0 IP, 46 K, 15 BB, 3.00 ERA, 1.22 WHIP

Cory is the brother of Cardinals outfielder Colby Rasmus. He has started 7 of his 14 appearances this season. He’s definitely impressed and his K/BB ratio is just above 3.00, which is great to see from a pitching prospect.

Jordan Schafer, CF, AAA
106 PA, .235/.314/.301, 1 3B, 2 2B, 7 SB, 4 CS.

Schafer almost got the call when McLouth was disabled, but thankfully, Omar Infante had some injury problems as well and Brandon Hicks was recalled. Jordan is not close to ready and despite performing well at both Rome and Mississippi in his short rehab stints, he has been pretty terrible at Gwinnett. He obviously needs more time and should spend the majority of the year, if not the entire year, in the minors.

Is Johnny Damon an Upgrade?

Currently, Johnny Damon is still unsigned and his market is continuing to drop. His price may eventually fall to the Braves’ supposed asking price of $2 million. My question is, is Johnny Damon at $2 million an upgrade over current options?

On its face, Damon’s 2009 season should make him a very valuable commodity. He set career highs in OPS+ at 126, isoSLG (The difference between his batting average and slugging percentage, demonstrating power numbers) at .207, and tied a career best with 24 home runs.

The problem with these numbers is that over the past three years his home and away statistics are separating more and more each season. As Damon has aged, he has used the short right porch in right field of Yankee Stadium to his advantage.

In 2007, his home OPS was .742 and away was .750, in 2008 his home OPS was .846 and away .827, and in 2009 his home OPS was .889 and away .776.

The dipping away OPS, along with his age, and -12.1 UZR/150 in left field last season makes it understandable why so many teams have been passing on Damon’s services.

The current options for left field are a Matt Diaz platoon with either Eric Hinske or Melky Cabrera, and possibly later in the season Jordan Schafer.

Hinske has similar career platoon statistics as Damon, and had 5.3 UZR/150 in the outfield last season—much better than Damon’s.

Cabrera was not on Damon’s level offensively last season, however, outside of Yankee Stadium the splits were not as vast as one would assume.

Cabrera’s .745 OPS in away games last year, coupled with his age (25), and his career 4.0 UZR/150 in left field make him just as serviceable in left field as Damon, in my opinion.

Lastly, unless Schafer proves to be a much better player than he was last season he is not a better option than Damon. However, if Jordan produces how he had before his injury last season and in his minor league seasons, then Jordan’s defense and offense would make him a very valuable and cheap option left field.

Outside of the current options, as previously stated Johnny Damon would cost at least $2 million. This would handcuff the Braves if they want to make a midseason trade as they did last season with Nate McLouth.

Johnny Damon was a crucial part of last year’s World Series champion New York Yankees, but Turner Field is not Yankee Stadium.

Maybe Damon can perform next year, but at the age of 36 moving into a bigger ballpark will severely decrease his overall value. The question still remains, is Johnny Damon at $2 million an upgrade over the Braves’ current options?

Where Jordan Schafer Fits Into the Braves Plan

Coming into last year’s Spring Training, Jordan Schafer was this year’s version of Jason Heyward. Jordan was the top prospect with actual major league aspirations in 2009 and he competed with Gregor Blanco and Josh Anderson for the starting center field gig. Blanco was sent down to the minors and Josh Anderson was traded to the Tigers, solidifying Schafer as the Braves opening day centerfielder.

After Schafer’s first at bat, things went downhill. Jordan hit a home run in Philadelphia on opening day and did not see many similar results the rest of the year. Jordan’s bat speed slowed, likely due to a wrist injury that he kept quiet. Schafer did not want to lose the opportunity to continue his dream and he stubbornly battled through the wrist injury, leading to a very rough season in which he was sent back down to AAA. After his demotion, Schafer went on the disabled list and missed the rest of the season because of wrist surgery.

The Braves later traded for Nate McLouth, and Nate is expected to start the year off in centerfield. This off season the Braves traded for Melky Cabrera, the expected fourth outfielder. Schafer is now in a tough position, a filled depth chart in front of him and another prospect passing him up for a starting outfield spot.

This is a huge year for Jordan Schafer and whether it is through injuries or poor play by one of the current options- if Jordan produces in AAA he will see time in the majors in 2010. Jordan’s “swagger” has always been a problem and an advantage simultaneously. Jordan needs to mature as a baseball mind just as he has as a baseball talent.

For once in his life, he is out of the spotlight. The challenges Schafer faces this season will likely make or break his career with the Atlanta Braves. If he is able to continue to play strong defense and shows in Spring Training and in AAA that he can perform at a high level for an extended period of time then Jordan will get his second shot in Atlanta.

On the outside looking in is not something Jordan is used to, and his will and work ethic shall be tested this season. Right now it does not seem as if the Braves have any clear play for Jordan other than put him in Gwinnett and let him prove himself again. It is easy to doubt Schafer and expect nothing more than he contributed last season. To have faith in a player who at 23 has seen so many ups and downs as a professional baseball player is a bit more difficult. I for one, expect Jordan to rebound and become the player he thought he was. Do you?

Jordan Schafer in April

Jordan Schafer has actually been our most productive bat so far this season. I don’t think many of us expected this to be true at the end of April but his patience combined with his power is what has made him have the second highest OPS behind Chipper. He has had 71 plate appearances and has 7 extra base hits and 12 walks. At this time his isoOBP is at an astonishing .126. Also, through the first month of the season he also is posting up better numbers vs. lefties than righties.

Trading Anderson and Extending Chipper

Josh Anderson: Last night the Braves determined that Jordan Schafer would be the starting center fielder and traded Josh Anderson. Anderson had no options but was expendable due to Schafer and Gregor Blanco. The Braves also have Gorkys Hernandez in the lower levels to fill out the center field depth chart. This was absolutely the move that the Braves needed to make. Jordan Schafer proved to the Braves that he was ready both offensively and defensively. Schafer is in the mold of Grady Sizemore and while he may not perform to those expectations this year, getting him 500 at bats this season gives him the opportunity to eventually reach that potential. The outfield situation has so many question marks but if Schafer is able to be as productive as he was this Spring and Anderson and Francoeur are able to be solid corner outfielders our lineup looks surprisingly strong.

Chipper Jones: Jones was extended until 2012 for roughly $40 million with a team option for 2013. This could keep Jones under contract until his 41st birthday. On one side you have to be happy that Chipper will be a Brave for his entire career but on the other you have to question giving that type of contract to a player who averages 126 games in the past 5 seasons. Chipper will always be productive when he is healthy, but the older he gets the more injury prone he will be. Expect him to play less and less games each season and for this contract to eventually be a hindrance to the franchise.