05-17-2019, 07:58 AM
line if all of these injuries continue to linger."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Talking Chop User’s GuideTalking Chop PodcastAround the NL EastBaseball Analysis PrimerAtlanta Braves Spring Training Stock Watch (Week 2)New George Springer Jersey ,55commentsNot a lot has changed yet but it could down the line if all of these injuries continue to linger. ESTShareTweetShareShareAtlanta Braves Spring Training Stock Watch (Week 2)Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY SportsThe first full week of spring training games are in the books and that means it is time for the second edition of our spring stock watch for the Atlanta Braves. Just a week in not a whole lot has changed although a few injury question marks have been raised. Those injuries haven’t really changed the outlook of the Opening Day roster yet but if they continue to linger, things may look quite different next week. Rotation Locks: Mike Foltynewicz, Kevin Gausman, Sean Newcomb, Julio TeheranThis grouping hasn’t changed yet but some injury concerns have popped up. Mike Foltynewicz was scratched from his scheduled start on Friday due to a sore elbow and was to be examined by team doctors on Saturday. Foltynewicz and the Braves have downplayed the severity of his injury but the situation at the least has put his status as the team’s Opening Day starter in question. Kevin Gausman is hopeful that he will make his spring debut this week but has been dealing with some shoulder soreness of his own. Atlanta has played it safe with him so far but it is a little concerning nonetheless. Sean Newcomb got through his first start without incident, an achievement in and of itself, and is scheduled to pitch in Sunday’s game against Miami. Julio Teheran hasn’t pitched in a Grapefruit League game yet but did throw a simulated game last week. He will likely jump into the official Grapefruit League rotation at some point this week. 5th Starter Competition: Max Fried, Touki ToussaintI dropped Luiz Gohara from this group after it was revealed that he is still building himself up from the shoulder issue that effectively ended his 2018 season. Gohara is throwing but is not ready to pitch in games yet which pretty much takes him out of the mix for the Opening Day roster. As things currently stand, that leaves Max Fried and Touki Toussaint as options for the fifth starter spot. There is a good chance that both make the roster at any rate whether their role is as a starter or a reliever. Some of the other young pitchers have impressed early in camp but not enough yet to be considered as serious candidates to open in the rotation. Injured: Mike SorokaWord is that Mike Soroka resumed playing catch this week and barring a setback will begin throwing off a mound soon. He is probably out of the mix for a rotation spot to open the season but his long term health is the most important thing at this point. Others: Kolby Allard, Bryse Wilson, Kyle Wright, Ian Anderson, Kyle Muller, Joey Wentz, Luiz GoharaKyle Wright struck out three over a two inning stint this week and looked impressive doing so. He will likely get more looks going forward. I am still of the opinion that he will open the season at Triple-A but if injuries continue to linger then he could be an option. Kolby Allard hasn’t allowed an earned run in four innings so far this spring but has yet to strike out a single batter. Kyle Muller has also turned heads and could be an option at some point in 2019 whether as a starter or as a bullpen piece. Bullpen Locks: A.J. Minter, Arodys Vizcaino, Darren O’Day, Jonny VentersA.J. Minter left Friday’s game with a stiffness in his shoulder but disclosed on Saturday that he thought it stemmed from a fender bender that he was involved in on Thursday. Obviously the Braves will be cautious with Minter but his status adds more uncertainty to a bullpen that already has plenty of question marks. Darren O’Day and Jonny Venters made their spring debuts this week. Arodys Vizcaino has yet to get in a Grapefruit League game but will likely do so soon. Competition: Jesse Biddle, Shane Carle, Sam Freeman, Luke Jackson, Chad Sobotka, Dan Winkler, Grant DaytonThis group is unchanged except for the addition of Grant Dayton who threw a scoreless inning in his first appearance of the spring after sitting out all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. This group could be competing for just three spots if Atlanta elects to open the season with both Fried and Toussaint on the active roster. Others: Wes Parsons Evan Gattis Jersey , Jacob Webb, Patrick Weigel, Huascar Ynoa, Thomas Burrows, Corbin Clouse, Tucker DavidsonOf this group, Burrows has been the most impressive throwing three scoreless innings while striking out three. Jacob Webb has been hit particularly hard in three appearances. Catcher Locks: Tyler Flowers, Brian McCannSo far so good for catchers Tyler Flowers and Brian McCann who essentially just need to make it through the spring healthy. Others: Alex Jackson, Raffy Lopez, William Contreras, Carlos Martinez, Jonathan MoralesWilliam Contreras and Alex Jackson have played well in the early going and given fans something to watch at the catcher position. Contreras is 3-for-5 with a home run in three games so far this spring. Jackson is 3-for-10 with a double and a homer in five games. If Jackson can keep that up then he could position himself for a promotion should the Braves need another catcher due to an injury to Flowers or McCann sometime this season. Contreras is thought to be the team’s catcher of the future and has showed promise through the early part of camp. Infield Locks: Ozzie Albies, Johan Camargo, Josh Donaldson, Freddie Freeman, Dansby Swanson, Charlie CulbersonThis group remains intact although we are still waiting on the debuts of Dansby Swanson and Josh Donaldson. Both were originally scheduled to play on Friday but were held out for differing reasons. Swanson felt some soreness in his wrist during batting practice and the team elected to give him a little more time. Donaldson has been full go since arriving at camp but given the injuries he battled last season, the Braves’ medical staff elected to give him a few more days to work on some specific things, including running properly (!). Others: Andres Blanco, Pedro Florimon, Sean Kazmar Jr, Luis Marte, Austin Riley, CJ AlexanderPedro Florimon has received the most opportunities of this group and has delivered going 5-for-11 with a pair of home runs in his first five games this spring. I still don’t believe he is a real candidate to claim the final bench spot but did start a game this week in the outfield. It’s hard to see how many of these guys fit in except to supplant Charlie Culberson http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-justin-verlander-jersey , and it’s not clear what would have to happen for Culberson to be shown the door.Outfield Locks: Ronald Acuna Jr,Ender Inciarte, Nick MarkakisLike the catcher position, Ronald Acu帽a Jr, Ender Inciarte and Nick Markakis only need to get through the spring healthy to ensure their spots on the Opening Day roster. 4th Outfielder: Adam DuvallIf the Braves carry 13 pitchers to start then there is essentially one bench spot that is up for grabs and whoever claims it will likely need to be able to play in the corner outfield. Adam Duvall has gotten the first crack to nail down the position but is 0-for-10 with two walks in his first five games. Duvall is operating with a non-guaranteed contract so Atlanta cut ties with him and only be on the hook for a prorated amount of his $2.875 million deal. Can a guy like Florimon work his way into this equation? Maybe but the Braves could also elect to wait until the end of the spring when teams start paring down their rosters and see who becomes available. Remember, Atlanta did just that last season when they added Ryan Flaherty and Peter Bourjos to the roster at the end of camp. It’s worth noting that Pedro Florimon has been a much, much worse hitter than Duvall for pretty much any stretch of time you examine. Others: Greyson Jenista, Ryan LaMarre, Rafael Ortega, Cristian Pache, Drew WatersRyan LaMarre has seen action in five games going 2-for-7 while mostly appearing in center field. He is trying to work his name into mention for that final bench spot. Prospects Cristian Pache, Drew Waters and Greyson Jenista have also seen a lot of action early and have performed pretty well. Most websites spend the New Years holiday looking at their best work from the previous year. We did the opposite."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Detroit Tigers AnalysisDetroit Tigers Prospect NotebookDetroit Tigers Game ThreadsDetroit Tigers NewsDetroit Tigers PodcastsHere are our worst predictions and takes on the Tigers from 2018New,25commentsMost websites spend the New Years holiday looking at their best work from the previous year. We did the opposite.ESTShareTweetShareShareHere are our worst predictions and takes on the Tigers from 2018Ken Blaze-USA TODAY SportsHappy New Years! As the calendar turns over to 2019, we here at Bless You Boys have already vowed to do better than we did last year. We hope we can say the same for the Detroit Tigers, but no promises on that front.While most websites spent the dying days of 2018 highlighting the best work they produced over the course of the year, we declined to participate on the site. We’re not the best at self-promotion — which probably isn’t the best quality for growing a website, I guess — and have a much easier time poking fun at ourselves than tooting our own horn. Plus, with how bad the Tigers were last year, it only seems right that we point out some of our own lowlights.So, without further ado, here is what we got wrong in 2018.(And if you’re really interested in our favorite stuff of the year, we tweeted out a few links on Monday afternoon.)Tim Lincecum is holding a showcase and the Tigers should sign himOh man, did we start off the year with a bang. I think the title says it all here. Lincecum threw all of 12 2鈦? innings in the Texas Rangers minor league system in 2018 and did not reach the major leagues.(It’s worth noting I only suggested it because it was interesting, not because I thought he would be good.)A Tigers shopping spree could make them contenders in 2018No amount of free agent dollars would have pushed the 64-98 Tigers into contention. They started the year off decently Dallas Keuchel Jersey , but ultimately faded, especially as injuries started to take their toll on the roster.But where we really screwed up here was in some of the names we picked for the Tigers to sign.Lucroy was worth -0.7 rWAR on the year, and is a shell of his former self at this point.The rest of the list wasn’t any better, either; only reliever Tony Watson posted more than 0.6 rWAR in 2018.Leonys Martin may find himself on top of the batting orderWhen new manager Ron Gardenhire planted Martin at the top of the Tigers lineup at the start of spring training, we wondered aloud whether this was the best idea for the upcoming season. Martin was coming off an awful 2017 season, and was a few years removed from being remotely productive at the plate.The logic here was sound, but sometimes baseball just doesn’t cooperate. Martin got off to a hot start and was ultimately a nice trade chip for the Tigers, while Mahtook struggled to hit above the Mendoza line.Tigers lose Jairo Labourt on waivers for no good reason at allWe got rather angry about Labourt’s unceremonious departure from the organization in early March. He was coming off a good season in 2017, and there were other players on the roster at the time who appeared to be less deserving of their spot than Labourt.While I stand by the above sentiment, this may not have been the right hill to die on. Labourt appeared in just 5 2鈦? innings in the Chicago White Sox farm system due to injuries. He signed a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays in December.5 bold predictions for the Tigers’ 2018 seasonThis was just a disaster of an article, one that requires a lot of squinting to even find one correct prediction. But while you can see the reasoning behind some of them, this one was really bad.Betts won every award in the book, and Castellanos was one of the worst outfielders in baseball.5 takeaways from the first month of the Tigers seasonWe’ll call this one half wrong. Boyd did indeed regress after posting a 2.74 ERA in April (point Zane), but he looked like a legitimate mid-rotation starter for most of the season, holding opponents to two runs or fewer in more than half of his starts. He finished the year with a career-best 4.39 ERA, and career highs in a number of categories, including innings pitched (170.1), strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.12), strikeout rate (22.4 percent), and rWAR (2.1).An off day discussion on building the perfect nachosSome members of our staff think pulled pork and other barbecued meats are overrated. No BYB writer was more wrong this year.Tigers vs. Angels Preview: Hey, maybe this series won’t be so bad.[narrator voice] It was very bad. [/narrator voice]This was in the middle of a 3-11 stretch for the Tigers in mid-August. We published an article titled “Please, just make the losing stop” later in the series.What did you get wrong about the Tigers in 2018?This entire thread was an admission of guilt from everyone on the staff.There were reasons to believe McCann was trending in the right direction, but his slight improvements from 2017 did not hold last season.What were you wrong about in 2018?