Atlanta Braves 2013 Myths: Part IV

Time for another Walk-Off Walkmythbusting adventure. Today, let's specifically go over one player who has been the target of tremendous derision from Braves fans.

1. Atlanta doesn't make productive outs because of strikeouts.
2. Atlanta seems to fall behind early and has to play catch-up.
3. Atlanta can't win if they keep striking out so much!

4. Anyone would be better than Uggla!

We have all heard it.  A good number of us have thought it.  Still more have said it.  Due to his inability to perform at the level he routinely reached as a member of the Florida Marlins, Dan Uggla has been one of the most disappointing performers of the last three seasons and often, that makes fans wonder about alternatives.  Like a QB without a Super Bowl win, suddenly everyone would be a better choice than Uggla.  Is that true?

Well, admittedly, this is subjective.  Better is an imprecise term that is a reflection of the person using the term.

Except in this case because the Braves DO NOT HAVE A BETTER OPTION than to play Uggla.  There, it's said and it's quite simply the truth.  There are two ways of looking at it.  One, the less obvious way, is that despite all of his struggles, Uggla has remained, at the very worst, an above-average option at second base in his two-and-a-half years in Atlanta.  All stats were entering Friday's contests. 

Cats	BB%	ISO	wOBA	WAR
Uggla	12.5%	.195	.327	6.2
2B Rank	2nd	2nd	13th	13th

In no way does that mean Uggla has produced at the level expected from him when he was acquired before the 2011 season and subsequently inked to a 5 year, $62M contract.  He has been a massive disappointment and I'm sure he would tell you as much.  And I'll grant you that his WAR is likely inflated by an unlikely 4.2 UZR last season, second-best of his career.

However, the idea that Uggla is one of the worst second-basemen in the game is simply misguided.  27 different second-baseman qualified for this and Uggla was at least average in most categories.  So, finding a replacement for him that is noticeably better than him isn't quite as easy as people think.  Of the 12 that are ahead of him in WAR, the expected names of Cano, Kinsler, Utley, Pedroia, Phillips, and Zobrist are among them.  As are young cornerstones like Jason Kipnis and Neil Walker.  Finding a 2B who can put up consistent 2 WAR seasons seems easier said than done.

The more obvious way of looking at this is who would conceivably replace Uggla at second?  Ramiro Pena was suggested before his injury and Pena had definitely played significantly better than ever before.  Fredi Gonzalez called him an NL-player.  I don't know if that's really a thing, but Pena was outperforming his Yankees years by a great margin before hitting the DL.  In fact, his .335 wOBA would have ranked as his best season of his career, minors or majors, outside of a 55-game run in AAA in 2011.  However, he still wasn't truly outperforming Uggla by a great degree like some might think.  And unlike Pena, Uggla has done this for a full season at the majors.

But with Pena gone, this really shouldn't be a discussion, yet with the promotion of Tyler Pastornicky as essentially Pena's current replacement on the bench, some have flirted with the idea that Pastornicky would be a suitable replacement for Uggla.  After all, Pastornicky makes more contact!  And he slashed his way to a .309/.351/.429 run at AAA this year.  However, now in 207 major league PA, Pastornicky has a .266 wOBA with 10 EBH.  Yes, I will grant you that Pastornicky will make considerably more contact that Uggla and possibly, in certain situations, that might make Pastornicky an attractive option, though that skill is considerably lessened by Uggla's walk-rate.  Pastornicky is unlikely to do a better job at making fewer outs and gives you little else.

That leaves us with Uggla and he is signed through the 2015 season and the smart money is, unless he gets injured before then, he will play a good 350 more games at second base for the Braves.  Fans will often get stuck on his average and the money he receives and yell "Struggla!"  But remember that a player is not paid for what he does today, but what he did yesterday.  The contract he signs has no true bearing on the production to follow outside of incentive clauses.  It is a symbol of the player he was when he signed and what the market called for.

For all of his warts, Uggla is not easily replaceable, nor, as the myth states, is anyone anywhere better than him.  In fact, to find a second baseman that is clearly better is quite rare.  He may not be the Uggla we want, but the Uggla we have is still better than half of the guys trying to find a long-term home playing second for much worse teams than the . 

Fun With Lineups

Fredi Gonzalez LOVES lineups. It's one of his most favorite things in the world, next to poor bullpen management and sitting on the bench with a look of bewilderment every time the opposing team scores. He loves lineups so much he has used 63 different ones entering Thursday's game and only used the same one five times and that's not including the pitcher so it's only the top eight. Guy freaking loves the strategery that goes with formulating that day's lineups.

Unfortunately, he doesn't use much thinking beyond the made up SNL word. Entering Thursday, Andrelton Simmons had batted leadoff 47 times. The common reason to this consistent stupidity is that the Braves simply don't have a true leadoff hitter, unlike last year when they had the swift Michael Bourn at the ever-ready to employ. In fact, for the majority of the season, the top four has not changed too awfully much since day one. Simmons is typically followed by Jason Heyward, Justin Upton, and Freddie Freeman.

It's not fair to put the entire blame of the lineup misuse on Gonzalez. After all, injuries to a few players, plus down years from nearly everyone, PLUS the surprising contributions from the bench have forced his hand to some degree.

So, to take a little bit of the stress off Gonzalez, here is my lineup to use.

Batting first, Jason Heyward. Yes, we don't have your stereotypical leadoff hitter, but that doesn't mean you utilize possibly your poorest option just cause. Heyward, after struggling early, gives you a strong walk rate (10.2%) and has hit .307/.368/.482 since June 3rd. His BABIP was suppressed early and he was due a lot of hits to follow and we are seeing that.

Batting second, Chris Johnson. Truthfully, I am not a huge fan of Johnson, but facts are facts and after awhile, they became a little irrefutable. What good is a .379 OBP hitting 8th, even if it's bloated by a .333 batting average? Ride the wave as much as possible and score a few more runs while you are at it. I kind of understand why Johnson has been hitting 8th for so long. One, this kind of production has to be unsustainable. Second, because you are caddying him with a defensive replacement, you might see a lot of Paul Janish (and previously, Ramiro Pena) in this spot after switches. In the event of a tie game or a lost lead, that could present situations where pitchers would find this spot in the order and force your hand. Still...ideally, you might score more runs with this lineup so that problem might be muted.

Hitting third, get your chants ready, it's Freddie Freeman. With Heyward and Johnson on ahead of him, it should lead to more run-producing at-bats.  What more can you say about Freeman this season?  While his ISO is a little low at .162 for your ideal number three hitter, he should get that closer to .200 before the end of the season and it's good to see that he has maintained his walk rate as it reached 10% last season. 

Batting cleanup, Justin Upton.  Eventually, he has to start slugging again.  The walk rate has been considerably strong all season and when the homers start to return, the ISO will get closer to where it's expected to be at.  He wasn't the Superman of April, but he's considerably better than this. 

Getting the nod in the five-hole, Brian McCann.  He has had a power-binge of late with four doubles and three homers in his last eight games and his BABIP should continue to climb from .268 to his career .291.  Starting to think it's safe to say he has put his rough 2012 in the rear-view.  Plus, he has to understand that every homer has a chance to garner him a nice deal on the open market following the season.

Hitting sixth, Dan Uggla. I know, I know.  The first five are easy, but from here, it is a little big more difficult. What sets Uggla apart from the next two?  His walk rate remains extremely strong and his isolated power was still over .200 entering Thursday.  Now, will he continue his quest to be the living embodiment of The Three True Outcomes?  Probably not to this extent, but while he will strike out a great deal in any spot in the lineup, he has a good shot of falling into some multiple-run-producing at-bats with this lineup ahead of him.

Batting seventh, B.J. Upton.  He has shown some signs of late, posting a .740 OPS since May 21st, and continues to walk at a solid rate, much like the majority of this entire lineup, save Johnson and the guy in the 8-hole.  Unfortunately, every time he looks about ready to go off on a tear, he has a couple 0-for-4's and it all comes crashing down. 

And hitting eighth, Andrelton Simmons.  No player has brought me such joy and frustration like Simmons this season.  In the field, he is almost worth the price of admission.  He already has a 24 DRS and a 11.3 UZR.  And he does it so quietly, often without the need for the flair that gets other worse players on Web Gems and other highlight shows.  Ozzie Smith would be proud.  Unfortunately, he has regressed with the bat.  After a 9.9% walk rate in AA before his promotion last year, it reverted to 6.6% in the majors last season and 4.9% this year.  You want to believe his BABIP of .254 explains some of his struggles, but there is no career baseline to make that judgement with much authority.  However, to bat this guy leadoff is to hamper your team from the get-go.  Let him grow as a hitter lower in the order while getting so much value in the field from him.

Some added information...I change zero for L/R splits, but when he returns, Jordan Schafer should grab two-to-three starts a week from B.J.  When he plays, I would bat him leadoff and drop Heyward back in the two hole with Johnson hitting sixth and Uggla dropping one spot to seventh. 

There you go, Fredi.  Time to make it happen. 

The Arrival of Terdo

With the news that Jordan Schafer was headed to the Disabled List, the Braves once-strong bench is now full of Gwinnett's starting lineup.  Evan Gattis is still on the DL, giving us the formidable bat of Tyler Pastornicky late in games.  Ramiro Pena is out for the season so we are blessed with Paul Janish's ability to play tremendous defense with absolutely no offense.  Now, with Schafer gone, the Braves will rely on Joey Terdoslavich.

Terdo, 24, entered the mind of several people's minds after a tremendous 2011 where he sat a Carolina League record for doubles that stood for some 1,000 years with 52 two-baggers for the Lynchburg Hillcats.  He also hit 20 homers that season, finishing with a .240 ISO, a .362 wOBA, and received several accolades. 

The Braves, who drafted Terdo in the sixth round in 2010 out of Cal-State Long Beach, were tasked with the job of finding him a spot to play.  Defensive metrics are fairly useless in the minors, but as a fan of the Hillcats who saw a number of games in 2011, I could have told you that Terdo truly lacked any defensive range at his usual position (first base).  The Braves, facing Chipper's retirement after 2012, wanted to increase their potential options and gave Terdo a big boost, moving him across the diamond and skipping Mississippi.  The experiment worked poorly as the Gwinnett Braves saw Terdo show absolutely no skills at third base, committing an abysmal 22 errors in just 130 chances.  His bat was also exposed with 23% strikeouts in 215 PA with just a .083 ISO.  The Braves finally called an end to the experiment in early June, demoting Terdo to Mississippi, where his bat caught on fire (.315/.372/.480) and he went back to his more comfortable first base position.

After a solid spring in 2013, Terdo again showed that he had a decent enough bat to get him to the bigs but continued to lack a position.  He has played mostly right field this season, notching nine assists in 66 games there, but that's likely due to runners taking liberties running on him.  He's also played a little first and left, but hasn't played third anymore (and the Gwinnett staff is grateful as their current 3B, Joe Leonard, plays the position as well as anyone in the minors).  Terdo has hit significantly better, slashing his way to a .318/.359/.567 clip with 18 homers.  Recently, he went 4-for-4 on June 21st and followed that with a two-homer game the next day and 10 total for the month of June. 

With that production, combined with an unfortunate amount of injuries to the major league bench, the Braves gave Terdo the call to replace Schafer on the bench.  It's unknown how long his butt will sit on the bench up in the majors.  Gattis is expected back eventually, though he has not been cleared for baseball activities.  Schafer, whose DL visit will be increased with his recent pinch-hitting appearances, might be back after spending the minimum on the DL. 

And plus...Terdo's call-up reeks of a showcase appearance for him.  Terdo's place long-term in the majors seems restricted to bench duty.  He's not going to unseat anyone at his primary positions so if there is a team out there that sees a switch-hitting extra-base-drilling youngster who is team-controlled for six years as an option for an expanded role, the Braves will likely part with Terdo if it improves their squad.  With bench help and bullpen arms the only things that seem in need in Atlanta, Terdo fulfills the trading adage - trade from a strength to improve a weakness. 

However...if he's not dealt and Gattis does take over as the everyday catcher in 2014, Terdo could provide a great bench bat for the Braves. 

Favorite Braves List - Second Base

(Previous information on this series can be found here.)

Favorite Braves List (so far)
Ace Starter - Greg Maddux
Catcher - Brian McCann
First Base - Fred McGriff

Last summer, I began this list with first McCann and McGriff.  Following that, I began to add pitchers and Maddux became the first to join the list.  It's been some time, but it's time to add to this list with a second baseman.  Maybe next week or the week after, the #2 starter will join the team. 

Some Honorable Mentions - How can you not like what Mark Lemke did in his time with the Braves?  Though, not to crap on people's parade, but the idea that Lemke was tremendously better in the playoffs than the regular season is way overdone.  Regular season OPS - .641.  Playoffs OPS - .688.  Why does no one talk about Lemke's 4 for 19 run in the 1992 World Series?  Also honorable mention to Kelly Johnson.  There was a time where I was accused, and rightfully so, of being a KJ apologist.  Martin Prado also deserves a mention.

Favorite Braves List - Second Base
Marcus Giles

This was a very tough selection as, outside of Lemke, no one really took over second base for very long.  However, this is my favorite list and that's more than enough justification to select Giles to man second base.  For a three-year period, there were few better options at second base in the National League not named Utley. 

Giles was a 53rd round selection of the 1996.  To put that in another way, there were 1,511 players selected ahead of Giles.  The Braves selected 53 players ahead of Giles, signing players like Jason Marquis and Mark DeRosa and, of course, the number one pick for the Braves...your future start first baseman... A.J. Zapp.  When Giles posted a 6.5 WAR in 2003, Zapp posted a .842 OPS in his third season at AA.  For the Mariners organization.  He would later play in the Reds and Dodgers organizations before hanging up while never getting a major league at-bat.

After being drafted as a draft-and-follow, Giles signed before the 1997 draft.  A lot could be said about Giles, and a good deal was, but he was more than just the brother of Brian Giles.  He pummeled the Appalachian League after being drafted in 1997 and followed that with a tremendous run at Macon in 1998, slashing is way to a .329/.433/.636 clip.  After a .906 OPS in the Carolina League while playing half his games in traditionally pitcher-friendly Myrtle Beach, Giles made it into the Baseball America Top 100 entering 2000 as the 74th best prospect in the minors.  He followed by putting up his weakest season, though an .860 OPS from a 22 year-old second baseman is exciting.

He entered 2001 as the 54th Top Prospect in the game according to Baseball America.  Injuries got him to the majors for 68 games and he entered the Braves lexicon with a May 15th Grand Slam in the bottom of the 8th inning that sent the Braves to a 5-3 win.  Two days later, he was back in AAA and after two months in AAA (with an .875 OPS), Giles got promoted to finish the year in the majors two months after his demotion.  He finished the season with a 1.1 WAR and a .769 OPS. 

Atlanta allowed Quilvio Veras to leave after the season and put Giles in as the starting second baseman entering 2002.  After a good April, he slumped badly in May and Bobby Cox lost confidence in him.  He was demoted for over two months before finally getting a callup in August and finished the year as a bench player behind Keith Lockhart. 

Not ready to give up on Giles, the Braves gave him another chance in 2003 and he exploded, slashing .316/.390/.526 on his way to an All-Star selection, an 18th finish in the MVP race, and a 6.5 WAR.  Since 2000, it ranks as the 17th best season by a 2B.  Five of those seasons, though, come from just Chase Utley. 

Giles entered 2004, looking like a sure bet to continue his success and possibly land a nice fat extension.  However, in early May, while going out for a flyball, Giles met Andruw Jones via a giant collision.  It put him out for a couple of months and his level of production wasn't even close to his 2003 numbers.  His batting average was still sound at .311, but despite only a five points loss in batting average, his BABIP was up 20 points.  His ISO was completely buried, however, falling from .211 to .132. 

2005 saw Giles return to form, or almost to it.  His 5.3 WAR ranks 30th at his position since 2000.  His ISO came back up to .170, though is wOBA was the same as 2004 with a .360.  Still, it looked like Giles was going to remain the steady contributor at second base and if he produced in 2006, that extension was still possible.

However, he fell on his face, posting a 1.2 WAR with his defense, which had been so good since his callup, being a significant weakness for him.  His ISO fell to .125 and with it, his batting average.  The Braves, faced with a choice to spend $4.5-$5M for Giles in 2007, chose wisely to non-tender him.  Amazingly, he got $3.25M to play for the Padres he responded with a 0.1 WAR. 

His career was over.  In 2008, the Rockies brought him to spring training, but didn't take him north.  Neither did the Phillies in 2009.  The following year, he plead guilty to assaulting is wife. 

How did it all go wrong for Giles?  Well, there are many theories and one of the most prevalent is that Giles was a product of steroids.  As baseball cracked down on it, certain players saw their careers threatened and possibly, Giles was one of them.  His later domestic battery charge often seems to also occur with those that abuse steroids.  But players do become solid contributors at the major league level and peter out after a few years all the time.  Are they all on steroids or is baseball a lot harder than people seem willing to admit? 

At the end of the day, though, I loved Giles, at least at the time.  He was short and, if you want a common theme with this blog, an affinity for short guys is one of them.  I'm 5'4" myself so seeing short people succeed at a game that was so difficult for me to stick with athletically warms my heart.  I was sadden by his quick fall from one of the best at his position in the game to a guy who couldn't even make it out of spring training.  His spot on this Favorite Braves list is precarious, though Dan Uggla's struggles look to keep him on the team for the next couple of years at least. 

Chris Johnson: Maybe He's Okay

While I skipped out on blogging - you know, that ten month period - the Braves completed a trade that sent Martin Prado and youngsters to the Diamondbacks for Justin Upton and Chris Johnson.  The former was the target, a guy who legitimately could, and maybe should, be a perennial MVP contender.  The latter was Prado's replacement, and ultimately, the guy tasked with the unenviable job of replacing Chipper Jones at third.  No one likes to replace a legend.  Most prefer to be the second guy after the trails and tribulations of the first guy.

Nevertheless, Johnson took over after two months as the everyday guy after the Braves rightfully sent Juan Francisco packing.  Earlier this year, Johnson even served as Freddie Freeman's replacement when Freeman was DL'd with oblique issues.

Two things are consistent about Johnson.  Notably, the guy can hit.  While with the Astros in 2010, Johnson hit .308/.337/.481 over 362 PA.  Last year, while spending time with both the 'Stros and D'Backs, Johnson hit a robust .281/.326/.459 in 528 PA.  The ability to hit is there, though it's a bit much to expect his .327 current batting average to sustain itself.  While he doesn't have enough AB's to qualify for the hitting title, his .404 BABIP ranks tops among players with 200 or more PA.  He's typically carried a fairly high BABIP, though.  For his career, it's .356 and he eclipsed that mark in 2010 and nearly did last year as well.  In fact, since 2010, only three players have a better BABIP than Johnson.  A .400 BABIP, though, is pretty difficult to maintain over a full season.  Over the last 15 seasons, only Jose Hernandez in 2002 and Manny Ramirez in 2000 have finished the season with a BABIP above .400, though it is considerably more common to at least carry a .390 or better BABIP into the clubhouse after the final game of the season.

Everything tells me that Johnson's numbers will fall.  While he's carrying the best walk and strikeout rates of his career, both are only minimally better than his career numbers.   There's nothing in his batted ball rates to say "Ah ha!  That explains it!"  His first-pitch strike percentage is down about 4%, but that's not that telling either.  He's a product of his BABIP, and while its success is almost definitely not sustainable, there's reason to believe that it won't take a monster dive in the second half so he should finish with a new high there and could finish the season with career numbers.

The other consistent for Johnson was his glove and his inability to use it.  Defensively, he has more than lived up to his billing as one of the worst defenders at third base in the game.  Since 2010, no one has a worse UZR and played 1000 innings at third base than Johnson.  He has the worst Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) at third with -44.  In a way, that says he cost his teams 44 runs by just having him at third base.  As many qualms I had with Chipper's defense, Johnson makes him look damn good.  That's why in 49 game starts at third this season, he has played an entire game 30 times.  When the Braves can, they replace him in the field because he's such a defensive liability.  Formally, the job of being Johnson's defensive replacement fell on Ramiro Pena.  Now, the job is Paul Janish's.  If the Braves go out and acquire bench help, I'd put 20 bucks on the Braves seeking out someone to play defense at third late in games.

But Johnson doesn't lie to you.  He doesn't have a random good UZR one year, show remarkable improvement in plate discipline in a fluke season, or a considerable rise in power ala Brady Anderson.  He is what he's always been.  A good hitter, an awful fielder, and never the guy you are okay with as your long-term option at third.

In 2013, though, he'll do.

He'll do just fine. 

Failure or Over-hyped: The Baby Braves

The other day, the Kansas City Royals, who make it a habit to employ former Atlanta Braves, designated Jeff Francoeur for assignment.  Since the beginning of 2008, Francoeur has been demoted, traded twice, non-tendered, and now DFA'd.

What makes that news, at least to Braves faithful, is that it wasn't that long ago that Francoeur graced the cover of many a magazine, including most notably Sports Illustrated while being labeled The Natural.  He was the most popular of the Baby Braves, the collection of youngsters, often rookies, who propelled Atlanta to their 14th straight division title and ultimately, and fairly surprisingly, the final addition to what became known as The Streak.  I say surprisingly because the Baby Braves were supposed to take the torch from the old guys and move the franchise into a new era of playoff ball.

But, like Francoeur's fall from grace in Atlanta, most of the Baby Braves were gone form the organization within four years.  As of 2013, Brian McCann is all that remains from that class and McCann is possibly in his final year with the franchise.  Some are still playing in the bigs, long ago leaving Atlanta often by trade.  Kelly Johnson was non-tendered and has bounced around a little.  This year, he's a utility guy in Tampa Bay.  Wilson Betemit, once thought to be the next Derek Jeter, can only play defense like Jeter as his journeyman career has taken him to Los Angeles, New York, Kansas City, Detroit, and Baltimore.

Kansas City became a destination for many of the former Baby Braves.  In addition to Francouer and Betemit, Brayan Pena and Kyle Davies spent several years in KC with Davies continuing to fail at every turn before finally getting a boot out the door.  Macay McBride is out of baseball and Blaine Boyer, who pitched with the Royals AAA squad this year, is off to Japan to try to extend a career full of injuries and terrible pitching.  Ryan Langerhans recently got cut from the Blue Jays AAA team.  He can still play outfield, still walks at a good clip, still has some good pop, and still can't hit the ball all that often.

The guys who barely played a role on that 2005 squad, but were still labeled a Baby Brave haven't fared much better.  Andy Marte is having a solid season this year.  For the York Revolution in the Atlantic League with fellow former big leaguers Mark Teahan and Brett Tomko.  Joey Devine has moved on to the world of comedy while Chuck James...well, I'm sure he's doing well in real estate or used cars.

Were the Braves a failure or just overhyped?  A little bit failure because of injuries, but largely, they were simply over-hyped with no one more-so than Francoeur.  I get why some felt he had the talent to be an amazing talent, but he never progressed.  His numbers and skills were stagnant even before he made it to the bigs where, save years where his BABIP ballooned, his numbers were constantly stunted by being a terribly flawed ballplayer.  Betemit outgrew shortstop before he got to the bigs and quickly showed he didn't have the defense anywhere to be a starter in the majors, especially with an average bat.  Davies had no out pitch.  In his defense, he had great give-up-homerun pitches.  And no one seemed more over-hyped than Marte, who spent three years inside the Baseball America Top 15 prospects in baseball list, but couldn't overcome a long swing.

Once the book was out on Francouer and others, the jig was up.  The Baby Braves couldn't keep the Braves from missing the playoffs in 2006.  In fact, in many ways, they were directly responsible.

Still, it was a fun year.  Screw Chris Burke. 

The Best (and Worst) of June

Last year, after every month, I looked at some mostly useless monthly splits stats to give the best and worst awards for pitchers, position hitters, and a rookie of the month.  So, let's get back at it. 

Rookie of the Month

Julio Teheran - Evan Gattis's injury opened this one up a little easier for Teheran, but it's difficult to believe Teheran wouldn't have won it outright.  Teheran finished June with 10.3 K/9 and 1.1 BB/9 in five starts with a 2.71 FIP and a xFIP of 3.03.  Teheran has easily put last year's struggles behind him and with Mike Minor, the Braves have a pair of cornerstones. 

Worst Position Player of the Month

Justin Upton - After his tremendous April, Upton struggled mightily in May and was awful in June.  He slashed just .226/.336/.280.  A 12.6 BB% does little to better how awful Upton was in June.  is ISO of .054 was only better than Andrelton Simmons and worse than Reed Johnson and Ramiro Pena.  Atlanta needs the younger Upton to hit closer to his April numbers soon if they are going to some damage in the fall.

Dishonerable Mention - Ramiro Pena (3 H in 23 PA), Andrelton Simmons (.225/.268/.267)

Worst Pitcher of the Month

Cory Gearrin - Typically, I don't like giving this to relievers because one bad outing can warp your numbers.  However, even though he logged five innings, he seemed to be as ineffective as any pitcher the Braves have had all season.  He opened the month as a primary right-handed reliever, he ended as the rarely called-upon seventh guy, forced to watch as David Carpenter of all people got calls ahead of him.  Gearrin walked more people than he struck out and had an xFIP of 5.98.  He's simply taking up a spot at this point.

Dishonerable Mention - Anthony Varvaro (2.2 K/9, 5.71 xFIP), Paul Maholm (4.38 FIP)

Best Position Player of the Month

Jason Heyward - It took him some time, but Heyward is clicking.  He finished June with a .312/.370/495 slash and with his tremendous defense, that was enough to get over the 1 WAR bar for the month, finishing with 1.2 WAR.  His .375 wOBA led the team as well.  If Heyward can continue to put up months similar to June, people will forget his early season numbers. 

Honorable Mention - B.J. Upton (.238/.359/.452), Dan Uggla (nearly 20 BB%, .202 ISO), Freddie Freeman (.291/.392/.466)

Best Pitcher of the Month

Julio Teheran - He gets this barely over the honorable mention chiefly based on his K/BB ridiculous rate.  He got some assistance from a 90.6 LOB%, but his numbers in five starts were tremedous.  Teheran does a great job at getting hitters to swing at his outside-the-zone stuff and after a troublesome start to his year, there is little doubt that Teheran belongs. 

Honorable Mention - Kris Medlen (2.52 FIP, 7.5 K/9)