Transaction of Today...December 20, 1996...The Braves sign Hensley Meulens to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.
Before Andruw Jones and Randall Simon jumped from the small island of Curacao to the world of professional baseball, there was Hensley Meulens. Nicknamed Bam-Bam, Meulens first signed with the Yankees on Halloween, 1985, and immediately became part of the hype machine that is the Yankees minor league system. For his part, Meulens hardly needed someone else hyping him up as evidence by this quote before spring training of '97 - "I was going to be one of the best."
To be fair, Muelens was one of the best (prospects) in 1987 when he hit .300 for Prince William in the Carolina League. He smacked 28 homeruns that year, a personal best for any one stop in the minors. One thing, though. It was 13 more than he ever hit in the majors. In his defense, the Yankees never did give him much of an extended look outside of 1991. The next year, 1992, he hit .275/.352/.481 with 26 HR for Columbus and appeared in all of two games in the Bronx. In '93, he never produced at each level and the Yankees finally got rid of him. In parts of five years, Meulens had amassed what basically comes out to one season of stats. In 159 games, he slashed .221/.290/.344. Meulens was playing the part of Pedro Cerrano. He belted 12 homers in his 505 plate appearances, but struck out 149 times. He always struck out in the minors, but the quality of the opposing pitchers allowed him to hit a lot of majestic homeruns. Also keeping Meulens back was the lack of a position. He began his career at third, but would begin to shift to first and the outfield as the errors became unbearable.
In 1994, Meulens headed to Japan and spent the next three years playing for first Chiba Lotte and then Yakult. He blasted between 23 and 29 homeruns each year, but his OPS only climbed north of .800 once. At his very best in a league that catered to his individual skillset (shorter fences, weaker pitching), Meulens was only capable of a line close to .245/.315/.465. While valuable, he was not meant to be "one of the best."
Returning to America, Meulens found work with...our Atlanta Braves. Coming off a disappointing World Series loss, the Braves were looking to improve their bench heading into 1997. Dwight Smith, who was so good in '95, struggled mightily in 1996 and Jerome Walton got hurt. Both ex-Cubs would move onto new squads for the 1997 campaign. The Braves did have Denny Bautista and Andruw Jones, who would be slowly pushed into a big role while serving as the 4th outfielder in '97. Jones was likely another reason for signing Meulens as the two bonded during the World Series before Jones became the youngest player to hit a home run in the World Series.
Ultimately, Meulens couldn't make it out of camp. Six days before the Kenny Lofton/David Justice trade, Meulens was cut. He failed to make the impression the Braves thought that he would. Meulens would hook on with the Expos and eventually added to his career homerun total for the first time in four years when he hit a 0-1 homer off the Braves' Denny Neagle. He would only play in 16 games with the Expos and just seven more with the Diamondbacks the following season. Meulens continued his career in the Atlantic League, Korea, and Mexico before finally hanging it up in 2002. When you add up all of his numbers, he hit 330 homers in nearly 2000 games.
After retiring, Meulens went into coaching and eventually became the San Francisco hitting coach, a role he continues today. He's also coached and managed the Netherlands international team in the Olympics and World Baseball Classic, serving as a mentor to the latest crop of excellent Curacao players like Andrelton Simmons. Before moving into a coaching position, he was a player for the 2000 Netherlands Olympics squad that gave Cuba their first Olympic loss in 21 years. It was Meulens' bases-clearing double in the fourth inning that gave his team a lead they would not give back.
Meulens is like a lot of prospects who are built up to be the next big thing despite significant flaws. When the Braves took their chances with him, he was trying to secure one last chance at the greatness he felt he was due. In the end, it didn't work out, but with these types, that is a risk you take for the one player in a hundred that it does work out.
Friday, December 18, 2015
Thursday, December 17, 2015
TOT: Braves Makeover Infield Ahead of 1991 Season
Transaction of Today - December 18, 1990 - The Atlanta Braves signed Rafael Belliard as a free agent. Belliard receives $900,000 over two years.
Shortly after John Schuerholz took over the Braves, two things became obvious. The Braves had some good pitching, but as Leo Mazzone said, they "had no one to catch the ball." The most used infield used by the Braves in 1990 had David Justice at first base, Jeff Treadway at second, Jeff Blauser and Andres Thomas splitting time at short, and Jim Presley playing third. If you combine those five, we're talking about 76 of Atlanta's NL-high 158 errors. To be fair, Justice was just playing first to stay in the lineup because of a crowded outfield, but with a young rotation ready to burst onto the scene, having an infield that kicked the ball around more than the US Women's Soccer team was not a recipe for success.
This is why in a two-week period in December, the Braves added three players known for being good defenders. Sid Bream and Terry Pendleton would man the corners while Rafael Belliard was brought in from the Pirates to continue to what Raffy did - play solid defense.
Pacman had played parts of four seasons before becoming a regular fixture on the bench for the Pirates between 1986 and 1990. He hit just .218 as a Pirate with 1 HR, but was known far more for his defense. His first year in Atlanta was actually his finest season with the bat, though he slashed just .249/.296/.286. Bobby Cox liked him better at shortstop over Blauser, who was the better hitter. It wasn't until 1993 that Blauser once again became a regular for the Braves because Cox valued Belliard's defense so highly.
After 700 PA in his first two years with Atlanta, Belliard would play into 1998, but was not used nearly as much. He picked up an RBI on a squeeze bunt in the 1995 World Series and even went 4-for-6 in Atlanta's come-from-behind win in the 96 NLCS against the Cards, but Belliard never batted again in the postseason. His last big moment came in 1997 when he hit his second of two career homeruns in Shea Stadium. The pitcher that day, Brian Bohanon, was drafted two months after Belliard's first homer in 1987.
After an injury-shortened 1998, Belliard would play briefly in the Northern League with the Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs. He would become a roving minor league coordinator for the Braves before a long stint on the Tigers bench as a coach. He most recently served as a Royals minor league coordinator.
Shortly after John Schuerholz took over the Braves, two things became obvious. The Braves had some good pitching, but as Leo Mazzone said, they "had no one to catch the ball." The most used infield used by the Braves in 1990 had David Justice at first base, Jeff Treadway at second, Jeff Blauser and Andres Thomas splitting time at short, and Jim Presley playing third. If you combine those five, we're talking about 76 of Atlanta's NL-high 158 errors. To be fair, Justice was just playing first to stay in the lineup because of a crowded outfield, but with a young rotation ready to burst onto the scene, having an infield that kicked the ball around more than the US Women's Soccer team was not a recipe for success.
This is why in a two-week period in December, the Braves added three players known for being good defenders. Sid Bream and Terry Pendleton would man the corners while Rafael Belliard was brought in from the Pirates to continue to what Raffy did - play solid defense.
Pacman had played parts of four seasons before becoming a regular fixture on the bench for the Pirates between 1986 and 1990. He hit just .218 as a Pirate with 1 HR, but was known far more for his defense. His first year in Atlanta was actually his finest season with the bat, though he slashed just .249/.296/.286. Bobby Cox liked him better at shortstop over Blauser, who was the better hitter. It wasn't until 1993 that Blauser once again became a regular for the Braves because Cox valued Belliard's defense so highly.
After 700 PA in his first two years with Atlanta, Belliard would play into 1998, but was not used nearly as much. He picked up an RBI on a squeeze bunt in the 1995 World Series and even went 4-for-6 in Atlanta's come-from-behind win in the 96 NLCS against the Cards, but Belliard never batted again in the postseason. His last big moment came in 1997 when he hit his second of two career homeruns in Shea Stadium. The pitcher that day, Brian Bohanon, was drafted two months after Belliard's first homer in 1987.
After an injury-shortened 1998, Belliard would play briefly in the Northern League with the Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs. He would become a roving minor league coordinator for the Braves before a long stint on the Tigers bench as a coach. He most recently served as a Royals minor league coordinator.
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
TOT: Tim Hudson's Arrives at a Small Price
Transaction of Today...December 16, 2004 - The Atlanta Braves traded Juan Cruz, Dan Meyer and Charles Thomas to the Oakland Athletics for Tim Hudson.
2003 was the year things changed for the Braves. While they scored 907 runs, a modern franchise record, things weren't great in Atlanta. John Schuerholz and company had tried to build a staff for the future by signing Paul Byrd and trading for Russ Ortiz and Mike Hampton to join Kevin Millwood at the top of the rotation. However, unlike his buddy Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux didn't get a mega deal in free agency and ultimately accepted arbitration, leaving the Braves to scramble to trade Millwood. The result was a staff led by Maddux that allowed 740 runs, the most allowed by the Braves since 1990. The next year, Maddux was gone, yet 2004 was a solid comeback season for the staff as Jaret Wright and John Thomson joined the mix with the returning Byrd to form a good, but hardly impressive staff. In truth, as good as the Braves were from 1-to-5 in the rotation, they didn't have an ace.
With that in mind, the Braves decided to improve the front of the rotation for 2005. Gone were Ortiz and Wright, along with Byrd. John Smoltz was moved back to the starting staff and two days after trading for Danny Kolb to close the door, the Braves brought in 29 year-old Tim Hudson to be their #2 behind Smoltz. And everything worked out wonderfully.
Well...no. Huddy was, I guess, okay in his first year. Remember that he had a 3.30 ERA in six years with the A's along with two All-Star appearances and a Cy Young runner up. Expectations were pretty high. So, a 3.52 ERA in his first season was okay, but a 4.33 FIP gave us concern (well...not really...nobody used FIP back then). He was downright ugly in 2006, too. Huddy would right the ship and, when healthy, was a solid right-hander from 2007 to 2013, but outside of 2010 (when he was super lucky to get a 2.83 ERA), Hudson was never the guy the Braves thought they were acquiring.
But that's okay because Billy Beane was left to only dream of what he could have gotten for a pitcher who had a three-year sample of a 3.04 ERA and 3.47 FIP entering the 2004 offseason. Charles Thomas was a non-prospect after being a 19th rounder in 2000, but came out of nowhere to produce a .813 OPS in 2004 with the Braves. He played just 30 more games in the majors, all with the A's in 2005, before Oakland sent him back to the minors to die. Juan Cruz had been a great reclamation project after the Cubs gave up on him. He never again had the control he displayed in Atlanta (3.8 BB/9) and pitched just 28 games in Oakland with a 7.44 ERA before they traded him to Arizona. Ah, and then there's Dan Meyer. A product of James Madison (go Dukes!), Meyer was often hurt with the A's and not very good when he wasn't. He had one good year with the Marlins in 2009 as a LOOGY, but fell out of favor the following year and would later retire to join the Braves minor league system as a coach.
Let me put it this way. The Braves got 244 games out of Hudson. The A's got 75 from their trio.
It makes you wonder what the market was like at the time. Beane would package Mark Mulder next to the Cardinals for Daric Barton, Kiko Calero and Dan Haren. On the surface, that seemed like a better deal, but who knows? Maybe Beane really bought into Cruz and felt Thomas was the cherry-on-the-top when that should been Cruz. Or maybe no one else was calling because of concern over Hudson's oblique troubles. Either way, it's a decent argument that Beane should have gotten more for a player of Huddy's talent, regardless of his pending free agency.
In the end, both franchises would move on and deal with some lean years. Since 2006, each team has made just three postseason appearances. It would take Hudson leaving for the Giants in 2014 for any of these players to get a World Series ring.
2003 was the year things changed for the Braves. While they scored 907 runs, a modern franchise record, things weren't great in Atlanta. John Schuerholz and company had tried to build a staff for the future by signing Paul Byrd and trading for Russ Ortiz and Mike Hampton to join Kevin Millwood at the top of the rotation. However, unlike his buddy Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux didn't get a mega deal in free agency and ultimately accepted arbitration, leaving the Braves to scramble to trade Millwood. The result was a staff led by Maddux that allowed 740 runs, the most allowed by the Braves since 1990. The next year, Maddux was gone, yet 2004 was a solid comeback season for the staff as Jaret Wright and John Thomson joined the mix with the returning Byrd to form a good, but hardly impressive staff. In truth, as good as the Braves were from 1-to-5 in the rotation, they didn't have an ace.
With that in mind, the Braves decided to improve the front of the rotation for 2005. Gone were Ortiz and Wright, along with Byrd. John Smoltz was moved back to the starting staff and two days after trading for Danny Kolb to close the door, the Braves brought in 29 year-old Tim Hudson to be their #2 behind Smoltz. And everything worked out wonderfully.
Well...no. Huddy was, I guess, okay in his first year. Remember that he had a 3.30 ERA in six years with the A's along with two All-Star appearances and a Cy Young runner up. Expectations were pretty high. So, a 3.52 ERA in his first season was okay, but a 4.33 FIP gave us concern (well...not really...nobody used FIP back then). He was downright ugly in 2006, too. Huddy would right the ship and, when healthy, was a solid right-hander from 2007 to 2013, but outside of 2010 (when he was super lucky to get a 2.83 ERA), Hudson was never the guy the Braves thought they were acquiring.
But that's okay because Billy Beane was left to only dream of what he could have gotten for a pitcher who had a three-year sample of a 3.04 ERA and 3.47 FIP entering the 2004 offseason. Charles Thomas was a non-prospect after being a 19th rounder in 2000, but came out of nowhere to produce a .813 OPS in 2004 with the Braves. He played just 30 more games in the majors, all with the A's in 2005, before Oakland sent him back to the minors to die. Juan Cruz had been a great reclamation project after the Cubs gave up on him. He never again had the control he displayed in Atlanta (3.8 BB/9) and pitched just 28 games in Oakland with a 7.44 ERA before they traded him to Arizona. Ah, and then there's Dan Meyer. A product of James Madison (go Dukes!), Meyer was often hurt with the A's and not very good when he wasn't. He had one good year with the Marlins in 2009 as a LOOGY, but fell out of favor the following year and would later retire to join the Braves minor league system as a coach.
Let me put it this way. The Braves got 244 games out of Hudson. The A's got 75 from their trio.
It makes you wonder what the market was like at the time. Beane would package Mark Mulder next to the Cardinals for Daric Barton, Kiko Calero and Dan Haren. On the surface, that seemed like a better deal, but who knows? Maybe Beane really bought into Cruz and felt Thomas was the cherry-on-the-top when that should been Cruz. Or maybe no one else was calling because of concern over Hudson's oblique troubles. Either way, it's a decent argument that Beane should have gotten more for a player of Huddy's talent, regardless of his pending free agency.
In the end, both franchises would move on and deal with some lean years. Since 2006, each team has made just three postseason appearances. It would take Hudson leaving for the Giants in 2014 for any of these players to get a World Series ring.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
TOT: Braves Find Their Veteran Leader for Young Rotation
Transactions of Today...December 15, 1989 - The Kansas City Royals traded Charlie Leibrandt and Rick Luecken to the Atlanta Braves for Jim Lemasters (minors) and Gerald Perry.
Here's how this deal was discussed.
John Schuerholz: Hey Bobby, I need a DH that can also play first base and let George Brett DH on occasion to keep my best hitter fresh.
Bobby Cox: We got Gerald Perry, but he's blocking some younger talent. Speaking of young talent, I could use a veteran to help with a rotation full of young pitchers bursting with, um, talent.
Schuerholz: What about Liebrandt?
Cox: Didn't he have a 5.14 ERA last year?
Schuerholz: He'll bounce back. Besides, Gerald Perry hit four homeruns last year and you want me to take him in return. Let's just work out the particulars and make this happen.
Cox: I like your style, John. We should work together!
And the rest...is history.
Well, not really, but the Braves did well to add Liebrandt to the fold before 1990 and resign him ahead of the '91 season. Liebrandt had struggled to develop with the Reds before his '83 trade to the Royals. He quickly turned the corner the following year before a break-through 1985 campaign that included a 2.67 ERA. After three more solid seasons, things unraveled for Liebrandt in '89. If FIP existed back then, one might argue that he wasn't really much worse than he was before, but when your ERA goes from 3.19 to 5.14 in one season, questions are raised. After the trade, Liebrandt finished 1990 with the second best ERA of his career despite missing action. His control, which showed signs of decline in '89, rounded back in form with just 1.9 BB per nine, the best rate of his career. The Braves kept him on after the season and he was a quarter of the four-man rotation with Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Steve Avery that started 141 of 162 games, or 87%. His biggest pitch of the season, however, came in the bottom of the 11th of Game 6 of the 1991 World Season when Kirby Puckett sent the series to seven games with a 2-1 homer. Liebrandt would pitch one more season with the Braves and remained very effective, but less than a week after the Braves signed Greg Maddux, Liebrandt was traded to the Rangers.
Perry struggled in his only year with the Royals, hitting just .254 with a .680 OPS. It would be the last time he was a regular starter. Though he flamed out in KC, Perry stayed in the midwest and spent five years with the Cardinals. Schuerholz's other get in the trade, Jim Lemasters, spent two seasons in the upper minor leagues for the Royals, but couldn't break into the bigs. As for Rick Luecken, who the Braves also acquired with Liebrandt, he would pitch in 36 games with the Braves with a 1.94 WHIP, bad by even bad Braves standards. He complained about his role on the team, but Bobby Cox's answer was simple - "that phone rings and I tell you to warm up." Luecken would later be waived in September of 1990 and the Blue Jays picked him up, but dropped him after the season. He briefly played for Iowa the following year as a Cubs farmhand, but never learned how to throw strikes.
Oh, and Cox and Schuerholz? Those guys would become thick as thieves. All thanks for Charlie Liebrandt.
(Last sentence not yet verified.)
Here's how this deal was discussed.
John Schuerholz: Hey Bobby, I need a DH that can also play first base and let George Brett DH on occasion to keep my best hitter fresh.
Bobby Cox: We got Gerald Perry, but he's blocking some younger talent. Speaking of young talent, I could use a veteran to help with a rotation full of young pitchers bursting with, um, talent.
Schuerholz: What about Liebrandt?
Cox: Didn't he have a 5.14 ERA last year?
Schuerholz: He'll bounce back. Besides, Gerald Perry hit four homeruns last year and you want me to take him in return. Let's just work out the particulars and make this happen.
Cox: I like your style, John. We should work together!
And the rest...is history.
Well, not really, but the Braves did well to add Liebrandt to the fold before 1990 and resign him ahead of the '91 season. Liebrandt had struggled to develop with the Reds before his '83 trade to the Royals. He quickly turned the corner the following year before a break-through 1985 campaign that included a 2.67 ERA. After three more solid seasons, things unraveled for Liebrandt in '89. If FIP existed back then, one might argue that he wasn't really much worse than he was before, but when your ERA goes from 3.19 to 5.14 in one season, questions are raised. After the trade, Liebrandt finished 1990 with the second best ERA of his career despite missing action. His control, which showed signs of decline in '89, rounded back in form with just 1.9 BB per nine, the best rate of his career. The Braves kept him on after the season and he was a quarter of the four-man rotation with Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Steve Avery that started 141 of 162 games, or 87%. His biggest pitch of the season, however, came in the bottom of the 11th of Game 6 of the 1991 World Season when Kirby Puckett sent the series to seven games with a 2-1 homer. Liebrandt would pitch one more season with the Braves and remained very effective, but less than a week after the Braves signed Greg Maddux, Liebrandt was traded to the Rangers.
Perry struggled in his only year with the Royals, hitting just .254 with a .680 OPS. It would be the last time he was a regular starter. Though he flamed out in KC, Perry stayed in the midwest and spent five years with the Cardinals. Schuerholz's other get in the trade, Jim Lemasters, spent two seasons in the upper minor leagues for the Royals, but couldn't break into the bigs. As for Rick Luecken, who the Braves also acquired with Liebrandt, he would pitch in 36 games with the Braves with a 1.94 WHIP, bad by even bad Braves standards. He complained about his role on the team, but Bobby Cox's answer was simple - "that phone rings and I tell you to warm up." Luecken would later be waived in September of 1990 and the Blue Jays picked him up, but dropped him after the season. He briefly played for Iowa the following year as a Cubs farmhand, but never learned how to throw strikes.
Oh, and Cox and Schuerholz? Those guys would become thick as thieves. All thanks for Charlie Liebrandt.
(Last sentence not yet verified.)
Monday, December 14, 2015
Atlanta Braves Sign Jhoulys Chacin
You'd be hard pressed to find a team in baseball that hasn't found players with more unique names than the Braves. They now have a Dansby, an Ender Inciarte, a Rutckyj, something called a Foltynewicz, an Ozhaino Albies, and still retain the services of Joey Terdoslavich.
Now, you can add Jhoulys Chacin to the list. At least the Braves will lead the league in most letters used!
Chacin was a quick and steady riser through the Rockies' system. He made his debut in 2009 and a year later, became a fixture for the Rockies when healthy. His 2010 rookie season was tremendous. He walked too many, but he struck out a batter an inning and showed an ability to induce grounders off his low 90's sinker. That's kind of a useful thing for a Coors Field pitcher. The following season, his strikeouts fell from 24% to 18%, but his sinker was utilized more and nearly all of his pitches had a downward tilt to them. This resulted in a 10% increase in groundballs to 56.3%.
With back-to-back 2 WAR seasons already in the bag, things looked up for the Venezuelan, but Chacin struggled in 2012 as health (14 starts) and poor play led him to a 5.10 xFIP and a high rate of flyballs. He bounced back in 2013 with his best season to date. His strikeouts again declined for the third consecutive season, but he threw more strikes (48% vs. 44% career rate) and reached 60% in first-pitch strikes for the first time in his career. A better groundball rate and a fluky 6% HR/FB helped Chacin with matching 3.47's ERA and FIP's, the latter of which was his best mark of his career. As was his 3.9 fWAR total. To put that into perspective, it ranked as the 20th best pitching WAR in baseball according to Fangraphs and the sixth best WAR total in Rockies history for a pitcher.
Chacin was on the cusp of greatness, but another injury-filled 2014 killed his momentum. After getting pushed out of a job in the spring of 2015, he was cut by the Rockies. He would later hook up with the Indians, but eventually opted out so that he could sign with Arizona. The latter got him back to the majors, where he showed some signs of the pitcher of old (19% K%, 47% GB%). An unsustainable LOB% rate of 81% and 1.35 HR/9 fluctuated his FIP unfairly the other way, but his SIERA was almost on point with the 4.27 from his 2013 season. Granted...he pitched 170 or so fewer innings. He did look pretty good in AAA first with Columbus and then with Reno as well.
On the mound, Chacin threw more sinkers than any other pitch in 2015, a new development. Also new was a cutter that took away a healthy amount of the fourseamers he used to throw. He also sprinkles in a curve and changeup, but relies greatly on his slider. He's lost velocity compared to his 2013 numbers (about 2 mph), though maybe he can get that back with a healthy offseason program.
Chacin is less than a month away from turning 28 and joins a battle for a rotation spot in a wide open field. This is a smart signing that could provide dividends. It would surprise me none to see Chacin break camp with the team, even in a swingman role. After all, we need more unique names added to the roster. It's our thing, dammit.
Now, you can add Jhoulys Chacin to the list. At least the Braves will lead the league in most letters used!
 |
| Norm Hall | Getty Images |
With back-to-back 2 WAR seasons already in the bag, things looked up for the Venezuelan, but Chacin struggled in 2012 as health (14 starts) and poor play led him to a 5.10 xFIP and a high rate of flyballs. He bounced back in 2013 with his best season to date. His strikeouts again declined for the third consecutive season, but he threw more strikes (48% vs. 44% career rate) and reached 60% in first-pitch strikes for the first time in his career. A better groundball rate and a fluky 6% HR/FB helped Chacin with matching 3.47's ERA and FIP's, the latter of which was his best mark of his career. As was his 3.9 fWAR total. To put that into perspective, it ranked as the 20th best pitching WAR in baseball according to Fangraphs and the sixth best WAR total in Rockies history for a pitcher.
Chacin was on the cusp of greatness, but another injury-filled 2014 killed his momentum. After getting pushed out of a job in the spring of 2015, he was cut by the Rockies. He would later hook up with the Indians, but eventually opted out so that he could sign with Arizona. The latter got him back to the majors, where he showed some signs of the pitcher of old (19% K%, 47% GB%). An unsustainable LOB% rate of 81% and 1.35 HR/9 fluctuated his FIP unfairly the other way, but his SIERA was almost on point with the 4.27 from his 2013 season. Granted...he pitched 170 or so fewer innings. He did look pretty good in AAA first with Columbus and then with Reno as well.
On the mound, Chacin threw more sinkers than any other pitch in 2015, a new development. Also new was a cutter that took away a healthy amount of the fourseamers he used to throw. He also sprinkles in a curve and changeup, but relies greatly on his slider. He's lost velocity compared to his 2013 numbers (about 2 mph), though maybe he can get that back with a healthy offseason program.
Chacin is less than a month away from turning 28 and joins a battle for a rotation spot in a wide open field. This is a smart signing that could provide dividends. It would surprise me none to see Chacin break camp with the team, even in a swingman role. After all, we need more unique names added to the roster. It's our thing, dammit.
TOT: Braves Trade for a Water Cooler Beater
I haven't been doing a good job of keeping up-to-date with my work here at the blog, but I am hoping a few changes will help (and subsequently get more post going at my other blog). The offseason is tough to write about, but a series like this can help me stay engaged. Transactions of Today, or TOT because I am super awesome at acronyms, will look at one transaction a day. These posts won't be super long, but will hopefully be interesting. Today's a good one, after all.
Transactions of Today...December 14, 2004 - The Braves complete a deal from December 11 by sending Alec Zumwalt to the Brewers. The Braves had already traded Jose Capellan to Milwaukee for Danny Kolb
Oh, Kolb.
Brought in to replace John Smoltz as the latter went back to the starting rotation, Kolb was coming off an All-Star year where he saved 39 games for Milwaukee. Even with that in mind, he had done it in the weirdest way possible. In 57.1 ING, he struck out just 21 and walked 15. A BABIP of .246 led to Kolb looking a lot better than he actually was, but John Schuerholz still surrendered the 25th best prospect in baseball, according to Baseball America, in Capellan. The latter had a rocket arm and leaped from Myrtle Beach to start 2004 all the way to the bigs.
Ultimately, the deal did little for either side. Kolb logged just 11 saves in 65 games. His biggest moment as a Brave? Beating the crap out of a water cooler. The Braves cut their losses after the season and Kolb returned to Milwaukee before a brief spot with the Pirates. His career came to a close after nine games with the Pawtucket Red Sox in 2008. Cappy pitched in 85 games over the next 2.5 seasons with the Brewers, though found little success. He was particularly homer prone due to a straight fastball that liked to stay belt-high with no life on it. He would pitch for the Tigers and Rockies, but not for very long. He pitched in Korea and kept active in winter leagues through 2013, but never sniffed the majors after 2008.
And Zumwalt? He played in AAA in three different seasons, but never advanced beyond that barrier. He had began his career as an outfielder, but couldn't hit before being moved to pitcher in 2002. He's since moved onto scouting and is an advanced scout for the World Champion Royals who provided some the "advance reports that helped doom the Mets."
Man, even our throw-ins in deals for terrible closers get rings before Andruw Jones.
Transactions of Today...December 14, 2004 - The Braves complete a deal from December 11 by sending Alec Zumwalt to the Brewers. The Braves had already traded Jose Capellan to Milwaukee for Danny Kolb
Oh, Kolb.
Brought in to replace John Smoltz as the latter went back to the starting rotation, Kolb was coming off an All-Star year where he saved 39 games for Milwaukee. Even with that in mind, he had done it in the weirdest way possible. In 57.1 ING, he struck out just 21 and walked 15. A BABIP of .246 led to Kolb looking a lot better than he actually was, but John Schuerholz still surrendered the 25th best prospect in baseball, according to Baseball America, in Capellan. The latter had a rocket arm and leaped from Myrtle Beach to start 2004 all the way to the bigs.
Ultimately, the deal did little for either side. Kolb logged just 11 saves in 65 games. His biggest moment as a Brave? Beating the crap out of a water cooler. The Braves cut their losses after the season and Kolb returned to Milwaukee before a brief spot with the Pirates. His career came to a close after nine games with the Pawtucket Red Sox in 2008. Cappy pitched in 85 games over the next 2.5 seasons with the Brewers, though found little success. He was particularly homer prone due to a straight fastball that liked to stay belt-high with no life on it. He would pitch for the Tigers and Rockies, but not for very long. He pitched in Korea and kept active in winter leagues through 2013, but never sniffed the majors after 2008.
And Zumwalt? He played in AAA in three different seasons, but never advanced beyond that barrier. He had began his career as an outfielder, but couldn't hit before being moved to pitcher in 2002. He's since moved onto scouting and is an advanced scout for the World Champion Royals who provided some the "advance reports that helped doom the Mets."
Man, even our throw-ins in deals for terrible closers get rings before Andruw Jones.
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Random Former Prospect Sunday - Neftali Feliz
During the season, Sundays are set aside to take a look at a prospect at random, but with the minor league season over, I wasn't sure what to do for my Sunday article until this nugget of an idea came my way. How about we look at players who ranked in Baseball America's Top 100 while part of the Braves' organization, yet never appeared for the Braves? Over the next few months, I'll take a look at the prospects that were traded or simply faded away and just to keep up with my theme, I randomized the players.
I am way behind in my writing, which is really sad because I like the idea behind this series. Let's see how former Atlanta prospects who were once Baseball America Top 100 guys turned out despite the fact that never played for the Braves. It sounds fun...at first. But then you have to write about it and that's just a hassle. Oh, well. Who's up next? Oh, one of the pieces in the MASSIVELY, HUGELY SUCCESSFUL Mark Teixeira trade? Sounds joyous.
A long, long time ago...in a galaxy not too far away, Feliz was a damn intriguing prospect. Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2005, Feliz had the velocity and stuff that receives attention immediately, but unlike so many of his peers, he had a good idea of where his pitches were going. After a season in the Dominican Summer League that was fairly underwhelming, it was in 2007 that Feliz said, "hey yo." Yes, just like Scott Hall.
Including Feliz is a little bit of a cheat for this list of former Braves prospects who never played for the Braves despite being a Top 100 prospect. Fact is, Feliz wasn't a Top 100 guy for the Braves because he was traded in the year where his production pushed him into the Top 100 Prospects. However, he probably wouldn't have been on said list without his work with Danville before the trade so I'm counting it. In eight games, all but one as a starter, Feliz struck out a batter an inning and allowed no homeruns. He would have likely made a lot of lists for best prospects in the Appalachian League had the Braves not packaged him in the deal that brought Teix to Atlanta.
Texas wasn't sure what they had. They tried Feliz as a reliever, as a starter, and back to being a reliever. Regardless of the role, Feliz rocketed up both the Rangers' system and the BA Top 100, ranking 93rd, 10th, and ultimately 9th heading into the 2010 season. The Rangers brought back both Frank Francisco and C.J. Wilson from their 2009 squad, though Wilson headed to the rotation. Francisco was kept on, but after blowing a pair of save opportunities, Texas flipped Feliz to the ninth inning role in mid-April. He would not give it back, nailing down 40 saves - the fifth time a Ranger had reached that mark (Joe Nathan would increase the club to six in 2013). Feliz's hard-throwing skillset was impressive enough, but the fact he walked so few (2.3 BB/9) was thoroughly impressive. While the Rangers fell short in their quest to get back to the playoffs, Feliz went home with the Rookie of the Year award.
The most interesting thing - to me, at least - about Feliz is that I still have this impression that he had a fairly sustained run of a few excellent years before he turned into the Feliz we've seen over the last couple of seasons. This is actually a flawed outlook as Feliz was only really good in 2010. The following season, he saved 32 games, but his K's fell and his walks went up. That's a dangerous combo, yet the Rangers said "let's try him in the rotation! It worked with C.J. after all!" For Feliz, it did not work. While he got credit for a complete game, his numbers trended south and he ultimately got hurt, limiting the Great Starting Feliz Experiment to seven starts.
After appearing in a half-dozen September games in 2013, Feliz competed with Joakim Soria to be Nathan's replacement as the Rangers' closer in 2014. Feliz was clearly the lesser of the two and was demoted to the minors to open the season. He was decent enough in the minors, though homer prone, before the Rangers' trade of Soria to the Tigers put Feliz back in the role that he had been briefly successful in. He saved 13 down the stretch and had a nice 1.99 ERA, but carried a 4.90 FIP because all of his other marks were horrid.
The Rangers still went with Feliz as their closer entering 2015. The horrid marks continued, but the nice ERA disappeared. As did Feliz's grip of the closing role as he lost that in mid-May to Shawn Tolleson. By July, the Rangers grew exhausted trying to wait for Feliz to resemble the 2010 Rookie of the Year form. He was released nearly nine years after being traded to Texas. He is currently 4th on the Rangers all-time saves list with 93.
He finished the year in the Tigers' organization, though found little success there. Recently, the Tigers non-tendered the righty rather than go through arbitration with him. Teams are naturally intrigued by the possibility Feliz re-figures it out for their team and will look to buy low.
For Braves fans, Feliz is just another piece that was dealt in a trade that ultimately brought few positives to the Braves. Effectively, Feliz and the rest of the players acquired were turned into a year of Teix, Casey Kotchman, and Adam LaRoche. Not exactly a winning formula. While Feliz's success in the majors has so far been short-lived, his legacy as one of the group that got away is firmly entrenched.
Previous Random Former Prospects
Gorkys Hernandez
Matt Belisle
Matt McClendon
I am way behind in my writing, which is really sad because I like the idea behind this series. Let's see how former Atlanta prospects who were once Baseball America Top 100 guys turned out despite the fact that never played for the Braves. It sounds fun...at first. But then you have to write about it and that's just a hassle. Oh, well. Who's up next? Oh, one of the pieces in the MASSIVELY, HUGELY SUCCESSFUL Mark Teixeira trade? Sounds joyous.
 |
| R. Yeatts | Getty Images |
Including Feliz is a little bit of a cheat for this list of former Braves prospects who never played for the Braves despite being a Top 100 prospect. Fact is, Feliz wasn't a Top 100 guy for the Braves because he was traded in the year where his production pushed him into the Top 100 Prospects. However, he probably wouldn't have been on said list without his work with Danville before the trade so I'm counting it. In eight games, all but one as a starter, Feliz struck out a batter an inning and allowed no homeruns. He would have likely made a lot of lists for best prospects in the Appalachian League had the Braves not packaged him in the deal that brought Teix to Atlanta.
Texas wasn't sure what they had. They tried Feliz as a reliever, as a starter, and back to being a reliever. Regardless of the role, Feliz rocketed up both the Rangers' system and the BA Top 100, ranking 93rd, 10th, and ultimately 9th heading into the 2010 season. The Rangers brought back both Frank Francisco and C.J. Wilson from their 2009 squad, though Wilson headed to the rotation. Francisco was kept on, but after blowing a pair of save opportunities, Texas flipped Feliz to the ninth inning role in mid-April. He would not give it back, nailing down 40 saves - the fifth time a Ranger had reached that mark (Joe Nathan would increase the club to six in 2013). Feliz's hard-throwing skillset was impressive enough, but the fact he walked so few (2.3 BB/9) was thoroughly impressive. While the Rangers fell short in their quest to get back to the playoffs, Feliz went home with the Rookie of the Year award.
The most interesting thing - to me, at least - about Feliz is that I still have this impression that he had a fairly sustained run of a few excellent years before he turned into the Feliz we've seen over the last couple of seasons. This is actually a flawed outlook as Feliz was only really good in 2010. The following season, he saved 32 games, but his K's fell and his walks went up. That's a dangerous combo, yet the Rangers said "let's try him in the rotation! It worked with C.J. after all!" For Feliz, it did not work. While he got credit for a complete game, his numbers trended south and he ultimately got hurt, limiting the Great Starting Feliz Experiment to seven starts.
After appearing in a half-dozen September games in 2013, Feliz competed with Joakim Soria to be Nathan's replacement as the Rangers' closer in 2014. Feliz was clearly the lesser of the two and was demoted to the minors to open the season. He was decent enough in the minors, though homer prone, before the Rangers' trade of Soria to the Tigers put Feliz back in the role that he had been briefly successful in. He saved 13 down the stretch and had a nice 1.99 ERA, but carried a 4.90 FIP because all of his other marks were horrid.
The Rangers still went with Feliz as their closer entering 2015. The horrid marks continued, but the nice ERA disappeared. As did Feliz's grip of the closing role as he lost that in mid-May to Shawn Tolleson. By July, the Rangers grew exhausted trying to wait for Feliz to resemble the 2010 Rookie of the Year form. He was released nearly nine years after being traded to Texas. He is currently 4th on the Rangers all-time saves list with 93.
He finished the year in the Tigers' organization, though found little success there. Recently, the Tigers non-tendered the righty rather than go through arbitration with him. Teams are naturally intrigued by the possibility Feliz re-figures it out for their team and will look to buy low.
For Braves fans, Feliz is just another piece that was dealt in a trade that ultimately brought few positives to the Braves. Effectively, Feliz and the rest of the players acquired were turned into a year of Teix, Casey Kotchman, and Adam LaRoche. Not exactly a winning formula. While Feliz's success in the majors has so far been short-lived, his legacy as one of the group that got away is firmly entrenched.
Previous Random Former Prospects
Gorkys Hernandez
Matt Belisle
Matt McClendon
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)