2016 Player Reviews: Freddie Freeman, John Gant, Adonis Garcia

Welcome back to another edition of 2016 Player Reviews. Today's a biggy with a franchise cornerstone, a righty with a funky delivery, and one of the biggest surprises of 2016. Thanks for bearing with me as I look at these players and take stock in their contributions this season. With still over 30 to go, I hope to complete this series in the next couple of weeks.

Did you miss the last edition? I got your back. Want to catch up on all of the series? I have you covered as well.

*Ages reflect the player's age on opening day, 2017

Freddie Freeman, 1B, 27 years-old

Keith Allison via Flickr
Creative Commons

2016 Review: Remember when people used to say, "sure, Freddie's good and all, but he's not one of the best at his position?" Yeah, about that...Freeman only hit .302/.400/.569. Want more advanced metrics? Freeman posted a .402 wOBA with a 152 wRC+. His .267 ISO was seventy points higher than his previous career-best while he eclipsed 6 fWAR for the first time in his career. His homerun total breezed past 30 in no small part because he finished with a flyball rate higher than his groundball rate for the first time. And about how he compares to the league - Freeman's 6.1 fWAR was nearly a full run higher than the next major league first baseman and one of the ten best WAR totals according to Fangraphs in 2016. It was the kind of season John Hart - and yes, Frank Wren - envisioned when they extended Freeman for $135 million less than three years ago. His overall numbers are even more impressive when you remember that his OPS  was in the .750s through 60 games. Back then, fans and media types alike wondered if his wrist troubles from 2015 would limit the effectiveness of Freeman moving forward. Now, they wonder how much better Freeman can be in 2017 and beyond.

2017 Projection: Here's the good news - at just 27, Freeman is entering his prime. There is no reason to believe that Freeman can't be even better in 2017, though even a slight fallback campaign would still be plenty good. One of the many bright spots in Freeman's numbers was an OPS of .901 against left-handed pitchers. Freeman had been fairly limited against southpaws in his career with weak isolated slugging numbers against them, but that wasn't the case in 2016. Freeman is a franchise cornerstone and there no longer exists reasons to doubt that.

John Gant, RHP, 24 years-old

2016 Review: Let's just say that Gant is more than a funky delivery. Out of necessity more than anything, he made the roster to open the year despite having just 100 innings of experience above A-ball (all at Double A). Over six different stints with the club (including a trip to the DL), Gant logged an even 50 innings in the majors. He was about a league-average arm - which really isn't that bad of a thing to say about a guy getting his first taste of the majors. He walked a few too many and homeruns allowed were a little much, but the strikeout total was solid (8.8 per nine). His favorite pitch was the split-fingered fastball, which he delivered about 60% of the time. The remaining 40% was split pretty evenly between his curveball and changeup.

2017 Projection: Gant was not the higher-rated prospect of the duo of righties the Braves got from the Mets for Kelly Johnson in the summer of 2015. While he did beat Robert Whalen to the bigs, I still like Whalen's chances of sticking more. Gant does everything he can - including his delivery - to keep hitters off balance and his split-fingered heater has some decent getty-up on it. This surprises me, but he's never really been a high groundball pitcher despite a splitter/slider combo that hitters like to beat into the ground. If he could improve that, Gant could carve out a nice role in the majors as a low-end starter/long reliever. As for just next season, Gant is in the mix, but will need a big camp to make the Braves for a second straight opening day.

Adonis Garcia, 3B, 31 years-old

2016 Review: What a strange season Garcia had. After an exciting summer callup the previous year, Garcia won the lionshare of time at 3B to begin 2016. He struggled both in the field and at the plate and was banished to the minors for most of May before a return as the Braves sought offense. While the Braves flirted with the idea of moving Garcia back to left field, he settled back into the third base spot and improved his numbers dramatically. At the plate, there was both good-and-bad. He provided some power for what was, at times, a punchless lineup. His negatives, though, included weak on-base numbers (.311) and while he did hit 14 homeruns, his ISO was a mere .133 (or about 90 pounds below his 2015 run).

2017 Projection: Garcia is a mixed bag. The Braves are probably asking too much from him to be an everyday starter. Sure, when he's hot, like he was during July when he slashed .337/.370/.537, it's difficult to get him out of the lineup. He's a good enough hitter to avoid long stretches of disappearing, but not good enough to provide enough offensive talent at the plate. His defense was definitely improved after a trip to the minors and he's competent at the position. The Braves seem unlikely to splurge for a third baseman to take over the position full time, but Garcia could still lose playing time to the rookie, Rio Ruiz. A left-handed hitter, Ruiz could be protected a bit by Garcia, who has slashed .310/.357/.472 in 213 career PA against southpaws in the majors. If Ruiz needs more time, Garcia could be partnered up with a different platoon partner (perhaps Jace Peterson) or handed third to open 2017, though that's not ideal. Either way, the Braves are getting their money's worth and then some with Garcia.

2016 Player Reviews: Joel De La Cruz, Tyler Flowers, Mike Foltynewicz

Hope all of you are surviving the effects of Matthew as it climbs the coast. In central Virginia, it's been rain and a lot of it. Nothing like rainy weather to push you to write some more so let's dive back into the next set of players in the Player Review series. One of the players has already moved on as Jed Bradley, who I wrote about a few days ago, is headed to Baltimore via waivers.

Before I forget, I have updated my options page, which you can view here. Also, feel free to check out the last article in this series or click here for all of the articles in one central place.

*All ages are as of opening day, 2017.

Joel De La Cruz, RHP, 27 years-old

2016 Review: A minor league free agent out of the Yankees' organization, De La Cruz was a veteran of eight minor league season (plus two lost years) before coming to the Braves. His numbers with Gwinnett were pedestrian (4.28 FIP, 1.8 K/BB) and that included two major league promotions. Both times, De La Cruz didn't get into a game. However, with the starting rotation reeling (and Bud Norris soon to be traded), the Braves brought De La Cruz up to stay in late June. Over 22 games, including nine starts, De La Cruz was a bit worse than his Gwinnett numbers (5.19 FIP, 1.7 K/BB) and gave up his fair share of homeruns.

2017 Projection: De La Cruz is one of those guys who might get less of a look now that Roger McDowell has moved on. A three-pitch pitcher, De La Cruz relied heavily on his sinker and though his GB% rate in the majors wasn't very high, it was his M.O. in the minors (1.9 GB/FB rate). The next pitching coach might not stressed sinkers as much as McDowell did, which could make De La Cruz a bit less attractive as a guy to bring back in 2017. Beyond that, he turns 28 next June and this system is deep in options that are more intriguing than De La Cruz. So, with all of that in mind, it wasn't surprising to see De La Cruz outrighted to Gwinnett on Friday. He could be brought back out of familiarity, but again, the Braves might not be that interested anymore.

By Editosaurus (Own work) [CC0], via
Wikimedia Commons

Tyler Flowers, C, 31 years-old

2016 Review: This season was so weird for Flowers, who came back to the organization that originally drafted him in '06 last offseason. His .338 wOBA was a career best by 20 points. His triple slash of .270/.357/.420 made him a leader on this offense, especially before the arrivals of Matt Kemp and Dansby Swanson. According to Statcorner, Flowers finished fourth in the majors in pitch framing and would have ranked higher had he not missed time on the DL and shared too much time with A.J. Pierzynski. But...there was that weird caught stealing metric. Flowers was never gifted at nailing potential basestealers. His career-best rate was 33% and he's been around the league average during his career. Until this year. When he caught just three of 63 potential thieves. The other two catchers, Pierzynski and Anthony Recker, weren't great at catching baserunners either, but both looked much better in comparison to Flowers. By all accounts, Flowers wasn't dealing with shoulder issues that should have led to this problem so either it was mental or mechanical.

2017 Projection: Provided the former ChiSox can get his throwing issues behind the plate resolved and produces at the plate again, he'll be a good option for the Braves in 2017 in at least a platoon role. He actually doesn't have a dominant platoon advantage one way or the other, but if the Braves found a left-handed hitting catcher, Flowers could spell the new addition against southpaws. As a starter, he's a stopgap and if he hits like he did in 2016, he's a fairly effective stopgap at just $3M for next season. The Braves will shop for a better option behind the plate, but if it doesn't materialize, Flowers is a decent enough fallback.

Mike Foltynewicz, RHP, 25 years-old

2016 Review: This season certainly didn't begin the way Foltynewicz would have liked. After a pair of ailments set him back, including a blood clot that prematurely ended his 2015, Folty opened the year with four starts in Gwinnett where he was mostly great, but wild. He was brought back to the bigs in May for six starts before landing back on the disabled list. Of those first six starts, four included outings where he allowed two or fewer runs. His return to Atlanta at the end of June saw him struggle with consistency. He'd dominate the White Sox over seven scoreless with 10 K's before giving up seven runs to the Twins three starts later. The Twins!? But that's kind of expected with young pitchers trying to figure it out. In that aspect, we saw noticeable improvement from Folty. In comparison to 2015, he increased his groundball rate 8% while utilizing his hard slider more. Furthermore, his FIP came down nearly 80 points while his swinging strike percentage also climbed slightly.

2017 Projection: If anyone has joined Julio Teheran on the white board as a member of the 2017 rotation, it's Folty. While some might still be convinced Folty is a better fit in the bullpen, as long as he continues to make strides - like he did this year - I am comfortable with him getting time as a starter. With the dismissal of McDowell, perhaps a new pitching coach can help Folty reach new heights. I really think that if he can develop his changeup to go with his fastball/slider combo that got him to the majors, it will be a stepping stone to a long run in the majors as an effective starter. Love that we saw him induce many more grounders this season. and a 14.5 K/BB% is about 2.5% better than league average. There's a lot to build from heading into 2017. Foltynewicz is in a great place to claim and hold a spot in the starting rotation moving forward.

Thanks for reading and remember to share via social media if possible.

Braves Can McDowell

By EricEnfermero (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

After eleven seasons spanning three managers, Roger McDowell will no longer be the pitching coach of the Atlanta Braves. For a franchise that rarely sees turnover in the coaching staff, the last several months have been a change-of-pace. The in-season firing of Fredi Gonzalez, the very real chance that the interim manager Brian Snitker won't be in charge in 2017, and now McDowell's dismissal might point to one thing - John Coppolella is willing to change up the team a bit more than the last two general managers the Braves had.

McDowell replaced Leo Mazzone in 2006 after the latter left for Baltimore. Three years ago, McDowell nearly left the Braves following the 2013 season, but former general manager Frank Wren gave McDowell a boost in pay along with a long-term contract (for coaches) to keep him away from the Phillies. While with the Braves, McDowell pieced together bullpens with castoffs like Eric O'Flaherty, David Carpenter, and more recently - Jim Johnson, who cited his comfortability with McDowell as one of his reasons to forego free agency and reup with the Braves.

One criticism related to McDowell was a similar one lobbed at Mazzone - he didn't relate well with young starters and they rarely seemed to blossomed under his tutelage. Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson both saw their careers slide into mediocrity after All-Star worthy beginnings. Others like Kyle Davies and Jo-Jo Reyes never developed. Another criticism of McDowell was found in the belief that his pitchers too often went under the knife, a stark change from the Mazzone years. When on the mound, righties Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy - along with southpaw Mike Minor - could be excellent. However, they were frequently on an operating table rather than throwing strikes.

Both criticisms are a bit lacking in my mind. Young pitchers flame out all the time. I'm sure McDowell did struggle to reach certain prospects, but on the other hand, he got his fair share out of Julio Teheran, Alex Wood, Craig Kimbrel, Jonny Venters, and some of the aforementioned oft-injured pitchers. Furthermore, considering the rate of pitcher injuries - especially those that result in Tommy John surgery - is skyrocketing, can we really look at McDowell and blame him for that?

McDowell won't be without a job for too long. He's had too much success with the Braves, including a 2007 year where he pieced together a pitching staff that included Chuck James, Buddy Carlyle , Oscar Villarreal, Tyler Yates, Chad Paronto, and the previously mentioned Davies and Reyes and the Braves still finished third in the league in ERA. It was the first-of-seven years in which the Braves finished in the Top 5 in the National League in ERA, including a 3.18 ERA in 2013 to pace the league.

This dismissal means two things. One, the Braves do want a new voice to lead a very young pitching staff. Johnson is the only pitcher on the Braves roster who is definitely going to be on next year's team and is over the age of 30. Sixteen different pitchers took the ball for the Braves this year who were in their Age-25 year or younger. Pitchers like Sean Newcomb and Lucas Sims are a good spring camp away from entering the picture. Whether McDowell did have issues with reaching younger pitchers or not, the Braves definitely want the guy in charge of their young pitchers to have an exemplary record with young guns.

The other thing this firing immediately makes you think of - the Braves might be moving away from Brian Snitker as next year's manager and will be giving the next Braves manager a chance to build his own staff. That could be Bud Black, though I am not very excited by that idea. There is a good chance McDowell is just the tip of the ice berg and long-running coaches like Eddie Perez and Terry Pendleton will also be headed out.

I don't necessarily disagree with letting McDowell go. I think he was very good at his job and the fact that this 2016 team wasn't at the bottom of the league in ERA despite starting 16 different pitchers is impressive (four NL teams finished with an ERA worse than the Braves). Still, I am a firm believer in giving a manager the leeway to bring his guys in and build the coaching staff how he sees fit. Letting him go now simply allows McDowell even more time to secure employment for 2017 - which is actually a pretty good parting gift when you think about it.

Fare thee well, Second Spitter. May you land with an American League team and enjoy your time there.

2016 Player Reviews: Josh Collmenter, Brandon Cunniff, Chase d'Arnaud

Part 3 of the Player Review series touches on a trio of bubble guys - all of which could be back next year. But then, you have to believe there is more value available somewhere if you are building a team that can compete for a playoff spot.

Read the previous article in this series or go crazy and check out the whole thing.

*All ages are as of opening day, 2017.

Josh Collmenter, RHP, 31 years-old

2016 Review: Collmenter gets the exciting honor of playing for two different teams that ended 2016 with 93 total losses. A year removed from being Arizona's opening day starter, Collmenter opened this season on the DL before finally making his season debut toward the end of May. Though he has started frequently in his career, Collmenter found no room in the Arizona starting rotation so he settled into a long-relief role. It did not go so hot. Homer-prone and struggling with his control, Collmenter was actually decent enough in 12-of-his-15 games with the Snakes before they cut him. In those other three games, he gave up four runs each time. Kind of odd. He was sent packing after Arizona found no takers at the deadline. Shortly thereafter, he signed with the Cubs and picked up four starts with Iowa before the Braves bought him off Chicago in mid-September for pitching depth. In three starts with the Braves, Collmenter looked good outside of the homerun total. And because I lack the creativity to find a way to work this in elsewhere, he also spent time as a teacher who tried to explain Newton's theories to Diamondback youngsters. Yep.

2017 Projection: Because of the minor league run this year, Collmenter will be arbitration-eligible for a fourth year. However, I'm not sure the Braves will bother. Yes, he looked decent enough in three starts, but Collmenter is a very underwhelming righty. He throws a 84 mph cutter that he offsets with a 76 mph changeup. Occasionally, he flashes a slow curveball, but not very often. A flyball pitcher, Collmenter lives off contact. The problem with that is outside of a few times in his career (2012-13), Collmenter has had a hard-hit rate over 30%. Basically, Collmenter is the guy you bring to spring training and hope someone outplays because he's not the type of pitcher you want to count on. The Braves should not offer arbitration, but a minor league offer with an invite and an opt-out date could be reasonable.

Brandon Cunniff, RHP, 28 years old

2016 Review: Cunniff was a surprise in 2015. After flaming out with the Marlins, Cunniff didn't throw an in-game pitch for over two years before the Braves brought him aboard in 2013 for 20 games. The next year, he was good - though nothing special - over 71 innings mostly at Mississippi. Still, with the Braves bullpen a wasteland in 2015, he got an extended look. He struck out over a batter an inning, walked a small town, gave up some long homers, and generally did little to excite. He was designated for assignment last December and moved off the 40-man roster. However, he made it back to the majors in August and after a shaky first five games, Cunniff turned it on in September. Over his final ten games, he K'd 11 in 11 innings, allowed just one homer, and walked just two unintentionally. His xFIP in the month of 4.96 makes his success a little suspect, but then we are getting into sample size messiness.

2017 Projection: The Braves can't DFA him again and send him to the minors without his consent. Nevertheless, the Braves probably aren't too enamored with Cunniff despite his strong finish. He'll be 28 in 2017 and while he was dynamite at times with Gwinnett last year, his numbers just kind of blend rather than stand out. Chances are he will be in the mix, but will have a long road in front of him to make the roster next spring.

Chase d'Arnaud, UTIL, 30 years-old

2016 Review: This season marked the fifth year d'Arnaud has been in the majors. He's still not arbitration-eligible, though. Never before had d'Arnaud received such an extended look in the majors and for a time, he became the latest Nick Green, or Pete Orr, or Brooks Conrad - utility guys who look really good in a small sample and people want to see them play more. He was hitting .299/.364/.393 after 35 games and 129 PA. Over his final 49 games (133 PA), he hit a paltry .190/.271/.276 and struck out at a pretty good clip (26 K's to be exact). We began to see why the Pirates gave up on the former fourth-rounder. His flexibility was a plus and d'Arnaud started games at every position aside from pitcher, catcher, and first base. Hard to get a read on his defensive capabilities as he didn't spend more than 145 innings at any particular position, though he graded out very well at third and less-than-ideal up the middle.

2017 Projection: If the Braves don't have to move him off the 40-man this offseason, d'Arnaud will be given a chance to get his roster spot back in the spring. I thought he was out of options, but he has one left (Thanks Braves Options Guy). It's worth mentioning in case the Braves try to outright him to the minors, d'Arnaud seemed to enjoy his time with the Braves - who also pimped his band on more than one occasion - and might be more willing to accept a minor league assignment if DFA'd because of that. d'Arnaud has enough speed to fulfill the 25th man role for an NL team where he can play all over and be used as a pinch runner if need be. But with his offensive limitations, he's not a guy who the Braves need to make room for.

The Braves Need a Manager Befitting Of Their General Manager

In a recent blurb from ESPN's Jim Bowden, the former general manager cites a source which suggests that former Padres' skipper Bud Black has emerged as the early favorite to become the Braves' manager in 2017.

By ISU_79 on Flickr (Original version) UCinternational
(Crop) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Now, the next Braves manager probably won't matter all that much. Baseball teams, especially at the major league level, don't need Casey Stengel to be successful. Bob Brenly was an atrocious manager and won a ring. It's mostly about the players, their development, and their performance at the end of the day. I'm not saying that some managers aren't better than others - only that the difference is too often insignificant. It's akin to lineup optimization. Does it matter? Absolutely, but it's not really the big deal we make it.

Hiring Black is an acceptable move for a franchise looking for stability. It's also a boring and inconsistent move for the John Coppolella Braves. One of the great things about Coppy is that he thinks outside-the-box. He's willing to try new things, move around pieces, and blend new-age/sabermetric principles with traditional accepted ones. He's the Joe Maddon of general managers and he should have a Joe Maddon of managers leading the club he puts together.

Unfortunately, Maddon has a job and it's a pretty nice one so he the only way he'll come to Suntrust Park is as a visitor. That doesn't mean the Braves should settle on a by-the-numbers pick like Black. If you can't have Maddon, why not hire his understudy? Dave Martinez, who ended his playing career with the Braves, has interviewed for a number of managerial positions, but failed to secure a job as the guy so far. It's shocking for Maddon, who says "he's absolutely ready. Some team’s going to get lucky." Why not the Braves?

Martinez has been Maddon's right-hand man since 2008 and followed Maddon to Chicago after the Rays passed on Martinez as Maddon's replacement. That was despite being endorsed by Evan Longoria, Ben Zobrist, and Alex Cobb among others. In fact, it seems like everyone who has been around the 52 year-old is shocked that he hasn't gotten a chance to lead a club already. Martinez is a student of the game and takes care of a lot of the things typically thought of managerial duties, which leaves Maddon free to focus on more pressing issues. The former outfielder knows all of the stats and knows how to communicate them to the players.

Of course, the Braves could eventually settle on Brian Snitker. He was at the helm of a team that went 59-65 after Fredi Gonzalez's dismissal following a 9-28 start. The Braves were especially strong in the second half. The problem with Snitker is that he's more of a placeholder. He keeps his head down, supports his players, and won't amaze with you with any sort of strategy. The offense's play under Snitker is more a product of veterans like A.J. Pierzynski, Gordon Beckham, Erick Aybar, and Jeff Francoeur receiving less plate appearances in the second half. Plus, Freddie Freeman posting MVP-type numbers while Matt Kemp had a big last two months with Atlanta certainly made the offense more dynamic. I just don't see Snitker as a long-term fixture.

Nor do I see the guys the Braves could have gone with before deciding on Snitker as options. Bo Porter has experience, though it wasn't too memorable. Eddie Perez has the sentimental vote, but I haven't read much from him that makes me think he'll bring something unique to the job. Terry Pendleton coached under a third Braves manager during his move to the dugout and with good reason - nobody else has been willing to give him a position with increased responsibilities.

The Braves will also look at Ron Washington and two-time pennant-winning manager has some pluses, though his very public problems could make that a less-than-likely pick.

At the end of the day, I want someone capable of bringing a fresh perspective to the dugout. The Braves followed the book before and were saddled with Gonzalez, a thoroughly unsatisfying manager. While managers are over-scrutinized and given way too much credit for success (subsequently, way too much blame for poor play), the Braves shouldn't play it safe with this choice. Instead, give their creative general manager a creative manager who learned under the best. You won't get a much better option this offseason than Martinez.

2016 Player Reviews: Jed Bradley, Mauricio Cabrera, Daniel Castro

Yesterday, I began a new series in my return to active writing. Over the next several weeks, I will continue to review a number of players who have been on the roster this season for the Braves and could continue with the team in 2017.

Read the previous set of player reviews or click here for the entire series.

Jed Bradley, LHP, 26 years-old

2016 Review: Sometimes, things just sort of work out. After languishing with an ERA near 6.00 since the beginning of the 2015 season with the Brewers organization,Bradley was quietly picked up by the Braves in early June for "future considerations." Bradley came from good stock as he was the 15th pick of the 2011 Draft out of Georgia Tech, but had never lived up to the hype. After changing Southern League squads to Mississippi, Bradley came into his own with over a strikeout an inning while inducing a decent diet of groundballs. After a great run in Double-A, he received a promotion up the ladder to Gwinnett before earning a big league assignment in September. In a half-dozen games out of the pen, he struggled to throw strikes (just a 52% rate), though it should be noted that his walk total (6) is a little inflated by two intentional passes.

2017 Projection: Was it good luck? Better coaching? Change of scenery to an area where he was successful as a Yellow Jacket all those years ago? Whatever the case, Bradley went from roster fodder to decent performer in short order for the Braves after the trade. Now, the real challenge begins - can he repeat his success? He throws a quartet of pitches beginning with a 90 mph fastball that has good sinking action. None of his secondary pitches are graded as plus options, but he can throw his slider, curve, and change for strikes. Bradley is unlikely to reach his mid-rotation ceiling that he had when drafted, but could be an effective swingman in the majors - especially if he shows some ability to get lefties out at a nice clip. The Braves like Bradley, but he's unlikely to place high on the depth chart right now and could be primed to be designated for assignment if a need should arise, which would expose him to the rest of the league.

Mauricio Cabrera, RHP, 22 years-old

2016 Review: I love this description of Cabrera's fastball from Brooks Baseball. The pitch "is a real worm killer that generates an extreme number of groundballs compared to other pitchers' fourseamers and is thrown at a speed that's borderline unfair." You can fall in love with Cabrera's fastball (he actually throws two), but don't ignore his 91 mph change-up or his 85 mph slider. He's not a one trick pony and major league hitters can attest to that because they simply could not figure him out after his late June callup. Expected to continue his control issues that have plagued him in the minors, Cabrera threw strikes with more frequency than he ever had before.

2017 Projection: Cabrera's sudden discovery of the strikezone is not that abnormal. Catchers frame pitches better in the majors, umpires call strikes better, and pitchers have more resources to help them succeed. Plus, arriving in the majors is part of the maturation process. We saw it with Craig Kimbrel after the man with the sketchy hat (it's a joke!) struggled greatly with his control in the minors (2009 BB/9 of 6.8 per nine), but once he settled in the bigs, he found his footing. A similar fireballer like Cabrera could have similar luck and continue to throw a lot of strikes - though I am not predicting the kind of success Kimbrel had. Cabrera is part of a glut of talent in the later innings with Arodys Vizcaino (presumably) and the returning Jim Johnson that should make things difficult on the opposition in 2017 if everything works out like the Braves hope. Which it won't, but it's October and we can dream.

By Keith Allison on Flickr (Originally posted to Flickr as
"Daniel Castro") [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Daniel Castro, SS, 24 years-old

2016 Review: In the slightly-altered immortal words of the late Dennis Green, Daniel Castro is who we thought he was. That's okay, too. Castro plays a solid shortstop that has included 115 errorless chances over the last two years in the majors. He's great at second base and good enough at third base. However, he simply has no bat. Well, that's not accurate. He has one, but it's more for decoration than anything. I'm not being harsh on him because, like I said, it's okay that he's a strong defender. He gives you a very capable late inning replacement should you be forced to carry him on your roster, but you have to limit his at-bats better than Atlanta was able to do this season pre-Dansby Swanson.

2017 Projection: Castro has another option year remaining, though his limited skill set means that his stranglehold on a 40-man roster spot is tenuous at best. If he lasts the offseason, Castro will enter spring training as a long shot to join the 2017 roster, but that's the way it ought to be. The Braves just don't have room to carry a Rafael Belliard in today's game for the full season. That leaves Castro at Triple-A providing depth in case of injury. In all likelihood, provided Castro lasts the offseason, the less we see him in 2017, the better the Braves' luck has been.

Thanks for reading and feel free to hit me in the comment section or on Twitter if you have any questions or comments.

2016 Player Reviews: Jesse Biddle, Aaron Blair, Emilio Bonifacio

I'm back. That was the longest shower of my life.

In all truth, a few personal issues have taken much of my focus away from baseball and the Braves over the last few months. I will not be going into it here, but I miss writing about the Braves and a lot has happened since I last updated my blog: the Matt Kemp trade, the promotion of Dansby Swanson, the international signing period, closing time for Turner Field, and playing spoiler over the last few weeks of the season.

To reacquaint myself with the team, I figured a player review series was appropriate. Each player in this series could return to the Braves in 2017 (though some definitely shouldn't). I will be covering two-to-three players each article and will head down the roster alphabetically.

*All ages are as of opening day, 2017.

Jesse Biddle, LHP, 25 years-old

2016 Review: Who that? Oh, you probably forget all about Jesse, didn't you? Picked up on waivers last March 19th after a month-and-a-half stay in the Pirates organization, Biddle was a consensus Top 100 prospect until the 2014 season. Before coming to the Pirates, Biddle was with the organization that drafted him back in 2010, the Phillies, and he was a fairly intriguing prospect before he went under the knife for the dreaded Tommy John surgery about a year ago. He spent 2016 rehabbing and was not included in this fall's instructional league roster for the Braves.

2017 Projection: Biddle was a big prospect once for a reason and could be a sleeper if the Braves can both right the ship with him and develop his skills. He throws a heater in the low-90's and also possesses a nice curveball. His changeup is good enough to make him a three-pitch pitcher and if he can bring along his slider, he'll have another weapon to confuse hitters. The problem for Biddle is two-fold. First, he's in a system with younger, better prospects who need innings and chances to show their worth. The other issue with Biddle is found in the business side of things. Biddle must be re-instated from the 60-day DL after the World Series concludes. If the Braves choose not to do so, I'm not positive of what happens next. My best guess is that he would be designated for assignment and moved through waivers. Provided he made it through, he could be outrighted to the minor leagues with a likely destination of Mississippi to begin 2017. That is...if another team doesn't pick him up in the Rule 5 (which is unlikely if he already made it through waivers). That's a lot of words, I know, but hopefully it was clear enough. Biddle still has potential, but he's not going to be a big piece that the Braves are going to try extra hard to hold onto.

By Editosaurus (Own work) [CC0],
via Wikimedia Commons

Aaron Blair, RHP, 23 years-old

2016 Review: Acquired in the Shelby Miller trade, Blair looked decent to begin his career, but things unraveled quickly for him in his fourth start and his ERA stayed over 7 for pretty much the rest of the season. In late June, the Braves sent him to Gwinnett for further seasoning. Unfortunately, his minor league numbers were not that good, either. In his defense, a .358 BABIP isn't easy to deal with and his FIP was far more acceptable at 3.38. He returned for a spot start in late August and received a three-start run over the final two weeks with the big-league club where he was decent, bad, and pretty good - in that order. In the season's penultimate game, Blair mowed down the Tigers with a career-best 10 K's. Before that, his personal high was 5.

2017 Projection: Ending the year on a positive note helps - just ask Matt Wisler from last year. It gives you a bit of a leg up, but Blair simply looked meh outside of that outlier final start. Even when he was good, it wasn't all that much to write home about and too often when he was bad, he was really bad. Most of the time, he nibbled, walked too many batters, and got himself in situations where major league hitter thrive - facing a rookie pitcher trying desperately hard to throw strikes rather than focus on pitching. Of the 14 homeruns he served up, eight came with at least one runner on base and just as many came with Blair trying to hold onto a lead. Blair has a lot to clean up before 2017, but again, ending the year on a positive note could be a catalyst for the right-hander. His spot on next year's roster is far from assured, but fortunately for him, I can say that about many starting pitchers in the mix. The Braves will almost certainly add at least one starter for 2017 and Blair will have plenty of competition for any open spots in the rotation, but he's earned a long look.

Emilio Bonifacio, UTIL, 31 years-old

2016 Review: After returning to the Braves last offseason, Bonifacio was cut in the spring before being brought back for minor league depth. He was solid for Gwinnett and gave them someone capable of playing center field (although, not very well). Gwinnett used eight guys in center field and only three probably should play the position so Bonificaio wasn't a terrible option for them. Along the way, he received two different stints with the Braves where he played left-and-center and was used often as a pinch hitter because that's what you do with a career .258 hitter with no power.

2017 Projection: One of the few Braves free agents, Bonifacio will likely catch on somewhere, though a triple slash of .242/.290/.320 since 2013 and just two steals over his last 70 major league games won't help him attract much of any attention. He could return on a minor league deal and share a room with Kelly Johnson this spring because that's a thing the Braves do.

Well, that's it for my first post back. I can't promise I will get back to posting every day, but I hope to make it through the roster by the time the World Series concludes and get started on a Top 50 Prospect list as well - along with the usual opinion and analysis of Atlanta Braves decisions and possibilities. Hope you guys enjoyed and remember to like and share through social media if you did. Thanks for reading!