27-year old righty swinging outfielder Stefan Gartrell is tying to get to the majors for the first time in 2011 with the Braves. Gartrell has played in 65 games in AAA-ball this year for the White Sox & Braves and he is 69 for 247 (.279 avg, .893 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 16 homers, 54 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 639 games in his first six years in the minors and he is 634 of 2,305 (.275 avg, .823 OPS) with 376 runs scored, 98 homers, 371 RBIs and 37 stolen bases. If the Braves keep having injury problems in the outfield, Gartrell could get his first shot at the majors in 2011.

24-year old lefty swinging CF Jordan Schafer is having a tough time for the Braves this year. He has played in 28 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 25 for 113 (.221 avg, .606 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 1 homer, 4 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. It’s really impressive that Schafer has scored 21 times for the Braves because he’s just not getting on base to often. On June 16th against the Mets, Schafer was 5 for 6 with 3 runs scored. But in his last nine games after his five hit breakout game, Schafer is 5 for 35 (.143 avg) with 6 runs scored, 0 homers, 0 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Braves really need help in the outfield as Schafer just can’t be trusted in CF if team is going to make a serious playoff run in 2011.

The Braves have claimed 27-year old lefty reliever Dustin Richardson off waivers from the Marlins. Richardson pitched in 23 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Marlins this year and he was 3-1 with 2 saves, a 3.66 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. Richardson has whiffed 35 batters in only 32 innings so far this year but his control has been an issue as he has walked 20 batters. Richardson has also pitched in 29 games (0 starts) in parts of two years in the majors and he is 0-0 with a 3.31 ERA and a 2.02 WHIP. That WHIP doesn’t look like it belongs with that ERA, but that’s because of his control. I still like this move for the Braves as they can just stash Richardson at AAA.

25-year old righty reliever Cory Gearrin has looked pretty sharp overall this year for the Braves. Gearrin has pitched in 13 games (0 starts) for the Braves so far this year and he is 1-1 with 2 holds, a 3.60 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. He has whiffed 19 batters in only 15 innings this year while allowing 10 hits, which shows just how nasty he has been. Gearrin has allowed runs in 4 of his 13 games this year, so he’s far from perfect. But, overall, Gearrin is off to a good start to his career with the Braves.

The Braves have signed 28-year old lefty swinging 1B/OF Chris Carter to a minor league deal. Carter has played in 54 games in AAA-ball this year for the Rays and he was 58 for 215 (.270 avg, .769 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 10 homers, 46 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Carter last played with in the majors with the Mets last year. He has played in 113 games in parts of three years in the majors and he is 50 for 190 (.263 avg, .689 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 4 homers, 28 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Braves need bench help, so if Carter gets off to a good start in AAA, they might give him a call to the show.