Atlanta Braves MLB News - Braves Baseball Blog

The Atlanta Braves sign Felix Pie

chinmusic — Sun, 13 May 2012 00:53:44 +0000

The Atlanta Braves have signed 27-year old lefty swinging outfielder Felix Pie to a minor league deal. Pie played in 13 games in Independent ball this year and he was 18 of 50 (.360 avg, 1.013 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 3 homers, 12 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Pie has played in 398 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 240 of 964 (.249 avg, .673 OPS) with 127 runs scored, 17 homers, 97 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Pie could be on the fast track to Atlanta if he gets off to a good start in the minors for them.

Jaye Chapman is looking solid in the minors for the Atlanta Braves

chinmusic — Wed, 09 May 2012 20:28:47 +0000

24-year old righty reliever Jaye Chapman is looking good in AAA-ball for the Braves so far this year. Chapman has pitched in 12 games (0 starts) so far this year and he is 1-2 with 2 saves, a 1.80 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. He has only given up 7 hits in 15 innings pitched while whiffing 17 batters, so he has been really, really effective so far this season. Chapman has now pitched in 214 games (8 starts) in his first 7 years in the minors and he is 15-18 with 23 saves, a 3.93 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. If Chapman keeps pitching well, he could get his first shot at the show in 2012 for the Braves.

Chipper Jones is ripping the baseball for the Atlanta Braves

chinmusic — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:51:16 +0000

40-year old switch-hitting 3B Chipper Jones announced that he was going to retire after the 2012 season in spring training. He started the season late due to a knee injury, but he’s making up for lost time. Jones has played in 20 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 23 for 74 (.311 avg, .912 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 5 homers and 21 RBIs. Jones has only whiffed 7 times so far this year, while walking only six times. He is swinging at a lot of pitches and he’s hitting them hard. Jones’ play this year is a big reason why the Braves are in first place in the N.L. East right now.

Andrelton Simmons is off to a good start in AA-ball for the Atlanta Braves

chinmusic — Fri, 04 May 2012 14:33:22 +0000

22-year old righty swinging shortstop Andrelton Simmons came into this season as the Braves’ #4 prospect according to Baseball America. He has played in 22 games in AA-ball so far this year and he is 29 for 90 (.322 avg, .805 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 0 homers, 13 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. He has now played in 215 games in his first three years in the minors and he is 256 for 846 (.303 avg, .746 OPS) with 117 runs scored, 3 homers, 91 RBIs and 50 stolen bases. At some point in the very near future, Simmons is going to challenge Tyler Pastornicky for the starting SS job in Atlanta.

Dan Uggla is off to a better start this year for the Altanta Braves

chinmusic — Fri, 04 May 2012 14:27:01 +0000

Last season, 32-year old righty swinging 2B Dan Uggla got off to a rough start in his first year in Atlanta before finishing with a bang. Uggla played in 161 games for the Braves last year and he was 140 of 600 (.233 avg, .764 OPS) with 88 runs scored, 36 homers, 82 RBIs and 1 stolen base. This season, Uggla is off to a better start. He has played in 26 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 26 for 98 (.265 avg, .743 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 3 homers and 15 RBIs. The Braves hope that Uggla keeps up the good work.

Jonny Venters is throwing seeds for the Atlanta Braves

chinmusic — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 12:50:38 +0000

27-year old lefty reliever Jonny Venters is having a pretty easy time getting major league hitters out again so far this year. He has pitched in 8 games for the Braves out of the pen this year and he is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Venters has whiffed 15 batters in his first 7 2/3 innings as he has been almost unhittable. Venters has pitched in 172 games (0 starts) in his first three years with the Braves and he is 12-6 with 6 saves, a 1.81 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. Venters is probably the best set-up man in the N.L., so if you don’t beat the Braves in the first seven innings….it’s usually game over.

Michael Bourn is off to a red hot start for the Atlanta Braves

chinmusic — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:37:19 +0000

29-year old lefty swinging CF Michael Bourn came to the Braves at last July’s trade deadline. He played in 53 games for the Braves last year and he was 63 of 227 (.278 avg, .674 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 1 homer, 18 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. The Braves expected more out of Bourn last year, and he’s trying to make up for that in 2012. Bourn has played in 17 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 23 of 69 (.333 avg, .823 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 0 homers, 4 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. The Braves hope that Bourn keeps up the good work at the top of the lineup to ignite the offense.

The Atlanta Braves send Jair Jurrjens to AAA

chinmusic — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:33:40 +0000

The Braves have sent 26-year old righty starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens to AAA-ball. He has pitched in 4 games (all starts) for the Braves so far this year and he is 0-2 with a 9.37 ERA and a 2.45 WHIP. Jurrjens has given up 30 hits (5 homers) and he has walked 10 batters in only 16 1/3 innings so far this year. Jurrjens deserved this demotion as he has been awful so far this year for the Braves. He will likely be replaced in the rotation by Tim Hudson this weekend. The Braves are not giving up on Jurrjens though, as they will likely call him back up when he gets back into a good groove in AAA. Jurrjens has pitched in 112 games (all starts) in his first five years with the Braves and he is 47-34 with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP.

Freddie Freeman is red hot at the plate for the Atlanta Braves right now

chinmusic — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 18:34:51 +0000

22-year old lefty swinging 1B Freddie Freeman is red hot at the plate lately for the Braves. In his last four games, Freeman is 10 for 17 (.588 avg) with 7 runs scored, 5 doubles, 3 homers and 12 RBIs as he is locked in at the plate right now. He has now played in 13 games for the Braves overall this year and he is 16 for 54 (.296 avg, .902 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 3 homers and 13 RBIs. Freeman is a big key to the Braves’ offense, so they hope he continues to rake for a while.

Ron Gant was a solid player for the Atlanta Braves

chinmusic — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 14:32:29 +0000

Outfielder Ron Gant was a pretty solid player with the Atlanta Braves. He played in 858 games in 7 years with the Braves and he was 836 of 3,192 (.262 avg, .793 OPS) with 515 runs scored, 147 homers, 480 RBIs and 157 stolen bases. In 1991 and 1992, Gant was a 30/30 man, which shows just how good he was at his peak. He scored at least 100 runs 3 times, whacked 30+ homers 3 times, drove in over 100 runs twice and he stole at least 30 bases three times in his 7 years with the Braves. Gant was released in March of 1994 after breaking his leg in an ATV accident. Gant returned to the majors in 1995 with the Reds and he had a solid year. Gant went on to played in 1,832 games in his 16 years in the majors and he was 1,651 of 6,449 (.256 avg, .803 OPS) with 1,080 runs scored, 321 homers, 1,008 RBIs and 243 stolen bases. So Gant had a solid career, but his best years were with the Atlanta Braves.