When Jordan Schafer was demoted to AAA Gwinett earlier this month, I wondered what effect it might have on his attitude and what role he may play in Atlanta’s future.  A Braves fan who goes by the moniker Roy Hobbs and I exchanged a few emails, in which he pointed out that McLouth would be moved to a corner spot (likely left when Garret Anderson is done stealing money from the Braves after this season) and Schafer inserted back in center.  This made a lot of sense to me, especially after doing a little digging on the interwebs.  Why does this matter now?  Simple, we have a Schafer update to pass along.

So do not look for Jordan to be back in the Majors anytime soon, as he will not even swing a bat until this weekend at the earliest (according to his two weeks of scheduled inactivity).  He will then need at least a few weeks to get things turned around before being recalled to Atlanta.  He may also need a personel move by the Braves in order to get called back up, because McLouth is now roaming center and injuries notwithstanding he is not sitting down for the 22 year old Schafer.  Does that mean either Garret Anderson or Jeff Francouer could be shipped out of town?  One can only hope.

With the Braves adding Nate McLouth to their outfield, one has to wonder what it means for the future of Jordan Schafer.  McLouth, the defending Gold Glove winner in center, is signed on the cheap through 2011.  With a club option for 2012, the Braves have nailed down the middle of the outfield for the foreseeable future.

So what does this mean for Schafer?  I’m really not sure at this point.  Dude is a solid defensive player, making zero errors in 131 chances in his 50 games for Atlanta this year.  All of his defensive numbers are above average, and the kid is only 22 years old.  Even if he can not turn his bat around, there will be a place for him somewhere for his defensive efforts.  That being said, he just saw Atlanta throw McLouth ahead of him on the depth chart, and McLouth knows how to swing the bat as well as work the leather.

It all leads me to believe that maybe the Braves have seen enough of Jordan Schafer.  His PED suspension and previous diva issues make him a little hard to swallow at times.  Granted, he has supposedly turned his attitude problems around, but we have yet to hear his reaction to the McLouth trade and being sent down.  Could the Braves package both him and Jeff Francouer for a right fielder?  Color me skeptical, but also color me skeptical about Schafer’s chances of roaming center for the Braves again, an injury to McLouth notwithstanding.

The Braves sent struggling center fielder Jordan Schafer back to the Minors today, and recalled Gregor Blanco to take his starting job. This move is overdue in my opinion, but no one has called me to ask for advice. Not even an email. Seriously, dude is hitting .203 with two homers, one of which came on opening day in Philly. He has also only driven in eight runs on the year, three of those coming in his first three games for Atlanta. Stolen bases? Two. Runs? 18. You know what he has thrived at? Walking back to the dugout carrying his bat. Schafer has 63 strikeouts in 195 plate appearances. A little math tells me that he strikes out about a little more than once every three times he steps in the box. If I have to tell you how horrible that is, please stop reading now.

His replacement, Blanco, has not exactly been tearing up the Minors himself. With a .242 batting average and paltry .635 OPS, do not expect Blanco to be much of an improvement. To sum it up, the Braves absolutely suck in the outfield this year.

So what do the Braves do now?  After Blanco fails miserably, and I have no reason to think that he will not, they will  give Brandon Jones another look, which is what they should be doing now anyway.  At least Jones is batting .300 in AAA.

It is about time to start considering their trade options if the Braves want to contend this year.  There is no way they can do so with their current slate of outfielders.  There is also no way your fantasy team could contend with any of these guys, so do not bother giving any of them a look.

Last night Jordan Schafer saw his first time in a big league game.  Starting in center and hitting eighth in the order, Schafer drilled a pitch over the left field wall for is first homerun, in his first MLB at-bat.  He will not be batting eighth for long, as he projects as a leadoff hitter, but manager Bobby Cox wants to keep some of the pressure off of Jordan.  If you have a roster spot that you can spare, he is worth an add in case he catches fire.

For a great write up about Schafer, check out Gangi’s profile on Friday.  As we have been doing for the past year, we will continue to cover Schafer and his progress here at The Sports Idiot.

Other news from last night’s opener:

Brett Myers got lit up again.  In the first two innings he gave up three dingers, and he allowed eight hits overall.  His K:BB ratio sits at 6:1, which isn’t bad though.  His 6.00 ERA, not going to work.  Zolecki’s writeup is here.

Derek Lowe is good.  Damned good.  Mike Gonzalez put some drama in the game, surrendering a run and putting two ducks on the pond, before striking out Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez to end the game.  No save for Gonzo, as it was a four run lead when he entered the game.  Bowman’s writeup is here.

Well it looks like the Atlanta Braves have decided to go forward with Jordan Schafer in center this season after they traded the other leading candidate, Josh Anderson, to Detroit yesterday.  In exchange the Braves get a 25 year old bully prospect named Rudy Darrow.  I know absolutely nothing about Darrow, other than that he wears his glove on his left hand and he will be starting his Braves tenure at AA Mississippi.

This move also frees up what I believe is a third 40-man roster spot for the Braves, which could mean that something else is in the works.  Whether that something else is adding current prospects to the 40-man roster or going out and getting a *cough* Will Ohman *cough* I don’t know.  It should be noted that Jordan Schafer is not currently on the 40-man roster himself.

Jordan Schafer is making his case to be the starting center fielder for the Atlanta Braves this coming season.  Through 53 at bats, Schafer is raking for a .396 average and he boasts an OPS of 1.014, despite only going yard a single time this Spring.  Since these are only Spring Training stats, I’ll keep my enthusiasm for Schafer tempered, but should he win the starting job I’ll certainly be keeping an eye on him as a potential sleeper this year.

Oh, and in case you missed it, Tommy Hanson was sent down on Wednesday.