In case you missed it, John Smoltz was designated for assignment last week by the Red Sox. Damn. Even thought he marriage saw a rocky breakup in the end, Smoltz has always been one of my personal favorites, and I wished him the best in Beantown. With this move, and Tom Glavine not pitching for anyone this season, it looks like Atlanta GM Frank Wren deserves some credit for knowing when to say when.
Despite being only 4.5 games back in the division, and 3 games back in the Wildcard, the Braves are getting no love and seem to be flying under the radar. Here at The Sports Idiot we have told you not to overlook the Bravos before, and perhaps it is time to do so again. Do not look now, but the Braves are suddenly 59 – 54 on the season, and riding a 4 game winning streak.
Like the Phillies did this week, the Braves will have to make a rotation decision before too long, as Tim Hudson will be making his next rehab start on Thursday.
Tommy Hanson struck out 11 batters last night on his way to his fifth win of the season. Hanson, who has yet to be pegged with an L, looked like he might be in line for a no-decision in the seventh inning, when Braves centerfielder Nate McLouth lost a ball in the lights that fell for a lead-off triple by Giants two bagger Juan Uribe. Credit to Uribe for busting his ass around the bases on a ball that should have been caught pretty easily (seriously, MLB needs to address the rule that keeps this from being an error, or at least a runner eligible to be an earned run). He went on to score the tying run, and when Hanson left the mound at the end of the top half of the seventh the score was tied. Not for long, as the Braves picked up their pitcher with a six run bottom half, putting Hanson in line for the win.
Hanson, who started out rusty, walked Giants’ starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez to load the bases on the second inning. Randy Winn made him pay for that, lacing a two out, two run scoring double later that inning. After that, it was pretty much lights out for the Giants as Hanson sat down 13 hitters in a row.
With a 36:23 K:BB ratio through 48 innings of work, Hanson obviously has had some control issues since being called up to the Bigs. Those walk totals are being juiced by a three game stretch in mid-June that saw Tommy issue five, four and five walks respectively. He has issued at least one free pass in every start so far, and more than one in all but two of his eight starts. His K total is obviously helped out by the 11 strikeout performance last night. So while it is not time to start clamoring for the NL Rookie of the Year award yet, Hanson is starting to work his name into the discussion. Right now, it’s J.A. Happ’s award to lose.
Tommy Hanson made his debut in the Bigs, and it while it was not a stellar one, it did give us a glimpse of the type of pitcher he can become. Hanson sat down the first 10 batters he faced, but then went on to give up six earned runs en route to a no-decision. Most of the damage was done on the three homers he gave up, as the BrewCrew made him pay when they got runners on base. In the end, Hanson gave up six hits, walked one, and struck out five.
Hanson was not shy on the mound, going right after hitters by throwing strikes on the first pitch to 17 of the 26 batters he faced. Of the 91 pitches he threw, 61 were for strikes, 21 of which were of the called variety. His next start should come on Friday in Baltimore. If the owner who nabbed him in your league drops him based on this start, grab him immediately.
With last night’s game between the Cubs and Braves getting washed out until June 22nd, Tommy Hanson’s arrival has been delayed a day. So instead of going Saturday, he takes the hill on Sunday. Let us hope the extra day of rest does not throw off his mojo.
Tommy Hanson is being penciled in as the starting pitcher for the Atlanta Braves on Saturday against the BrewCrew. Hanson is a must add in all formats, but he is probably not available anymore.
Hanson, the Braves #1 prospect according to Baseball America (and the #10 overall prospect heading into the season), first made news here on The Sports Idiot when he threw a no-no last season. I proved my intelligence by calling him a “decent prospect” at the time. Since then, dude’s stock has skyrocketed and you can rest assured that he will have a Cole Hamels like impact on the Braves rotation.
The 6′6″ Hanson utilizes four pitches to send batters back to the bench with their heads hanging low. His mid-90’s fastball eats up righties, which he complements with an upper 80’s slider, confusing curve, and steadily improving changeup.
To make room in the rotation, Kris Medlen has been sent to the bully.
Kris Medlen made his Major League debut on Thursday night, and it was not one for the scrapbook. Rather, it was one for the scrapheap, if you will. Dude’s wheels came off in the fourth inning, as he lost command of his pitches. Final line was three innings pitched, one loss, five earned runs, five walks handed out, and three strikeouts.
Do not panic, it was Medlen’s debut and he was obviously nervous. He will get another chance to prove he is ready in five days when the Braves are in San Francisco, and then his third will come at Arizona. Those should be favorable matchups for Medlen, so it will be interesting to see how he responds. Of course, the Rockies should have been favorable as well.
If Medlen does not perform well in his next two starts, he will certainly be sent back down to the Minors. The question will be in who replaces him. Will it be Tom Glavine, Charlie Morton, or some dude named Tommy Hanson?
Tim Hudson is working his way back from Tommy John surgery. While he is rehabbing, he is not oblivious to the pitching that the Atlanta Braves have amassed. Hudson is on track for an August arrival, and adding a number one starter to the mix could give the Braves a huge boon in the pennant race. The problem might be finding a spot for Hudson in the rotation.
With Kris Medlen making his MLB debut tonight, and Tommy Hanson waiting in the wings, the Braves have two rookie starters who could make an impact this season. Throw in Tom Glavine, and you suddenly have a logjam in the rotation, without even considering Charlie Morton. This is not lost on Hudson, who says that while he wants to start, he wants to help the team however he can. Even if it means starting out in the bully. Braves fans can only hope that this “problem” has to be faced in August, and one has to wonder if a move for a bat will come about near the deadline.
Tom Glavine threw a bullpen session at Citi Field in New York on Wednesday, and all indications are that he is on track to return to the Braves later this month. Glaves hopes to pitch in the Bigs in May, but he still has to regain more arm strength. His velocity, which is sitting around 81mph on his fastball, will probably not improve very much, as dude is 43 years old. If Glaves does indeed wind up joining the Braves later this month, it will allow them to send Jo-Jo Reyes back down to the Minors. A move that they desperately need to make, even if Glaves does not come back.
Currently sitting in AAA Gwinnett is Charlie Morton, who won his fourth game yesterday while going seven innings and allowing one earned run. That puts his ERA at 3.07, and his K:BB is at 37:12 on the year. In his 41 innings of work, he has allowed a total of 45 base runners, and stranded 41 of them.
Also sitting in AAA Gwinnett is some guy named Tommy Hanson. While Hanson only has one win on the season, it is not due to his performance while toeing the rubber. Dude has a 1.99 ERA and a 0.995 WHIP to go with his 57 strikeouts over 40.2 innings. I still do not believe that Hanson will be called up anytime soon, but he should be on your radar. It is my belief that Morton will get the call if the Braves need a starter before Glavine is ready to step in. Depending on how Glavine does, and the progress of Tim Hudson’s recovery from Tommy John surgery, it is possible that Hanson does not see the Majors until as late as September this season. There are just too many variables to make any solid predictions on Hanson’s call-up at this point.
If you are new to this site, please peruse the archives as there is more Hanson and Morton content at your disposal.
We all know who Tommy Hanson is at this point. If you frequent this blog, then you also know that I do not think he will be called up until June to keep him from becoming a Super Two player, which is the same way I feel about Matt Wieters. So how is Tommy doing so far this season? That depends on how you value wins.
Hanson currently does not have any wins for the 2009 season. He sits here with an 0 – 3 record, despite posting a 29:7 K:BB ratio through four starts. His ERA sits at 2.18, with the five earned runs he has allowed in his 20.2 innings of work. He is holding opponents to a .205 batting average as well. So despite being winless, dude is pitching extremely well. If you can afford to waste a roster spot for a month, and Hanson is available on your waiver wire, snatch him up. With Kenshin Kawakami struggling, and Glavine still possibly facing retirement, it is looking more and more like Hanson will be in the Majors before the middle of June.
Who will rack up more Ks this season?
Total Voters: 45
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