If it's Monday then it's the Making the Team Meter for the Atlanta Braves. It's about time for the first cuts of spring training, so we might get word that this list will be getting leaner in the next few days. I had a thought that the WBC may force the team to delay cuts for a few days, but they can always call people over from the minor league camp, so the WBC will likely not cause any delay in the trimming of the roster.
It's always a mystery as to who will get cut, but I would imagine this first round would be some of the minor leaguers who are just in camp for a hey-how-you-doin' -- guys like Medlen, Redmond, Valdez.
| Player, Position | Chance | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Manny Acosta, RHP |  |
Not much to say other than he's having a good spring so far. |
| Jeff Bennett, RHP | |
For Bennett, a lot will hinge on whether Peter Moylan is ready to go, as Bennett is apparently the other ground ball specialist in the Braves pen. |
| Blaine Boyer, RHP | |
He's throwing good, and I would expect him to. We just have to hope he doesn't get overused again this year. |
| Francisley Bueno, LHP |  |
Frank Good he has been, and perhaps he's moving up the LOOGY depth chart with the spring Ridgway is having. |
| Jorge Campillo, RHP | |
He's now toiling for the Mexican WBC team and doing pretty well. They'll need him after getting rocked by Australia yesterday. |
| Buddy Carlyle, RHP | |
We keep hearing little things about how valuable this guy can be. It looks more and more like he'll get a spot in the pen. |
| Rafael Cruz, RHP | |
He's walking too many people, but he's striking people out too. |
| Emiliano Fruto, RHP | |
He's getting lost in the mix. He's been doing pretty well, but he's still on the outside. |
| Mariano Gomez, LHP |  |
Gomez has made it into games and he's pitching really well. Could he enter into the LOOGY mix? |
| Tommy Hanson, RHP | |
Still pitching like a man possessed, and this time it was against the world champs. There's all this talk about Hanson forcing the Braves hand to put him in the rotation, but unless someone gets injured, no matter how well Hanson does, I think the organization really wants him to spend some time at triple-A. |
| Anthony Lerew, RHP | He's off the 40-man and likely bound for a rehab season at triple-A. He's coming off this list next week. | |
| Boone Logan, LHP | |
Boone Loogy. |
| Stephen Marek, RHP | |
A lot of people have been really impressed with him this spring. I don't think he'll make the club to start the season, but he's definitely an option for a mid-year call-up. |
| Kris Medlen, RHP | |
A lot of positive things happening for Medlen. With his good spring I think he's upping his prospect value. I hope we don't discount him because of his size. |
| Charlie Morton, RHP | |
At this point I'm not sure he has enough time to get ready for the start of the major league season. Because of the injury he'll likely get ticketed back to triple-A. |
| Peter Moylan, RHP | |
The awesome Aussi is back at it and throwing great. |
| Eric O'Flaherty, LHP | |
He's had some issues, but not as many as some of the other LOOGY's. |
| James Parr, RHP | |
He is still quietly putting in good work at the end of games. He's way down on the depth chart, but he is some good depth to have (that we hope we never have to use). |
| Juan Perez, LHP | |
In danger of getting lost in the LOOGY shuffle. |
| Todd Redmond, RHP | |
Another youngster who is putting in some good work this spring. |
| Jo-Jo Reyes, LHP | |
Perhaps the biggest surprise in camp so far. He's pitching much better than he did last year. This could bump him up the depth chart, above Morton and possibly Campillo. |
| Jeff Ridgway, LHP | |
1IP, 4BB, 5H, 7R... oof! |
| Rafael Soriano, RHP | |
He is supposed to be making his spring debut on Tuesday. |
| Phil Stockman, RHP | |
Poor Phil. He's having a reocurrance of the pain that caused him to miss time the last two years. He will have an MRI and perhaps surgery and may be out for an indefinite period of time. |
| Luis Valdez, RHP | |
This "youngster" is still struggling with his control -- 5BB in 1.2IP. |
| Arrow Key: |
|---|
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= Chance of making the team is even. |
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= Chance of making the team is going down. |
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= Chance of making the team is going up. |
I'll wrap the hitters up tomorrow.