Game Thread 8/29: Indians at Braves

1. Jordan Schafer - RF
2. Justin Upton - LF
3. Brian McCann - C
4. Chris Johnson - 3B
5. Joey Terdoslavich - 1B
6. Dan Uggla - 2B
7. BJ Upton - CF
8. Andrelton Simmons - SS
9. Kris Medlen - P

Heading into tonight's game:

• Jason Heyward leads the Braves in WAR for August with 1.2. His .348/.419/.621 line while spending a lot of it at the top of the order has obviously been tremendously helpful. May he get healthy soon.
• Justin Upton - .284/.376/.630 - is second on the list due to his early-month power binge.
• Dan Uggla, Evan Gattis, and Jordan Schafer have had the worst months for the team.
• Alex Wood has been worth nearly a win this month, but he just narrowly edges Craig Kimbrel for the most valuable Braves pitcher in August.
• Mike Minor, Brandon Beachy, and Jordan Walden even in his limited duty follow the top 2.
• Luis Ayala, Kris Medlen, and Paul Maholm have all been replacement-level or worse this month.

Ubaldo Jimenez

Scouting Report: Ubaldo Jimenez has always been known as a flame-thrower. At his peak, he could hit the upper-90s, but his velocity has been dramatically declining over the last few years and now sits 91-94 mph instead of 96-98 mph. Jimenez adds a slider that used to be a wipeout pitch, but it has decreased in effectiveness as well. While he throws mostly fastballs and sliders, Jmenez adds several more pitches to his repertoire, though none are pitches he can depend on every night.

Analysis: While Jimenez has never been known for his control, his BB rate has really increased over the last few years - going from a peak of 9% to nearly 13% - and a corresponding decrease in strikeouts and increase in home runs hasn't helped. Jimenez has somewhat re-found a way to miss bats, but the walks and home runs still hurt his overall game. He's been better than he was last year, but he hasn't been a strong rotation member this season. He'll throw fairly hard, keep it on the ground, and strike out a few guys, but he's also apt to walk the park.