When the Braves opened their Grapefruit League season on Sunday with a 9-7 loss to the Rays in Port Charlotte, Florida, they took another step in the ever-interesting process of building the Opening Day list.
Here are the top five questions Braves will face in the rest of spring training:
Will Cristian Pache start the season as a central player?
While researching the reactions to Hank Aaron’s first round recently, I found several newspaper reports mentioning that Braves manager Charlie Grimm was planning to put Aaron back on the bench when Bill Bruton returned from injury in April 1954.
That never happened. But this story reminds us that players much older than Pache had to prove themselves before they took root in a Major League line.
Pache’s experience in the major leagues consisted of four appearances on the set before he was forced to become a daily player during Game 1 of the National League Championship. It is a fairly small sample size. But as he went 4-for-22 with a homer and a double in that tense week against the Dodgers, 22-year-old Pache – prospect no. 12 of baseball, according to MLB Pipeline – created reasons to believe that it would be a better option than Ender Inciarte in midfield.
Braves manager Brian Snitker said he did not describe the situation on the ground as a positional battle between Inciarte and Pache. It is understandable. There is no reason to put undue pressure on Pache. Nor is there any reason to shake Inciarte, who will earn $ 8 million in the final year of his contract.
Spring training is not the best way to make decisions that could have long-term repercussions. But if Pache’s performance in the next few weeks supports what was seen during the NLCS, then I think the club would be happy to make him the role of his opening central player.
That being said, the Braves need to be prepared for the possibility that Pache will need more time in the minor leagues. Ronald Acuña Jr. will see some time in the center this spring, and Inciarte will be ready to open another season as Atlanta’s center fielder.
No one imagines that Inciarte will be the central player for an entire season. But if using him in that role for another month or two improves what Pache could offer in the next few years, wouldn’t that be at least a wise option?
When will Mike Soroka join the Atlanta rotation?
The good news is that Snitker said Soroka is right in time with everything Atlanta does. The bad news is that this doesn’t tell us anything, given that the Braves haven’t revealed their schedule for their talented 23-year-old hurler, who is returning from a torn right Achilles tendon.
Soroka has not had any obstacles since he started throwing a mound regularly, just over a month ago. He didn’t even have any problems while running every other day in the last week. But there should still be no reason to hurry.
With the off-season additions of right-hander Charlie Morton and left-hander Drew Smyly, the Braves have great pitch depth. At the same time, they will have to monitor the workload of all starters as they try to get through a full season of 162 games after a shortened 2020.
Yes, NL East could be the strongest division in the game. But it would make sense for Soroka to jump four or five starts if this positions him as much more durable and efficient in the last four or five months of the season.
So I think Kyle Wright, Bryse Wilson, or possibly Huascar Ynoa might be able to fill that place of rotation while Soroka spends most or all of April making sure her legs and body are ready for the race. long of this year.
Who will start the season as a backup?
William Contreras was the organization’s best player in the last year. He made great strides while working with his All-Star brother, Cubs catcher Willson Contreras, during last year’s closing. But 23-year-old William played only 64 games over Class A Advanced.
If the Braves don’t add a veteran in the next few weeks, they could opt for Contreras to start at Triple-A Gwinnett and use Alex Jackson as a backup. Jackson has improved defensively over the past two years and has tremendous raw power. Its high whiff rate could affect its long-term high leaguer status. But he could be useful in this role for at least a few months, if necessary.
Who will fill the last places for the bullpen?
Will Smith, Chris Martin, Tyler Matzek, AJ Minter and Josh Tomlin can be created in five of the available seats. Exactly how many places remain vacant depends on whether the Braves choose to start the season with only four starting players. A few early days off gives them this option.
But for now, suppose there are only three bullpen seats available. Luke Jackson and Grant Dayton are both out of options. So, with the exception of any total collapse, I will project that they will fill two of these places. My favorite for the other place would be Carl Edwards Jr., who, if healthy, could team up with Martin to give the team at least two right-handed options for high leverage.
Who will fill the last seats at the bank?
Without the designated universal hitter, the value of the top hitters will increase again for NL clubs. Johan Camargo, Jake Lamb, Inciarte and Jackson are top candidates for four of the five seats available on the bench. If Camargo proves he can still play shortstop, the Braves’ pick for that final position would widen to the point where he might consider wearing Jason Kipnis, who can play second base or in any corner, if he is. necessary.
In the last two weeks, the Braves have added a number of potential fourth or fifth outfields to their camp. But for now, I’m thinking that their last place on the bench will be occupied by a player who is currently with another team.