Diaz out 6 weeks...bring up Diory Hernandez?

[CBAreject]

Our minor league system is decidedly outfileder poor, but it has been middle infielder-rich for the past couple of years. Unfortunately for Diory Hernandez, Kelly Johnson was moved from outfield to 2B two years ago to plug a hole left by Marcus Giles. Now that Johnson is playing an average 2B, I'm afraid the Braves will be reluctant to move him.

I think their move is relatively straightforward. Diory Hernandez is the only major league-ready position player in the Braves' farm system. He's skyrocketed through the ranks, now hitting .340 at AAA. He happens to play SS/2B. Kelly Johnson is probably average to slightly below at 2B relative to other starting 2Bmen in the league. Hernandez would probably play as well defensively in the short run, and he'd be better in the long run. Johnson would plug a hole in left field vacated by Matt Diaz, who had been below average offensively prior to his injury.

Gregor Blanco is a solid 4th outfielder, but he lacks the power to effectively start at a corner outfield spot. Cody Johnson and Jason Heyward, solid A-level prospects, are both 2 years away from the bigs.

[ryandauwalker]

I do not think that they will switch Kelly Johnson out of position again to bring up Diory Hernandez when they have two viable replacements in the outfield: Josh Anderson and Brandon Jones. Look for one of them to come up in Matt Diaz's place.

Prediction: Josh Anderson. He is hitting .282 right now and is playing better right now than Brandon Jones who is struggling a little bit.

Kelly will not be changing positions as it is so hard to find a 2B who can hit like he does. He is still a pretty good fielder considering last year was his first at that position.

[DrReality]

What is the status of our center fielder . . . . forget his name. he's had the sore back. Hope that's not anything serious.

[KB21]

Kelly is a top 10 offensive second baseman in the majors. He's average defensively, but he is decidedly better defensively than Marcus Giles was, IMO. There is no reason to move him from second base. Kelly is in the top ten in average, on base, slugging, OPS, home runs, and RBIs for second basemen in the majors.

[ryandauwalker]

Nobody was terribly worried about when Diaz was on the DL since Gregor Blanco has played so well. Before the injury, he was platooning with Diaz depending on if the pitcher was LHP or RHP. With Diaz now on the DL, Blanco will be an everyday player for the next 4-6 weeks.

Now that Mark Kotsay, our center fielder, is on the DL, this creates problems. As I predicted earlier, they have decided to bring Josh Anderson up from the minors to fill in. Thankfully, it looks as though Kotsay will be ready to go once eligible, but lower back issues can be finicky.

[CBAreject]

Neither Brandon Jones nor Josh Anderson is hitting at AAA.

I love it when you short-sighted baseball novices point out that a guy is "hitting .282", as if that's the most important offensive stat. A .282 batting average is not special. It's adequate if you're an awesome defensive middle infielder or you post huge power numbers. In itself, it's nothing.

Josh Anderson has a miserable on-base percentage and an even worse slugging percentage. His OPS is below .700, which is unacceptable for any position player, ESPECIALLY an outfielder. Despite all that's been published on the importance of OPS, you people still fail to see the difference between one player and another.

Diory has blistered minor league pitching, and he is posting an .840 OPS. Brandon Jones and Josh Anderson had modest success at AA, but they're getting raped at AAA. I would be astonished if either one hit in the bigs without another full year of seasoning.

[CBAreject]

Quote:

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Kelly is a top 10 offensive second baseman in the majors. He's average defensively, but he is decidedly better defensively than Marcus Giles was, IMO. There is no reason to move him from second base. Kelly is in the top ten in average, on base, slugging, OPS, home runs, and RBIs for second basemen in the majors.

It's not that what you said isn't true. Sure, Kelly is GOOD at 2B. However, you MISSED THE POINT of my post. It's not that Kelly is bad, so we need to move him. The point is that WE HAVE NO LEFT FIELDER, BUT WE HAVE A GREAT MIDDLE INFIELDER, SO WE NEED TO MOVE HIM TO USE OUR ASSETS BEST.

Stop right now and think about what I'm saying and look at how your reply completely misses the point.

Now, you reply with "No, Kelly is good at 2B. He's better than Giles. We don't need to move him." Is that what I was saying? Was I saying that we need to move him because he's bad? Clearly not. Go back to college and take a freaking logic course and learn how to understand someone's position before you blindly argue against it. You're terrible.

Now, I'm sure you guys are thrilled that we have called up another mediocre LF who will post a sub-.700 OPS. You guys already think Blanco is a starting quality outfielder. I love Blanco, but he's a 4th outfielder. You CANNOT win in the bigs with an entire outfield posting .700 OPS. That is so horrendous on so many levels, I can't even begin to explain it to you numbskulls.

[Chris18]

Josh Anderson was brought up today. Would have rather seen Brandon Jones or Jordan Schafer but he cost himself a shot by using HGH.

[DrReality]

I hope they let Andersen play. Would like to see what he can do.

[DrReality]

Anderson made a hell of a catch today, diving into foul territory. Good to see.