Braves Notes - August 13
- Outfielder Scott Schebler cleared waivers and was sent to the other camp in Gwinnett. He was only 0-1 in a pinch-hitting appearance for Atlanta. The left-handed hitting Schebler will be insurance if the Braves need another left-handed bat.
- With Ronald Acuna out for this series in Miami and Ozzie Albies still not picking up a bat yet, the Braves have to be worried about the top of their lineup. Both have wrist issues. Albies is due to come back off the injured list this weekend but still has to get prepared to pick up a bat. It must be a good sign that Acuna was not placed on the IL and the team believes rest can cure his issue.
- What has happened to Ender Inciarte? He's hitting only .182 (8-44) this season with two doubles and four runs batted in. Going back to the start of the 2019 season, Inciarte has hit .235. This was a player who hit .304 in 2017 and had 201 hits. He's not the same player, which has many wondering if the Braves would consider promoting top prospect Cristian Pache.
Let's triple the stats to see what the Braves players are on pace for:
Marcell Ozuna - 12 HR, 33 RBI
Ronald Acuna - 12 HR, 27 RBI, 3 SB
Freddie Freeman - 9 HR, 36 RBI
Travis d'Arnaud - 6 HR, 33 RBI
Ozzie Albies - 3 HR, 18 RBI
Dansby Swanson - 6 HR, 42 RBI, 9 SB
Austin Riley - 9 HR, 24 RBI
Johan Camargo - 9 HR, 18 RBI
Matt Adams - 6 HR, 21 RBI
Ender Inciarte - 0 HR, 12 RBI, 9 SB
So, who will start on Monday and Tuesday for the Braves? Kyle Wright starts Friday in game one of the series with Miami. We expect Max Fried to go in game two on Saturday - on five days rest. Then Touki Toussaint could go Sunday on four days rest.
But then what? A bullpen game? One of the prospects like Ian Anderson, Tucker Davidson or Kyle Muller?
And someone would be needed for Tuesday, as well, since Wright would be pitching on three days rest if he pitched in game two against the Nationals.
The Braves do have an off day next Thursday, but they have got to figure out this rotation by Monday for the first two games of the homestand in Atlanta.
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