Zumayaaaa 2,288 Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 13 guys hit over 33 homers last season. Post steroid era power has been humanized again. They may be able to come close to the 100 steals, but there is not a bats chance in hell they hit 100 homers together. Just going off of career highs in their relatively young careers they are already fairly close. Justin 31, Jason 27, and BJ at 28 comes out to 86. I think its fair to say we've yet to see any of these players best seasons yet (maybe BJs? But I think he's still got better in him). Honestly I feel the 100 SBs would be the harder part. But if all 3 go 30/30 which they certainly have that type of potentail that's 90/90 right there. By no means am I saying this is a lock to happen. But simply throwing out there that it's very possible. If these guys finish their careers together in ATL one season it very well could happen, maybe even for multiple seasons. Yeah a lot of things will have to go right for it to happen, but hey that's why it's never been done before. I'm in agreement, I don't think there is a chance in hell they reach 100 SB that's even if BJ goes off for 50. J-Ups has 30 SB speed but is a pretty poor basestealer 70% success rate, and Heyward's speed caps him around 20 and that should only go down as he ages given his body type. Link to post Share on other sites
Zumayaaaa 2,288 Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 On the flip side would anyone be surprised if J Ups or J Hey hit 40 out? I Wouldn't J. Upton hit 31 as a 23 year old and that was with normal/below average HR/FB rate given his power. Heyward hit 27 last year as a 22 year old and he still hasn't really learned how to elevate the ball on a consistent basis which is something that comes with age. Given his body type and development path I would actually be shocked if he doesn't smash 40 out at some point in his career. Link to post Share on other sites
posty 1,308 Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 On the flip side would anyone be surprised if J Ups or J Hey hit 40 out? I Wouldn't J. Upton hit 31 as a 23 year old and that was with normal/below average HR/FB rate given his power. Heyward hit 27 last year as a 22 year old and he still hasn't really learned how to elevate the ball on a consistent basis which is something that comes with age. Given his body type and development path I would actually be shocked if he doesn't smash 40 out at some point in his career. I don't think Justin Upton would hit 40... He is going from a hitter friendly park to one that is neutral... During his career he only has 41 HR away from Chase Field (in 367 games)... In 67 PA at Turner Field, he only has one home run... Link to post Share on other sites
FouLLine 2,849 Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 On the flip side would anyone be surprised if J Ups or J Hey hit 40 out? I Wouldn't J. Upton hit 31 as a 23 year old and that was with normal/below average HR/FB rate given his power. Heyward hit 27 last year as a 22 year old and he still hasn't really learned how to elevate the ball on a consistent basis which is something that comes with age. Given his body type and development path I would actually be shocked if he doesn't smash 40 out at some point in his career. Honestly BJ has the least power potential of the 3, but at the same time he has the highest SB potential. Really like you said BJ would have to nab about 50 while hitting 25 - 26, with Justin and Jason going 40+/25. Yeah it won't be easy, but I'll be rooting for it to happen. Link to post Share on other sites
yoda 1,083 Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 This trade looks like a no-brainer for the Braves. Have to wonder what was going through Towers's head. However, the one concerning thing about JUP is his injuries. While he's never had a recurring injury but he's had a lot of issues with his hand, wrist, etc. at a young age. This is a seemingly lopsided deal but won't be fair to judge for a year or two. Link to post Share on other sites
PRoSPx 86 Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 This trade looks like a no-brainer for the Braves. Have to wonder what was going through Towers's head. However, the one concerning thing about JUP is his injuries. While he's never had a recurring injury but he's had a lot of issues with his hand, wrist, etc. at a young age. This is a seemingly lopsided deal but won't be fair to judge for a year or two. This is true we really won't know for a couple of years. But I have a feeling this is going to go down as one of the more bonehead trades. Not quite Ruth for Opera tickets, but more like Hamilton for Volquez. Link to post Share on other sites
FouLLine 2,849 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 This trade looks like a no-brainer for the Braves. Have to wonder what was going through Towers's head. However, the one concerning thing about JUP is his injuries. While he's never had a recurring injury but he's had a lot of issues with his hand, wrist, etc. at a young age. This is a seemingly lopsided deal but won't be fair to judge for a year or two. This is true we really won't know for a couple of years. But I have a feeling this is going to go down as one of the more bonehead trades. Not quite Ruth for Opera tickets, but more like Hamilton for Volquez. Yeah Im with you on that... I personally would never trade a superstar (especailly at this point in their career) for organizational depth. Link to post Share on other sites
parrothead 2,142 Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Closest I found to the 100-100 was Cleveland Indians OF of 1996: Kenny Lofton, Albert Belle and ManRam combined for 94HR and 96SB or vice versa. Link to post Share on other sites
PRoSPx 86 Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Closest I found to the 100-100 was Cleveland Indians OF of 1996: Kenny Lofton, Albert Belle and ManRam combined for 94HR and 96SB or vice versa. They all hit .309 or higher too. Sometimes I miss the steroid era. Link to post Share on other sites
parrothead 2,142 Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Speaking of Roids, the 98 jays had 90+ hr with over 100 steals, it was somewhat not the all of though because canseco was mostly the dh, other two were Shawn green and Shannon Stewart Link to post Share on other sites
FouLLine 2,849 Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 So 100/100 out of your 3 OFs would be an astonishing feat. Link to post Share on other sites
Dissection 10 Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 They won't be close to 100/100. Link to post Share on other sites
FouLLine 2,849 Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 They won't be close to 100/100. What is not close to 100/100? Cause last year they were at 72/70, which if healthy there's no reason they shouldn't out do that by a pretty good margin. Link to post Share on other sites
posty 1,308 Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 The lineup... Andrelton Simmons Jason Heyward Justin Upton B.J. Upton Brian McCann Freddie Freeman Dan Uggla Chris Johnson/Juan Francisco http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8895112/justin-upton-atlanta-braves-bat-third-team-lineup-manager-fredi-gonzalez-says Link to post Share on other sites
2ndCitySox 4,463 Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 The only possible downfall for this team is, oddly, the rotation: Medlen Hudson Minor Maholm Teheran People are pretty high on the youngins, but they will need to produce to carry this team. Beachy will be a welcome addition, but I think he will be marginal this year. Link to post Share on other sites
FouLLine 2,849 Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 The only possible downfall for this team is, oddly, the rotation: Medlen Hudson Minor Maholm Teheran People are pretty high on the youngins, but they will need to produce to carry this team. Beachy will be a welcome addition, but I think he will be marginal this year. Yeah the rotation has insane upside to it. Medlen, Minor, and Teheran. But again like you said young as well as unproven. So a lot will be seen with this staff. Chances are they will be an above average staff. But they have the talent to possibly be a (maybe even the) top staff in the league. Link to post Share on other sites
bravesfan4life 166 Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 For the lineup...really makes no sense to bat McCann and Freeman back to back unless they have to, which they don't. Freeman has a knack for rbis and I think BJ's average will eventually force him into a 5th or 6th spot instead of 4th. And for the pitching staff...I am a little worried about it. Maholm, Minor, and Teheran all have a little bit of uncertainty. And if anyone gets hurt they lack the depth that they are used to, at least until Beachy comes back. I guess Gilmartin is waiting in the wings. Link to post Share on other sites
Ben Edelman 603 Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 I looked up all the teams of anyone who ever had a 40/40 (and Soriano's 39/41 with The Yankees) and none of them even came close to 100/100 between their 3 best OFs. So then I started looking into some 30/30 player's teams and honestly after looking at about 20 teams the highest I could find was last year's Brewers. 100/100 would be extremely difficult. That means three 30/30 players. A more likely scenario is one 60 HR player and one 60 SB player. Even then, you need a 60 HR player and two 20/50 guys. All of those are quite rare. I looked up the mid-1980s Yankees when Rickey was hitting 25 HR per season. The closest they ever got was 68 HR. The 1999 D'Backs stole 99 with 64 HR. That's when Tony Womack was pretending to be a RF. Link to post Share on other sites
parrothead 2,142 Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 I looked up all the teams of anyone who ever had a 40/40 (and Soriano's 39/41 with The Yankees) and none of them even came close to 100/100 between their 3 best OFs. So then I started looking into some 30/30 player's teams and honestly after looking at about 20 teams the highest I could find was last year's Brewers. 100/100 would be extremely difficult. That means three 30/30 players. A more likely scenario is one 60 HR player and one 60 SB player. Even then, you need a 60 HR player and two 20/50 guys. All of those are quite rare. I looked up the mid-1980s Yankees when Rickey was hitting 25 HR per season. The closest they ever got was 68 HR. The 1999 D'Backs stole 99 with 64 HR. That's when Tony Womack was pretending to be a RF. The 96 Indians with ManRam, Lofton and Belle were 94-96, its by far the closest to 100-100 and that was with Lofton getting like 70 steals but contributing some HR to go with bombers Manny and Albert. Link to post Share on other sites
JFS179 3,772 Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 The only possible downfall for this team is, oddly, the rotation: Medlen Hudson Minor Maholm Teheran People are pretty high on the youngins, but they will need to produce to carry this team. Beachy will be a welcome addition, but I think he will be marginal this year. Yeah the rotation has insane upside to it. Medlen, Minor, and Teheran. But again like you said young as well as unproven. So a lot will be seen with this staff. Chances are they will be an above average staff. But they have the talent to possibly be a (maybe even the) top staff in the league. As a Braves fan I'm actually NOT that worried about the rotation. Medlen's been capable of this type of production for a while. I don't think it's a fluke, and think he's a true Ace. Why they were so reluctant to let him start last year is beyond me. Hudson's the anchor of the staff - innings eater who provides leadership and excellent production. Minor finally harnessed his potential in a second half last year that saw him post a 2.16 ERA with a .87 WHIP, and a K/9 of nearly 7. Maholm is another steady veteran presence, though I honestly believe if things go the way ATL hopes, he'll be shopped around mid season. I see Beachy taking this spot around mid-season, assuming his TJS rehab continues to progress as expected. Teheran is the wildcard, but I'm encouraged for one simple reason. As read here, http://www.talkingchop.com/2012/12/12/3758668/braves-tinker-with-julio-teherans-delivery-then-tinker-again, Atlanta tweaked Julio's mechanics to reduce the perceived strain on his plant knee and throwing elbow. But the results were disasterous, and he was clearly thinking too much, not getting nearly the life on his pitches, and his HR-rate skyrocketed. Then, this winter, Wren states, "His mechanics were very good. He looked much more natural and like he did two years ago." after seeing Teheran pitch in the winter leagues. And his results there were fantastic. Waiting in the wings is JR Graham, who went 12-2 with a 2.80 ERA across hi-A and AA in 2012. You can read more about him here: http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/atlanta-braves/2013/jan/24/do-you-know-braves-prospect-jr-graham/ Gilmartin could also be serviceable in a pinch. With the bullpen looking as good as anyone's in baseball, they only need a solid 5 innings before Kimbrell & Co get to work. Link to post Share on other sites
JFS179 3,772 Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 My concerns for this team center around 2 things: 1) How does McCann's offseason shoulder surgery affect his abilities? <<This team is better able to absorb decreased offensive output than last year's squad, but the history of hitters returning from shoulder surgery isn't very optimistic. I certianly hope McCann comes back as we all remember him pre-injury, but it's my biggest concern for this team, as I just don't believe Gerald Laird is going to cut it should McCann struggle.>> 2) What's the impact of the Uptons playing together? Do they push each other (along with Heyward) to be among the best in baseball and finally fulfill their lofty potential? Or does it end up in some sort of downward spiral? << I personally believe the three of them push each other to post excellent seasons, but it's still a concern.>> Link to post Share on other sites
An Old Hippie 466 Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Think you are right about McCann. The other thing I worry about when he comes back is how it effects him defensively. He doesn't throw as well, I really hope ATL pitchers can hold runners on. Link to post Share on other sites
JFS179 3,772 Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Think you are right about McCann. The other thing I worry about when he comes back is how it effects him defensively. He doesn't throw as well, I really hope ATL pitchers can hold runners on. Minor and Maholm both have strong moves, I believe. Huddy has been around so long, I'd be surprised if he was terrible at it. Medlen and Teheran though... idk. Link to post Share on other sites
SurlyRobot 205 Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 My concern would be the sheer number of streaky, strikeout prone players in their lineup. If they get off to a slow start who knows, but I'd be concerned about the Uptons if things get tough... Link to post Share on other sites
Tommygunns 0 Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 J Fransico or C johnson, which one wins 3B outright or is it a platoon? Link to post Share on other sites
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