BABY BRAVES BRINGING ENERGY BACK TO ATLANTA
Calgary pitcher Soroka part of baseball resurgence in Georgia
For John Schuerholz, this ATLANTA all looks so familiar.
The youth. The exuberance. The enormous talent.
Back in 1991, Schuerholz took over as general manager of an Atlanta Braves team on the cusp of greatness. Hall of Famers-to-be Tom Glavine and John Smoltz had worked through their growing pains. Chipper Jones was beginning his climb through the minors, a first overall pick just starting on his road to Cooperstown.
Now semi-retired but still a prominent figure around the ballpark (and a Hall of Famer, too), Schuerholz sees another group of youngsters poised for something special.
The Baby Braves.
“It’s very similar,” Schuerholz said. “Same kind of players, same kind of attitude, same kind of buyin from the fans, who love this energetic, dynamic, exciting kind of baseball.”
After going through a painful but necessary rebuild that has become the model for baseball success (see: World Series champion Houston Astros) and a still-freshin-everyone’s-mind signing scandal that led to a lifetime ban for exGM John Coppolella, the Braves have emerged as baseball’s most intriguing team.
Check out Ozzie Albies, barely old enough to drink legally and generously listed at 160 pounds, but already a five-tool threat at second base.
Marvel at Ronald Acuna Jr., just a few months removed from his 20th birthday and the youngest player in the major leagues, hitting mammoth home runs and on a path to what seems like certain stardom.
And don’t forget Mike Soroka, a tall, lanky Canadian who wisely passed on hockey for the chance to lead Atlanta’s next wave of young pitching guns and is, like Acuna, still only 20 years old.
The Braves went into the second weekend in May holding a slender lead in the NL East, a once-familiar position that had become downright foreign as they struggled through four straight losing seasons, the last three with 90 or more defeats.
While it’s a bit too soon to declare this team a lock for the playoffs, those days are not too far off.
“I’ve been waiting for the uptick, and it’s here, the light at the end of the tunnel,” slugging first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “I think we’re done with the tunnel. We’re in the light now.”
Remember, these Braves have 12 more players in the big leagues who are 28 and younger, including Freeman and former No. 1 overall pick Dansby Swanson. There is also another wave of top prospects in the minors, including pitchers Kolby Allard and Kyle Wright and third baseman Austin Riley, all of whom figure prominently in the team’s plans.
A check of 25-man rosters this week showed only seven players — out of 750 overall — who are under 22 years of age. The Braves have four of them, including the three youngest players in the major leagues: Acuna, Soroka and Albies, who turned 21 in January. Another 21-year-old, lefty pitcher Luiz Gohara, joined the team this week and picked up a three-inning save in his first appearance.
None of these Braves kids seem out of place in the Show.
Albies joined the Braves for 57 games last season and was an immediate hit. Now in his first full season in the bigs, he’s putting up all-star-worthy numbers, leading the team in homers (11) and RBI (29) after hitting his first career grand slam Thursday night against the Miami Marlins.
Soroka, who calls Calgary home, was called up recently from tripleA and dazzled in his first career start, pitching six strong innings to beat the Mets in New York. While his second appearance was more rookie-like — a loss to the Giants and uncharacteristic control issues — his poise and command leave little doubt he’ll soon be a mainstay in the rotation.
But Acuna is the player who really has everyone in Atlanta buzzing.
As a 19-year-old, he surged through three levels of the minor leagues. He dominated the Arizona Fall League and kept right on going through spring training, hitting .432 with four homers, 11 RBI and four stolen bases.
Acuna began the season at tripleA only because of a silly baseball rule (which needs to be addressed in the next collective bargaining talks) governing when a player can become eligible for free agency. To ensure an extra year of control over Acuna, the Braves kept him in the minors for a couple of unnecessary weeks, the same bit of manipulation the Chicago Cubs pulled on Kris Bryant a few years ago.
Since finally getting his muchdeserved promotion, Acuna has been making up for that brief bit of lost time.
In his second game, he jacked a tape-measure shot into the second deck at Cincinnati. Through 14 games, he was hitting .293 with three homers. While his outfield defence has looked a bit shaky at times, he’s also made a couple of spectacular catches.
There’s nothing this kid can’t do, but his impact on the Braves goes beyond that. For the first time at least since Jones was in his prime, the Braves have a player that makes everyone stop and take notice.
Comparing these Braves to the perennial powerhouse that was ready to break loose in 1991 is certainly natural, but one big question remains.
Back in those days, the franchise was owned by Ted Turner, who was always willing to fork over whatever money was necessary to fill in the gaps around his bountiful farm system. Those teams would not have stayed on top if not for free-agent signings such as Greg Maddux and trades that brought in key players like Fred McGriff.
The current owners, faceless corporate behemoth Liberty Media, have not yet shown they care about anything other than enhancing their bottom line, most notably by moving the Braves to a new suburban stadium, SunTrust Park.
That’s the big issue looming down the road, likely determining if the Baby Braves realize their full potential.
It would be a shame if they didn’t.