Reeling in Fish at the Beachy…?
The Braves dropped the first game of their two-game series with the Marlins 8-4 on Wednesday behind another less-than-stellar outing from Mike Minor. Today, they will turn to another of their young arms, the one leading the National League in ERA, Brandon Beachy. He will face Ricky Nolasco at 7:10. Atlanta: SportSouth. Miami: Fox Sports Florida.

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Mark Bowman breaks down the Braves’ interleague schedule, including a series with the Rays this weekend.

If there has ever been a legitimate case against interleague play because of unbalanced schedules, the Braves have it this season. After a weekend series against the 24-14 Rays, the Braves will also play the 20-18 Blue Jays, the 24-14 Yankees twice, the 24-14 Orioles, and the 17-20 Red Sox at Fenway. And this is surrounded by series with the Marlins, Diamondbacks and Nationals twice. There is no reason for this.

AJC quotes following Wednesday’s loss. Fredi Gonzalez on Mike Minor: “I’ve seen three, four solid innings and one big inning just kind of unravels on him. That’s just part of big league experience, getting through those innings and minimizing the damage, doing all those sorts of things. That comes with running him back and there and say ‘Hey, let’s get through it.’”

Mark Bradley of the AJC asks what to do with Minor. Bradley is of the belief that the rotation needs a left-hander, so keep throwing him out there. I am of the belief that no one ever “needs” a left-hander, but Minor should still be thrown out there.

Eric Karabell of ESPN mentions Mike Minor for his fantasy bits. Karabell says Minor “appears headed to the minor leagues,” although there has been no indication of this, and Fredi said otherwise in his postgame quotes. Karabell says Minor should be dropped from your fantasy team (Insider required).

Ben analyzes Martin Prado for fantasy purposes on FanGraphs.

Around the NL East
Bradley Ankrom of Baseball Prospectus writes on how to fix the Phillies.

The Phillies aren’t considering signing Roy Oswalt right now.

Jeff Sullivan of SB Nation writes on Bryce Harper getting fewer fastballs and more off-speed pitches in his first few weeks, which is rare for rookies. If there is one thing Harper still finds difficult in this game, it’s hitting a changeup, so pitchers are taking advantage of this knowledge.

MLBTR looks at the Nationals’ contract issues for 2013.

The Mets designated D.J. Carrasco for assignment.

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Source: FanGraphs

Game MVP: Austin Kearns, .209
Least Valuable Marlin: John Buck, -.059
Most Valuable Brave: Martin Prado, .145
Least Valuable Brave: Mike Minor, -.366
Big swing: Kearns’ two-run double in the fourth gave the Marlins a 2-1 lead, .222

Minor has allowed six-plus runs in each of his last four starts. He also has 23 strikeouts over that stretch, and he has given up seven home runs.

The Braves outfield trio consisting of Martin Prado, Michael Bourn, and Jason Heyward has been a huge reason for the Braves success this year, if not the biggest reason. Overall, the Braves have netted 5.5 wins from their outfield, good for fourth in the big leagues.

For comparison, the Braves had the second lowest outfield WAR from 2007-2011, so the improvement this year compared to season’s past is evident. The Braves have not had good production from their outfield in quite some time, aside from a good year from one position occasionally. Now, they have three players who are playing tremendous baseball in numerous different areas.

Currently, the Braves outfield has the most steals in the league, with 24. Additionally, their .303 average and .375 on base percentage are equally impressive. Defensively, only the Cardinals have a higher outfield UZR, which is probably not the best way to measure at this point. In terms of DRS, the Braves are first while the Cardinals are fifth, and just judging by the talent of the regulars would have one side with the Braves in that debate.

The talent of the group, along with the production of their replacements, has been instrumental in run production and run prevention. Matt Diaz and Eric Hinske are certainly not good defenders, but their respective 160 and 116 wRC+ are certainly valuable. Not all of that production has been done while technically being in the “outfield” but even so, they add solid depth for days when players are injured or need off. Diaz, especially, has been much better than I could have anticipated or projected. I was very against the Diaz trade for many reasons, one being that he was essentially guaranteed a spot on the roster this year, but he has performed well move expectations. His 14.6 BB rate and 12.2% K rate have been especially solid, so playing him occasionally against lefties is certainly not the worst thing ever.

The Braves infield has also been productive, but they are not nearly as consistent and deep as the outfield is. All of the Braves outfielders have produced in every facet of the game thus far, which is not something the Braves have been able to say for a very, very long time.

First Taste of Fish
Following a 6-2 win over the Reds that split the two-game series on Tuesday, the Braves will wrap up their quick homestand with two against the Marlins, their first look at the new-look Fish this season. It will also be their first look at newcomer Mark Buehrle, who faces Mike Minor at 7:10. Atlanta: SportSouth, WNNX 100.5, WCNN 680. Miami: Fox Sports Florida, WAXY 790, WAQI 710.

Braves lineup: Tyler Pastornicky (SS), Martin Prado (LF), Freddie Freeman (1B), Dan Uggla (2B), Brian McCann (C), Matt Diaz (RF), Jason Heyward (CF), Juan Francisco (3B), Mike Minor (P).

Marlins lineup: Jose Reyes (S, SS), Omar Infante (R, 2B), Hanley Ramirez (R, 3B), Austin Kearns (R, LF), Giancarlo Stanton (R, RF), Gaby Sanchez (R, 1B), Emilio Bonifacio (S, CF), John Buck (R, C), Mark Buehrle (L, P).

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Freddie Freeman sat out Tuesday’s game with inflamed eyes, which he is treating with antibiotic eye drops. He was originally scheduled to return to the lineup today, so we will see if anything changes. You can label him as day-to-day.

Update (4:00p): Freeman is back in the lineup and hitting in his usual spot in the order. Michael Bourn appears to be getting a day off, allowing Jason Heyward to move to center. Tyler Pastornicky is hitting leadoff in Bourn’s place. Also, Chipper Jones is getting the day off with Juan Francisco at third.

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Per notes, whether it’s just talk to entertain or serious thought, the Braves may use Jonny Venters more in an effort to keep him effective, which sounds all kinds of wrong when you read it in your head. It goes back to baseball’s belief that sinkerballers are more effective when tired.

Carroll Rogers of the AJC writes on Brian McCann struggling against the shift.

Rogers’ article on Freeman’s eye issues.

AJC quotes following Tuesday’s win. Brian McCann on Johnny Cueto: “He came out tonight throwing a lot of offspeed early in the game. He’s usually a fastball pitcher. Tonight he tried to establish his offspeed early and we had a good game plan for him. And when he gave us pitches to hit, we put them in play hard.”

Jeff Schultz of the AJC writes a blog post on the McCann contract situation.

Keith Law gives us his first mock draft of the year, with the Braves selecting prep shortstop Tanner Rahier, as he first heard they were on. It’s a big difference from Jim Callis’ mock draft, which had Victor Roache taken by the Braves at 21st. Roache isn’t in the first round for Law (Insider required).

Ken Rosenthal’s latest column includes a note on two key differences for the Braves this season, according to a scout: Kris Medlen and the hitting coaches.

Around the NL East
Phillies starter Vance Worley was placed on the 15-day disabled list with right elbow inflammation.

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Source: FanGraphs
Game MVP: Tim Hudson, .170
Brian McCann, .132
Most Valuable Red: Miguel Cairo, .007
Least Valuable Red: Johnny Cueto, -.313
Big swing: McCann homered in the second for a 1-0 lead, .126

After posting a 3.84 ERA and 3.82 FIP, along with an 8.44 K/9 and 3.53 BB/9 in double-A last season, Randall Delgado’s performance in the majors so far has been exactly what the Braves could have hoped for.

Predictably, Delgado’s strikeout and walk rates have declined in his move up to the big club. He has struckout 7.81 per nine while walking just over 4 per nine, which is far from a great ratio but certainly is not terrible. He has about a league average home run per fly ball ratio, so his xFIP correlates pretty closely with his FIP.

Where Delgado has probably been a bit lucky is in his BABIP, which currently sits at .284. Brandon Beachy is the only starter with better luck on balls in play than Delgado, and with the Braves troubles in the infield and Delgado’s 50% ground ball rate, that number will likely rise significantly. Along with that, however, should be a better left on base rate. When that rises, his ERA will probably rise as well.

Something to consider is Delgado’s evolution and confidence as a pitcher. A rookie pitcher has a lot of development going on and you can see the strides being made in Delgado’s game every start. His curveball is becoming a more common pitch, he is relying on the movement of his two-seamer rather than the velocity of his four-seamer, and his changeup is the same quality offering that he has had throughout his minor league career.

While his changeup is a very effective pitch, Delgado will still need to find better ways to attack left-handed hitters. He has faced 87 batters against both lefties and righties, but has a .158/.267/.257 line against righties with 23 strikeouts and nine walks. Against lefties, he has a .308/.384/.474 line against with 12 strikeouts to nine walks, which obviously shows a rather big disparity.

That is not something to get worried about quite yet. The fact that he has had such great success against right-handed batters while only possessing the three and half pitches that he owns is certainly a positive. With more time against big league hitters, I expect his numbers against left-handers will shrink. So far, this is exactly what anyone could have hoped for in regards to the start of his season. His ERA last year was far from sustainable with those peripherals, but now it seems as though he could be a rookie pitcher who sustains an ERA between 3.60-3.80, which is great from a back end starter.

Turning to Tim
The Braves lost 3-1 to the Reds on Monday, ending a short burst of offensive power that was on display in St. Louis in the previous series. Atlanta will look to split the two-game series as it sends Tim Hudson to the mound against Johnny Cueto at 7:10. Atlanta: SportSouth, WNNX 100.5, WCNN 680. Cincinnati: Fox Sports Ohio, WLW 700. Nationally: MLB Network.

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Freddie Freeman left Monday’s game with blurred vision in his right eye. He went through two pairs of contacts and couldn’t fix it, and he visited the team eye doctor after the game.

We learned from David O’Brien this morning that Freeman has a slight corneal abrasion and could be available tonight or Wednesday, so it’s not serious.

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Also within the notes above, Tommy Hanson is still regaining strength and comfort in his shoulder, and he called his arm “tight” previously. He said he was able to cut loose a little more in his most recent start.

AJC quotes following Monday’s loss. Jonny Venters: “My arm feels great. Like I said, I’m falling behind a lot of hitters. Can’t do that, especially late in the games. I’ve been allowing a lot of baserunners, and tonight I just didn’t make any pitches when I needed to.”

DOB writes on Michael Bourn’s upcoming free agency and the possibility of remaining in Atlanta. Obviously, he isn’t going to get much from Bourn or Frank Wren, so it remains speculation as to how likely it is that Bourn will return.

Will Carroll of SI gives us his take on the value of pitch counts relative to performance.

Jason Churchill of ESPN gives us some draft prospects from the SEC to keep an eye on. The Braves have no problem plucking an SEC/ACC player or two in the early rounds, so some of these might be worth watching (Insider required).

Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus gives Edward Salcedo a mention in today’s Future Shock Blog (sub required).

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