Andrelton Simmons Makes the Jump; Pastornicky Optioned to Triple-A
May 31, 2012 at 1:15 am by David Lee under Atlanta Braves, Transactions
Andrelton Simmons has been called up to the majors and will make his major league debut Friday in Washington.
Tyler Pastoricky has been optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett. The Simmons era begins this weekend.
Frank Wren acknowledged Pastornicky’s defense needs to improve, and while his offense has been about as expected – .248/.281/.324 with a .270 wOBA and 3.8 BB% – his defense just wasn’t good enough for him to stick. Looking beyond the errors and fielding percentage, Pastornicky’s range and arm limited his abilities and hindered an already weak infield defense. With below average defenders at every other position on the infield, the Braves need a plus defensive shortstop to survive, and Pastornicky can’t provide that.
But Simmons can. He’s rated as one of the best defensive shortstops in the minors and projects as plus now. He has a cannon, shows great range and gets to balls that Pastornicky never can. It’s simply a matter of Simmons saving the team runs on defense.
Offensively, nothing should change. Simmons has seemingly taken a step forward at the plate in Double-A, hitting .299/.380/.431 with a .383 wOBA and 10.2 BB%, so he is proving his bat is more than just an empty batting average at one of the toughest levels to do so. But he will again face a different level now, and expecting anything more than what Pastornicky provided at the plate right now might be too much to ask.
But that’s the point of the move. The Braves probably won’t sacrifice anything at the plate while upgrading their shortstop defense from a Pinto to a Bugatti. I see no reason why the move should not have been made.
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I would say the things that hurt Tyler were mental as well. While he was in his slumps that seemed to be when he had his errors(3 in the last 8 games while going 2-22). He also made some boneheaded plays like throwing to 2B when nobody was covering(just as much Uggla’s fault though).
I read where Keith Law said he has an 80 glove. I can’t wait to watch him play.
So glad this move finally happened. I was one of Pastornicky’s biggest supporters but we just can’t go on like this any longer.
Hmmm… I wouldn’t really say I consider Freeman a below average first basemen, so to say they have below average at every other infield position, is an oversight, in my opinion. Anyone else agree?
Hmmm…It looks like he does make some nice plays on almost a daily basis but the defensive metrics just doesn’t like him (although not as bad as in his first year). I think he’s probably worse than what we fans think he is but better than the defensive metrics show him to be —> so probably average-ish-like
The big knock on Freeman is that he lacks range and quickness.
BUT WHAT ABOUT HIS SCOOPS!??
#thingsireadonDOBonersblog
Agree about FF, and is Chipper below average at 3rd?
According to Baseball-Reference, Chipper has be worth 2 defensive runs saved thus far this year. That would lead one to believe that he is slightly above average.
But, his range factor and fielding percentage are both below the league average (obviously due to age and lowered reaction times among other things I’m sure).
All in all… I would say that Chip is either right at average or slightly below. Basically par for the course in regard to our current infield (aside from Simmons).
The move had to be made to make the defense up the middle better but I’d have to disagree with the statement of all the other infield positions being below average. Freeman is great around the bag and saves a lot of the other infielders on his range in his stretches. Just thought you would at least see that.
I think it has been discussed here before, but the ability to scoop and save throws is a skillset that every ML firstbaseman has. Freeman isn’t extraordinarily gifted in that department. He lacks range and instincts. His large frame allows him to catch a few extra throws, but hinders his movements. Overall he is average to slightly below average.
Will Simmons be starting when Hudson pitches, or will that remain the exclusive privilege of Jack Wilson?
I’m honestly hoping that Simmons is the everyday starter no matter who is pitching. His defensive skills, I assume, are on at least par with Wilson’s, if not better. And the bat, well it can’t be worse.
I guess we now know Ben is the alias Frank Wren posts under. Good calls on Medlen and Simmons.
I think Ben was just analyzing what Bowman wrote. Bowman was dead on.
Oh thank God!
Simmons should have been the starter from day one. We were going to get meager offensive production from either Pastor or Simmons, so my thinking was to go with the guy who has the better glove. And Simmons doesn’t just have a better glove – he has a significantly better glove, one that could save us a few runs a week compared to Pastor’s butchering. David’s car metaphor is spot on.
Can’t wait to see his dazzling defense at Turner Field. Good luck to Pastornicky working his way back up. Maybe he could develop into a solid 2B for someone else. I think he’ll at least be used as Brent Lilibridge is by the White Sox. Good athlete with good speed that could play all over the field in a utility role.
Honestly, I think he makes good trade bait. And, I don’t mean that in any negative way whatsoever. I really do wish him the best and hope he becomes an every day major leaguer. But, that’s just not going to happen in the Braves organization.
He’s young and still learning. Pair him with a young arm from the minors and we can probably bring in someone else (if needed of course).
A LOT of ground balls which have made it into left field lately. A few games with stellar defense at short will do wonders for our Braves pitchers’ confidence. I have no doubt the bullpen return to form (*cough* Jonny’s .464 BABIP *cough*) and a vacuum cleaner of a shortstop could only help.
I still don’t really know why this move wasn’t made to start the year. Was Pastornicky’s defense just worse than expected? Has Simmons’ bat proved so much over the course of two months that he’s now offensively on par with (or close to) Pastornicky when he wasn’t in March? I’m glad the move was made, but I maintain that it should’ve been made to start the season.
My comments on the infield defense are mine alone, not based on defensive metrics. 99 percent of what you read from me regarding defense will be based on my eye, not numbers. So obviously they are up for debate.
Jack Wilson has no range, and is generally awful. Is there a good reason the Braves didn’t keep Pastornicky up, even if as a back-up, instead of Wilson?
Good reason? No.
Reasons? Sure.
1. $1 mil
2. Veteran presents
3. Ability to play 3B and 2B.
In general, the Braves infield just has very little range defensively; another reason why this move makes sense. I’ve been a Pastornicky supporter all along, but when you think about Chipper, Uggla, and FF, not having a plus defender at SS should worry you. When Prado’s at 3B, things improve a little, and FF has a great glove but basically no range, which is why the metrics are down on him. So, as bad as AGon was at the plate last year, he did save alot of runs. We can hope that Simmons will perform as expected defensively, and maybe not too much sacrifice at the plate.
Another reason this move had to be made NOW is in case Simmons doesn’t work out either, Wren still has time to trade for a starting SS.
Hopefully Tyler takes this well, they should have him work at 2B & 3B. Make him a good utility option. He could be a valuable player at 2B in the future and he still has a shot at SS if Simmons doesn’t fair any better. I would not mind trading Uggla for prospects (maybe a Uggla/Jurrjens package) and using Tyler at 2B if Atlanta really is as strapped for cash as it seems. I would rather have that and be able to sign McCann to an extension and go after Bourne than lose them to free agency in the future. Move prado to third and hope Gattis is ready for LF next season.
So this is why the Braves traded Sutton. Pastornicky is the next Sutton.
Trade Uggla – are you fucking joking?
I’d like to see Rev spend some time in CF, along with 2B/3B.
Patornicky had experienced success at the AA level and is younger than Simmons. That’s why this move wasn’t made at the beginning of the year.
I doubt Simmons is any kind of vacuum at short. He has always had a cannon arm and great range, and that’s an asset, but he makes a lot of errors. I’m not trying to be nagative here, but the defensive upgrade isn’t from awful to amazing. It’s from awful to probably about average. Still worth it.