Odds & Ends 5/14/12
Posted: May 14, 2012 Filed under: Game Decisions, Minor Leagues Leave a comment »A couple things I wanted to catch up on…
Minor League Signing: Felix Pie
The Braves signed outfielder Felix Pie to a Minor League deal Saturday. He was assigned to Triple-A Gwinnett where he will share time in the outfield. Pie was once a promising prospect (labeled with five-tool capabilities that made scouts “drool”), but has never panned out in the big leagues. Formerly of the Cubs and Orioles, he is a .249/.298/.374 career big league hitter who was cut by the Indians during spring training. Pie doesn’t do any single aspect of the game above average, just a replacement level player. He has actually been worth -0.1 fWAR during his career. I do not see him making any sort of Major League impact unless the Braves become depleted with injuries during the year. They have a couple minor leaguers who are still ahead in the pecking order (cough, Jose Constanza, cough).
Tim Hudson and Jack Wilson
While some pitchers are known for having personal catchers, Tim Hudson has found himself a personal SS. This was confirmed to me from Dave O’Brien through Twitter last week. Hudson who has just under a 60% GB rate for his career should be helped by the upgraded defense of Wilson. I was going to write a post but Ben Duronio, of Capital Avenue Club, had a good blog on this a couple days ago, I would suggest this as he had a very similar take on it as myself. In short, the upgrade in defense of Wilson should offset the the loss in offense from Pastornicky.
Good news is the Braves are in first today. Funny how a few months can change opinions (Jon Morosi: March 8, May 14).
