Atlanta Braves News: The Morning Chop, What To Do With Mallex Smith? Happy Birthday Ronald Acuna!
Winter leagues roundup: Acuna, Garrett, Padlo growing Down Under
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: First off…Happy Birthday Ronald Acuna!! He turns 19-years-old today!!
Yes, Acuna was announced to the Australian Winter League All-Star game a few days ago, but it seems like everyone is still talking about this/him. Acuna just continues to rake and it seems like he’s got hotter since it was announced. Last night, he went 3-6 with two doubles and a walk. He’s now batting .364 during his time with the Melbourne Aces. In 20 games with the Aces, he has two homers, one triple, five doubles and 13 stolen bases.
After the 2015 season, Acuna was ranked prospect #26 by Baseball America. Now, he’s BA’s #6 prospect in the Braves organization. Watch out for this now 19-year-old!
Braves mulling Mallex’s role for 2017 season
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: We talked about this the other day a little, but each day we get closer to the 2017 season the more and more questions will arise about what happens to Mallex Smith next year?
Smith was rushed to the MLB last year when Ender Inciarte was injured and then his injury happened in the summer. The nagging thumb injury Smith had continued until late in the year and he missed a lot of time. After being assigned to a team in the Mexico Winter League, he was cut because he was struggling at the plate. Now he’s with the Indios de Mayaguez in the Roberto Clemente Winter League. Smith is hitting .419 with three stolen bases.
My guess is that the 23-year-old needs a little more time in the minors. Throughout high school, Smith concentrated on football so his baseball skills aren’t all there yet…ex base running, bunting, tracking balls in the outfield.
When Will the Oldest Active Ballplayer Stop?
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: When will Bartolo Colon retire? Never!! But in all seriousness, this could be his last season. He’s chasing former MLB pitcher Juan Marichal‘s win total for a pitcher from the Dominican Republic. Marichal had 243 wins from 1960 to 1975. Bartolo currently has 233 as we enter the 2017 season. As a driven individual, I think Colon shoots for this record. If he gets 11 wins this year, he could very well retire. If he doesn’t, he may give it one more year in 2018. Let’s enjoy this freak athlete when he still can!
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