Depth Coming In Handy
Posted by: Barrett Sallee in Atlanta Braves, tags: Jeff Bennett, Jorge Campillo, Tom Glavine
photo credit: Chocolatito
When Tom Glavine walked off the field on Sunday afternoon after only 16 pitches, Braves fans the world over had the same reaction…”are you kidding?” The much heralded depth of the 2008 Braves starting rotation is being tested early this season after Mike Hampton was put on the DL before his first start, and may be tested further with the uncertainty surrounding Tom Glavine’s hamstring.
So let’s play hypothetical for a bit…who fills in if these two are out for a prolonged amount of time? The contenders? Jeff Bennett, Chuck James, Jo-Jo Reyes, Buddy Carlyle, Jorge Campillo. James has proven that he doesn’t belong on a major league roster. Bennett is a “Bobby Cox guy,” but his prolonged lack of command after coming in for the injured Glavine is concerning. However, coming in cold like that when you aren’t expecting to pitch is a tough situation, so he should receive a pass on that. He’s in.
Who else? My vote goes for Campillo. He looked awesome in the two innings he pitched on Sunday, not giving up a walk or a hit while striking out three. Plus, I think for the sake of the organization, James, Reyes and Carlyle need to be getting consistent work in Richmond. The Braves have shown that these three are, in the very least, in the Braves immediate plans. They need consistent innings in AAA to continue their development. Campillo looked good, he’s already up, so there is no need to disrupt the AAA rotation with a roster move when Campillo will probably provide a similar start to what any of the AAA guys would. Again, just a hypothetical.
Barrett Sallee has worked professionally in the Atlanta sports market in various aspects for over 7 years. He can be reached at barrettsallee@hotmail.com
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April 14th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
I agree with leaving the kids along with Chuck James in AAA to get them some solid innings before throwing them into the Majors.
As far as the rotation goes I think it will stay as a 4 man rotation so with Hudson, Smoltz, Jair, and maybe Bennett I think we can hold out until Hampton and/or Glavine are ready to come back.
April 17th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Im really liking the looks of this Campillo kid, I think he may be our best reliever at this point with Soriano and Moylan out.. Its just hard to trust a guy that just came up from Triple-A but 5 scoreless inninings has to put some trust in him..