Braves with 4 players vying to fill in for Upton in center field
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- When Melvin Upton Jr. was diagnosed with sesamoiditis in his left foot on Friday, two things became very apparent about the Braves outfield in 2015.
The first is the fact that not one, but two positions will be up for grabs on opening day because Upton will miss six to eight weeks, at least. The second: when the Braves play the Marlins in that first game of the season, the starting outfield will be completely different than a year ago.
The Braves entered the 2014 campaign with the relative strength of "Up, Up and Jay Hey" in the outfield; a slogan that represented Justin Upton, his brother B.J. and Jason Heyward. Looking forward to the April 6 game versus Miami, Atlanta has to now be thinking "Who, Who and Hopefully Nick Markakis."
Markakis is unsure of his opening day status as he's recovering from neck surgery, the left field position has been an open competition from Day 1, and now the Braves must find a fill-in for Upton, who will be in a cast until somewhere between April 10-24, and then need time to get ready for the rigors of regular-season play.
"We just have to let that heal and take its course," manager Fredi Gonzalez said on Saturday. "Whenever he's ready for baseball activities we'll get him going."
Until then, four players will begin their bid to replace Upton in center field until he's ready to return: Eury Perez, Todd Cunningham, Zoilo Almonte and Eric Young Jr.
Gonzalez said he wouldn't put too much stock into how much center field the four candidates had played in the past. He's still looking for the best fits on offense to help the Braves manufacture runs without the home run hitting bats that have all been traded away during the offseason. But defense is going to have to play some part in the decision.
"I know some of the other guys have played," said Gonzalez. "EY Jr. [Young] I think has 30-something games in the big leagues in center field. Perez is a natural center fielder. Bo [Porter] has had him with the Nationals and really likes him; good defender.
"T.C. [Cunningham] is one of those guys that is not a flashy guy. He might not be the fastest or the quickest, but he's probably the most fundamentally sound [candidate] in the outfield, he can play all three [positions]. And we'll see where Almonte is as in if he can play center or not."
Perez has played 10 games in center field over three seasons in the big leagues. He has 26 total games of major league experience, hitting .174 with five stolen bases. But the 24-year-old Dominican's numbers in the minors lend to optimism.
Over eight minor league seasons, Perez owns a .305 batting average with a .360 on-base percentage and 268 stolen bases in 699 games. Perez has shown growth at the plate over the last three seasons. His average has stayed above .300 for all three, and his on-base percentage has gone up from .344 and .336 in 2012 and 2013, respectively, to .371 in mostly Triple-A action last season.
Where Perez can be really damaging is on the bases. He stole 64 bases in 2010 at Single-A, 45 the following year at High-A and 51 in 2012 at three different stops. His speed will greatly add benefit to Gonzalez' new Braves mantra of manufacturing runs.
When it comes to manufacturing runs, Cunningham believes he's tailor-made for the new philosophy.
"That fits in well to how I play the game," said Cunningham. "It's hard for me to compete with guys hitting 30 homers, I'm just not that kind of hitter. Having that approach as a team is good for me because having good at-bats and moving runners , bunting, doing some of the smaller things is kind of what I've built my game around. I like the philosophy because it helps me out."
Cunningham played eight games for the Braves in 2013, but none in center field. He has, however, manned the position almost exclusively at Triple-A Gwinnett over the past two seasons.
With 446 minor-league games at center field (229 over the last two seasons), Cunningham is the best fit defensively. He hit .287 last year in 531 plate appearances with a .347 on-base percentage and stole 19 bases.
"Obviously you don't wish injury upon anyone, much less your teammate," said Cunningham. "But, for the past three years everything I've done is to prepare myself for the big leagues. For the past three years I've been getting ready for that position. So, nothing changes, you just keep getting ready and hopefully it works out."
Young came to camp with four different gloves and a mantra of preparedness. He brought "a little, itty bitty one for second base, a little bigger one for third, and then two different sizes for the outfield."
"It's an unfortunate situation," Young said about Upton's injury. "Obviously you wish a speedy recovery for him, get him back to getting ready to play. But for a guy like me, you never want to get caught unprepared. If they ask me if I can go to center field, like I said, I've got a glove ready for that."
Most of Young's six seasons have been spent in left field (221 games). But he has 44 games in center and 34 in right field to go along with 54 games at second base. His versatility is of great benefit to the Braves, who will need help in a number of positions in 2015.
"I've logged time at second, third and all three outfield spots over the course of my career," said Young. "I think center might actually be one of the better spots just because you get the direct look on. It's all about repetitions. The more reps you get at a certain spot the more comfortable you're going to get with it. I know I can contribute at any spot they need to put me."
Young hit .229 last season with the Mets and posted a .299 on-base percentage. He also stole 30 bases.
Almonte played 47 games for the Yankees over the past two seasons, but none in center field. Gonzalez did mention the Braves would have to see if the 25-year-old Dominican could even play center in the majors.
He logged 114 games at center field in nine seasons in the minors. He also has shown a good combination speed and power, an attribute none of the other guys looking to win the center field job possess.
Almonte blasted 18 home runs last season in Triple-A and hit .261 with a .311 on-base percentage. He only stole six bases, but has shown more of an aptitude for swipes in the past with 18 in 2011 and 15 in 2012.
The Braves have a huge decision to make over the next five weeks, but with Upton out for the duration of spring training, the team has many opportunities to get good looks.
"Now guys get more reps, those candidates," said Gonzalez. "We've been here talking about some of the candidates, there the same ones you know that we've talked about [for other outfield positions]. I would have really liked to see all the hard work B.J. was doing in the winter play out, but now we have to wait a little bit. I don't think it's going to hurt him, he's just going to have to wait a little bit longer."
