Solution For Salty

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

We're filled at catcher with McCann...We're loaded at 1B with LaRoche ,Jurries ,Thorman...I say we put Saltalamacchia in LF.

Jarrod has a much brighter upside than Langerhans and Johnson. Plus Salty's attributes are a very strong throwing arm and speed. Plus he is very gifted in the hitting department. He's made for the OF.

I like Langer and Kelly, but I love Salty. He's possibly future HOF material.

And at first base we are too loaded. Jurries, LaRoche, and Thorman could all be on 25 man rosters. And they could develope into impressive power hitters.

Imagine a Saltalamacchia , Jones ,and Francoeur OF. OOH WEE.

Not to mention a Jones , Betemit/ Escobar/Renteria/Giles, LaRoche/Thorman/Jurries INF. With McCann of couse behind the plate. OMG!!!

How do the braves do it!!!

[PureBaseballFan]

That is one solution but if they were to do that it might set him back by a year or two since he would have to learn a new position. Also there is no guarantee that he will be good on defense. I for one don't want a Manny Ramirez like player on our team. The Braves have won mainly because of great defense and Langerhans has shown to be a good defensively and I see him having decent upside on the offensive side of the ball to. The Braves are going to have to get creative with all the talent in the minors that are going to come up through the minors so moving him to the OF isn't out of the question but I just don't see Salty going to the OF and doing it smoothly.

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

I'd hate to be John Schuerholz and Bobby Cox thinking about the possibilites! This quandry really shows how hard it is to be a GM and an evaluator of minor league talent.

[atlbravesfan]

Salty sighting at first
By David O'Brien | Tuesday, March 7, 2006

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Guess who took ground balls at first base during pregame batting practice Tuesday? Hint: Big kid, long name.

Yes, Jarrod Saltamacchia, top-rated Braves prospect and No. 1 catching prospect in baseball.

“He’s just killing time out there, messing around,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said, rather unconvincingly.

Maybe he was just messing around, but if so then it’s quite a coincidence that Salty was taking grounders at first base the week after he had a double and triple in his first two at-bats in an Atlanta uniform (vs. the Georgia Bulldogs) and a game-ending three-run homer in his first Grapefruit League game against the Dodgers.

I’m not saying there’s any chance Salty opens the season as a platoon first basemen with Adam LaRoche, because I don’t think there is any chance of that happening. Jumping the kid directly from Class A Myrtle Beach to the majors seems too severe a step for the prudent Braves to consider.

However, if he goes to Double-A Mississippi and gets off to a solid start, then perhaps the Braves would consider him for a summer callup. And perhaps they would play him some at 1B at Mississippi, and not wait until the end of the season to try him there.

The Braves have their catcher, Brian McCann, who’s significantly better than Salty defensively, and only 2 years older. But they could have a real need at 1B, especially if they decide that Adam LaRoche isn’t the answer when he becomes arbitration eligible after this season.

Saltalamacchia has improved defensively, particularly his throws. But it’s his bat that’s going to make the switch-hitting slugger a star, or so most scouts think. His ceiling is very high, and his swagger and skills could make him a face of the franchise, or co-face, if you will, with Jeff Francoeur for many years.

[Go Bravos!!!#1]

I wouldn't mind him comming up and playing 1B part-time. My only problem is I want Brian Jordan on the roster. He's a great clubhouse presence and team leader. Plus the guy deserves it, he's been there in the MLB 10+ years.

I could find a scenario in which we could have Jordan and Saltalamacchia both make the team.

All that would have to happen is Matt Diaz and James Jurries not making the team.
Assuming we will carry 12 pitches that leaves 5 bench spots open. 3 are filled, with Betemit serving as an INF , Orr serving as everything, and Pratt serving as back-up catcher. This leaves two spots open.

Brian Jordan can platoon from OF to 1B and Salty can platoon from C to 1B .

So as you see it's not a far fetched idea at all. Especially when Orr is LH and Betemit / Saltalamcchia are switch hitters.

You can knock out Diaz, becuase his main attribute is he can catch.With Saltalamacchia we have a pretty good defensive catcher. And Jordan is more experienced, a better fielder, and a great clubhouse influence.

As for Jurries, he's not a switch-hitter that's a negative,not great defensively, and he's not as polished a hitter as Salty is. Sure Salty is only in AAA but his strikeout numbers are much lower than Jurries.

With a bench of...
Betemit
Orr
Pratt
Jordan
Saltalamachia

This gives Cox a lot of options. Here's an example of 1. You need to pinch hit with Brian Jordan and an OF is taken out of the game, you always have Pete Orr to place in the OF.

This bench works great. Here's how it compares to a bench from 2004.
2004
1B Julio Franco
INF Mark DeRosa
INF Nick Green
OF/C/!B Eli Marrero
C Eddie Perez
vs.
1B/C Saltalamachia
INF Betemit
INF/OF/c Orr
OF Brian Jordan
C Todd Pratt

So according to this the Braves would actually have more depth. With 1 more OF and 3 catchers and 1 emergency.

We'll see how it plays out.

Personally I love the Idea of having Salty up.

[Perseas]

I don;t worry about the position players... Can anyone help with the bullpen???? Did you see what Chris Reitsma (our potential closer) did last night for Canada?
I tell you, I've never seen an winning pitcher with an ERA of 27.00 before!!!!

[PureBaseballFan]

Salty being on the opening day roster is extremely unlikely in my opinion. The Braves don't need three catchers on the team and Salty taking grounders in practice does not mean he is better defensively the Jurries. If he started the year at AAA and proved he wasn't a bad defensive player at 1B I would then like to see him brought up. As much as I like Jordan he doesn't have the bat speed to get around on anything in the low-mid 90s he showed that last year. He is good defensively but why not have someone on the bench with average defense and a decent bat. I like Jordan and would like him to be a coach but I don't think he has the offensive abilities to out hit Diaz or Kelly.

I like this bench :

Todd Pratt
Wilson Betemit
Pete Orr
Matt Diaz or Kelly Johnson
James Jurries

[BeisbolNut]

Can you imagine a lineup with AJones, Chipper, Francoeur, McMann, Saltalamacchia, and adding Brandon Jones to the pot? It's coming soon! Our late season scorecard in 2007.

Vaya Los Bravos