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August 4, 2025 38 mins

In Episode 244 of the Hammer Territory Podcast, Stephen Tolbert and Shawn Coleman discuss many topics from an eventful stretch for the Atlanta Braves. They discuss concerns from an inactive trade deadline, some notable injury updates, and why the Rookie of the Year race in the National League is the biggest story line left for the Braves this season. 

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Welcome one and all to the Hammer Territory Podcast. My
name is Sean Coleman. Hope, wherever you are and wherever
you are listening, I hope that you had a great weekend,
whether or not that was influenced by the Speedway Classic.
I hope that you had many many other things that
at least were better than whatever experienced a Speedway Classic was.
Can't thank you for joining us here on the Hammer

(00:43):
Territory Podcast, part of the Foul Territory family of podcasts
and is always it is a pleasure to be with
my podcast partner, the one and only Stephen Tolbert In
Stephen Man, we are past the trade deadline.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
Yay, Yeah, what's a buddy.

Speaker 3 (01:03):
You know, it's it's been a weird feeling the last
couple of days because we kind of we've known for
a while the season was over, but we still had
the trade deadline to look forward to. We still had
the Speedway Classic thing to look forward to. Now we're
on the other side of both of those things, and
neither one of them turned out to be much to

(01:23):
look forward to, if we're being honest, and it really
kind of feels like this season's not over. But it
does feel like the things to be excited about are
kind of over. We're still gonna watch and we're still
gonna talk about the game, and there's a lot, you know,
there's a lot to talk about it in terms of
getting ready for twenty twenty six. But yeah, I mean
we're very much to the point of the twenty twenty

(01:44):
five season where it is just playing out the string.
And you know, tonight's game, the Braves lost three to
one tonight to the Brewers. Watching that game, you know,
looking at how few people were in attendance, like it
really does feel like we're just now in the like
you know, the drolls of being bad in August, where
just like none of this really, you know, none of

(02:07):
the stuff that's happening on the field matters, and so
we're gonna have to talk about stuff not really on
the field until we get to the off season where
we can start hopefully making some improvements for twenty twenty six.

Speaker 1 (02:21):
Absolutely, and Brad and Scott did a wonderful job breaking
down the trade deadline. Of course, as many know now,
the big storyline from the Braves trade deadline is what
they didn't do versus what they actually did. They were
pretty active making trades, but the only real moves they
made was basically to get veteran arms to help get
through this year. And you know, maybe Tyler Kinley, though

(02:42):
we didn't get off to the best start, maybe he'll
be around next year. But the point that I wanted
to bring up about this is not necessarily the details
or lack of details when it came to the trade deadline,
but disappointment, I feel is a fair reaction to what
the Braves did not do because when we at the
start of July's the injuries occurred to Chris Sale, and

(03:03):
they occurred to Spencer Swellenbach, and the offense just never
can consistently get going. The writing was on the wall
twenty twenty five just wouldn't it. So you were hoping
at some point to get common sense and clarity. You
were hoping that you would clearly see the franchise fully
commit to moving on to twenty twenty six and beyond,
but not only that, making decisions that would allow for
you to also feel confident that they are going to

(03:23):
do all that they can to ensure we don't get
a repeat of twenty four and twenty five in twenty
six and beyond, and the draft was a good start.
The Braves used common sense a draft clear areas of need.
I felt good coming out of the draft, and I
felt like the trade deadline was going to give us
an opportunity to also clear some roster space of veterans
and potentially bringing some young guys who can only help

(03:45):
for the future, but also clear some plaining opportunity for
our own young guys. And that didn't happen. I know
that Alexanthopolis is talking about the fact that he's not
just going to trade to Shed's salary, and that's fine,
But to me, the biggest thing of all is this
is that if you had concern going into the trade
deadline from the lack of activity in the off season,

(04:06):
basically the fact that you know, the Braves couldn't really
put it together when it came to their offense this year,
the injuries, things like that, if you had concern going
into the trade deadline for whatever reason, the trade deadline
did nothing in my opinion, but add to that concern,
and that's where I'm the most disappointed.

Speaker 3 (04:26):
Yeah, So I want to start, first of all by
plugging the show that Brad and Scott did immediately the day,
as soon as the trade deadline was over at six pm,
they did a show to recap it. I thought they
nailed the show. I thought they hit on all the
points that I like. I was listening along thinking I
hope they hit on this, and then they did. Hope
they hit on this, and then they did. So that

(04:46):
was a really good show. If you missed it, it's
still relevant, go listen to the show. My main takeaways
were this, I think ownership had problems with the Braves
paying down contracts for players that were not gonna be
playing for them.

Speaker 2 (05:03):
I think the Braves and Alex has talked about this.

Speaker 3 (05:06):
They have rules in place where they don't do player options,
they don't do no trade clauses, they don't do deferred money,
and I've heard that they have a very strict rule
about dead money. I've never been able to confirm that,
but I've heard that they have a rule about dead money,
about not having any dead money on the books. And obviously,
if you're paying down the contract, that is paying the

(05:26):
player to play for someone else, that is the definition
of dead money. And quite honestly, with the seasons that
Iglesias and Azuna were having the only way you were
gonna get anything of value back, and this is why
we talked about this at nauseum leading up to it,
was to pay down the contract, so the acquiring team
only had to send you a prospect you were going
to cover the cost of the player. The fact that

(05:48):
Alex kept saying we weren't just gonna salary dump these
players tells me the only options they were considering was
the other team paying all of the salary. And if
that was the case, and of course they were never
gonna get anything significant for either one of those guys.
And so that's my theory is that is that ownership
had a problem with them paying down the contracts to

(06:11):
play for other teams.

Speaker 2 (06:12):
Scott and Brad mentioned the same.

Speaker 3 (06:14):
Thing, you know that that's kind of their theory is
what's kind of the only theory that makes sense, honestly,
I mean, there's no reason we've talked about this spot there.
You know, there's sometimes there's scenarios where you have a
draft pick, compensation, qualifying offers. None of that existed with
these guys. There's they're just now on the roster. Azuno
being on the roster actually kind of complicates the roster.

Speaker 2 (06:34):
I thought Brad. It was Brad.

Speaker 3 (06:36):
I think it was Brad and Scott actually both made
this point that the point of an Azuna trade was
to get him off the roster.

Speaker 2 (06:41):
It wasn't necessarily even about the return.

Speaker 3 (06:42):
It was just to get him off the roster so
you could clear things up for Baldwin and Murphy.

Speaker 2 (06:47):
And so they didn't do that.

Speaker 3 (06:48):
So now, yeah, I mean, it was just just it
was just a disappointing day after a disappointing season, after
a disappointing offseason. Like yeah, I mean, if you're somebody
who's watching the team, watching what's go down and nothing happens,
and you're like, what the hell, then I get it.

Speaker 2 (07:03):
I don't blame you. That's kind of where we were too.

Speaker 3 (07:05):
And that's you know again, I thought the tone that
Brad and Scott had for that show, which was pretty frustrated,
which I thought was fair, was kind of the perfect tone.
So make sure you go back and listen to that show.

Speaker 1 (07:18):
And I think that that theory makes sense. You know,
when I talk, you want to talk about they don't
want dead money on the books. They want to avoid
that as much as possible. Well, look back at some
of the recent moves that Alexanthopolis has made. And I
want to set make this very clear. I think Alex
and Thoptless has clearly done much more good than bad
when it comes to being the Braves general manager. It's

(07:40):
just unfortunately right now, some of his more significant misses
have happened a lot more recently than some of his
biggest hits. But the thing that I'm getting at is
that we want to talk about dead money being on
the books. Look at all the money maneuvering that we
did for Jared Kilnick, that's dead money. You want to
look at what the Jerkson profile signing that potentially is
going to be dead money. The fact that we've had
the other teams pay for much of Rafia Montaro's salary,

(08:03):
Eric Feede's salary, things such as that. That is what
I think also is the biggest takeaway for me. It's
not just a disappointment Stephen about what occurred at the
trade deadline, but when you add up some of the
more minor details, they start to make more sense, start
to make more sense in a not so great way.
The point that I'm getting at is is that if

(08:25):
there's one question that I have following the trade deadline,
is this what is the true level of resourcefulness that
this Braves team has to be able to get back
to where they need to get to add the needed
pieces to this core to truly get back to contention.
I think that possibility is certainly out there. They can
be a contender again, but my confidence in them having

(08:46):
the true resourcefulness to do that it's waning a bit.
It's not as high as it once was.

Speaker 3 (08:54):
And listen, if they're already having money troubles, if that
is the reason that we saw the off season with
you that we saw, or we saw the trade deadline
that we saw the last two months of this season
are not gonna help, because I mean, if you watch
the game tonight, now, listen, it was raining school starting back.
There's a lot of reasons why attendance wasn't great tonight,

(09:17):
but let's be honest, the team is terrible. The team
is like sixteen games back. There are season's over that
that park is gonna be empty a lot of the
time because you know, obviously school's back. When football starts back,
you know, there's just gonna be more interesting stuff to do.
Then go to a Braves game. Now, the Braves will
still draw. Okay, there's still you know, there's still kind

(09:38):
of the biggest thing in the South in terms of baseball.
But when football starts, school really gets going, attendance is
gonna be rough the last two months. And if they
were already having money troubles, which we don't know that,
but we're all kind of speculating that over what we've
seen the last twelve months, then you know, it's not
gonna help. And so i'll you know, there's gonna be

(10:00):
a sharp eye specifically from this podcast about what the
money situation looks like when we get to the next
offseason and what payroll looks like coming in going into
next year, because the indicators of the last twelve months
would show that they're dialing back, that they're rolling back payroll.
That's not good news for a team that has so

(10:21):
much long term money already locked in. That would scream
they have zero, you know, flexibility to do anything to
this roster in the off season. It's still too early
to know that, but there will be a sharp eye
from this podcast on what's going on there because, like
you just said, the indicators have not been pointing.

Speaker 2 (10:40):
To a you know, a great sign.

Speaker 1 (10:43):
And of course, while there will be a sharp eye
on what potentially occurs with payroll and what happens, you know,
obviously in terms of adding to the team, also a
hopeful eye, a watchful eye on see what's going on
with some of the young talent on this team, especially
when you hope for more performances like we got from
Herson and Waldrop on Sunday. But while Sunday was a
good day for the Braves on the field, off the field,

(11:05):
today was pretty significant as well, with plenty of updates
When it comes to some notable Braves who were currently
away from the Diamond, we'll have more on that in
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Speaker 1 (12:13):
Go for it, so, of course, Stephen, There plenty of
braves here recently, unfortunately have experienced the injury bug, some
more long term than others. But today, as Brian Snicker
met with the media, there were some clear updates that
he wanted to give, some good, some not so good,

(12:34):
what have you. But the thing is is that we've
got more clarity now when it comes to several braves.
So let's start with the position players and obviously the
most notable one, which of course is Ronald Dcudio Junior.
And the good news is that may be the most
that may be the most positive update. It was revealed
today that or Ronald d'cooney Jr. Is basically day to
day until he's paying free. Now when I hear that,

(12:55):
I'm grateful. I'm thankful that that is where we are
wound up being minor injury. With that being said, I
don't want him to return until we get to the
point of knowing that he's one hundred percent healthy and
then take another two weeks after that and then he
can return. I wanted him to come back this year.
I think that helps out, especially when it comes to
the on the field product this year. It's good news

(13:16):
to see that he possibly could be returning sooner rather
than later, but the Rays also have every reason to
be as cautious as possible.

Speaker 3 (13:25):
Yeah, that was, you know, one of the bigger takele.
Alex did his post trade deadline press conference and obviously
there was nothing to talk about because they didn't do
anything on trade deadline, So you know, the bigger updates
where somebody asked him about Acuna and he said, because
they asked about Acunya being shut down for the rest
of the year. And listen, everybody's concerned is that even

(13:47):
though it's a calf injury and it's relatively minor. Anybody
that followed basketball or the NBA has seen where these
calf injuries can turn into something substantially more serious, and
so that's the top of everybody's mind, is why even
risk it in a lost season. And Alex's answer to
that was pretty simple. He's like, I listen, if he's healthy,
if he's one hundred percent healthy and the doctors have

(14:08):
cleared him, I'm not just gonna sit him for two
months just because you know, people are concerned that other
calf injuries from other players and other sports have led
to something more serious. That doesn't make any sense. And
I understand what he's saying. I would just I would
really hope that. I would really hope the caution is abundant.

(14:32):
I would That's that's where I would be. I just hope,
for the sake of Ronald, for the sake of twenty
twenty six, that the caution they use, because listen, the
guy said two days before he got hurt that his
his calf achilles area was hurting, and they still let
him play. And that's the kind of stuff that worries
me with this team, is that we've seen some weird

(14:54):
stuff where like they make some odd decisions about players,
and I don't even want to get into a realm.
I don't want to get into a universe where that's
even possible with Ronald.

Speaker 2 (15:07):
So I understand what Alex is saying that if he's healthy,
if the doctors is clear, then he wants to play.
They're going to let him play.

Speaker 3 (15:13):
Just I really hope that the caution is abundant when
it comes to him and they I really hope they
keep the main focus on twenty twenty six. I know
they want to sell tickets. I know they want people
in the crowd. I know they want people watching in
twenty twenty five. And I know you can't just sit

(15:34):
a healthy player, but just let's be smart about this.

Speaker 1 (15:40):
Absolutely, and intelligence needs to be what rains free and
I don't think that means you leave the final call
to the coaching staff. Again. It was a decision tree
breakdown from the front office down to the coaching staff
and the training staff when Ronald was originally allowed to play.
Let's not let that happen again. Let's make sure that
you clear he wants to play. Listen, I am four.

(16:01):
If the man wants to play, let him play. I
think that he's got that type of what do you say,
he has that type of value to where you respect
him enough to let him play with the status that
he has within the Braves organization. But with that being said,
his future is your future. The single biggest factor in
the Braves fortunes moving forward is the health of Ronald

(16:22):
dccuna junior, and so they need to make sure that
that is priority when it comes to him coming back.
While we potentially could see Ronald back sooner rather than later,
it doesn't seem like that's the case when it comes
to Austin Riley. Unfortunately. Austin Riley, of course, yesterday, just
a mere matter of days after coming off the IL
due to an abdominal injury, he's back on the IO

(16:43):
once again with an abdominal injury, possibly aggravating in that
chase down, which was an awesome play with him in
early Dela Cruz no timetable for his return. Nacho Avarez
already called up. I'm fine with it, Steven. What I
mean of that is this give Riley the ability to
be able to heal fully just like a Cooney junior.
I'm fine with Riley taking time to get back to healing.

(17:06):
The one thing though that also will say Austin Riley
right now, there's much more concern with him and him
going forward than I thought there would be even a
year ago. I certainly hope that he gets back to
being healthy as soon as possible, and it would be
great to see him healthy and finishing the year strong.

Speaker 2 (17:27):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (17:27):
I mean, there's two things with Austin, and we don't
want to confuse them. The first is the injury, and
it's pretty much the same injury had that he just
came off the IL with, which usually means the second
one is going to take much longer. They're going to
give him an extended runway, which they should, because any
sort of core muscle injury for baseball players can be significant,

(17:52):
and even if it's not significant now, if you don't
give it the proper rest, it could become more significant.
You could tear an oblique for instance. So my guess
is now that he's reaggubated the exact same injury for
a second time and is on the IL almost immediately
after coming off the IL for the same injury, we're
not gonna see. We're probably not gonna see Austin for

(18:12):
a while. Probably two or three weeks, maybe four weeks may.
I mean, it's not guaranteed that he'll be back. I
would be surprised if he didn't come back at all
this season. But they're gonna give him a lot of time.
So that's the first thing is the injury.

Speaker 2 (18:25):
You gotta get him healthy.

Speaker 3 (18:27):
And then outside and above that is the performance of
Austin Riley and listen, this has been a bad year
for him.

Speaker 2 (18:33):
That's just that's just yeah.

Speaker 3 (18:35):
I mean, a one oh four WRC plus from a
guy that's supposed to sit in the middle of your
order and be a massive run producer is a pretty
big failure, to be quite honest. And I know he's
dealt with some injuries, but like even when he's been healthy,
he has not been the same guy. The walk rate
has gone way down, the strikeout rate has gone way up,
the power has gone down. You look at his slugging

(18:56):
percentage the last four years. It is trending in a
really scary direction for a guy who's built on Let's
be honest, Austin Rally's built on power, Like his entire
profile is built on power. He is not a big
on base guy. He's never gonna be like, I'm gonna
have all my value being defense and base running kind
of guy. Like his value is hit the ball over
the fence and doubles and homers and slug you know,

(19:20):
a five hundred slugging percentage in the middle of your order.
That's what they The whole reason they gave him that
contract was to be a five hundred slug guy in
the middle of their order, like if you wanna, if
you want to reduce it down to one number, that's it.
They wanted him to be a five hundred slug guy
in the middle of their order, and he has not
been that. And it's it's concerning because you know, Riley's

(19:42):
deal and Brad and Scott talked about this last night.
Riley's deal is the one that, outside of maybe Strider,
has the most risk just because of how long it is.
You know, he's got like eight more years left on
this deal at twenty two million dollars a year.

Speaker 2 (19:58):
Like him being him not being what you hoped he would.

Speaker 3 (20:01):
Be is is a big deal for Atlanta and so
and if you look at his numbers since he signed
that extension in twenty in July of twenty two, they
are a market drop from what he was before he
signed the extension, and that is concerning, and so yes,
like I think it's fair to say the number one

(20:21):
reason the Braves were as bad as they were before
all the pitching injuries was their offense. And I think
the number one I think, I don't know if the
number one reason, but one of the main reasons the
offense struggled the way it has for so much of
the years is mainly because Riley and Ozuna just were
not the same hitters that we expected them to be.
Michael Harris played a role in that, Ozzie played a

(20:41):
role in that. Profar getting busted with PDS and leftfield
being a zero obviously played a big role in that.
But Riley and Ozuna not being the hitters that the
Braves expected them to be this year is a big part.

Speaker 2 (20:51):
Of why they are where they are right now.

Speaker 3 (20:53):
And Azuna's deal is up, and Riley's has got eight
more years at a lot of money, so this is
a big deal and they're gonna you know, twenty twenty
six is going to be a massive, massive year for
Austin Riley.

Speaker 1 (21:06):
Absolutely, going from three straight top seven MVP finishes in
twenty twenty one, twenty twenty two, and twenty twenty three
to where you know you have just a slightly above
average production at the plate. Along with the fact and
I know that the injuries have been more freak or
one off injuries than they are just you know, connected
to one another. But you're also coming through now two

(21:28):
games where Riley may miss forty plus games or two
years in which Riley may miss forty plus games each year. Again,
multiple reasons to be concerned. There very much is the
possibility that Austin Riley will bounce back. But when I
say that ronald' Counya Junior is the biggest factor in
the Braves becoming a true contender once again, the biggest,
biggest swing factor to the beginning there as soon as

(21:51):
possible is Austin Riley regaining his form as well. Steven
also want to talk about the fact that there were
some notable updates when it came to the pitching side
of things. Chris Sale has been throwing bullpens. He could
be back sooner rather than later. He was also updated
that Renaldo Lopez actually through played catch as well. There

(22:12):
could be a possibility he could be back. I don't
necessarily know if that's the case. But when it comes
to those veteran starters who likely will be back at
some point this year, potentially, it's good to hear that
both Sale and Lopez are both at least going through
some baseball activities. Be interesting to see what third development
will be as we move forward to the rest of
the season.

Speaker 3 (22:32):
Yeah, I put these in different camps. Sale I was
never really I mean, he broke a rib. It's not
like an arm injury where you're like, once the long
term prognosis, he just broke a rib. I mean, once
the bone heels and you know, the pain goes away,
he's fine. So the fact that he's progressing is good.
You know, I'm sure he wants to get back out
there before the season's over. I'm sure to give the
Braves some clarity going into twenty twenty six to see

(22:54):
him pitch.

Speaker 2 (22:55):
So him, I'm not really worried about him.

Speaker 3 (22:56):
Lopez I'm worried about because you know, obviously it was
a shoulder. He was shut down for like three or
four months. Still not back to pitching. I think he's
just throwing. I think he's just playing catch at this point.
Was the update today.

Speaker 2 (23:11):
But you know, the Braves owe him a decent chunk
of change over the next few years.

Speaker 3 (23:17):
And again we've already talked about they don't have the
largest payroll in the world, and it's it's been getting smaller,
and you know, they really can't afford to have low
I think Lopez makes fourteen or fifteen million dollars next year,
Like they need him to be productive, and a productive
member of the rotation would be great. But even it's
just a productive member of the bullpen, just productive, just

(23:40):
helping the team win games.

Speaker 2 (23:42):
And so obviously anytime you.

Speaker 3 (23:43):
See a shoulder, you worry about it. We'll see how
he can, you know, we'll see. I don't know if
he's actually gonna make it all the way back this year.
If he's not even throwing bullpens yet, he's been out
for so long, I don't I would be surprised, I
guess at this point if he actually pitched in twenty
twenty five. But maybe we'll see how. We'll see that
they do. But that's a big storyline for twenty twenty

(24:03):
six as well, because you know, the Braves they renegotiate
his contract in the off season to free up some
money and add in an additional year on top of it,
so again they owe him a chunk of change and
shoulder injuries are terrifying, So that's a big storyline in
the off season.

Speaker 1 (24:21):
Absolutely, But of course when it comes to pitching, names
Sell hopefully back this year or an auto low PiZZ
we'll see what happens. But with as much as is
owed to those two, you need to get production from
cheaper sources. And then the Braves Thopa they had that
as well in Spencer swelling Bock and Grant Holmes. Now
Spencer swelling Bock of course coming off the slight elbow fracture,

(24:43):
you know, it seems like that there's a good chance
that we've seen the last of Spencer Swelling Boch this
year because there's not really any activity from him. And
then of course when it comes to Grant Homes, there
also is the update that he actually is opting to
rehab instead of undergoing surgery right now, some interesting developments,
but and unfortunately not only were not going to see
either one the deal blackly for the rest of this season,

(25:04):
it again could be quite a while before we see
homes on the mountain for the Braves again.

Speaker 3 (25:10):
Yeah, I mean, let's be honest, this rarely ever works
where a guy avoids surgery. It's usually just a way
to prolong what is it eventually a surgery. The logic
behind it is if he had the surgery right now,
he would miss all of twenty twenty six and be
ready for twenty twenty seven. If he tries to rehabit
for a couple of months and then has to have

(25:32):
the surgery, he would be out for all of.

Speaker 2 (25:34):
Twenty twenty six and be ready for twenty twenty seven.

Speaker 3 (25:36):
So like where it is in the calendar, it does
make some sense to at least try it. It's not
going to add any more significant, you know, miss time
to his schedule. He would miss all of twenty twenty
six and be ready for twenty twenty seven. Either way,
my guess is just because of how it normally goes
with any other picture you hear about this when they

(25:58):
try to rehabit, just you know, in a couple of months,
it'll be confirmed that it's still not where it needs
to be and he'll have the surgery and miss all
of twenty twenty six.

Speaker 2 (26:08):
I don't say that to be pessimistic. I've just we
this happens. You know.

Speaker 3 (26:12):
Obviously, arm injuries like this happen all over baseball all
the time, and there's been a number of situations where
guys try this and it just usually doesn't work. So
maybe Grant will be the exception with the Braves injury. Look,
I wouldn't put much money on that. I would guess
that in a couple of months he'll get re examined again.
They'll be like, listen, you know, the best thing you

(26:35):
can do is probably just go and have the surgery
and miss twenty six and be back for twenty seven
until I hear otherwise. That's kind of the mindset I'm
gonna go with with Grant. As far as Grant Homes goes,
I don't think if you're the Braves, you can count
on him for anything next year, and if you do
get something, then you.

Speaker 2 (26:49):
Know it's it's just a bonus. So it was notable
that he's gonna try it. We'll see if it works.

Speaker 1 (26:57):
So, of course, with all these injuries that are going on,
especially on the pitching side, it's good to hear some
positive updates, but it's unfortunate to hear that there is
some concern on Grant Holmes potentially not being available next year,
spinder Swallabat being out.

Speaker 2 (27:09):
For this year.

Speaker 1 (27:10):
So if you're going to lose the ability to see
some of your more promising potential rotation pieces in the
present of the future, it's always a good thing to
see some good production from potential future parts of your rotation.
We'll discuss that, plus some important updates when it comes
to the National League Rookie of the Year race here
in just a moment after another word from our partners.

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Speaker 1 (28:33):
So, of course, Steven again we talk about Spencer Swollenbach
likely being out for the rest of this year, Grant
Holmes probably being out through the rest of next year.
Three have doesn't go well. Ag Smith Shower already is
on the shelf for next year as well. So when
you mentioned all those names that you felt could play
big roles in the brace rotation for this year and
beyond not being available, you hope that maybe the Braves

(28:54):
young depth when it comes to their pictures could step up,
and that, thankfully is what we have the ability to
talk about. Joey Wentz what in those plans, But he
has looked pretty good. I don't mean that that means
he's going to be a part of the Braves feature.
It at the very least means that he makes it
worth the conversation. Hurst and Waldrop made a great impression
yesterday in his first twenty twenty five appearance for the Braves,

(29:16):
potentially earning him a longer look in the Majors. And
then you've got so many names down in the miners.
Nidia Frontez has bounced back after his struggles in the Majors. Jr.
Richie Owen Murphy's back, to name a few. The Braves
pitching deck. We talked about it a few weeks ago.
If there's one thing to look forward to, keeping up
with the miners and several of the Braves more intriguing
arms stepping up and being productive, that could be a

(29:39):
great development this year. I think I think we're off
to a good start from that perspective.

Speaker 3 (29:46):
Yeah, I mean That's the one good thing about next
year is that we finally have We're finally gonna have
a Triple A team full of like top prospect level
pitchers versus the last couple of years where you've just
had a bunch of like Darius Vines, Alan Winan's no
offense to Bryce Elder, but Bryce Elder type guys who

(30:08):
are much more just like Quad A seventh eighth kind
of organizational filler arms. You're actually gonna have some top prospects,
like some guys with real upside in your Triple A
rotation next year that you can call on to help
out when inevitably guys get hurt and listen with the
Braves with a Braves rotation, with Sale, with Lopez, with Strider.

(30:32):
I mean, there is some inherent injury risk already built
into the Brad's rotation. There just is add on top
of the fact that it doesn't matter who they have
in the rotation. They've had a hard time keeping them
healthy all season for the last four years. So who
you have in Triple A in that rotation matters quite
a bit, especially matters for the Braves, And like you
just said, they've got some They've got some top prospects,

(30:56):
some high upside, some high draft picks, like they got
real down there for next year, and a lot of
those guys have come back from injury and throwing well. So,
you know, the Braves have spent so much draft capital
the last seven eight years on pitching and we really
haven't seen it come through the Miners yet. A lot
of it got hurt early on. I know, Schwellenbach came

(31:17):
through and Schreider came through, but other than those two guys,
we haven't really seen it like the waves come and
starting next year, we're actually going to see that where
like there are waves of really good pitching prospects in
the miners and the upper Miners ready to help in
Atlanta at a moment's notice, and so that will help
next year. That will be an improvement on where they've
been the last couple of years.

Speaker 1 (31:40):
Absolutely, And you want to talk about arms that are
you know, it's great to see and are kind of
taking the league by storm. You know, one of those
this year that has truly stepped up was a member
of the team that the Braves are facing right now,
the Milwaukee Brewers, and that of course is Jacob Mazerowski.
Who unfortunately has run into a bit of an injury snag.
I believe he'll be out to at least mid August,

(32:00):
but there was you know, real you know hype behind
him and his performance so far this year being something
that could make him the favorite for the Rookie of
the Year race in the National League. Now think in
the America League gets pretty much you know that that
whole discussions to bed Nick Kurtz obviously is going to
be the AL Rookie of the Year. But in the
National League, the Braves obviously, this probably is the one

(32:22):
storyline that I think most people, if they're not already
tuned into it, they're going to be as time goes on.
Drake Baldwin is and clearly deserves to be the favorite
in the National League Rookie of the race right now,
And of course there's a double meaning there for the Braves,
and only would it be great to see him win
Rookie of the Year, but if he does, there's that
extra draft pick in what could be a very good

(32:43):
twenty twenty six draft, where the Braves already are likely
going to have a high pick. But that doesn't mean
with this injury to the Miz that this race is
all but wrapped up because the Brewers themselves have a
few guys who could play a part in that. Isaac Collins,
just one NL Rookie of the Month. This phrased by
no means is over. Baldwin has stayed pretty consistent. But

(33:04):
the thing is is that I feel like now is
really the time for Baldwin to step on the gas.
I give the Braves credit. They're playing nearly every day.
They're putting Hi in the mod of the order, They're
giving him every opportunity. Now's the time for Drake Baldwin
to step up, and if he can, that'll be another
wonderful development for this year and beyond.

Speaker 3 (33:23):
Obviously, Yeah, the thing you hope doesn't happen is that
he starts getting knocked because the team isn't very good
and the Brewers have some guys that are contributing to
a team that's going to the playoffs. Mate when the division.
You know, it's not Drake Baldwin's fault that the team sucks.

(33:43):
He's done everything you can expect of him. It is
a very good sign that Snick came out the other
day and said Baldwin's gonna play most days. I think
that's what everybody's been looking for. And listen, now it's
on Drake to go out and and you know, wrap
this reward up. He probably needs another, like really hot
streak to solidify it. I mean, he's the favorite right now,

(34:05):
especially like you said, with miss Rosky going out for Milwaukee, he.

Speaker 2 (34:09):
Was kind of the guy that.

Speaker 3 (34:11):
I don't want to say it was chasing Drake, but
I think had the best chance outside of him. You
kind of have to have a little buzz about your
name for Rookie of the year, you know, like you
just said, Isaac Collins just one rookie of the month.
But listen, he's a twenty eight year old outfielder from
Milwaukee that most people have never heard of before. I
don't know if he's going to be a serious contender
against Drake Baldwin, but maybe you know, you don't want

(34:32):
to leave it to chance. It would be lovely to
watch Drake Balwin go on a crazy streak here the
last you know, two months and just put this thing
on ice. Getting an extra draft pick, not just an
extra draft pick, but a pretty high draft pick, which
adds to your bonus pool, which is a massive part
of all of this MLB draft is very different than
other drafts. How much money you have in that bonus

(34:53):
pool is almost as important as the number of picks
you have, so you get more money. I looked at it.
I was looking at tankethon today. Listen, that's where we
are in the Brave season. We're kind of looking at tankethon.
The Braves I think have the second or third best
odds for the number one overall pick, So I mean
it could be a very significant draft for them next July.

(35:15):
And if Drake wins the Rookie of the Year, they'll
have another pick and that much more money to spend.

Speaker 2 (35:21):
And so this is a big deal. This is not
just vanity. This is not just.

Speaker 3 (35:24):
Wanting the Brave to win a Rookie of the Year.
It's partly that, but there is real world, actual on
the field value to Drake winning this award that can
help the Braves in the future.

Speaker 1 (35:36):
Absolutely, And the more he plays, you know, the more
he plays will what does it mean for a potential
feature of him and Sean Murphy together. There are several
frectors that can go into that. So that's why we
I know that it seems like that we talk about
this rookie of the year where you erase and Drake
Baldwin more often than many had anticipated we were this
time of year, but right now it's the major storyline,

(35:57):
a big it's a big deal. Yeah, that's probably the
positive yet also important storyline for the remainder of this
season for the Braves is the performance of Drake Baldwin.
I'm not in any way, shape or form meaning that
more pressure should be put on the kid. He's done
excellent and the pressure that he's already faced. But if
he can get the job done, that not only could

(36:17):
mean a lot for him, but also the team as well.
So it'll be quite interesting to see, certainly something we're
following as time goes on. Steven, do you have any
more for us as a wrap up this edition of
The Hammer Territory Podcast?

Speaker 2 (36:29):
No, just what we I want to say. I really,
we really appreciate the support.

Speaker 3 (36:34):
It's obviously been a disappointing year, and we're gonna cover
it all the way through the end no matter what happens.
We're gonna get it all the way to the end season.
Then we're gonna cover the off season, and then it's
on to twenty twenty six. But the support that you
guys have showed the show has really maintained itself through
the entire year. We're just very very appreciative of that,
and we try to pay that back by being consistent,

(36:56):
you know, consistently putting out content that is not going
to We are still gonna put out four shows a week.

Speaker 2 (37:02):
We're gonna have stuff to talk about. We have the
Rookie of the Year race.

Speaker 3 (37:06):
There are a lot of guys that are playing on
the team right now that are big storylines for twenty
twenty six, So how they finished the year, Michael Harris, Ozzy,
you know, Jerks and Profar. There's a lot of storylines
that affect next year that we're gonna constantly cover. So
just a big shout out to you guys for the support,
and the content will be here just.

Speaker 1 (37:25):
Like normal, absolutely, and of course we can't thank you
enough also for you know, not just you know in
terms of listening, but also watching you know, YouTube, you know, Spotify, Apple,
wherever we are.

Speaker 2 (37:37):
You have been.

Speaker 1 (37:37):
Supportive every step of the way. Can't thank you enough
and certainly look forward to continuing that content, even if
on the field it may not be the best of results.
You're always gonna get consistent results here on the Hammer
Territory podcast, Sean Covidant Stat's sac on x slash Twitter,
Steven Toberts at be Underscore Outliers, part of the Foul
Territory family of podcasts. Can't thank you enough for joining us.

(37:59):
We'll talk to you again soon. Here am a territory
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