Braves notes: Spencer Strider to return to mound, plus camp cuts and tidbits on prospects

This will be Strider’s first action in a game since April 5 of last year, when he faced the Diamondbacks in his final start before undergoing the internal brace procedure. Since then, he’s rehabbed, carefully going through all of the steps in the process.

His first start in a game that counts might come in late April, if you do the math. Usually, starting pitchers make five or six starts as they build up throughout spring training. With Strider set to make his first on March 17, it seems reasonable to assume he would return before May, barring any setbacks.

In the first week of October, Strider began throwing from 60 feet on flat ground. He then threw his first bullpen session in January. He continued building up and recently completed a live batting practice session – or, in simple terms, facing hitters in a simulated environment.

On Monday, he will toe the rubber and face batters in a live game situation for the first time in11 and a half months.

Guanipa and Gil show work ethic

Terry Pendleton, the iconic former Brave who won MVP in 1991, is now a roving instructor who floats around the minor-league levels. It gives him an opportunity to get to know the players and share some knowledge.

He was also the manager for the Braves prospects in Sunday’s Spring Breakout Game – which pits some of the top prospects from two organizations against one another. The Tigers prospects traveled to North Port for Sunday’s showcase.

Naturally, Pendleton had a lot to say about Luis Guanipa and John Gil, who might’ve been the two most intriguing position-player prospects on the Braves’ side on Sunday. Pendleton has gotten to be around them a bit.

“Both of them are workaholics. Both of those kids there,” Pendleton said. “Every day you’re gonna get just one level out of them. Which helps you to understand who they are, because they’ll show up every day, you won’t know if they’re mad, happy, sad. They’ll be (the same) every single day. That’s part of the process. Because most of the kids, you’ll see a lot of kids with a lot of talent, but they don’t get there because of (the mental side). These two right here are (the same) every day. In fact, you wonder, ‘Are they into this?’ But they truly are. They keep that level-headed (attitude), and it helps them to get better, to learn more and become a better player.”

A season ago, Gil, a shortstop, made it to Low-A Augusta, where he hit .204 with a .552 OPS over 39 games. At that same level, Guanipa, who ended last season in Augusta, hit .184 with a .450 OPS.

The 18-year-old Gil is Atlanta’s No. 14 prospect on MLB Pipeline’s list. Guanipa, who is 19, is No. 15. But don’t fret about their Augusta numbers just yet.

Pendleton provided some interesting context on that.

“I think you’ll see them progress,” he said. “They’re young. Both of them are young puppies. But you’ll see the progress in them each year. We sent them both to Augusta last year, which is unfair in a sense because we need that other level that they’ve taken away from baseball. So it’s kind of unfair to these young kids because they come down in the (rookie-level Florida Complex League) and they just pound on the pitching, they do well. And then you need that other level to send them to before you try to send them to Low A or whatever. We didn’t have that, so we had to send them (to Augusta) and they had some growing pains. But we knew what we were sending them there. We knew it was gonna be kids that weren’t gonna get crushed by this. Because some kids lose confidence, and they’re done. You have to be real sensitive with certain kids – you can’t send them there knowing if they don’t succeed, they’re done.

“These kids will fight you until they got nothing left, and we knew that. And we knew they would bounce back if they had success or didn’t have success. But potentially, if they continue to grow the way they have, I think you guys will see them in the big leagues someday, being totally honest about you.”

What Pendleton is talking about is when MLB cut down the minor leagues in 2020. The Danville Braves – an advanced rookie affiliate of Atlanta – was eliminated. If you’re promoting a player from the Florida Complex League, Danville would’ve been a smaller step up than Low-A Augusta.

Guanipa and Gil, both part of the Braves’ 2023 international class, are happy to be on the journey together. They’re complimentary of one another.

Asked how he keeps a level head at such a young age, Guanipa referenced talking with his dad, who always has a common message: “Play with love and the rest will come.”

Camp cuts

The Braves on Sunday reassigned right-hander Buck Farmer, left-hander Jake Diekman, catcher Curt Casali and outfielder Jake Marisnick to minor-league camp. Farmer and Diekman were two of the non-roster invitees competing for bullpen spots.

This means Angel Perdomo, Enyel De Los Santos, Hector Neris, Daysbel Hernández and AJ Smith-Shawver are still in the mix for the Opening Day roster. The Braves have been aggressive in cutting guys from camp as they look to trim the roster by the time they leave for Phoenix on March 23. They haven’t kept anyone around longer than necessary.

The bullpen race is heading toward the finish line.

JR Ritchie is a ‘strike-thrower’

JR Ritchie, Atlanta’s No. 8 prospect, started Sunday’s game. The righty, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023 and made it back to pitch last season, has a healthy slate as he enters this season.

Ritchie allowed two runs on five hits over three innings. He struck out two and didn’t walk anyone.

Before the game, Pendleton raved about Ritchie.

“Think of a young kid. First of all, they’re thinking about what they’re attempting to do, ‘How am I gonna get a guy out?’ And most of them end up forgetting where the strike zone is. He has not been that other than right before he got hurt,” Pendleton said. “From day one, he walked in here after we drafted him – I saw his first start after we drafted him – and he walked right in throwing strikes. And he’s done that. When he’s been healthy, he’s walked right in throwing strikes. Seeing that in a young kid is a giant plus. You see young kids come up to the big leagues, their main problem is strike-throwing. Kids in Triple A, they’re there because of strike-throwing. He throws strikes.”

Garrett Baumann and a Pendleton talk

Pendleton will bounce around to different Braves affiliates. One time, he was around right-hander Garrett Baumann, the Braves’ No. 9 prospect.

Baumann was roommates with outfielder Isaiah Drake, who, like Baumann, was drafted in 2023. And during one game, Pendleton noticed Baumann get upset at something Drake did to him in the dugout.

So Pendleton asked Baumann, who is 6-foot-8, a question.

“Hey, why don’t you take that to the mound when you go out there?” Pendleton asked.

“Because you could see what he has to offer,” Pendleton explained while telling this story. “At times, it didn’t look like he was sure of himself or what he had to offer. I said, ‘Hey, we need to see that bulldog on the mound. That’s what we need to see out of you.”

Pendleton said Baumann understood. Pendleton said Baumann is now “a little different of an animal.”

Baumann ran it up to 100 mph, but struggled in Sunday’s game. He allowed two runs on one hit, while walking three, as he only recorded two of the three outs in the inning. But Pendleton re-inserted Baumann in the next inning – you can do this in spring games – and only recorded one out in that frame.

Baumann surrendered four runs and walked five batters.