DEL.ICIO.USBraves’ Prado makes best of playing time
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday, August 24, 2008
St. Louis — Martin Prado has accepted first-base duties like anything else he’s been asked to do by the Braves: Enthusiastically.
“You know what position I like?” he asked a reporter. “Lineup.”
AP
Braves’ Martin Prado dives into the crowd after a foul ball in the fourth inning Sunday in St. Louis. Despite the die-hard effort, Prado did not come up with the ball.
In other words, he wants to play no matter what the position.
He had only played two innings at first base, never started a game there or even taken ground balls there for a few months, when manager Bobby Cox told him 90 minutes before Thursday’s game at New York to be ready to play the position.
Prado was in the lineup at first base that night and for all three games in the weekend series at St. Louis. He had seven hits in the series and went 10-for-21 on the trip, and he played a major role Saturday in the lone Braves win.
“Prado looked sensational,” said Cox, who wasn’t pleased with much else on he trip. “Even the outs he made, he hit the ball crisp. Looks good at first right now. Pretty good athlete to do that, to just go over and start playing it.”
Prado was 3-for-5 with two RBIs Saturday, and his two-out infield hit in the ninth inning had teammates praising the plucky infielder’s typical effort.
That hit loaded the bases with the Braves ahead 5-4, and they added three runs when Kelly Johnson followed with a walk and Jeff Francoeur with a single.
“He’s hitting and doing everything,” Cox said of the 24-year-old Venezuelan, who has a .339 average with 14 extra-base hits and a .391 on-base percentage in 121 at-bats, and has played every infield position and pinch-hit.
He has the second-best average on the team behind Chipper Jones, and Prado is also second to Omar Infante in hitting with runners in scoring position (.387).
Since the All-Star break, Prado’s batted a team-high .397 with nine extra-base hits and 12 RBI, including .449 in 49 at-bats during August.
He missed two months in the early season with a partially torn thumb ligament, an injury that was overshadowed at the time by other injuries to veteran Braves including several pitchers.
It’s since become apparent how much the Braves missed him. He’s making up for lost time now.
“I want to have a lot of at-bats this year, to show them that I can play,” Prado said. “I want to stay with the team. When they build the team for next year, I want to be part of it.”
Prado has a .314 average .365 on-base percentage in 222 at-bats in three major league seasons.
If there’s a knock on him, it’s that he has only two homers in the majors and never hit more than five in a minor league season. He knows most teams look for bigger run production from infielders these days.
Prado is not obsessed with getting a chance to be a starter at one position. Oh, he’d jump at the opportunity. But if it doesn’t come, he’ll keep plugging away as a versatile player doing whatever the team asks.
As long as he’s with the Braves and Cox is manager, it seems likely he’ll be in the lineup plenty, at one position or another.
B. Jones gets a start
Gregor Blanco started in center field and rookie Brandon Jones was in left Sunday, Jones’ first start since being recalled from Class AAA Richmond on Wednesday. He went 1-for-4 with a single and is 3-for-6 since being recalled.
It’s the second stint with the major league club this season for Jones, who hit .278 with five doubles, a homer and four RBIs in 16 games in June.
Although he homered in two of this last three games at Richmond before being recalled, Jones has hit just .260 with eight homers and 52 RBIs in 95 games in the minors this season.
In 2007, he had a combined .295 average with 19 homers and 100 RBIs in 138 games for Richmond and Class AA Mississippi.
Center fielder Mark Kotsay was out of the lineup Sunday after going 2-for-21 with one RBI in his previous six games.
