Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman made his spring debut Friday, going 0-for-2 in the team’s 4-0 win over the Twins.
“I felt good,” Freeman said. “I swung at strikes, got in hitter’s counts and hit the ball where it’s pitched. All in all, it was a nice day.”
Freeman grounded out to first and third in his at-bats. He was particularly satisfied with the first at-bat, when he said the ball left his bat at around 107 mph.
Freeman was late reporting to camp after his wife, Chelsea, announced the birth of their third son Feb. 21. He rejoined the team earlier this week for workouts. He’ll be ready for opening day April 1 in Philadelphia.
“That was a good first day for Freddie,” manager Brian Snitker said, mentioning how Freeman generated two hard-hit balls.
Notes from Friday:
- Kyle Wright was stellar in his second outing. The righty allowed one hit and struck out two across three scoreless innings. Wright said he used more of his two-seamer and felt his change-up was sharp.
“He looked great,” Freeman said. “A couple of those pitches, I think they were change-ups at 88 (mph), and they were just taking them. He was front-dooring some sliders. He looked great. That was the Kyle we saw at the end of last season.”
Wright and Bryse Wilson are competing for a potential rotation spot. If Mike Soroka begins the season on the injured list while working his way back from an Achilles tear, one of those righties will take the spot.
- Freeman said he’s disappointed that the National League won’t use the designated hitter this season. He noted it’s unfortunate that pitchers will have to resume hitting after not doing so for a year.
“They’re not good hitters anyway,” Freeman said. “It’s going to make it even worse. At least Folty (former Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz) is in the American League now, so we don’t have to watch that anymore.”
- Freeman reiterated he’ll likely begin the season hitting third. He excelled in the No. 2 spot last season, but with the pitcher hitting ninth, there will be fewer RBI opportunities in that spot than a year ago. So Freeman appears ticketed to return to his old No. 3 slot, at least to start things off.
- Outfield prospect Drew Waters doubled home two runs in the Braves’ four-run sixth inning. Waters, 22, is positioned to become the Braves’ No. 1 prospect when outfielder Cristian Pache and starter Ian Anderson graduate later this season. His own MLB debut isn’t too far away.
“He’s maturing, he’s growing up,” Snitker said. “I think, talking to him, he took advantage of the alternate site last year. He’s another one that it’s a shame we didn’t have a minor-league season. These young guys need to continue to play. He advanced to Triple-A at a young age the year before, and had the whole season jerked out from under him. I think it’ll be good for him to get back on the pace of playing again and continuing to improve.”
- Nate Jones, who’s competing for a bullpen spot, tossed his second perfect inning of the spring. Jones, 35, needs a successful spring to leapfrog others for a relief role. So far, so good.
- Will Smith also pitched his second perfect inning of spring, which included two strikeouts. Smith was playing catch up all last season after missing summer camp and the start of the season with COVID-19, so he’s been happy to prepare on a normal schedule.
- Max Fried was set to start Friday, but he was potentially exposed to COVID-19 and is sidelined for a few days. The Braves said they aren’t concerned at this time.
“There’s nothing really to report,” Snitker said. “Just go through the protocols. It’s a day-to-day thing. I don’t foresee this being a really long thing. We’re just taking this a day at a time.”
- Charlie Morton makes his first start Saturday against the Rays, his former team. He’s opposing former teammate and Tampa Bay ace Tyler Glasnow.
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