Updates on former Braves around baseball:
Jason Heyward, OF
St. Louis Cardinals
Entering Friday’s series opener against the Braves, he was hitting .309 in July. He had a lower batting average (.284) than Nick Markakis (.289), who took his spot in right field in Atlanta. He tied a career high July 18 with five hits when he went 5-for-5 with two RBIs in St. Louis’ 12-2 win against the Mets.
Justin Upton, OF
San Diego Padres
He missed his fourth consecutive start July 23 with a sore left oblique. He was hitting .251 with 15 home runs and 49 RBIs before the injury. His name has also come up in trade talks, with Baltimore and Houston reportedly in pursuit.
Craig Kimbrel, P
San Diego Padres
He brought his ERA down below 3.00 for the first time since it ballooned to 5.19 on April 29. In 28 appearances in May-July entering Friday, he’s 20-for-21 in save opportunities with a 2.28 ERA.
Evan Gattis, DH/OF
Houston Astros
He wasn’t hitting above .200 until May 24, when he got to .201. Since May 25 he’s raised his average to .246 and is hitting .281 (54-for-192) with seven home runs and 29 RBIs. Entering Friday, he led the American League with 56 RBIs since April 26. Joey Bautista was second with 55.
Kris Medlen, P
Kansas City Royals
He debuted for the Royals on July 20 after recovering from his second Tommy John surgery. He allowed four earned runs while striking out four over 3 1/3 innings. His next outing, July 23, went much more smoothly. He allowed no runs over two innings with two walks and a strikeout.
Brian McCann, C
New York Yankees
He was hitting .273 on June 23. But entering Friday, he was hitting .190 with 16 strikeouts in 18 games after June 23. He was still tied for first among AL catchers with 15 home runs and 58 RBIs, though.
Dan Uggla, INF
Washington Nationals
He was 16-for-69 (.232) with two doubles, two triples, a home run, 12 walks and 12 RBIs in his last 81 plate appearances entering Friday. Seven of his 20 hits this season had been extra-base hits.
Michael Bourn, OF
Cleveland Indians
As of Friday he led the AL with seven sacrifice hits and was hitting .333 (6-for-18) in the second half. He was hitting .259 on June 4, but in the 36 games after that he was hitting .179 (17-for-95) with four RBIs and 32 strikeouts. He stole 61 bases twice in his career (2009, 2011) but he had only stolen seven this season and one in July. He’d been caught stealing four times.
Yunel Escobar, INF
Washington Nationals
Entering Friday he was hitting .347 (17-for-49) since July 3 with five doubles, a home run and three RBIs. He also led National League third baseman with a .978 fielding percentage and ranked seventh in the big leagues with a .321 average.
