For his final preseason outing, Braves left-hander Mike Minor forgot about working on the sinker he unsuccessfully tried to develop during the Grapefruit League and focused on pitching as if it were a real game.
It wasn’t — the Braves faced some of the organization’s top minor-league prospects Saturday in Pearl, Miss. — but Minor liked the results. That performance, plus a general indifference to spring-training numbers, has Minor feeling confident about his first start of the season Friday against the Cubs.
Minor threw four scoreless innings in the exhibition game in Mississippi, retiring 11 consecutive batters after allowing hits to the first two batters.
“I took it more of as serious matter,” he said. “I didn’t throw any two-seamers. I went after hitters and tried to set them up, whereas in spring training it was more of throwing pitches and seeing where I’m at and trying to build arm strength.”
It was a turnaround from spring training, when Minor posted a 6.26 ERA in 23 innings. In the last two starts of the Grapefruit League, Minor allowed 10 runs and 16 hits in a total of nine innings. That’s after he was sharp after the All-Star break in 2012, with a 2.16 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and .197 opponents’ batting average in 14 starts.
Minor said experience has taught him not to put too much stock in spring numbers, either good or bad.
“I wasn’t worried about it at all,” he said. “Previous years I’ve had really good numbers in spring training, and then I go out during the season and don’t have really good numbers. I knew that, for me, that doesn’t really matter.”
Minor worked on a sinker during the spring because he wanted a fastball with movement he could use to induce more ground balls when behind in the count.
“I don’t know if I will even throw it this year, but it was something to work on,” Minor said. “Maybe I will throw it later on this season or later on in a game when I need to.”
Simmons steps up: Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons is taking on a new role batting leadoff for the Braves. But he said it's not a "dramatic" or "uncomfortable" change because he did it at lower levels and also because the basic goal remains the same.
“Get on base,” Simmons said.
Simmons, 23, batted eighth in the order for 106 of his 166 at-bats during his debut big-league season in 2012. Overall he hit .289 with a .335 on-base percentage and .751 OPS.
Simmons said he had to be more aggressive hitting in front of the pitcher. Now he’s at the top of the lineup, with Heyward, Justin Upton and Freddie Freeman following.
“With Heyward behind me, I know if they are not going to pitch to me, I don’t have to chase something because he will be able to do the job, too,” Simmons said.
“I don’t have to try to get on second with a swing or get on third,” he said. “I can just get on base, and I’m going to get in with the next pitch because they are going to hit a home run or a ball deeper in the gap.”
Etc.: Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said he would mix-and-match catchers Gerald Laird and Evan Gattis without any set pattern for the time being, other than Laird being used for each of rookie Julio Teheran's starts. Gattis homered in his major league debut Wednesday, and Laird was back in the lineup Thursday with Kris Medlen pitching. … Heyward was presented with his Gold Glove award during a pregame ceremony Thursday. It's the first Gold Glove for Heyward, who was recognized as the best defensive right fielder in the National League in 2012. No other current Brave has won a Gold Glove. Justin Upton won the Fielding Bible Award as the top defensive right fielder in the majors in 2011.
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