He’s been a National League All-Star six times and won five Silver Slugger awards. But surprisingly, Brian McCann had never won an NL player of the week award.
The Braves catcher could cross that off the list Monday, when he and Cincinnati Reds pitcher Homer Bailey were named NL co-players of the week.
McCann led the majors with a .600 average and 15 hits during the week, and led the NL with an .880 slugging percentage. Bailey threw the first no-hitter in the majors this season.
For McCann, the week was part of a torrid stretch in which he batted .512 with nine extra-base hits (three homers) and 11 RBIs over 11 games before Monday, raising his average 75 points. He was 19-for-32 (.594) with eight extra-base hits during an eight-game hitting streak before the series opener against the Marlins.
The 29-year-old catcher missed the first month of the season completing rehabilitation from shoulder surgery for a torn labrum that hindered him in a career-worst 2012 season.
“Last year was a battle,” said McCann, who played through the injury while recording career lows in average (.230), on-base percentage (.300) and slugging percentage (.399). “I mean, everything I tried to do to be successful just didn’t work. I knew my best baseball is ahead of me. I knew I had this in me. Now I just want to keep going.”
In the final year of his contract, McCann has silenced skeptics, showing he can hit like before, now that his shoulder is healthy.
He went 9-for-12 during the weekend series at Philadelphia and entered Monday with a .304 average, 10 homers, 28 RBIs, a .386 OBP and .540 slugging percentage in 48 games. He hasn’t finished with a higher average or OPS (.926) since 2006, when he hit .333 with a .961 OPS in his first full season.
“I feel good,” McCann said. “I’ve felt really good basically all year. I mean, I had a two-week period where I didn’t feel good, but when I first got (off the DL) I felt great. And the last week or so, I’ve been feeling really good at the dish.”
He came off the DL May 6 and hit .281 with six homers in his first 16 games, then struggled with a .180 average and one homer in 61 at-bats over his next 21 games.
He had a three-hit game with a grand slam June 23 at Milwaukee, but said it was a June 29 groundout against Arizona’s Ian Kennedy that really helped get him going.
“After I rolled over on 2-0 changeup against Ian Kennedy in my first at-bat,” he said, “that was kind of like my sign that I was using too much of my body. And I said I don’t care what happens the rest of the day, I’m just going to use my hands.”
He got two hits that day, the start of the eight-game hitting streak.
“Now I’m just trying to work counts, get pitches to hit and I’m barreling it,” he said.
Beachy vs. Jurrjens at Gwinnett: When Brandon Beachy resumes his minor league rehab stint with a start Tuesday night at Triple-A Gwinnett, the opposing pitcher will be familiar: Jair Jurrjens.
Jurrjens, a teammate of Beachy’s during the past three seasons with the Braves, will start for the Orioles’ Norfolk affiliate and he’s not on rehab. Trying to revive his career, Jurrjens is 5-6 with a 4.38 ERA in 15 starts for Norfolk and had a 4.91 ERA for Baltimore in a brief callup (two games, one start).
Beachy is set for 45-55 pitches or three innings in his first game since June 13, when he gave up three runs in three innings of his fifth minor league rehab start and developed inflammation in his surgically repaired pitching elbow.
The right-hander had been scheduled to return to the Braves for a June 18 start in a doubleheader against the Mets, but that was scrapped and Beachy was shut down for nearly two weeks until the inflammation subsided. Now he’s scheduled to make at least two or three more rehab starts before the Braves figure out when and where to insert him into the rotation.
Barring an injury, the Braves will presumably either move someone to the bullpen or trade a starter before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, but only if they are confident Beachy is fully healthy and ready to help the rotation.
Gattis update: Rookie slugger Evan Gattis, recovering from a strained oblique, went from hitting balls off a tee, which he'd done since Friday, to hitting balls flipped to him by a coach Monday afternoon at Marlins Park. He also continued his throwing and running drills.
Gonzalez said if there are no setbacks, Gattis could begin taking batting practice after the Braves get back to Atlanta for a homestand that begins Thursday. He’ll need a minor league rehab stint before he comes off the DL, which means Gattis is likely looking at rejoining the big league team after the July 15-18 All-Star break.
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