The Braves are squaring off against the Detroit Tigers in what feels like the 100th week of Spring Training today at 1:05 ET/12:05 CT in Joker Marchant Stadium. The Braves will be starting their Opening Day starter Tim Hudson today who's 2-1 in 6 starts this spring with 4.15 ERA against Shawn Hill of the Tigers who is 1-1 in two starts this spring with a 5.00 ERA.
The Braves line-up today will feature the DH since they are playing in an American League park and it shakes out like this.
Simmons SS
Heyward DH
J Upton LF
Freeman 1B
BJ Upton CF
Uggla 2B
Francisco 3B
R Johnson RF
Laird C
The Braves also made a few roster cuts sending Tyler Pastornicky, Jose Constanza, and David Carpenter down to Triple-A. Constanza didn't stand much of a shot of making the team after missing the first month of Spring Training with Visa issues. Tyler Pastornicky really impressed with the bat but his defense still needed improvement as he made several errors working the middle of the infield. Pastornicky is still a valuable piece according to Fredi Gonzalez and will play 2B, SS, and a little OF for Gwinnett. Carpenter, who was claimed off of waivers from Toronto this winter, pitched in 8 games this spring but had an ERA of 13.50 in 9.1 innings pitched.
These cuts virtually ensure that unless the Braves decide to roll with 3 catchers on the roster (unlikely), with Gerald Laird, Matt Pagnozzi, and Evan Gattis, that Jordan Schafer is going to be the Braves 5th outfielder and have value as a left-handed bat off the bench and a pinch-runner. It's nice to see the Jordan Schafer story continue with him making the Opening Day roster, however depending upon Evan Gattis' production, could face a cut after Brian McCann comes back from the DL towards the end of April. Right now the Braves Opening Day bench appears to be Reed Johnson, Chris Johnson, Ramiro Pena, Jordan Schafer, and Evan Gattis. Paul Janish is still recovering from off-season shoulder surgery and may take Ramiro Pena's spot on the roster at some point.
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