When the Atlanta Braves took Brian McCann off the DL, they needed to clear a spot on the roster to make room for him. They decided to send infielder Tyler Pastornicky to the minors. I don’t understand why no one is talking about this move. While Tyler makes his way back to Gwinnett, let’s take a look at the stellar time he spent in Atlanta.
He was unable to win the backup infielder position in Spring Training. Braves management preferred the light-hitting Ramiro Pena instead. Even though Pastornicky spent time with Atlanta last year at shortstop and second base, he had to go back to Triple A. He promptly went down and hit .338, but the Braves didn’t have room for him to come up.
When Jason Heyward suddenly had an emergency appendectomy, he hit the DL and the Braves brought Pastornicky back up. Fans were enthused that this slugger was on his way back. Surely he would have a chip on his shoulder and continue his hot streak in the majors.
Pastornicky‘s 2013 stat line is quite memorable. He made appearances in six games, starting in one and coming in late as a defensive replacement in another. It will be tough to top his long one game hitting streak that ended near the end of April.
I’m sure we all remember the big plays Pastornicky made. Like that time he played second base against Detroit and delivered a big hit. It was a double in the second inning. Even though it was his only hit, he was left stranded and the Braves lost 8-3, Braves fans can’t forget that screaming liner down the right field line.
He even racked up one put out and two assists at second base. He took the team lead in defense, making no errors. Andrelton Simmons hopefully learned a lot from Pastornicky while they were in the clubhouse together.
The man many in Atlanta affectionately refer to as “Rev” should be turning heads soon in Gwinnett. Hopefully he’ll be on his way back to the bigs before we know it.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com