What is the future for Jonny Venters?

[Gman]

This guy has two incredible weapons with that 95mph sinking FB and nasty slider. We're talking a potential Brandon Webb type upside as a starter even if he just develops a mediocre infrequently used straight change. I know he struggled with his control as a starter in the minors but that's not uncommon for a young lefty who throws as hard as he does. On the flip side, this could be Billy Wagner II in the making. But this isn't a small sized guy like Wagner. Venters is a big dude who looks like he could easily handle a starters workload. Where do you think the Braves will go with an arm like his? Think about the possibilities if he could be successfully developed as a starter. A rotation of Hanson, JJ, Minor, Venters, Teheran could be a monster by by late 2011/early 2012.

So which way do you all think they should go with this guy? Lefty wings that can pump out 95 mph sinking FB and nasty sliders don't grow on trees. He may be a Wagner-in-waiting but he could also be a Steve Carlton-in-waiting. I know the Braves more glaring need is probably bullpen but I think they would be very remiss if they didn't take one more shot at making him into a starter especially when the likes of Ryan Franklin, Bob Wickman, Todd Jones can be successful closers.

[quick]

Tough call.

I think he needs to become a better pitcher, a headier pitcher, to be a successful starter. He's ready to be a great closer now so long as he can get his walks under control. Since the Braves have always had bullpen problems and skimp there to save money, I guess personally I'd like to see him be a good-but-inexpensive closer for a few years.

But, like I said, tough call.

[Gman]

Playing devil's advocate on the starter thing...

Perhaps there is a reason he didn't post numbers in the minors while being a full-time starter.
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Fun to think about...but reality is that we found a diamond in the rough and I think it's best to just continue using it the way he has proven to be successful.

His failures came before he learned an incredibly valuable lesson this year, that he has two pitches that MAJOR LEAGUE HITTERS can't handle very well if he gets them anywhere within the strike zone. He also learned a ton about how to use just those two pitches to set up a hitter. He was probably learning as a starter in the minors but none of it matches what he's learned in the majors this year.

I'm sure you are right that he will continue to be used by the Braves in the way he has recently proven successful. Not many like to tamper with success. I'm of the ilk that when you have a big lefty arm that can throw this kind of stuff up there, you do everything you can to maximize his value. I wouldn't care how deep the minor league system is in starters (there is no such thing as too many). It also happens to be rail thin in great hitters. A good-or-great starter has much more value than a good-or-great middle reliever or closer. The starter fetches way more in trade and costs much more on the FA market. The Braves would be in a perfect position to trade a player of maximum value like a young successful starter in the mold of JJ or Medlen (or whoever) for an equally great young hitter if they had ready arms to put into the rotation.

Of all the great Brave starters we've seen, very few could get away with pitches that were not well located in the strike zone. Venters has that ability. To have a big young lefthander who has some control issue but can get away with just throwing strikes anywhere in the zone puts him a big notch ahead on the learning curve over other highly touted starters with similar control issues but less margin for error. I would definitely take a chance on seeing if his experience this year translates into an equally effective starter next year. They would lose him to the minors for awhile but to me it's a small price to pay for the potential payoff.

[Freddy_Ballgame]

I like him out of the pen. Dude has been overpowering, dominant and one more nice bit of useful, intimidating! Guy comes up knowing the pitch may torch a corner, go to the screen or hit him in the ribs. Who digs in for that? Talk about shortening the game....think Goose Gossage, Dennis Eckersley or John Smoltz-like intimidator/shutdown master!

[slowride]

HoF.

[Lauren T.]

My fave Jonny Venters lowered his ERA to 1.09 and his WHIP to 1.01 last night. Considering his number of appearances and the fact that he's a rookie, that's amazing. Of the 2003 Braves draft (http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/team/draft.jsp?c_id=atl&year=2003), he's the only one still with the organization. The others former Braves still playing pro-ball:

Drafted #1 - Jarrod Saltalamacchia (Red Sox 40-man roster, not active)
Drafted #2 - JoJo Reyes (Blue Jays 25-man, check out how he's doing since his move (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/8064))
Drafted #24 - Brandon Jones (Tigers AA)

Jonny was drafted #30 and has had a long road, including Tommy John, but he seems alright so far. I'm looking forward to his future as a Brave. :thumbsup:

[Hobbes]

He's definitely been a huge asset to the team this season. Time will tell if this heavy workload will have a future negative impact, but he is certainly helping the team right now.

[Lauren T.]

News from the Braves (http://twitter.com/Braves/status/20902770423), if you're local:

On SAT you can meet Jonny Venters at the Braves Clubhouse Store at the CNN Center. He'll be signing autographs from 2-3.

[-Dr. Brave-]

Drafted #2 - JoJo Reyes (Blue Jays 25-man, check out how he's doing since his move (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/8064))


In other words, nothing. :thumbsup: (OK, I fell for it. I actually looked.)

[bravos4evr]

I bet Venters gets the chance to earn the closer job in ST next season.

[Andy G.]

News from the Braves (http://twitter.com/Braves/status/20902770423), if you're local:
I got his autograph outside the players parking lot earlier this year. My sister-in-law asked him to sign something and he said "Yes ma'am" even though he's three or four years older than her. This was before he really established himself in the bullpen, and I knew he was someone I'd enjoy pulling for.

A similar situation happened last year with O'Flaherty. Venters seemed like a nicer person than O'Flaherty, in my opinion, but O'Flaherty definitely wasn't a jerk. He was pretty cool toward my brother and me.

[Lauren T.]

I got his autograph outside the players parking lot earlier this year. My sister-in-law asked him to sign something and he said "Yes ma'am" even though he's three or four years older than her. This was before he really established himself in the bullpen, and I knew he was someone I'd enjoy pulling for.

A similar situation happened last year with O'Flaherty. Venters seemed like a nicer person than O'Flaherty, in my opinion, but O'Flaherty definitely wasn't a jerk. He was pretty cool toward my brother and me.
I got the same read on both of them at Baseball 101. Jonny's was just a good ol' boy, a real sweetheart, and O'Flaherty wasn't rude, exactly, but just more standoffish and cool.