Robert Fick returned from the disabled list yesterday. Atlanta placed 1B/OF-L Fick on the DL on the 19th retroactive to the 13th. During the Braves April 12th game in Florida, Fick strained his right shoulder while attempting a headfirst slide into second base. Fick underwent shoulder surgery during the off-season, but that procedure was done on his left shoulder. While the left-handed batter recovered sufficiently to begin swinging a bat over a week ago, he throws right-handed and was not prepared to field his position until recently. Now that he's back, Fick should resume his job as the Braves regular starting first baseman.

The Braves regularly carry several players capable of covering first base. Accordingly, Fick might have remained on the roster as a pinch hitter while waiting for his throwing abilities to return, if C-R Javy Lopez hadn't strained his left-hamstring. The hamstring strain was minor so Lopez did not need to go on the disabled list himself, but Atlanta also did not want to rely on C-R Henry Blanco as their only catcher when Lopez likely would be unavailable for the better part of a week. Consequently, when Lopez left their April 19th game against Philadelphia, the Braves placed Fick on the DL, clearing room on the roster for them to call up C-S Johnny Estrada. Lopez resumed his regular duties on Saturday, so when Fick was pronounced ready to throw, Estrada returned to the minors and Atlanta activated Fick from the DL.

With RHP Kevin Millwood clearly demonstrating his value to the Phillies, Atlanta welcomed the chance to show that they had acquired something in the trade in which they tossed Millwood away. At the time of his call-up, Estrada was hitting .392 with a .426 OBP and .608 SLG on 20 H, 5 2B and 2 HR with a 3:4 BB:K over 51 AB at AAA Richmond in the International League. While with the Braves the 26-year-old appeared in 4 games, going 4 for 15 with 2 RBI and impressing the staff with his proficiency behind the plate.

Unfortunately, Lopez is in the final year of a contract, which calls for him to receive a $7M salary in 2003. The Braves also agreed to a $1.3M, one-year deal with the arbitration-eligible Blanco this past off-season. Unless one of the two is injured or Atlanta finds someone willing to take Lopez off their hands, Estrada will remain in the minors this season despite the Braves desire to display him to fans forced to watch Millwood helping the Phillies.

LHP Mike Hampton came off the disabled list to start Atlanta's April 19th game. He impressed some people with his last start as he only allowed 2 hits over 6 innings, but in that same game, he walked 4 and struck out only one batter. Since his return, he's compiled a 2:8 K:BB with 8 H allowed in 11 IP for a 4.91 ERA. Outside of Colorado, Hampton's groundball pitching should protect him from homer damage, and Atlanta currently has the fourth best defense in the National League. However, his hit rate still will almost certainly rise, which will inevitably lead to disaster without a surprising improvement in his control.

In order to create room for Hampton on the roster, Atlanta demoted RHP Jason Marquis. I have to give the Braves credit for making a good move here. At the time of his demotion, Marquis had compiled a 6:10 K:BB with 14 H and 2 HR allowed in 12.1 IP for a 6.57 ERA over 3 appearances, including two starts.

While Marquis has pitched in the majors for most of the last three years, he's never demonstrated acceptable control skills. Although he's spent a little time at AAA since his major league debut, he initially skipped straight from AA to the big leagues. Consequently, I think he'll benefit from the additional development time. If he fails to demonstrate improved control while starting at AAA, the Braves may want to consider moving him to relief. Over his first two starts at Richmond, he's compiled a 4:2 K:BB with 9 H allowed in 9 IP for a 2.00 ERA.

Atlanta's most recent test subject in their experiment on the effects of eliminating AAA from a pitcher's development track, LHP Horacio Ramirez appears to be fairing better than most, though he hasn't faced the better National League offenses. Ramirez clearly isn't a pitcher who is ever going to strike out a large number of batters over the course of a season. Nevertheless, his control skills seem capable of facilitating continued success.

Regrettably, I fear Ramirez will suffer from fatigue later in the season. He logged less than 100 IP in the minors last year after undergoing Tommy John surgery in May of 2001. So far, Atlanta has done a good job of pulling him early in his starts. His pitch count log over his first five starts reads 91, 90, 92, 96, 101, and he's only thrown 30.1 innings. However, he's still on pace to pitch more innings than in any previous season of his career. Sadly, Atlanta likely won't pull Ramirez from the rotation unless he completely disintegrates or the rest of the rotation exceeds expectations. Therefore, we can expect some ugly numbers from him in September, if he isn't sidelined with soreness in some part of his arm.