commanding attention

Jordan Kreke was one of the lesser known names appearing on the Mississippi Braves’ opening day roster. He’s in the process of changing that. Kreke smacked a tie-breaking two-run double in the sixth inning of Saturday night’s game and the M-Braves held on — for a change — to beat Montgomery 7-4, snapping a five-game skid. Kreke (pronounced CRAY-key), who turns 24 next month, is hitting .309 and has seven RBIs in his 15 games, including 14 starts at second base. Drafted in the 13th round out of Eastern Illinois in 2009, Kreke hit just .248 at low Class A Rome and .226 at high-A Myrtle Beach in 2010. But Atlanta’s system is a little thin on position players, and the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Kreke was given a shot at Double-A in just his second full year. So far, he looks like he belongs, at the plate and in the field.
P.S. Relief pitcher Cory Gearrin, recently promoted to Atlanta from Triple-A Gwinnett, will become the 51st M-Braves alumnus to advance to the big leagues when he makes his debut.