fire up the stove

An awful lot could happen between now and the time the Mississippi Braves actually take the field on April 9. Still, browse through last year’s rosters and stats, close your eyes real tight and you can almost see the lineup they’ll trot out. It figures to be a young team, i.e. a lot of Double-A newbies, but a potentially good one. One with some power bats, for sure. Ernesto Mejia, who led Class A Myrtle Beach with 21 homers, is the likely first baseman. Pencil Travis Jones (16 homers) in at second base, Brandon Hicks (19) at shortstop and Eric Campbell (16) at third base. Willie Cabrera (16), Jon Mark Owings (16) and Concepcion Rodriguez (11) could find spots in the outfield, though the highly touted Gorkys Hernandez, a speed guy, is the probable center fielder. Of that bunch, only Hicks and Cabrera have spent any time at Trustmark Park. Phillip Britton appears to be in line for the M-Braves catching job, with Tyler Flowers gone to the Chicago White Sox in a trade. Pitching is always tougher to call, but Deunte Heath, Johnny Venters, Ryne Reynoso and Scott Diamond are good bets to fill spots in the rotation, and Kevin Gunderson probably will be back in the bullpen. A fast-rising prospect named Craig Kimbrel might be the closer. Again, much could change between now and the first call of “Play Ball,” but it’s never too soon to toss some names out there and speculate. That’s what the Hot Stove is all about.