still running strong

Of the players on the inaugural Mississippi Braves team in 2005 who reached the majors — and there are several — Brian McCann is easily the most accomplished. Jeff Francoeur had his moments of glory, of course, and Blaine Boyer is still kicking in San Diego’s bullpen. Also deserving of a tip of the cap is the less-heralded Gregor Blanco, who has been a valuable contributor in San Francisco for the past three years and helped the Giants win a World Series in 2012. Blanco played center field for the ’05 M-Braves and impressed with his speed, which is still showing. He is batting .260 (.340 on-base percentage) for the Giants, a strong postseason contender, with 14 stolen bases and five triples, and he makes plays in the spacious outfield at AT&T Park. Blanco also has four homers, 31 RBIs and 38 runs. Over his last 10 games, he has hit .333 with 15 runs accounted for. Blanco debuted in Atlanta in 2008 and hit .251 with 13 bags in 144 games. The Braves gave up on him — perhaps too soon — but he has gone on to have a nice career: .257, 14 homers, 25 triples, 80 steals and 232 runs. P.S. Erik Cordier became the latest M-Braves alumnus to reach the majors (No. 89) when he debuted for the Giants on Wednesday. The right-hander, regularly hitting 101 mph, walked a batter, hit a batter and fanned a batter in a scoreless inning of work.