watch closely now

The window is still open for Jordan Schafer. But he has reached a critical stage in his career, to be sure. He’s going to play everyday in left field — not center, where Antoan Richardson is entrenched — for the Double-A Mississippi Braves, where Atlanta sent the former No. 1 prospect after he hit .201 in 52 games at Triple-A Gwinnett. Schafer is 2-for-8 with a pair of RBIs in two games here. M-Braves manager Phillip Wellman said Schafer’s attitude is good. “He told me, ‘I’ve got to get back on track,'” Wellman said. “Sometimes a change of scenery helps. I told him that I’ll make him one promise: We, as a staff, will do everything we can to get him back where he needs to be.” Schafer helped the M-Braves win the 2008 Southern League title with a good if unspectacular season that was disrupted by a 50-game drug policy suspension. All seemed to be good when Schafer made Atlanta’s opening day roster in 2009 and homered in his first at-bat. But a steady decline followed, then a demotion to Gwinnett, then wrist surgery in September. After a slow recovery, Schafer went 5-for-17 in a rehab stint with the M-Braves in May. In hindsight, he probably should have remained in Double-A. The M-Braves needed a center fielder at that time. But he went to Gwinnett. And now he’s back, hoping to regain his prospect status against Double-A pitching, which is only somewhat less sophisticated than the Triple-A variety. At 23, Schafer’s still young. He can run and throw. If he starts to hit again, he could still help the Braves, who need a center fielder. It doesn’t look like it’ll happen this year, but you never know. The window is still open.
P.S. Schafer’s arrival in Mississippi means less playing time for another scuffling prospect, Cody Johnson, the erstwhile left fielder. Johnson came off the disabled list Sunday and promptly notched his 100th strikeout of the season. He fanned again Monday as a pinch hitter.