With the exception of catcher and centre field, the adaptable veteran utilityman has played every position around the diamond.
He has even pitched, which brings us to what we came here to express.
Charlie Culberson, a former MLB infielder, is attempting to pursue a second career as a reliever. Will travel to Braves minors camp as pitcher. Lifetime 1.23 ERA in 7 1/3 IP in former mopup appearances. Scouting report: “Very athletic, great guy who can throw strikes and has strong arms” possesses a shot, Jon Heyman, an MLB insider, tweeted
Culberson, a hitter with a lifetime slugging percentage of.248/.293/.385, is prepared to attempt transitioning into a full-time pitcher role.
The Braves are pleased to extend an invitation to minor league camp to him so that he can pursue his dream of becoming a pitcher.
Throughout his career, he has tossed 7.1 innings in mop-up duty, recording an ERA of 1.23.
Culberson has averaged 89.8 mph in those 7.1 frames on the mound, when typical position player pitching appearances see people throwing the ball at 40–50 mph hoping to get some outs.
He does possess some velocity—more than a few Major League relievers.
According to Heyman, scouts believe that his arm strength and athleticism will be sufficient for him to succeed in the bullpen.
However, more will be required, such as control/command, a secondary pitch, and consistency with his release point.
All will be cheering for him, though, and it’s still a fun experiment.
The necessity for more velocity in the bullpen was one of the key lessons learned by the Atlanta Braves after they were ousted in the NLDS for the second consecutive season, based on the team’s offseason actions.
President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos went out and signed a number of relievers, and every bullpen arm that was added (or brought back) to the team averaged at least 95 mph with their fastballs, with the exception of trade acquisition Aaron Bummer (94.4).
Signing as a free agent Ray Kerr, who was acquired via trade, averaged 96 mph last season, and re-signings Joe Jiménez (95.3) and Pierce Johnson (95.8) had notable velocity. Reynaldo López led the bunch with 98 mph.
Atlanta’s average fastball velocity is among the lowest in all of baseball due to the departure of several pitchers who were above the 95 mph mark. These pitchers include starter Kolby Allard (90.5), reliever Collin McHugh (91.3), starter Jared Shuster (91.4), reliever Brad Hand (92.4), starter Yonny Chirinos (93.1), starter Michael Soroka (93.2), and reliever Kirby Yates (93.6).
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