Skip to main content

Talking Chop

Your one stop shop for everything Atlanta Braves

Latest Entries

Braves News: Atlanta falls to Michael Soroka, Owen Murphy, more

The Braves are hitting the ball pretty hard this season, but have had a number of barreled outs and haven’t always seen results from hitting the ball well. It does seem like some of this might be due to the balls being further deadened, as has seemingly been a trend over recent years. Some of […]

Braves squander excellent Elder outing in 2-1 loss to D-backs

Coming into this game, the Braves had exorcised a lot of their 2025 demons with their 6-2 start, but one remained conspicuously absent: the one-run loss. Well, in their ninth game of the season, they finally had a one-run decision, and, in somewhat-reminiscent-of-2025 fashion, it was a loss that probably could have, and at times […]

Braves stick with standard lineup against Soroka

Can’t say that you can really blame the Braves for not changing anything… did you know they have a better record than the Dodgers right now? This will their fifth time using this lineup in nine games. The Diamondbacks are making a few changes. Adrian Del Castillo missed the first few games of the season […]

Braves look to keep rolling against old friend Michael Soroka

Is there a more beloved former Brave than Michael Soroka? (Maybe Freddie Freeman?) Perhaps because the phrase, “What could have been?” peals more sharply with regard to Soroka than anyone else, the fondness for the Canadian giraffe-necked right-hander from this corner, at least, is at its max. But, on Saturday night, the Braves will face […]

Braves Minor League Recap: Owen Murphy strikes out 10

Minor League Baseball is officially in full swing as Columbus and Augusta opened their seasons on Friday and the starting pitching for Atlanta’s farm affiliates absolutely dominated across the board. (4-3) Gwinnett Stripers 8, (1-6) Round Rock Express 1 Box Score Simply put, Didier Fuentes look electric in his first start of the season for […]

When will John Gil leave Single-A ball for good?

If you missed most of Spring Training (which I totally understand), you may have missed appearance in Spring Training. He got a decent look in North Port, sticking around until March 11th. That was enough time to be noticed and to hit home runs on consecutive days. This one was a laser shot, coming off […]

MLB

Braves News: Victor Mederos acquired, Grant Holmes spectacular, and more

On Friday afternoon, the Atlanta Braves announced that they had acquired right-hander Victor Mederos from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for international bonus pool money. He was immediately optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett, and to make room on the roster, fellow righty AJ Smith-Shawver was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Mederos only has 12 […]

MLB

Braves vs. Diamondbacks game thread: April 3

The Atlanta Braves have started the season with three straight series-opening wins after last night’s 17-2 thumping of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Now they go for their first three-game winning streak of the season in Game 2 of the four-game series Friday night in Phoenix. Atlanta will give the ball to Grant Holmes as he looks […]

Grant Holmes takes the mound as Braves look to keep rolling in Arizona

Folks, I’m gonna say it. Seven games into the 2026 season, the vibes around the Atlanta Braves are getting dangerously high. Maybe it’s just PTSD from the marathon of pain that was the 2025 season, but Thursday night’s 17-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks was some serious catharsis — and whiplash from the strong pitching […]

Where will the Battery Power Top 30 Braves Prospects open up the 2026 season?

Today is the day where Columbus and Augusta get their seasons underway, meaning all four levels of the Atlanta Braves system are now underway. With that in mind I decided to make this guide for following where our Top 30 prospects, and honorable mentions, will open the season. Below you will find the players in […]

MLB

Braves Minor League Recap: John Gil homers in Rome Debut

John Gil has forced the eyes of prospect watchers on him after this spring, and for those following along with Rome’s opener he gave them something to admire. Gil’s strong opener featured a no-doubt home run, all three of Rome’s RBIs, and two stolen bases. Gwinnett’s offense led the way to close win for them […]

MLB

Two starts in, how do you feel about Reynaldo Lopez?

It probably goes without saying that our collective enjoyment of the Braves would be higher the last few seasons if we didn’t have so many “the [player name] saga,” but, unfortunately, we do. The Reynaldo Lopez saga is definitely a saga, at that, and it’s one that’s had a number of developments lately, what with […]

Braves News: Big win out West, Brett Wisely update, and more

The Atlanta Braves opened their West Coast road trip with a bang after Thursday night’s 17-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Atlanta lineup racked up 16 hits, and for the first time since 2001, every member of the starting lineup recorded an RBI.  It was a successful night for the pitchers, too, who allowed […]

Braves bats wallop Diamondbacks in 17-2 blowout victory

In what quickly became the most lopsided game of the season, the Braves struck early and often against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Thursday night en route to a 17-2 win. The Braves are now 5-2 on the young season, It took until game 17 last year to win five games. Matt Olson […]

Braves vs Diamondbacks Game Thread: April 2

Reynaldo López and the Braves are looking for their third consecutive series-opening win against Ryne Nelson and the Diamondbacks. More on the pitching matchup here and today’s lineups here. First pitch is scheduled for 9:40 pm ET.  We are entering real sicko hours (for us on the East Coast). But unfortunately for me, seeing Wiley […]

Braves repeat same lineup in Diamondbacks series opener

Let’s play four in Phoenix. For the third straight game, Walt Weiss has penciled in the same lineup. (And for the second straight series, the Braves social team has used “New series on deck” as the accompanying copy…) I’m mostly interested who, if anyone, plans to step up offensively. Reigning ROY or not, Baldwin can’t […]

Didier Fuentes lands in MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospect list

Just a week into the season and we already have our newest addition to the Top 100. You don’t have to look any further than Didier Fuentes. Didier had a stellar Spring Training where he appeared in four games and pitched 13.2 innings with an absurd 18 strikeouts and just one walk (11.8 K/9, 0.66 […]

MLB

Reynaldo López, Braves to open West Coast road trip against Diamondbacks

This opening weekend and homestand have felt especially sweet after last year’s nightmare start. Drake is raking, TBS-era Braves enjoyers are eating good with the newly revealed City Connects and various BravesVision homages… and the Braves aren’t climbing out of an early season deficit.  Let’s hope the good vibes made the team plane headed West. […]

Rome Emperors release 2026 Opening Day roster

With the Emperors season starting this Thursday, Rome has released their Opening Day roster – let’s take a look at how the roster is setup in what should hopefully be a strong season. We’ve already gone over the rosters for both Augusta and Columbus earlier today and here’s a look at the Gwinnett roster from […]

MLB

Augusta GreenJackets release 2026 Opening Day roster

As we close in on the second Opening Day in the minor leagues, the one where all of the full season levels beyond Triple-A get started, the Augusta GreenJackets have released their first roster of the season. There are a few surprises, but none too big. Let’s take a closer look at this exciting young […]