A (LA) STELLA DEBUT

[Angels]

2B Tommy La Stella finally got the call to the big leagues on Wednesday, and promptly went 2-for-4 in his Major League debut with the Braves. His first career hit was a fifth-inning single to center off John Lackey’s curveball; his second came two innings later, again to center and again off Lackey. He also ended the night as one of only two Braves hitters who didn’t strike out (they had 11 overall, ho-hum), which isn’t surprising given that La Stella had whiffed only 14 times in nearly 200 plate appearances at Triple-A this year. He’s walked more than he’s struck out two years in a row. The dude has mad bat-to-ball skills.

La Stella can flat out hit, and he’s done it everywhere he’s gone. His career minor league slash line is .322/.407/.474, coming thanks to his patient approach and ability to square-up any type of pitch with his smooth line-drive swing. He’s a classic “hit-it-where-it’s-pitched” type of hitter who’s never had a down year. Hitters like him don’t see projected slumps because they can hit any pitch in any count and don’t try to do too much with it.

While his ability to hit the baseball—consistently—is his ticket, his average-but-steady defense is also showing steady improvement toward plus. His manager at Triple-A was Brian Snitkar, formerly the Braves’ third base coach. Snitkar recently told Fox Sports reports that La Stella has “worked diligently” on his defense and that the organization “is impressed by his progress with the glove.” He handled six chances flawlessly last night at Fenway.

Atlanta will have long leash with La Stella, so we’ll get a real chance to see what he can do. He’s replacing two players—Dan Uggla and Ramiro Pena—who have hit .184 and .214, respectively.