The Braves have placed 22-year old righty swinging SS Tyler Pastornicky to AAA. Pastornicky played in 45 games for the Braves this year and he was 36 for 145 (.248 avg, .605 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 1 homer, 12 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He was a hacker a the plate for the Braves as he only walked 6 times while whiffing 27 times. He also did play to well defensively as he made 7 errors at SS for the Braves. The Braves are going to call up 22-year old righty swinging SS Andrelton Simmons to replace Pastornicky as the starting SS. Simmons came into this season as the Braves’ #4 prospect according to Baseball America. Simmons has played in 43 games in AA-ball for the Braves this year and he is 50 for 171 (.292 avg, .794 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 3 homers, 21 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. He has now played in 236 games in his first three years in the minors and he is 277 for 927 (.299 avg, .749 OPS) with 133 runs scored, 6 homers, 99 RBIs and 54 stolen bases.

37-year old righty Livan Hernandez isn’t having much of a problem adjusting to his new role working out of the bullpen. Hernandez has pitched in 17 games (0 starts) for the Braves so far this year and he is 1-0 with 1 save, a 3.68 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. His style really fits in on the Braves’ pitching staff as he is a junkballer, on a team loaded with pitchers who bring a lot of heat. Hernandez has now pitched in 492 games (474 starts) so far in his major league career and he is 175-176 with 1 save, a 4.39 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP.

The Braves have signed 26-year old lefty swinging outfielder Collin DeLome. DeLome has played in 33 games in Independent+AAA-ball so far this year and he is 35 for 104 (.337 avg, 1.014 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 5 homers, 22 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. DeLome has now played in 540 games in his first six years in the minors and he is 489 for 1,896 (.258 avg, .793 OPS) with 302 runs scored, 77 homers, 268 RBIs and 64 stolen bases. This was a depth move for the Braves.

The Atlanta Braves have placed 40-year old switch-hitting 3B Chipper Jones on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 24th due to a bruised left calf. Jones has played in 29 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 31 for 101 (.307 avg, .862 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 5 homers and 24 RBIs. 24-year old lefty swinging Juan Francisco will take over at 3B until Jones is ready to return to action. Francisco has played in 35 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 16 for 80 (.200 avg, .664 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 5 homers and 13 RBIs. The Braves hope that Francisco gets more selective in the near future as he has whiffed 26 times while only walking 3 times so far this year.

25-year old righty starting pitcher Tommy Hanson has not turned into the dominating pitcher he was forecast to be quite yet, but he has been rock solid. Hanson has started 9 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 5-3 with a 3.31 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Hanson has now pitched in 86 games (all starts) in his first four years with the Braves and he is 37-25 with a 3.29 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. The Braves are hoping that Hanson turns into the dominating pitcher they thought he would be in the near future.

The Braves have signed 26-year old switch-hitting middle infielder Lance Zawadzki to a minor league deal. He played in 5 games earlier this year in AAA-ball for the Dodgers and he was 0 for 13 (.000 avg, .071 OPS) with 1 run scored. Zawadzki’s only major league experience came back in 2010 with the Padres. He played in 20 games for the Padres in 2010 and he was 7 for 35 (.200 avg, .557 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 0 homers, 1 RBI and 1 stolen base. This was an organizational depth move by the Braves and little more.

The Braves have dealt 28-year old switch-hitting infielder Drew Sutton to the Pirates for cash considerations. Sutton played in 38 games in AAA-ball for the Braves this year and he was 37 for 137 (.270 avg, .746 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 0 homers, 15 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Sutton has played in 86 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 41 for 159 (.258 avg, .724 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 3 homers and 24 RBIs. Sutton can play everywhere on the infield, so the Pirates must have gave the Braves a nice little sum for him.

26-year old righty reliever Kris Medlen only pitched in 2 games last year due to injury. But, he’s making up for lost time so far this year. Medlen has pitched in 16 games (0 starts) for the Braves so far this year and he is 1-0 with 1 save, a 2.38 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. He has given the Braves’ bullpen a nice boost so far this year, so they hope he can stay healthy. Medlen has now pitched in 86 games (18 starts) in his first four years with the Braves and he is 10-7 with 1 save, a 3.68 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.

The Atlanta Braves have signed 27-year old lefty swinging outfielder Felix Pie to a minor league deal. Pie played in 13 games in Independent ball this year and he was 18 of 50 (.360 avg, 1.013 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 3 homers, 12 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Pie has played in 398 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 240 of 964 (.249 avg, .673 OPS) with 127 runs scored, 17 homers, 97 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Pie could be on the fast track to Atlanta if he gets off to a good start in the minors for them.

24-year old righty reliever Jaye Chapman is looking good in AAA-ball for the Braves so far this year. Chapman has pitched in 12 games (0 starts) so far this year and he is 1-2 with 2 saves, a 1.80 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. He has only given up 7 hits in 15 innings pitched while whiffing 17 batters, so he has been really, really effective so far this season. Chapman has now pitched in 214 games (8 starts) in his first 7 years in the minors and he is 15-18 with 23 saves, a 3.93 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. If Chapman keeps pitching well, he could get his first shot at the show in 2012 for the Braves.