Kiley McDaniel of ESPN has reported that the Atlanta Braves are calling up minor league outfielder Cristian Pache. According to the team’s Twitter page, outfielder Nick Markakis will be placed on the team’s injured list due to a possible COVID-19 exposure.
OF Nick Markakis has been potentially exposed to COVID-19. He has tested negative for the virus, but out of an abundance of caution, Markakis has been placed on the injured list.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 18, 2020
Pache will be available to play immediately. He currently ranks as the top prospect in the organization, and 14th in the minors. His statistics were very impressive during Spring Training in 2019. He hit .359 with two home runs, 10 RBI, nine runs scored, and 14 hits in 24 games. Five of his hits were doubles, to go along with two stolen bases. In the shortened 2020 Spring Training, he hit .269 with two home runs, seven RBI, five runs scored, and seven hits in 13 games. He tripled once and stole three bases. Summer camp brought a scare, as he suffered an ankle sprain after a slide went awry. But now, it appears that he is healthy and ready.
Pache’s Minor League Career
Cristian Pache signed with the Braves as an international free agent on July 4, 2015. He made a splash in his first year in the rookie leagues in 2016. Between the Gulf Coast Braves and the Danville Braves, he hit .309 with 68 hits, four doubles, seven triples, 21 RBI, and 11 stolen bases in 57 games. In 2017, he advanced to the Single-A Rome Braves, where he hit .281 with 132 hits in 119 games. He also doubled 13 times, stole 32 bases, tripled eight times, and drove in 42 runs. After being promoted again, he picked up his first eight minor league home runs with the Florida Fire Frogs. He hit .285 during his stint there, with 40 RBI, seven stolen bases, and 105 hits in 93 games.
Midway through the season, he progressed to the Double-A Mississippi Braves. He hit .260 in 29 games while there, recording a homer, seven RBI, and 27 hits in the process. His time in Mississippi continued into 2019, where he hit .278 with 11 homers, 53 RBI, 109 hits, 28 doubles, and eight stolen bases. He would make it to the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers, and hit .274 in 26 games. Overall, he has posted a .283 career average in the minors, with 21 home runs, 171 RBI, 666 hits, 76 doubles, 30 triples, and 58 stolen bases in 428 games.
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