Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: Boxes, PEDs, Footballers Drafted

AA Catcher Chris O’Dowd Suspended

According to the Denver Post, Chris O’Dowd tested positive for “testosterone metabolites of exogenous origin.”  In other words, he was loading up on synthetic testosterone, a similar crime to the one that put Ryan Braun of the Brewers in so much hot water.

This announcement from yesterday is particularly disturbing from several angles.

• O’Dowd is at least the third Braves player to get nabbed by the testing regime this year.  The others of note were pitchers Andrew McKirahan and Arodys Vizcaino.
• An 80-game suspension essentially ends O’Dowd’s season.  More on that in a bit.
• The fact that he’s the son of someone who had been one of the 30 baseball General Managers is not to be overlooked here.  It certainly begs questions on whether Dan O’Dowd had any knowledge of this drug use, whether the Rockies organization had any knowledge, the length of time this was going on, and much more.
• You could even question the effectiveness of baseball’s entire effort to eradicate drugs from the field, given that this name is now added to the suspension roles:  if O’Dowd thought he could get away with it, then what about others, including new and old teammates?

You certainly hate to have to cast any suspicion on any player, but when somebody who definitely had to know about the rules is caught, it tends to widen the net.

O’Dowd’s Year

O’Dowd was not a ‘catching prospect’ – he was selected by the Padres in the 23rd round of the 2012 draft out of Dartmouth.  The Rockies picked him up in 2013 despite hitting .310 over the first part of 2013 (after a dismal 2012).

This season, with Dan O’Dowd no longer the GM, Chris was included with C Jose Briceno in the trade for David Hale and Gus Schlosser.  O’Dowd is now 24 years old – will be 25 at season’s end.

Of the pair, Briceno was supposed to be the actual catching prospect.  So far, his bat has floundered badly at Rome (.156 in 35 games).  Meanwhile, Chris was invited to Braves Spring Training (most catchers are) and looked to everyone like he was trying to become that prospect that no one knew about, displaying solid hitting and hustle.

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He continued that during the AA season for Mississippi, hitting .304, highest hitting average since a .306 for the Rockies in low-A ball (2013).  His strikeouts have been manageable and his walk rate has doubled this season… in what’s considered to be a pitching league.  In hindsight, that certainly raises an eyebrow.

Despite the hitting, O’Dowd was recently supplanted by Matt Kennelly in an effort to help out the pitchers at Mississippi.  Jason Hursh in particular was suffering a horrible season until Kennelly came aboard, and he’s now turned that completely around.  O’Dowd, it seems, can hit, but did not manage his staff well behind the plate.

This suspension ends all of that.  Whether he is given a comeback chance will be a question for another day, likely as the Braves consider their minor league options during the off-season.

Either way, this is very surprising news, and deservedly or not, could make the organization ask and answer a lot of additional questions they’d rather not have to deal with.