Braves: Cristian Pache’s Time in Dominican League Ends

The top prospect for the Atlanta Braves ended his run in the Dominican Winter League to focus on the upcoming 2021 season.

A lot of people are assuming that Cristian Pache will be the starting center fielder for the Atlanta Braves on Opening Day — and I’m one of those people.

I really love what he can do defensively in center, and I  love that it puts Ronald Acuna Jr. in his more natural position in right.

Also, I thought he had some really good at-bats in the postseason after being thrust into the starting lineup once Adam Duvall went down.

But let’s not get carried away in thinking his spot in the lineup is locked up, there is still a lot left to be desired in his game — particularly on the offensive side.

I mean, we saw how badly Ender Inciarte was struggling to start the 2020 season, and even then the Braves wouldn’t give Pache a chance.

It wasn’t until they were forced to in the postseason because of an injury that they allowed him to play (he only got 4 at-bats in the regular season and didn’t get a single at-bat in the first two rounds of the postseason).

That alone should tell you what the front office and coaching staff thinks about the bat of Pache — it’s just not there.

And this winter didn’t help things as he struggled pretty poorly at the plate in the Dominican Republic.

He played in just 9 games, so this is a very short sample size, but he picked up just 3 hits in 25 at-bats with 4 walks and 6 strikeouts.

What concerned me the most is that Manny Acta, the coach for Estrellas, thought so poorly of his bat that he batted him ninth on a roster full of guys you’ve likely never heard of.

Even Johan Camargo was batting third on his team in the Dominican Winter League for a while before the coach realized that was a bad idea and moved him down to fifth.

I’m no scout, so I try to use my common sense when evaluating players. And what I’m seeing is that there aren’t many people out there right now who believe in the bat of Cristian Pache.

That doesn’t mean he can’t become a good hitter — there is a reason why he’s still the top-ranked prospect for the Braves — but right now it’s just not there.

The question then becomes for Braves’ fans, is he any better than Ender Inciarte?

I honestly think that’s still up for debate. Brian Snitker recently said Ender will come to spring training competing for a job.

If they were being honest, they’d love to move Ender, but he’s making $8.7 million in 2021 and has a $1.02 million buyout for 2022. There aren’t many teams willing to even take on that inexpensive contract with how he’s performed lately.

If the two players are that close, then you’d much rather give the younger, cheaper guy the job and move on from Ender. That’s why I still think it’s Pache’s job to lose.

But if Ender does come to spring training with the Braves I think it could come down to whichever one looks better at the plate because we know they both can play good defense.

I was really hoping to see Pache build on the experience from the postseason, go down to the DR, and continue that success.

Not to read too much into 9 games in the DR, but that didn’t happen. And based on how teams are handling him, I think the center field job for the Braves is still open going into 2021.