Braves Have A New Reclamation Project

ATLANTA—The Braves have a track record of drafting players who have taken wayward routes during their baseball careers and putting them on the right path.

After attending three colleges, having Tommy John surgery and even leaving the game for a while, lefthander Chase Johnson-Mullins is emerging as Atlanta’s most recent reclamation project.

Drafted in the 24th round by the Rangers in 2012 out of high school in Paris, Ky., he attended Kentucky for a year before transferring to Walters State (Tenn.) CC. Johnson-Mullins had issues there, left baseball and then decided to give the game another shot at Shelton State (Ala.) CC.

He overcame elbow surgery during the process and showed enough promise with his 6-foot-8, 250-pound frame that generates a low- to mid-90s fastball and an above-average curveball to attract interest from the Braves as a 13th-round pick in 2015.

Johnson-Mullins opened last year at high Class A Carolina and did not allow an earned run in his first 9.1 innings before experiencing inconsistency.

“Being a bigger person, mechanics will sway,” said Johnson-Mullins, 22, “but with the coaches we have in this organization and the teammates I have to pick me up, it’s so easy to find that groove again. It’s a great environment for a player.”

The Braves demoted Johnson-Mullins to low Class A Rome in mid-July to work with pitching coach Dan Meyer. He allowed no earned runs in his final 12 appearances and overall recorded a 2.77 ERA in 55.1 innings with 51 strikeouts. He notched 10 saves.

“There was a lot of mechanical things I was working on with Dan,” Johnson-Mullins said. “Things started clicking with every bullpen (session), with every flat-ground and with every long-toss. I went over a lot of video. Once everything started coming together, it became like clockwork.”

WIGWAM WISPS

• The Braves traded Andrew McKirahan, a Rule 5 lefthander, and Carlos Portuondo, a 29-year-old Cuban righthander, to the Reds for second baseman Brandon Phillips.

• General manager John Coppolella said that neither the acquisition of Phillips nor the specter of major league service time will delay the promotion of second baseman Ozzie Albies once he is deemed big league ready.

— Bill Ballew is a reporter based in North Carolina