Braves send Jarvis back down to Triple-A

Hicklen is back for a day after spending the last four weeks in Triple-A. He has hit .368 (7-for-19) with four doubles, three RBI and an 8/4 K/BB ratio in his limited action with the Braves this season.

Jarvis has seemingly taken over as Atlanta’s primary shortstop, even with Ha-Seong Kim back from the injured list, starting three of their last five games with Kim and Mauricio Dubón splitting the other two. The unheralded 25-year-old is hitting just .239/.287/.352 with one homer and 10 RBI across 97 plate appearances. He’ll need a strong finish to have any chance of being in the mix as an everyday option entering next season, lockout or not. Atlanta is going to be linked to a ton of shortstops in offseason trade rumors with Jarvis seemingly a stronger fit as a multi-position role player moving forward.

The 25-year-old outfielder will get a breather with tough left-hander Max Fried toeing the slab for the Yankees. Mauricio Dubon will start in his place in center field and will bat fifth for the Braves on Friday evening in New York.

Dubón singled in the second inning but was cut down trying to stretch it into a double. He then led off the fourth inning with a walk and pilfered second base before being left stranded there. The versatile 32-year-old also singled and scored in the sixth inning before adding on an RBI single of his own in the seventh. He finished his night with a run-scoring double off of Javier Sanoja in the eighth that capped off the scoring for the Braves. With his four-hit night, he’s now slashing .269/.318/.404 with 10 homers, 58 RBI and six swipes on the season.

There haven’t been any indications that Albies is dealing with any sort of injury, so it looks to be just a breather for the 29-year-old infielder. Mauricio Dubon will cover second base in his absence and will bat fifth against Marlins’ righty Janson Junk.

The 30-year-old went 7-for-19 in eight games for the Braves. He will return to Triple-A, where he will resume his role as organizational depth.

The 30-year-old rookie and Huntsville, Alabama native Hicklen is becoming a bit of a folk hero. He and fellow bottom of the order mate Jim Jarvis hit back-to-back doubles in the ninth inning that helped catalyze a six-run Braves rally which won them the game. He scorched that double at 104 mph and had another batted ball at 100 mph earlier. After being called up 10 days ago, this was his fifth start out of seven games and his second consecutive start even after incumbent right fielder Mike Yastrzemski was activated off the injured list. This hot stretch will likely be short lived with Ronald Acuña Jr. due back soon, but Hicklen has made his presence felt during this opportunity.

Hicklen gets the call to join Atlanta’s outfield mix just prior to the All-Star break with Mike Yastrzemski landing on the injured list with elbow inflammation. The 30-year-old has appeared in 10 games between the Tigers, Brewers and Royals since 2022.

It was his first major-league homer. The 25-year-old Jarvis has started to get more at-bats as Jorge Mateo has cooled down, and Jarvis is now hitting .292/.320/.458 on the season in a paltry 25 at-bat sample. Jarvis was hitting .313/.406/.461 at Triple-A Gwinnett in 348 plate appearances this year and had stolen 32 bases there, so it’s plausible he’s fantasy-interesting if he can keep a high average. Deep leaguers should at least keep him on the radar if the playing time continues to shift in his direction.

Kim has barely played for Atlanta recently with Jorge Mateo basically taking over the starting shortstop role. The 30-year-old has endured a brutal season at the dish, hitting .068 (5-for-73) with zero homers and one steal in 82 plate appearances since making his season debut back on May 12. It’ll be Mateo and rookie Jim Jarvis filling the void at shortstop in his absence.