As the Gwinnett Braves start to evaluate their situation, more than halfway through the season, they have to like what they see.
Gwinnett is right in the thick of a divisional battle with, who else, the Durham Bulls, and they continue to own one of the best records in the International League.
The team is based on very good pitching, as everyone thought it might be, but it will take plenty of other factors to make sure Gwinnett wins its division and/or makes the playoffs.
Let's take a look at a few of those factors:
LOOK TO THE PARENT CLUB
The July 31st non-waiver trade deadline is fast approaching.
Teams can make trades until August 31st, but the NON-WAIVER deadline is the last chance for teams to swap players without limitations by the waiver wire, meaning things should get pretty busy.
The big question is how active will the Braves organization be?
It depends on how big a splash Atlanta wants to make.
There are plenty of rumors floating around that starting pitcher Derek Lowe might get traded to help dump salary.
If that move happens, without the team obtaining another starter, then either Mike Minor or Julio Teheran will move out of the Gwinnett starting rotation and become a full-time big leaguer.
Good for them, bad for Gwinnett.
Losing one of those two starters (which would probably be Minor, who has more major league experience) would put a serious dent in Gwinnett's formidable rotation.
No team in the I.L. can boast a 1-2 punch as strong as the Teheran-Minor monster that has mowed down the league.
Even if Lowe isn't traded, any move Atlanta makes will probably affect Gwinnett.
The Braves could package some G-Braves in a possible trade for another outfielder or relief pitcher. . .or if an ATLANTA player is traded, someone from Gwinnett might be called up to take his spot.
It's a pretty standard belief in the International League, if you don't like your team now, wait until the trade deadline. It'll probably look a little different.
TRUST THE BIG BATS
For the first time in Gwinnett's three-year existence, the team finally has a stable power supply in the middle of the lineup.
It only took outfielder Stefan Gartrell five games past the All Star Break to become the single-season home run champ for the G-Braves.
So with every home he hits the rest of the season, he'll continue to expand that record.
And after winning the Home Run Derby at the Minor League All-Star Game this year, pitchers around the league have noticed Gartrell, too.
Meanwhile, his power-mate, first baseman Mauro Gomez, has also earned the fear of plenty of opposing pitchers (15 homers at the break).
And with the emergence of infielder Brandon Hicks as a power threat (14 homers at the break), along with the pickup of infielder/outfielder Chris Carter (16 homers, mainly with Durham), the heart of the order is as deadly as any in the division.
If the big bats of the G-Braves can continue to swing the way they've been doing most of the season, it will be tough to stop this team.
WATCH THE YOUNG KID GROW
One of the few Braves position players to make headlines below the Triple-A level has finally made the jump to Gwinnett.
Shortstop Tyler Pastornicky should hold his position, both in the field and at the top of the lineup, for the rest of the season.
And once he gets his feet wet and gets settled, that should be good news for Gwinnett.
Pastornicky has rated as one of the top prospects in the Braves organization since he came to the team in the trade that sent Yunel Escobar and Jo Jo Reyes to Toronto.
He should inject even more speed into a lineup that already has stolen base threats with Matt Young and Jose Constanza.
Mixing that speed with the before-mentioned power might be just the compliment to the pitching staff needed to win the division for Gwinnett.
The one down side to Pastornicky, so far, has been his glovework -- he made 19 errors in 90 games with Double-A Mississippi.
But if he can limit the errors and continue to get on base and steal bases the way he did in Mississippi, he should be able to help the team get where it wants to go.
There's still a long way to go before the end of the season, but the Braves are set up nicely to make that one final push to the playoffs.
But, as usual, that's always subject to change.
-- Judd Hickinbotham is a web/on-air reporter for Jacobs Media, as well as a play-by-play broadcaster for the Gwinnett Braves.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2011/7/240489