Andrelton Simmons ML Rehab Set for Lynchburg

The Atlanta Braves have announced that SS Andrelton Simmons will play for the Lynchburg Hillcats Thursday night at Lynchburg City Stadium as part of his Major League rehab assignment. Simmons made his Major League debut June 2 this season. He played 33 games before injuring his finger diving into second base July 8, and has not played since.

Simmons hit .296 with three home runs and 15 RBIs in his time with Atlanta. He was named the National League Rookie of the Month for June after hitting .333 in 25 June games. The Braves' second round pick in 2010 nearly earned the starting shortstop job for Atlanta out of Spring Training this season, but a side injury held him back. He missed the first few days of the season before joining Double-A Mississippi. He hit .292 with three home runs and 21 RBIs in 43 games with the M-Braves. He also stole 10 bases in Double-A before earning his first call-up to the big leagues.

The last time Simmons played in Lynchburg was in 2011. He spent the entire season with the Hillcats. The Curacao native won the Carolina League batting title by hitting .311 and led the Hillcats with 26 stolen bases. Lynchburg honored Simmons as the team's co-MVP, while the league named him both a mid-season and year-end All-Star.

The Hilcats will begin their playoff run Wednesday night in Wilmington, Delaware against the Blue Rocks. The first round is a best of three games series. Game two will be Thursday night at Lynchburg City Stadium at 6:05pm, and game three, if necessary, will be in Lynchburg as well, Friday at 6:05pm. There is no end date set for Simmons' rehab assignment. He will play with the Hillcats until further notice. Round two of the playoffs, the Mills Cup Championship, will begin Saturday in a Southern Division stadium. If the Hillcats advance to the championship series, they would host games 3-5 as necessary of the best of five games set. Game three would be Tuesday, September 11 at City Stadium, starting again at 6:05pm.

Playoff tickets can be purchased online or by calling the ticket office at 434-528-1144. Fans can also stop by the Front Office anytime Tuesday-Friday 9am-5pm this week to purchase playoff tickets or playoff passes!