Welcome to the Braves Farm Report, where we will take a look at the Braves farm system and look at trends and players that seem interesting, and give first hand accounts of what we’re seeing down on the farm.
SHAMELESS PLUG: As a companion to the Farm Report, check out our brand new podcast, the OFR Farm Report, co-hosted by Andy Harris and Matt Chrietzberg, and out every Monday on Android, iTunes, TuneIn, and Stitcher.
Life On the Farm
ROME:
The R-Braves went 3-3 on the week. Now at 9-13 on the season, Rome is in 5th place in the SAL South standings, but are only 2 games back of the division leaders.
The highlight of this week was the best pro start of Trey Riley‘s career. The hard-throwing righty threw 6 scoreless innings against the tough Lakewood BlueClaws, combining with righties Claudio Custodio and Kurt Hoekstra on a 9-hit shutout. Right-hander Jasseel De La Cruz also delivered a solid start in what would likely be his final Rome appearance. On the downside, starters Alan Rangel and Gabriel Noguera, who stepped into the rotation to replace the promoted Nolan Kingham and De La Cruz respectively, got touched up in abbreviated outings.
Right-handed reliever and former infielder Kurt Hoekstra continued to be a revelation out of the bullpen, striking out 4 in two 9th-inning appearances and earning two saves this week.
Second baseman Greg Cullen returned to the line-up this week after missing four games after being hit with a pitch and responded with a .313/.421/.500 week with 3 doubles. Not to be outdone, Trey Harris stayed on fire, this week going 8-for-20; the Rome right-fielder is now hitting .377/.448/.545 on the season while also providing fine defense. On the flipside, centerfielder Justin Dean has gotten cold, going 5-for-28 this week and striking out 11 times in 28 plate appearances.
FLORIDA:
The Fire Frogs finished a brutal week with a 9-10 extra inning loss Saturday night, extending a 6-game losing streak, going 1-6 on the week and dropping their overall record to 7-16, claiming their traditional place at the bottom of the Florida State League standings.
Starting pitching outside of staff ace Hayden Deal (7 IP, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) was particularly suspect this week. Right-hander Freddy Tarnok followed up a solid start on Monday that contributed to Florida’s only win of the week with a nightmare outing Saturday, allowing 8 runs in only 2 innings. The Frogs got heroic relief from newly-activated Matt Hartman, who tossed 5 shutout innings to allow the offense to get back into it before the game was lost in extras. However the rotation suffered it’s biggest loss when right-hander Tristan Beck had to leave a start early on Friday and was placed on the injured list.
The bullpen wasn’t spared this week either, with typically reliable Troy Bacon and Walter Borkovich combining to give up 5 earned runs in 3 innings while lefty Justin Kelly was reassigned after letting Fridays’s game against St. Lucie get away from him, giving up 5 runs after Brook Wilson pitched 2.2 scoreless after Beck had to come out of the game.
The sketchy pitching wasted some good offensive performances this week. Outfielder Greyson Jenista found his power stroke and launched two homers, part of a six homer week for the Frogs. Platoon outfielders Shean Michel and Izzy Wilson each had good weeks, with Michel posting a .636 OBP on the strength of drawing 5 walks and Wilson going 3-for-12 with a homer and a double. Infielder Riley Unroe hit .360/.448/.560 on the week with a home run and looks too good for the level. Catcher William Contreras looked good at the plate as well, hitting .360/.429/.440 on the week, but looking uncharacteristically sloppy behind the plate, getting charged with 2 throwing errors and 2 passed balls.
MISSISSIPPI:
The Mississippi Braves started off the week well with victories over Montgomery on Sunday and Monday but lost their remaining five games of the week with the main culprit being the offense, which scored only 25 runs over seven games and generated more than four runs only once.
What little offense to be had was led by outfielder Drew Waters, who was 7-for-25 although five of the hits were for extra bases. He cut down on his strikeouts with only six on the week although he had just two walks. Waters also had an up-and-down week on defense with two assists and two errors. Fellow outfielder Cristian Pache came back to earth somewhat for the week in going 6-for-21 with just one extra-base hit and one walk although he only struck out four times. He was also caught stealing on both of his attempts for the week. On defense, Pache continued his great work with two assists. Recently activated 1B/DH Ryan Casteel had a big week in going 7-for-18 with two doubles and two home runs. SS Ray-Patrick Didder continued to struggle in a big way with a 4-for-22 week with nine strikeouts and no walks although he did win Monday’s game with a walk-off bunt.
For the starting pitchers, there was a great deal of struggle during the week. LHP Joey Wentz had two starts on the week where he gave up ten runs over 8.2 innings. Ian Anderson had a subpar start where he gave up six runs in just four innings of work with five walks. Patrick Weigel struggled in his brief outing in giving up two runs in just 1.2 innings while walking three in his 37 pitches. On the positive side, Kyle Muller recovered from a nightmare previous start where he did not get out of the second inning by giving up three runs in 5.1 innings although he struck out six and walked just two. LHP Tucker Davidson was the star for the week among the starting pitchers with two starts totaling ten innings where he gave up just one earned run on two hits although he allowed eight walks. Davidson now has a 0.95 ERA for the season over four starts with 17 strikeouts and 13 walks in 19 innings although he has given up just seven hits.
Jeremy Walker led the relief corps again this week with his piggyback outing of Patrick Weigel. Walker pitched 6.1 innings of relief and gave up just one earned run in lowering his season ERA to 2.45 and WHIP to 0.91. Walker still only has given up just one walk over 22 innings this season. Newly promoted Huascar Ynoa had two relief outings on the week: in the first, he pitched two scoreless innings on Wednesday while Saturday’s appearance didn’t go as well, as Ynoa blew a save opportunity by giving up a walk-off two-run homer.
GWINNETT:
The Gwinnett Stripers enjoyed a perfect week on the diamond last week, winning all six of their games and outscoring their opponents 49-23 while scoring at least six runs in every contest. The starting pitching fared much better this week with five of the six starters going at least five innings in each start. Rehabbing Mike Foltynewicz started the week on Sunday with a deceptive 5.1 innings where he gave up six runs but Folty was squeezed by the same home plate umpire, John Bacon, that gave him problems in his previous start. Once Folty’s secondary pitches kicked in after the first couple of innings, he settled down and proved himself ready to be called up to Atlanta to start on Saturday night against Colorado. Kyle Wright followed that up on Tuesday by giving up just one run over five innings of work in earning a win. On Wednesday, Sean Newcomb had his best start since his near no-hitter versus the Dodgers in 2018 with an outing where he went seven innings, giving up just two runs while striking out seven and walking no one with 61 strikes in 88 pitches. Kolby Allard also earned a win on Thursday by giving up just two runs over 5.1 innings although he allowed seven hits and three walks. Touki Toussaint followed that up on Friday with a win although he gave up four runs and eleven hits over five innings of work.
The relievers overall had a good week with Thomas Burrows tossing two scoreless outings over 2.1 innings and earning a save. Jose Rafael De Paula also had two scoreless outings and a save with six strikeouts over three innings of work. Corbin Clouse appeared in just one game on the week but struck out four over two innings. In what could be a preview of left-handed relievers for the Atlanta bullpen, Grant Dayton appeared in two games on Tuesday and Saturday, giving up a solo home run in one inning on Tuesday while pitching a perfect 1.1 innings on Saturday while striking out two. The rehabbing Jonny Venters appeared in two games on Thursday and Saturday, tossing a scoreless frame in each outing and generating groundballs against predominantly right-handed hitters. He should find his way back to Atlanta in the coming week as they lack a left-handed relief option outside of closer A.J. Minter.
For the offense, OFR Position Player of the Week outfielder Adam Duvall had a monster week with five home runs in six games and a .348/.423/1.043 line and just four strikeouts in 26 plate appearances. 3B Austin Riley started a big offensive run this week with three doubles, three home runs and a .375/.423/.875 line while striking out just three times on the week. Outfielder Travis Demeritte hit for the cycle on the week in going 5-for-14 while catcher Raffy Lopez went 4-for-12 with three doubles and a home run.
POSITION PLAYER of the WEEK:
PITCHER of the WEEK:
Transaction Round-Up
4/21/2019: RHP Bryse Wilson recalled to MLB Atlanta from AAA Gwinnett
4/21/2019: RHP Touki Toussaint optioned to AAA Gwinnett
The Braves took a look at Wilson as a reliever. He didn’t actually get into a game until Saturday night, when he overpowered the Rockies in the 9th inning.
4/23/2019: Outfielders Jose Hernandez, Jonaiker Izaguirre, and Antonio Sucre released from DSL Braves
More roster-clearing in anticipation of activating the 2018/19 international signees. Hernandez and Izaguirre were unimpressive in their 2018 DSL debuts. Sucre was one of the 13 players emancipated from their Braves contracts by MLB as part of the sanctions imposed by the Coppollela scandal, but was signed back by the Braves late last season. Sucre did not play in 2018.
4/24/2019: IF Pedro Florimon placed on the Temporarily Inactive List for AAA Gwinnett
4/24/2019: C Sal Giardina assigned to AAA Gwinnett
Florimon was reactivated Saturday, Sean Kazmar Jr.and Giardina filled in at first base.
4/24/2019: RHP Jasseel De La Cruz promoted to A+ Florida from A Rome
4/24/2019: RHP Gabriel Noguera assigned to A Rome from extended spring training
4/24/2019: LHP Jon Kennedy released from A+ Florida
The big promotion this week was De La Cruz moving up a level. He had pitched exceptionally well in his last three starts and would have likely already have been at high-A if not for nagging injuries that plagued him throughout the 2018 season.
Noguera missed all of the 2018 season serving a suspension for failing a drug test (non-PED) for the second time. That the Braves have stuck with him indicates what they think about his abilities, and he will step in to the Rome rotation for now.
Kennedy has been a workhorse reliever since 2016 since signing as an international free agent out of Australia. Kennedy has appeared in 94 games between Danville, Rome, and Florida/Carolina and he owns a 3.09 ERA as a Braves farmhand.
4/26/2019: RHP Claudio Custodio promoted to AA Mississippi from A Rome
4/26/2019: RHP Luis Mora activated from the 7-day injured list for A Rome
4/26/2019: LHP Michael Mader released from AA Mississippi
Kennedy wasn’t the only left-handed minor league pitching mainstay to be released this week as the Braves bid farewell to Mader. Mader joined the organization in 2016 after a trade with the Marlins sent him and Anfernee Seymour to the Braves for left-handed reliever Hunter Cervenka. Mader was a swingman most of his time with the Braves, making 22 starts among his 77 appearances with Mississippi and Gwinnett.
Custodio was signed as a minor league free agent this offseason and was only recently added to the Rome roster, where he made two scoreless appearances, allowing 2 hits and striking out 5 in 4 innings. Custodio had pitched well at higher levels for the Toronto organization last season and was clearly better than the competition in the South Atlantic League.
Luis Mora rejoins the Rome bullpen after a short IL stint.
4/26/2019: RHP Brooks Wilson assigned to A+ Florida form extended spring training
4/26/2019: RHP Cutter Dyals released from A+ Florida
Wilson was reportedly dealing with a minor injury at the end of spring training which prevented him from being assigned to a team on Opening Day. Since then he had appeared for Florida when Walter Borkovich was promoted to Gwinnett in an emergency capacity on April 16. Now apparently healthy, Wilson assumes a more permanent spot in the Fire Frogs bullpen.
Wilson’s promotion unfortunately came at the expense of side-arming righty Cutter Dyals, a 17th-round draft pick by Atlanta in 2017. Dyals was solid in 28 appearances for Rome in 2018, but looked overmatched in 6 appearances for Florida.
4/26/2019: SS AJ Graffanino placed on the 7-day injured list for A+ Florida
4/26/2019: IF Jordan Rodgers activated from the 7-day injured list for A+ Florida
Injured on Opening Day, Graffanino came off his an initial 7-day IL stint on April 12, but had not made another appearance, the Fire Frogs essentially playing a man down for 14 days. Rodgers had been on the IL since Opening Day. The former University of Tennessee third baseman was a utility infielder for Florida in 2018.
4/26/2019: C Alex Jackson placed on the 7-day injured list for Gwinnett
4/27/2019: IF Pedro Florimon activated from the Temporarily Inactive List for AAA Gwinnett
Florimon comes back just in time to replace Jackson on the roster. I haven’t seen what is ailing Jackson, but he had been out of the line-up since Tuesday.
4/27/2019: RHP Tristan Beck placed on the 7-day injured list for A+ Florida
4/27/2019: LHP Justin Kelly reassigned to extended spring training from A+ Florida
4/27/2019: RHPs Matt Hartman and Ryan Shetter assigned to A+ Florida from extended spring training
Beck missed a turn through the rotation before his start on Friday, but he only made it through four outs before coming out of the game with an injury.
Kelly was solid in 2018 for Florida and even earned a promotion to Mississippi late in the season, but he has struggled in 7 appearances in 2019. He goes back to extended to work on whatever is bothering him.
This opens up an opportunity for Hartman and Shetter who were mainstays for Danville in 2018. Hartman will likely step into Beck’s spot in the rotation.
4/27/2019: RHP Mike Foltynewicz activated off the 10-day IL for MLB Atlanta
4/27/2019: RHP Bryse Wilson optioned to AAA Gwinnett from MLB Atlanta
The Atlanta rotation is at full health for the first time all season with the activation of Foltynewicz. Wilson only made one appearance, and the Braves seemed hesitant to use him in anything other than long relief, which wasn’t really required this week.
Mailbag Q&A
Q: What’s new with Gohara? – M. Peterson
A: Braves manager Brian Snitker indicated this week that left-hander Luiz Gohara was still throwing bullpens in extended spring training, but has not yet been cleared to pitch in games. At this point fans should probably not count on Gohara at all until he at least appears in some rehab outings.
Q: Why are fans paying attention to the division standings in April? – M. Barham
Because fans will follow the game how they like, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Games in April mean as much as games in August.
Q: Has Darren O’Day fallen into the void? – P. Clark
I have obtained this footage of O’Day:
There were indications last week that O’Day could start throwing again soon, but he shouldn’t be counted on any sooner than June.
Q: Considering the depth of starting pitching prospects and his considerable platoon splits, coupled with Vizcaino being out for the year, Minter closing, as well as Venters and Biddle’s struggles thus far, might it be time to convert Sean Newcomb into a full-time relief role? Ditching his change-up, focusing on his curve, and generally-speaking just throwing out of his [lower half] may help him salvage some his lost confidence and could help the team by providing another option for a bullpen seeking answers. – B. Sumida
A: Newcomb will be needed as a starter eventually, and there are other young arms that could provide more immediate relief help. If I wanted to convert a left-handed starter to a reliever for immediate help, I would go first to Mississippi’s Tucker Davidson, who has relief experience. And it would be a crime for Newcomb to abandon his change-up.
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