Sunday Atlanta Braves Farm Report, 8/25/2019

Mississippi C William Contreras. (Tate K. Nations)

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.

Be sure to check out the OFR Farm Report Podcast, out every Monday!

Prospect Spotlight: William Contreras

Contreras was signed late in the 2014/15 international signing class for $10,000; to say that Contreras has been an underdog most of his minor league career is an understatement. The Cubs of course employ Contreras’s older brother Willson, and William has demonstrated a lot of the same physical tools as the Cubs All-Star.

Position: C
Age: 21.7
Height: 6′-0″
Weight: 180 lbs
Performance: .242/.307/.340 | 6 HR | 0 SB | 20.1 K% | 7.4 BB% | 92 wRC+

Grades (Current/Future)
Hit: 35/55
Power: 40/50
Speed: 40/40
Arm: 50/50
Defense: 50/60

It seems hard to believe now, but Cubs catcher Willson Contreras was not a well-regarded prospect as he came through Chicago’s farm system. He repeated the Dominican Summer League and low-A ball and went unclaimed in the Rule 5 draft in 2015. The reality is that catchers tend to develop at a more deliberate rate than players of other positions. The physical nature of catching means that they typically don’t get as many plate appearances as other prospects. Defense is much more critical and takes up much more development time as well.

While the younger Contreras has moved through the Braves system quicker than Willson did with the Cubs, it probably is instructive to keep in mind that catchers develop at their own pace and teams that try to rush the process usually regret it. William spent the first three seasons of his pro career opening eyes at the rookie ball level, making stops each season in the DSL, GCL, and in Danville. It was after his work in Danville that Contreras started to appear regularly on Braves Top 30 prospect lists (including a #16 placement on the OFR list) and he earned Appalachian League All-Star honors.

Expectations were high for his full-season debut in 2018, and Contreras met them with a solid season at and behind the plate for Rome, hitting .293/.360/.463 in 82 games played, joining outfielder Drew Waters and shortstop Riley Delgado to give Rome one of the best top of the line-ups in the SAL. This trio would be promoted to advanced-A Florida almost simultaneously before the end of the season, getting a one-month preview of life in the tougher Florida State League offensive environment.

Getting a second major league spring training non-roster invite, Contreras made a good impression last off-season and received glowing articles in the AJC and The Athletic. Returning to Florida, Contreras got off to a fast start, hitting .329/.394/.447 in April, but struggled in May.  The struggles continued after an early June promotion to AA Mississippi. Most notably, the nascent power that Contreras started to demonstrate in Danville and Rome has almost disappeared in Florida and Mississippi, environments that are notoriously difficult for hitters without either speed or light-pole power.

The highlight of Contreras’s season is likely catching two no-hitters within a little over a month, Jasseel De La Cruz‘s with Florida on May 18 and then Ian Anderson and Jeremy Walker‘s combined no-hitter with Mississippi on June 28.

Offense: While statistically 2019 has been Contreras’s poorest season on the offensive side, all of the tools that made him a prospect remain. Contreras’s primary advantage is his good bat speed and strong hands that allow him to whip the bat head through the zone. He’s a strong man and when it all works he has plus power to all fields.

Contreras does a good job taking pitches and has good strike zone command, but gets himself into trouble when he expands his zone with two strikes. Contreras has a tendency to open up early and it leaves him vulnerable to off-speed, especially anything that can break away from him. He likes the ball up in the zone to drive, but it also leaves him vulnerable to hitting infield pop-ups (think Andrelton Simmons circa 2015 as a comparison).

Defense: Contreras’s primary development focus this season was to work on his flexibility and athleticism behind the plate. Contreras has a plus arm, but poor footwork and a propensity to try to throw out runners from his knees hurt his ability to manage the running game properly. To this end, Contreras has shown good progress this year, and his caught-stealing percentage has leaped to 47% from 28% last year, and opposing baserunners have noticed; there have only been four stolen base attempts against Contreras in August so far. Contreras has caught 91 games this season, blowing past his previous high of 63 set last year. Contreras is a good game manager and has been one of the better pitch framers in the system since the rookie leagues. He projects as an above average defensive major league catcher.

Baserunning: He’s a catcher and knows his role, only attempting one stolen base in the last two seasons. That said, he’s an observant baserunner and will take the extra base if it presents itself.

Overall Contreras remains one of the top catching prospects in baseball. The Braves will have to add him to the 40-man roster this season to avoid the Rule 5 draft — it seems unlikely the rest of the major leagues would allow another Contreras to slip through — but his ETA to Atlanta is still likely late in 2020 for a September call-up.

Life On the Farm

DSL BRAVES: 

The DSL Braves completed their schedule a little earlier than anticipated as rain caused the cancellation of games on Friday and Saturday. That left the team with a 36-34 record, the first DSL Braves squad that finishes with a winning record since the William Contreras-lead 2015 team.

Here are the top performers for the season:

  1. OF Deivi Estrada – .307/.433/.366, 1 HR, 9 SB, 133 wRC+
  2. 2B/OF Geraldo Quintero – .264/.379/.376, 1 HR, 29 SB, 116 wRC+
  3. 3B Jose Dilone – .267/.371/.307, 1 HR, 18 SB, 101 wRC+
  1. RHP Rainery Rodriguez – 1.79 ERA/3.69 FIP, 50.1 IP, 37 SO
  2. LHP Osiris Sierra – 2.21 ERA/4.16 FIP, 53.0 IP, 39 SO
  3. RHP Ronaldo Alesandro – 2.56 ERA/4.07 FIP, 31.2 IP, 40 SO

GCL BRAVES:

The GCL Braves went 1-7 over the last week, playing two doubleheaders to make up for prior rain-outs; it would have been three doubleheaders but the back half of a planned August 22 doubleheader was cancelled by rain. This week they will wrap up the schedule with 7 games planned in the next 5 days.

Third baseman Darling Florentino hit two home runs this week, giving him 8 on the season between the GCL and Rome. Shortstop Vaughn Grissom hit a solid .292/.346/.333, and 17-year-old Mahki Backstrom hit his second home run of the season.

Right-hander Walner Polanco earned the only win of the week with 5 innings of 2-run ball. Right-hander Jared Johnson pitched 3 hitless innings in his start this week, striking out 4. Braves right-hander Darren O’Day started a rehab stint with the team on Friday and tossed a scoreless innings, striking out two.

DANVILLE:

Danville was eliminated from post-season consideration early last week but went 3-3 including a 2-game sweep of Burlington to wrap up the home portion of the schedule.

Right-hander Alger Hodgson struggled in the bullpen all season, but promotions opened up a spot in the rotation and he has filled it admirably this week, allowing only 1 run and 3 hits over 8.2 innings in 2 starts. Left-hander Lisandro Santos continued his good work since being promoted from the DSL, throwing 5 scoreless, 2-hit innings.

On the offensive side, first baseman Ray Hernandez has been swinging a hot bat, going 5-for-13 with 2 doubles and 3 walks. Defensive stand-out infielder  Garret Saunders also got hot, hitting .313/.421/.500 with a double and triple. Outfielders Willie Carter and Brandon Parker and catcher Victor De Hoyos each homered this week as well.

The Appalachian League this week announced their All-Star team, and while only two Danville Braves made the squad, they both received top honors as first baseman Bryce Ball and right-hander Mitch Stallings were named league Player and Pitcher of the Year respectively. Both players have recently been promoted to Rome.

ROME:

Rome went 4-2 this week to keep their playoff hopes alive. The team is now 31-30 on the season, 3 games back of Asheville and Augusta, who are tied for first in the SAL Southern Division.

The team was on fire that the plate this week, scoring 42 runs. Pressed into everyday duty at third base after an injury to Braulio Vazquez, Brendan Venter hit .389/.577/.556 on the week with 3 doubles and 5 RBI. Second baseman Greg Cullen, first baseman Bryce Ball, outfielder Justin Dean, catchers Shea Langeliers and Ricardo Rodriguez, and outfielder Jeremy Fernandez all also hit over .300 for the week, with Ball and Dean also homering. The team also got a spark from the rehabbing Dansby Swanson, who went 4-for-10 in 3 games with 3 walks. Austin Riley also started a rehab stint on Friday but has been less successful at the plate, only going 1-for-7.

Right-hander Mitch Stallings has started his A-ball career, securing 2 wins in two starts against Columbia, allowing 3 runs in 11 innings between the two outings. The bullpen as a whole was strong this week as Jack Higginbotham, Jose Montilla, Gabriel Noguera, and Ryan Shetter comined for 9 scorless innings. Righty Victor Vodnik pitched 3 scoreless innings in relief last Sunday and two more on Friday night before the wheels fell off in the ninth inning and he surrendered 5 runs in the final frame to lose the game.

FLORIDA:

The Fire Frogs went 2-4 on the week that included the final homestand at Osceola County Stadium. The team will move to an as yet unknown location in 2020 after the county bought the team out of the remainder of their lease in order to build a soccer complex. This will end a three-year stretch at the stadium that has produced 3 last-place finishes.

It wasn’t all doom-and-gloom however. Right-hander Freddy Tarnok turned in his best start of the season on Thursday, tossing 7 innings and allowing only 1 run and striking out a season high 8. Starting pitching in general was once again strong as Brooks Wilson, Odalvi Javier, and Matt Hartman each provided a Quality Start.

The problem, as it has been most of the season, was the uneven offensive production. Part-times Rusber Estrada and Jordan Rodgers had good weeks, going a combined 8-for-26 with Rodgers hitting a homer on Thursday that provided the only offense against Tampa. Catcher Logan Brown went 4-for-12. Otherwise, the Fire Frogs regulars are just having trouble producing any kind of sustained offense, and when heart-of-the-order thumpers Drew Lugbauer and Jefrey Ramos don’t provide power the team has shown little ability to sustain rallies.

MISSISSIPPI:

The Mississippi Braves endured another rough week by winning just three of eight games and were eliminated from playoff contention with their loss to Biloxi on Saturday night. They are currently in a horrific slump offensively with just twenty runs scored in eight games this week and are in a stretch where they have scored four or fewer runs in seventeen straight contests dating back to August 7th, which basically coincides with the promotions of Drew Waters and Cristian Pache on August 6th.

There were several solid starting pitching performances on the week as Jasseel De La Cruz (5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), Philip Pfeifer (8 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K) and Claudio Custodio (7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) all turned in scoreless starts. Pfeifer now has a 1.17 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP in his four starts as an M-Brave while striking out more than eleven per nine innings, and will earn OFR Pitcher of the Week for the third time this season. Nolan Kingham, however, suffered his first bad start in Mississippi as he gave up seven runs in just 3.2 innings. In the bullpen, Bradley Roney continued to impress with two more scoreless outings and Kurt Hoekstra gave up just one run over four innings of work. Thomas Burrows (4.1 IP, 5 H, 7 ER, 5 BB, 6 K) and Jason Hursh (4.1 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 3 K) weren’t as helpful.

Obviously, offensive standouts were in short supply, but Riley Unroe led the team in hits with nine during a .300/.364/.400 week. Greyson Jenista (.292/.292/.458) and Ryan Casteel (.280/.357/.480) each had seven hits while Braden Shewmake (.286/.375/.286) had six to go along with two stolen bases. Trey Harris finally slowed some this week as he was just 5-for-30 while Connor Lien was 3-for-18 with twelve strikeouts and Lane Adams was 1-for-13 with six strikeouts.

GWINNETT:

The Gwinnett Stripers went 3-4 this week as they continued their march towards a playoff spot. They now have a 1.5 game lead over Charlotte in the International League South and have a magic number of eight to claim the division but just four to claim a wild-card berth. Recently arrived players provided a significant amount of offense this week as 3B Johan Camargo had four multi-hit games on his way to a .464/.500/.679 week, earning OFR Player of the Week honors. OF Drew Waters had a solid week (.333/.467/.500) but his biggest surprise was six walks and two multi-walk games during the week. Coming into this week, Waters had only had one multi-walk game this season. OF Cristian Pache also put up good numbers with a .308/.308/.462 line but, unlike Waters, drew no walks during the week. The one recent arrival who did not fare well was 1B Lucas Duda was just 2-for-22 with seven strikeouts although he did have a home run. Pedro Florimon matched Camargo with four multi-hit games during a .464/.483/.643 week.

Gwinnett’s starting pitching didn’t live up to the results of the past few weeks as only two pitchers completed six innings during their starts. Kyle Wright gave up five runs and ten hits in his six innings but also struck out ten. Bryse Wilson fared better with another great outing (6 IP, 4 H, 1 R/ER, 0 BB, 3 K) and is now 5-0 with a 0.55 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP over his last five starts with just a .190 opponents’ batting average. Tucker Davidson put up decent numbers in giving up just one run over four innings but was in frequent trouble and came out after 85 pitches. Those that had subpar starts include Huascar Ynoa (3 IP, 8 H, 3 ER), Touki Toussaint (4 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 3 K) and Patrick Weigel (2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K) in a bullpen game. Ian Anderson pitched fairly well in his start in giving up just one run in his first five innings of work but wore down and gave up a two-run homer in the sixth before leaving the game.

The bullpen had mixed results as several relievers had good weeks: AJ Minter (3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K), Chad Sobotka (3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K), Patrick Weigel (three shutout innings and five strikeouts in a relief outing), and Corbin Clouse (4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K) all were solid but Tyler Matzek (2.1 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K), Jeremy Walker (3.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K), Jacob Webb (1 IP, 2 ER), and Grant Dayton (2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) had rough weeks. Webb was shut down after his outing with continued right elbow impingement and Dayton was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

POSITION PLAYER of the WEEK:

Gwinnett IF Johan Camargo. (Bernie Connelly/Gwinnett Stripers)

PITCHER of the WEEK:

Mississippi LHP Phil Pfeifer. (Mississippi Braves via twitter)

Transaction Round-Up

8/19/2019: RHP Jacob Webb recalled by MLB Atlanta from AAA Gwinnett; placed on 60-day injured list for MLB Atlanta
8/19/2019: RHP Bryse Wilson optioned to AAA Gwinnett from MLB Atlanta
8/19/2019: OF Billy Hamilton claimed on waivers from the Kansas City Royals

With Ender Inciarte on the shelf for 4-6 weeks, Atlanta moved to fill the defensive and base-running deficiency by grabbing Hamilton off the waiver wire. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Braves recalled Jacob Webb and then moved him to the 60-day IL with an elbow impingement.

This has to be a disappointment for Webb, who certainly would have been a September call-up and possibly a post-season roster candidate. His first major league season was strong, pitching to a 1.39 in 32 big league appearances, but injuries have derailed his second half. On July 15, Webb was disabled with what was characterized as a right elbow impingement which an MRI revealed to be a bone bruise. When Webb was cleared to return however, it was after the trade deadline and the Braves had just added three relievers and the only pitcher in the bullpen with options was left-hander Sean Newcomb, whom the Braves didn’t want to send down, and Webb found himself back with Gwinnett. Webb looked sharp in his first four appearances with Gwinnett, but he started to give up hard contact his last two outings. There’s been no word if his latest impingement is related to his earlier bone bruise.

8/20/2019: 3B CJ Alexander placed on 7-day injured list for AA Mississippi
8/20/2019: OF Connor Lien activated from 7-day injured list for AA Mississippi

Alexander was involved in a scary play on Sunday when he went nearly full-speed over a railing to try to catch a foul ball. There was a 4-foot drop on the other side of the railing to a ramp leading into the visitor’s clubhouse. Fortunately, Alexander’s injuries were limited to a sprained thumb. Nevertheless, it’s the latest setback in what has become nearly a lost season for the pop-up prospect from 2018.

8/21/2019: C Alex Jackson recalled by MLB Atlanta from AAA Gwinnett
8/21/2019: C Jonathan Morales called up to AAA Gwinnett from AA Mississippi
8/21/2019: C Brian McCann placed on the 10-day injured list for MLB Atlanta

McCann has a left knee MCL sprain, which should keep him out of commission until the rosters expand in September. This makes it likely that Jackson may remain in the major leagues through the rest of the season.

8/21/2019: LHP Tyler Matzek promoted to AAA Gwinnett from AA Mississippi
8/21/2019: LHP Jordan Harrison assigned to AA Mississippi from AAA Gwinnett

I wrote about Matzek’s signing in last week’s Transaction Round-Up, and after one scoreless appearance for Mississippi Matzek will get his first regular exposure to the juiced baseball. Ryan Cothran of Braves Journal wrote about the possibility of Matzek being a postseason roster candidate. So far he hasn’t helped his case by giving up 4 runs in 2.1 innings over 2 Gwinnett appearances.

8/23/2019: OF Connor Blair promoted to A Rome from Rk Danville
8/23/2019: 3B Braulio Vazquez placed on 7-day injured list for A Rome

The Rome squad is starting to resemble a MASH unit, and I’m talking about the wounded soldier part not the wacky drunken doctors part. Vazquez is the 7th player currently on the Rome IL. It does however give an opportunity for Blair, a former University of Washington standout.

8/23/2019: LHP Corbin Clouse placed on 7-day injured list for AAA Gwinnett
8/23/2019: RHP Ben Rowen promoted to AAA Gwinnett from AA Mississippi
8/23/2019: RHP Jonathan Aro activated from 7-day injured list for AA Mississippi

The slim hopes that Clouse could get an opportunity in Atlanta when the rosters expand would seem to fade some more with this latest setback.

8/24/2019: LHP Hayden Deal activated from 7-day injured list for A+ Florida
8/24/2019: RHP Alex Camacho assigned to Rk Danville from A+ Florida

I thought it a possibility that the Braves may elect to shut down Deal, but he will instead finish the season on the active roster, I’m guessing out of the bullpen or with a restricted pitch count. Camacho, a 6′-7″, 245 pound giant, acquited himself well with Florida, throwing 2 scoreless outings.

8/24/2019: C Francisco Cervelli signed to a major league contract
8/24/2019: LHP Grant Dayton transferred to 60-day injured list for MLB Atlanta
8/24/2019: C Alex Jackson optioned to AAA Gwinnett

The signing of Cervelli gives Atlanta a much stronger potential post-season 3-man catching corps than last season, where Rene Rivera basically was a wasted roster spot. It also allows Jackson to help the Stripers in their bid to return to the post-season.

Dayton had just started a rehab assignment with Gwinnett, but already 16 days into his IL stint it’s not out of question that he could come off the IL in September.

 

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