Placed AAA RHP Patrick Weigel on the 7 day DL.
Activated AAA 2B Emerson Landoni from the 7 day DL.
Announced the retirement of AAA C Braeden Schlehuber.
Assigned RHP Alan Rangel to R Danville. Then promoted Rangel to A- Rome.
Announced the roster for R Danville.
Placed AAA RHP Patrick Weigel on the 7-day DL.
The 210th pick in 2015, Weigel was a fast riser in the system, reaching AAA in just his third professional season. Weigel responded well to previous aggressive promotions, and it earned him prospect-status accolades, ranking #14 on OFR’s pre-season prospect list. While his 8 starts in AAA were pretty rocky (5.27 ERA, 1.8 K:BB), he did recently throw 7 shutout innings, an encouraging start.
All that grinds to a saddening halt with news of Weigel suffering an elbow injury. He is now headed for the dreaded visit to Dr. James Andrews. It’s very likely that TJ surgery awaits him, so Weigel may not pitch again until 2019. It’s a very unfortunate setback for a pitcher not far from the major leagues. Here’s hoping for a speedy and, more importantly, successful recovery.
Activated AAA 2B Emerson Landoni from the 7-day DL.
Landoni is high-minors filler, an organizational player who finally reached AAA last year at the age of 27. In 2014 and 2015, both at AA, Landoni hinted at being a helpful hitter, but he was old for his level, and the performance was something of an outlier for him. With Ozzie Albies starting, Landoni will look for bench and utility work.
Announced the retirement of AAA C Braeden Schlehuber.
The defense was there for the minor league veteran, but the bat just never quite let him reach the majors. It’s unfortunate, as Schlehuber seemed pretty likeable, but after 3 years of middling results at AAA, and 7 K’s in 15 plate appearances this year, the 29 year old understandably called it a career. The minor league life can be a grind when you’re not advancing. Here’s wishing Schlehuber the best in his next endeavor.
Assigned RHP Alan Rangel to A- Rome.
Rangel has pitched twice for Rome already this season, but due to some all-star break roster shenanigans, was on the Florida Fire Frogs roster, then was assigned to Danville, and from Danville was sent back to Rome. In his two Rome starts, he’s produced an unlikely line: a 4.15 ERA with 17 hits allowed in 8.2 IP. It will be an interesting game of chicken going forward as we wonder which absurd stat will regress first, the .500 batting average on balls in play he has surrendered, or the 85.2% rate of leaving runners on base that has allowed Rangel to keep his ERA respectable.
Announced the roster for R Danville.
Here it is, folks!
5 players to watch:
- RHP Kyle Muller – OFR’s #21 Braves prospect in the preseason, the 44th overall pick of the 2016 draft is a player many are excited to see make his 2017 debut. He dominated Gulf Coast League hitters in 27.2 IP last year.
- SS Derian Cruz – OFR’s #26 Braves prospect in the preseason, the jewel of the 2015 international class gets his second shot at Danville. While unsuccessful there last season, Cruz was only 17, so there are no concerns yet for the toolsy middle infielder.
- RHP Landon Hughes – The 200th pick of this month’s MLB draft, Hughes is a big righty with big strikeout numbers as a reliever at Georgia Southern. He went to the same JUCO as Craig Kimbrel, if you’re into the idea that wearing the same shirt as a great pitcher makes you great too.
- LHP John Curtis – Pick #230 this year, Curtis is a lefty who hits the mid-90’s. If you’re wondering how he lasted until pick 230, his secondary offerings and command will answer that. Expect him to be a tantalizing work in progress.
- OF Justin Smith – Selected 590th overall, Smith is a toolsy prospect with upside you don’t normally find in the 20th round. It may not come together (obviously), but he’ll be an interesting one to watch until we find out.
Leave a Reply