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.
This week we sing the praises of Mississippi outfielder Cristian Pache as well as go through what’s going on down at the affiliates and go through a busy week of transactions
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.
Pache Ascending
Player A: 27 G, .333/.394/.677/1.071, 194 wRC+, 7.3% BB%, 25.7% K%, .343 ISO
Player B: 12 G, .333/.377/.688/1.065, 211 wRC+, 7.5% BB%, 26.4% K%, .354 ISO
Player A is Austin Riley at Mississippi I’m 2018, he was promoted after 27 games. Player B is Cristian Pache so far in 2019.
— Matt Chrietzberg (@BravesMattC) April 19, 2019
As usual, Matt and I were on similar wavelengths. Matt tweeted this as I was starting to formulate this section.
To put it bluntly, Cristian Pache‘s start to the 2019 season probably couldn’t have gone any better. After turning heads in Grapefruit League action hitting .359/.390/.641 with 2 home runs, Pache returned to AA Mississippi to start the minor league season, the same level at which Pache finished the final month of 2018. It’s been so-far-so-good as far as performance this season as Pache has hit .309/.361/.618 with two homers through the first 14 games of the season. Pache is currently in the top 10 in the Southern League in batting average, slugging, OPS, doubles, and triples.
As has been case for his entire professional career however, the numbers only tell part of the story. Until last year, Pache’s prospect stock has been backed by projection. While his defensive abilities were and are plain to see, it took imagination to project Pache as a offensive player. Tall but a little scrawny just two seasons ago, scouts and talent evaluators could foresee Pache gaining muscle and filling out after leaving his teenage years and going on a professional nutritional and weight-training regimen. They also saw that while raw at the plate, he possessed strong hands and a good eye, tools that should translate to better production as he got older. Combine the two and Pache should start both hitting the ball out of the park and also not swinging at balls out of the strike zone.
But as an 18 year old in Rome, Pache spent a good chunk of his plate appearances hitting the ball into the ground (over 50%!) and striking out (over 20%!). Pache was often behind in the count, often looked lost against breaking balls, and swung off his front foot. Worst of all, he still didn’t hit even a single home run. Statline scouts despaired, but there was plenty of good to see if one was inclined to look. The most important was that Pache showed gradual but continual improvement as the season progressed. Eventually this showed in his production; he hit .305/.348/.352 over the final five weeks of the season. Pache was clearly listening to coaching and using his experience to make himself better.
Pache was again the second youngest player in his league in 2018 when he was promoted to high-A Florida. Prospect watchers already could tell that the anticipated filling-out of his frame was underway in earnest when he reported to spring training noticeably taller and wider, and he capped his spring by launching two home runs in the exhibition Futures Game at SunTrust Park. Pache was clearly sent to the Fire Frogs with a purpose: be more aggressive early in the count and avoid getting down early. Pache was much more aggressive at the plate with Florida, which resulted in a drop in walk rate. It also had him swinging at strikes early however, and Pache’s newfound power started making itself felt as he hit 33 extra base hits in 386 plate appearances, including his first 8 professional home runes. His strikeout percentage dipped as well, and in the pitching-dominant Florida State League he became a true offensive threat.
That said, Pache also demonstrated he still had work to do. Pache still often got off-stride and hit off his front foot, which led to a still unsightly 48% groundball rate. The Braves ended up challenging Pache with a final-month promotion to Mississippi, and after an initial burst of success, the more advanced AA pitchers began to exploit these deficiencies, and Pache’s production limped into the off-season.
Everyone knows failure is a much better teacher than success. Each time Pache has been challenged, he’s learned and overcome. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the now 20 year old Pache is performing so well at a level that he got a taste of last season. His swing is more controlled, and he’s back to taking more pitches like his time in Rome, but combining that with a controlled aggressiveness. His strikeouts are up, but so are his walks and he is hitting the ball with more authority than any time in his young life. It seems almost a certainty that the Braves, an organization notorious for pushing their top prospects, will move Pache soon to AAA Gwinnett to present him with another challenge.
And while I have never really thought much of the chances of Pache making his major league debut in 2019, the possibility cannot now be denied. His centerfield defense has long been major-league caliber, and if there was an opening in Atlanta late in the year and Pache continues to show progress, is it any more likely the Braves would turn to the likes of Rafael Ortega or Ryan LaMarre?
Life on the Farm
ROME:
Rome finished the week going 3-4, including a rough three-game stretch from Wednesday through Friday where the team scored a total of 1 run. The offensive outage wasn’t helped when second baseman and #3 hitter Greg Cullen was hit by a pitch on Thursday and was forced from the line-up; he is day-to-day. Nevertheless, nothing is slowing down right fielder Trey Harris, who continues to swing the hot stick, this week going 9-for-25 with 5 extra base hits. Shortstop Carlos Paraguate also started showing some life at the dish, knocking his first three extra base hits of the season, all doubles, and being a catalyst in a 7-run 8th inning outburst against Columbia on Tuesday. While the hits have been hard to come by for 17-year-old Darling Florentino, he does have a flair for the dramatic. After last week winning the Rome home opener on a 10th-inning two-run double, on Saturday he capped a 5-4 Rome comeback against Greenville with a 3-run homer in the 8th inning.
This week saw the most effective Rome starter, right-hander Nolan Kingham, get promoted to advanced-A Florida, but he left the team on a good note, throwing 6 innings of 5-hit ball and only surrendering an unearned run. That lowered his Rome ERA to 0.56 in 3 starts. Starters Jasseel De La Cruz and Jose Olague both continued their good work, each throwing 5 innings and allowing a single run in their respective starts this week. Trey Riley however has continued his rough start to the season, this week giving up 4 runs in 4 innings, with control continuing to be a problem for the 5th rounder.
The Rome bullpen continues to be strong. Right-handers Victor Vodnik, Lucas Young, and Jose Montilla remain unscored upon. Right-hander Claudio Custodio was promoted out of extended spring training to replace Kingham on the roster and provided 2 innings of scoreless relief on Saturday. Custodio brings to two the number of former minor league position players converted to pitching that Rome is rostering, joining former infielder Kurt Hoekstra who provided three solid outings this week and earned his first career save on Saturday.
FLORIDA:
The Fire Frogs took it on the chin this week, going only 1-6 including getting swept by Daytona. Florida has been hampered by a punchless offense where only infielder Riley Delgado has been a consistent offensive contributor. Delgado hit .381/.458/.429 for the week, bringing his career A+ slash line to .308/.362/.342 and with a spot seemingly open at third base at Mississippi, it doesn’t take much imagination to guess he may be on the move soon.
Florida starters got roughed up a bit this week, including newcomer Nolan Kingham, who surrendered three runs in 4.1 innings in his high-A debut. On his way out was Huascar Ynoa, who moved up to Mississippi this week after giving up 3 runs in a 3.1 inning start but striking out 6 in the process.
The best pitching performances were turned in by relievers, especially right-hander Brandon White, who threw 6.1 innings over 3 outings and only surrendering one unearned run, and retains a 0.00 ERA on the season. Righty Cutter Dyals and lefty Jon Kennedy also proved stout this week, throwing a total of 8 innings of scoreless ball.
MISSISSIPPI:
The Mississippi Braves went 5-3 for the week with four of the wins coming during the first four games of their road trip to Chattanooga. The week began with a Kyle Muller start where he gave up just one hit and no runs over 3.1 innings while striking out seven although he walked four. The week also had two Patrick Weigel starts where he pitched two scoreless innings in each appearance while maintaining a pitch count of around 40 in each outing. In each start, he was piggybacked by Jeremy Walker, who continued his impressive work with just four earned runs over 10.1 innings on the week. Three of those runs and his only walk of the season came in his sixth inning of relief on Saturday when he was over the 70-pitch mark. Joey Wentz had an impressive start on Monday where he did not allow any earned runs over 4.2 innings while striking out seven. Tuesday brought another fine Tucker Davidson start where he gave up just one earned run over five innings of work while striking out seven. On Wednesday, Ian Anderson did not give up any earned runs over 4.2 innings. In each of these cases, the M-Braves maintained fairly strict pitch counts of around 75-80 for each of the starters. Unfortunately, Friday brought a terrible Kyle Muller start where he did not give up any hits and struck out four over 1.2 innings but gave up three runs due to six walks and three wild pitches. In fact, Muller was so wild that he was removed from the game in the middle of a Taylor Trammell at-bat after nearly hitting him in the head with a pitch. Later in that game brought the first AA appearance for Huascar Ynoa, who had just been promoted from Florida. The first inning of Ynoa’s outing was rough in that he gave up three runs but he settled down in his second inning of work, allowing just an infield single in a scoreless frame. Reliever Josh Graham tossed five scoreless innings over three outings while earning a win and a save and striking out five.
There were several Mississippi hitters that excelled for the week: Connor Lien, the OFR Position Player of the Week, led the way with a double, triple, three home runs, three walks, an HBP and six RBI in just 20 plate appearances to rack up a gaudy .375/.500/1.125 batting line. OF Cristian Pache continued to dominate the Southern League in most offensive categories with a .333/.429/.667 line, including his first five walks of the season. OF Drew Waters continued his fine work in the leadoff spot with a .303/.343/.455 week although he racked up 15 strikeouts in just 35 plate appearances. Catcher Jonathan Morales continued his hot start by going 7-for-19 with two doubles and three walks.
Those having rough weeks include 1B CJ Alexander, who was 0-for-8 with two walks and two RBI over four games before being placed on the injured list on April 18 with a hurt elbow. SS Ray-Patrick Didder continued to have a rough go of it by going 0-for-14 on the week with eight strikeouts and four walks and is now batting just .091 for the season although he has an on-base percentage of .318.
GWINNETT:
Gwinnett started off the week in nice fashion, winning their first two games, but then dropping their last five games to finish 2-5 for the week with three of those losses by just one run. The starting pitching was rough across the board led by Kolby Allard, who had two starts where he totaled allowed six runs over 7.2 innings on ten hits and six walks. Kyle Wright (4 IP, 7 H, 5 R/ER, 1 BB, 2 K) and Sean Newcomb (5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R/ER, 4 BB, 5 K) were both roughed up in their first starts after being optioned from Atlanta while Mike Foltynewicz’s performance (3.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 5 K) was shaky enough to justify another rehab start before returning to Atlanta. The best start of the week belonged to Bryse Wilson, who gave up just one earned run over 5.2 innings while striking out six in his lone outing of the week.
The Gwinnett relievers had a rough week and demonstrated why they aren’t going to be of any help to the big club in the near-term. Corbin Clouse allowed five runs in four innings over three outings while Thomas Burrows was roughed up for two runs in three outings totaling 2.1 innings. There were a couple of bright spots among the relievers: Grant Dayton came off of the injured list on Saturday to toss a scoreless inning while Elian Leyva, the OFR Pitcher of the Week, didn’t give up any runs over three outings including a spot start. Leyva struck out eight and gave up no walks over 5.1 innings and also earned a save in the process.
Among the hitters, leadoff hitter OF Rafael Ortega continued his fine work with three home runs and a .261/.370/.739 for the week. OF Adam Duvall continued his trend of managing to get on base while mitigating his strikeouts with a .280/.379/.320 line on the week. Duvall did manage to hit his first home run of the season on Saturday. OF Ryan Lamarre also had a good week in batting .450 while driving in six. 3B Austin Riley continued to struggle in going 6-for-27 on the week with no extra-base hits although he did strike out just five times in 30 plate appearances.
POSITION PLAYER of the WEEK:
PITCHER of the WEEK:
Transaction Round-Up
4/14/2019: LHP Sean Newcomb optioned to AAA Gwinnett
4/14/2019: RHPs Jacob Webb and Dan Winkler recalled to MLB Atlanta from AAA Gwinnett
4/14/2019: LHP Jordan Harrison promoted from AA Mississippi to AAA Gwinnett
4/14/2019: LHP Philip Pfeifer activated to AA Mississippi
It seems like it was a million years ago, but just a week ago Sean Newcomb was sent down after 53 MLB starts. On the same day closer Arodys Vizcaino was placed on the injured list and later in the week the team announced that he would miss the rest of the regular season. This triggered a chain reaction of moves, highlighted by Jacob Webb’s promotion for his major league debut.
4/14/2019: RHP Luis Mora placed on 7-day injured list for A Rome
4/14/2019: LHP Dilmer Mejia sent to A Rome from A+ Florida
Mejia didn’t make an appearance for Florida before returning to Rome to backfill for the injured Mora, who is trying to return after missing all of 2018 after UCL replacement.
4/16/2019: RHP Shane Carle recalled to MLB Atlanta from AAA Gwinnett
4/16/2019: LHP Jordan Harrison sent to AA Mississippi from AAA Gwinnett
4/16/2019: RHP Ben Rowen promoted to AAA Gwinnett from AA Mississippi
4/16/2019: RHP Walter Borkovich promoted to AAA Gwinnett from A+ Florida
4/16/2019: RHP Brooks Wilson promoted to A+ Florida from extended spring training
Another major league injury, another chain of promotions. In this case it was lefty Jonny Venters going on the shelf, and Shane Carle getting the call. Gwinnett switched out Harrison after one outing for fellow minor league free agent signing Rowen. Walter Borkovich got what turned out to be a quick look at AAA, and 2018 7th rounder Wilson escaped extended spring training.
4/16/2019: C Sergio Ordonez and RHP Nonato Valdez released from DSL Braves
The Domincan Summer League season starts on June 1, and the Braves will need to make room on the roster for the 13 players signed to developmental contracts in the 2018/19 signing period. These moves free up two slots. Ordonez played two seasons with the Braves, hitting .214/.290/.286 in 46 games. Valdez appeared in 17 games as a reliever in 2018, surrendering 27 earned runs in 22.1 innings pitched.
4/17/2019: C Alex Jackson optioned to AAA Gwinnett
4/17/2019: C Sal Giardina assigned to extended spring training
With Brian McCann‘s activation off the disabled list, Jackson returns to the Stripers. While Jackson failed to get his first major league hit in his three starts, he was instrumental in holding down the position as Tyler Flowers was healing from his own injury situation after being hit in the hand with a pitch. Amazingly, Jackson has transformed himself in two seasons from a slugger who many questioned would be able to stick at catcher to a strong defender who’s bat may not play in the majors.
4/18/2019: IF CJ Alexander placed on the 7-day injured list for AA Mississippi
4/18/2019: 1B/C Ryan Casteel promoted to AA Mississippi from extended spring training
With Alexander on the shelf with an elbow injury, Casteel has emerged from extended spring training limbo. A minor league free agent signing, Casteel will work at first base along with Andy Wilkens.
4/18/2019: RHP Connor Johnstone sent to AA Mississippi from AAA Gwinnett
4/18/2019: RHP Jason Creasy promoted to AAA Gwinnett from AA Mississippi
Have right arm, will travel. Johnstone was sent to Mississippi to make a start during a rain-caused double-header.
4/18/2019: RHP Mike Soroka recalled to MLB Atlanta from AAA Gwinnett
4/18/2019: RHP Shane Carle optioned to AAA Gwinnett
With the Braves determining that Mike Foltynewicz would require one more rehab start, the Braves recalled the OFR #1 prospect back to make his first major start since June.
4/19/2019: RHP Huascar Ynoa promoted to AA Mississippi from A+ Florida
4/19/2019: RHP Nolan Kingham promoted to A+ Florida from A Rome
4/19/2019: RHP Claudio Custodio activated to A Rome from extended spring training
Ynoa was arguably Florida’s best starter in the young season, but he’ll move up to pitch in relief for Mississippi. Kingham was clearly needing stiffer competition than the South Atlantic League was providing. Custodio is another minor league free agent who will step into the Rome bullpen with Alan Rangel getting the first crack of the team’s many swingmen to slide back into the rotation.
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