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.
Braves Sign Most Top Draft Talent
Completely avoiding the drama surrounding the signing of their first round draft pick last season, the Braves have quickly come to terms with nearly all of the top talent taken in the 2019 amateur draft. First off the mat was the announcement on Monday of the Braves signing outfielder Michael Harris, a local talent out of Stockbridge High School drafted in round 3, for a slightly under-slot bonus. On Wednesday the team introduced 1st-round infielder Braden Shewmake, who signed for exactly slot value. But on Thursday, the key signing happened, with the Braves announcing that they had agreed to terms with the 9-overall pick, catcher Shea Langeliers, and that he was signing for a $4M bonus, an amount that was $950,000 below slot value. After that the tide of reporting swelled through the weekend, with several Day 3 high-upside prep selections agreeing to over-slot bonuses funded by Langeliers and 2nd-round pick Beau Philip‘s under-slot agreements. As of Sunday morning, here are the signings that OFR has been able to confirm and where they have been assigned.
Rd1: Shae Langeliers, C, Baylor – Rome
Rd1: Braden Shewmake, IF, Texas A&M – Rome
Rd2: Beau Philip, SS, Oregon State – Danville
Rd3: Michael Harris, OF, Stockbridge HS (GA) – GCL Braves
Rd4: Kasey Kalich, RHP, Texas A&M – Rome
Rd5: Stephen Paolini, OF, St. Josephs School (CT) – GCL Braves
Rd6: Tanner Gordon, RHP, Indiana – Danville
Rd7: Darius Vines, RHP, Cal State-Bakersfield – GCL Braves
Rd8: Ricky DeVito, RHP, Seton Hall – GCL Braves
Rd9: Cody Milligan, 2B/C, Cowley County Community College – Danville
Rd10: Brandon Parker, OF, Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College – Danville
Rd11: Vaughn Grissom, SS, Hagerty HS (FL) – GCL Braves
Rd12: Andy Samuelson, LHP, Wabash Valley College – GCL Braves
Rd13: Tyler Owens, RHP, Trinity Catholic HS (FL) – GCL Braves
Rd14: Jared Johnson, RHP, Smithville HS (MS) – GCL Braves
Rd15: Connor Blair, OF, Washington – Danville
Rd16: Joey Estes, RHP, Paraclete HS (CA) – TBD
Rd17: Alec Barger, RHP, North Carolina State – Danville
Rd19: Kadon Morton, OF, Seguin HS (TX) – GCL Braves
Rd20: Peyton Williams, RHP, Catawba College – GCL Braves
Rd21: Javier Valdez, C, Florida International – GCL Braves
Rd22: Alex Segal, LHP, Wichita State – Danville
Rd23: Drew Campbell, OF, Louisville – Rome
Rd24: Bryce Ball, 1B, Dallas Baptist – Danville
Rd25: Chad Bryant, RHP, Pensacola State College – GCL Braves
Rd27: Indigo Diaz, RHP, Michigan State – GCL Braves
Rd29: James Acuña, RHP, Azusa Pacific – TBD
Rd30: Mitch Calandra, C, Eckherd College – Danville
Rd31: Greg Leban, RHP, Austin Peay – GCL Braves
Rd32: Cody Birdsong, 2B, Quincy University – Danville
Rd33: Justin Yeager, RHP, Southern Illinois – Danville
Rd34: Willie Carter, OF, Webber International – Danville
Rd37: Davis Schwab, LHP, Missouri State – GCL Braves
Rd40: Cade Bunnell, 2B, Indiana – GCL Braves
The signings of Grissom, Owens, Johnson, Estes, and Morton were key Day 3, and their signing significantly improves the overall upside potential of the Braves draft strategy. That said, there are some other draft picks that remain unsigned, notably prep star Mahki Backstorm (18th round). Outfielder Drew Campbell was drafted in the 23rd round out of Louisville, which is still playing in the College World Series, so he was not be able to sign until after his team concluded their College World Series run.
So far the only draft picks that has definitively said that he will not sign is Georgia 3B/OF Riley King, who as a redshirt sophomore has two more years of eligibility left, and 35th-rounder 1B Anthony Hall, who has committed to Oregon.
Look from most of the signed college players to report to Danville and the high school talent to start in the Gulf Coast League when those league begin play on Tuesday. Don’t be surprised however if Langeliers, Shewmake, Kalich, and Campbell however go straight to Rome.
Life On the Farm
DSL BRAVES:
The Braves went 3-4 on the week, dropping 4 in a row before winning the last two games of the week by a combined score of 19-3. The offensive star of the week was once again 17-year-old Geraldo Quintero, who batted .313/.542/.375 while making appearances at second base and shortstop. Right fielder Randi De La Cruz hit .308/.571/.308 as well and stole 2 bases; the second year DSL veteran is also only 17.
Right-hander Luis Diaz pitched 4 innings of shut-out ball in the best start of the week, striking out 5 batters and only allowing 2 baserunners.
ROME:
Rome snapped an 8-game losing streak on Monday with a little help from free agent signee Dallas Keuchel, who pitched 7 shut-out innings in his first appearance for the Braves organization, and a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 10th by Derian Cruz for a 1-0 victory. Rome would go .500 the rest of the week, but after a strong early part of the season Rome will finish several games under .500 for the first half.
Rome’s bats came alive this week, especially newcomer Jeremy Fernandez‘s, who slashed .419/.438/.613 on the week with 2 doubles and 2 triples. Alriel Montesino, filling in at shortstop for the injured Carlos Paraguate, responded by getting on base at a .429 clip. 1B/C Hagen Owenby and 2B Greg Cullen both homered.
In addition to Keuchel passing through town, Rome also got strong starts from RHP Alan Rangel, RHP Jose Olague, and LHP Dilmer Mejia, the latter pitching 6 hitless and scoreless innings in a spot start. RHP Victor Vodnik got his now-customary one appearance this week, throwing 4 scoreless innings in exactly 60 pitches. The relief corps as a whole were especially strong this week as Ryan Shetter, Tanner Lawson, Vodnik, Luis Mora, Jose Montilla, Jake Higginbotham, and William Woods combined to throw 27.1 innings an only allow 2 earned runs. Unfortunately for Rome, team defense was not strong this week, causing 28 unearned runs to cross the plate.
RHP Trey Riley had his second miserable start in a row on Thursday, allowing 4 earned and only retiring two batters. With Vodnik likely to join the starting rotation in the second half, Riley could be a candidate to move to the bullpen.
FLORIDA:
The Fire Frogs had a shortened workload this week as inclement weather and the All-Star break held the team to only four games. Florida lost all four to bring their first half record to an ignoble 25-41 mark and in last place in their division.
The top unit for the team remained the relief corps, which saw scoreless outings from Daysbel Hernandez, Kurt Hoekstra, Bradley Roney — still unscored upon since his activation — Walker Borkovich, and Brooks Wilson.
Left-hander Phil Pfeifer struck out a career high 9 batters in his start this week but also walked 4 and allowed 4 runs in his 5.1 innings. The results of his foray into starting pitching has been mixed, but there’s no doubt that the extra work has done some good for him. Nolan Kingham delivered a Quality Start, but Matt Withrow endured a nightmare start against Dunedin, giving up 7 earned runs on 7 hits in just 2.2 innings.
On the offensive side, only outfielder Trey Harris stood out at the plate, hitting .385/.429/.462 for the week. In the Florida State League All-Star Game on Saturday night, Hayden Deal and Brandon White each pitched a perfect inning. Shortstop Riley Delgado and infielder Kevin Josephina, selected as injury/promotion alternates, each got into the game, but neither was able to collect a hit in their collective 3 plate appearances.
MISSISSIPPI:
The M-Braves come off a strong 6-3 week where the pitching was absolutely dominant in giving up just 18 runs (only 15 earned) over the nine games and more than two runs just twice. The only starter to give up more than three runs in a start this week was Joey Wentz, who was roughed up for five runs on Wednesday due to being victimized by a couple of longballs. The only other Mississippi pitcher to give up more than two runs was noted temp Dallas Keuchel, who made a prep start on Saturday during the first game of a doubleheader and gave up three runs in seven innings while scattering eleven hits and a walk. Ian Anderson had two strong starts where he gave up just two earned runs over twelve innings while striking out sixteen although he walked six. Tucker Davidson gave up no earned runs over two starts totaling just 7.2 innings due to rain although he struck out 13 hitters. Jasseel De La Cruz seems to be settling into AA just fine with a start and a relief appearance totaling 7.1 innings and just one run allowed on five hits. Kyle Muller had another fine start in a six-inning complete game loss where he only made one mistake, allowing a two-run homer in a 2-1 loss.
The relievers fared quite well this week as well: Claudio Custodio threw 5.1 perfect innings over two outings, Thomas Burrows had 2.2 perfect innings over two outings, Jonathan Aro pitched four scoreless innings in relief of Joey Wentz on Wednesday, Josh Graham pitched three scoreless innings over two outings. Jeremy Walker tossed two scoreless innings on Monday in earning a save but was tagged for the loss on Thursday when he gave up the winning run in a 2-1 loss. Walker has still given up just three walks over 52.2 innings this season on his way to an all-star berth.
The two big bats for Mississippi continued to roll on as outfielder Drew Waters earns OFR Player of the Week honors for the second week in a row with fourteen hits on the week en route to a .452/.469/.774 line while fellow outfielder Cristian Pache wasn’t far behind in batting .333/.400/.741. The rest of the Mississippi lineup, however, was falling way behind. Newcomers William Contreras (1-for-13) and Greyson Jenista (2-for-17) are encountering growing pains as they adjust to the more advanced level of competition. Ray-Patrick Didder had a rare up week in going 4-for 14 with a double and two stolen bases. Meanwhile, second baseman Alejandro Salazar continued to struggle with a 1-for-18 week and now sports a meager .221/.261/.288 line for the season.
GWINNETT:
The Gwinnett Stripers come off a 2-4 week where offense was at a premium. They scored 21 runs over their six games, but eleven of those were on Friday and five on Thursday. Sean Kazmar lead the offense (again) with an 8-for-22 week that included two doubles and a home run (.364/.417/.591). Outfielder Rafael Ortega wasn’t too far behind at .300/.333/.500. Outfielder Travis Demeritte’s offense slowed with a 3-for-16 week (.188/.350/.313) and fellow outfielder Adam Duvall didn’t fare any better (.211/.286/.211, no XBH). As mediocre as those weeks were, they still shone in comparison to Ryan Lamarre (3-for-20), Andres Blanco (3-for-25) and Pedro Florimon (0-for-13). Catcher Alex Jackson really had an off-week in going 3-for-14 with nine strikeouts.
The pitching certainly didn’t help this week in allowing 31 runs over the six games although there were some bright spots among the starting rotation, namely Kyle Wright’s Friday start, which was his best of the season so far. In that outing, he didn’t allow any earned runs 7.2 innings while giving up just two hits and two walks while striking out ten. Kolby Allard also had a second consecutive great start in giving up just one run over seven innings while scattering nine baserunners. Bryse Wilson had an odd stat line on Tuesday in giving up four unearned runs in three innings although he struck out seven. Andres Blanco’s fielding error in the first inning created a snowball effect and drove up Wilson’s pitch count. Patrick Weigel had another start on Wednesday where his control and command was an issue in giving up three walks and a hit batsman over four innings although he limited the damage to just one unearned run, which seems to be a recurring them for Weigel this season. In this outing, he exited after 55 pitches.
Among the bullpen arms, Wes Parsons had the best week with just one run allowed in four innings over two outings and now sports a 1.19 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP over 22.2 AAA innings this season. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he got another call back to Atlanta in the near future. Organizational gunslinger Jonathan Aro had a good outing on Saturday with two perfect innings to go along with a four scoreless-inning performance on Wednesday for Mississippi. Shane Carle was roughed up a bit in his two outings in giving up twelve baserunners, although just two earned runs, over 3.2 innings. Lefty Grant Dayton only pitched once this week and gave up two runs in just 0.2 innings.
POSITION PLAYER of the WEEK:
PITCHER of the WEEK:
Transaction Round-Up
6/9/2019: LHP Dallas Keuchel transferred to A Rome from AAA Gwinnett
6/9/2019: RHP Ryan Shetter assigned to Rk Danville from A Rome
Keuchel’s planned start for Gwinnett had to be pushed to Rome due to a rain-out, which couldn’t have come at a better time for the struggling R-Braves. Shetter was temporarily re-assigned to make room, it it would last for long.
6/11/2019: LHP A.J. Minter recalled to MLB Atlanta from AAA Gwinnett
6/11/2019: OF Connor Lien promoted to AAA Gwinnett from AA Mississippi
Minter replaced the injured Kevin Gausman on Atlanta’s roster after spending three weeks in AAA working on his secondary pitches. Amazingly this is Lien’s first foray to the AAA level in 7 minor league seasons.
6/12/2019: RHP Alex Aquino, C Brandon Chapman, C Victor De Hoyos, RHP Luis De Jesus, IF Ray Hernandez, RHP Alger Hodgson, OF Jose Palma, RHP Walner Polanco, OF Charles Reyes, LHP Lisandro Santos, and RHP Albinson Volquez promoted to Rk Danville from the GCL Braves
Building out the Danville Braves roster. The new draft picks will be added to this group, plus the handful of returning players.
6/15/2019: Nelson Celesten, Wilmer Smith signed as international free agents
The 2018/19 international signing period ended this week, with the new period starting on July 2. The Braves will have no signing pool for the next period due to sanctions, so any prospects that were looking to sign with the Braves had to do it last week, or starting on July 2 they would only be able to get as much as $10,000 as a signing bonus.
6/15/2019: LHP Dallas Keuchel transferred to AA Mississippi from A Rome
Keuchel got his second minor league start for Mississippi, again a well-timed move as the M-Braves were playing a doubleheader. Keuchel’s next start will likely be for Atlanta, on Friday at Washington.
6/15/2019: RHP Huascar Ynoa recalled to MLB Atlanta from AAA Gwinnett
6/15/2019: RHP Dan Winkler optioned to AAA Gwinnett
I wrote about Ynoa this week in Get To Know a Call-Up: Huascar Ynoa on this very website.
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