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.
Also be sure to check out the OFR Farm Report Podcast where we discuss these events and give opinions and commentary.
Rising In The Rankings
It will be a few more weeks before we update the OFR Top Prospects list for mid-season, but don’t be surprised if there’s significant changes. Beyond the number of graduations (Ian Anderson, William Contreras, Alex Jackson) and players who left the organization (Patrick Weigel, Jeremy Walker), this May was the first time in 18 months that any of these players had performed in games. In some cases, this was the first time most evaluators had seen players in competitive action, including the 2020 draft class, much of the 2019 draft class or more recent international signees that had previously only played in short-season complex leagues.
As typical, we’re “only” doing a Top 30 list for mid-season. Here are four players (two pitchers, two position players) that are currently outside the top 30 that have the strongest shot at moving into the top 30.
Joey Estes, RHP
Age: 19
1.01 ERA | 2.16 FIP | 6 G, 6 GS | 26.2 IP | 2.03 BB/9 | 13.16 K/9 (A)
Acquired: Drafted, 16th Round – 2019
Prior Ranking: 40
The youngest Braves player to have logged playing time so far this season, Estes has also been one of the most pleasant surprises. Despite his tender age and experience level, he has demonstrated good control over two pitches that flash plus: a 4-seam fastball that maintains in the mid-90s and a good hard slider that could develop into a reliable strikeout pitch. The organization has been understandably conservative with his pitch count but he has a starter’s build already. Command can come-and-go and he will need to bring his change-up more consistently every night, but Estes represents the best low-A teenage talent since Victor Vodnik in 2019.
Ricky DeVito, RHP
Age: 22
2.66 ERA | 3.39 FIP | 5 G, 5 GS | 20.1 IP | 3.10 BB/9 | 11.95 K/9 (A+)
Acquired: Drafted, 8th Round – 2019
Prior Ranking: 35
DeVito has flitted in and out of the top 30, but based on his looks at Rome so far this year he is trending back in. This is based an bump up in his stuff — the fastball, split-change, and especially the curveball are all playing up this season. He did recently go on the injured list.
Justin Dean, OF
Age: 24 | Bats: R
.237/.365/.386 | 118 wRC+ | 2 HR | 10 SB | 10.9% BB | 35.8% K (AA)
Acquired: Drafted, 17th Round – 2018
Prior Ranking: 32
Dean was challenged with a double promotion after the shutdown, and the increased strikeout rate probably should be expected. What is heartening is how much the positive aspects of his game — the speed, defense, and on-base abilities — have translated up the two levels. This gives more confidence in projecting an eventual major league outcome, especially as Dean has improved at the plate as the season has progressed.
Willie Carter, OF
Age: 24 | Bats: R
.336/.439/.455 | 155 wRC+ | 3 HR | 4 SB | 14.4% BB | 24.2% K (A)
Acquired: Drafted, 34th Round – 2019
Prior Ranking: N/A
Carter has so far been the collegiate outfielder to emerge from the large group selected in the 2019 draft. Optimism on Carter is tempered somewhat by his age — he’s 2.6 years older than the average age of the players of his league. Still, he’s done everything asked of him, including commanding a starting role after beginning the season on the bench and being Augusta’s most productive offensive player week-after-week. Though not a gifted outfielder, he has shown up in 2021 looking more athletic than his draft year, and at the plate has shown a good mixture of selectiveness and aggressiveness. He really needs to move up a level.
AUGUSTA:
Augusta completed a 4-2 home series against Myrtle Beach this week, highlighted by a doubleheader sweep on Thursday. The Jackets earned their first series win of the season and improved their overall record to 17-19, though they remained in 4th place in the Low-A East South Division standings.
The Jackets started the week right with yet another strong start from 19-year-old righthander Joey Estes, who threw 5.2 scoreless innings on 79 pitches, striking out 11 in the process — all career highs. Right-hander Darius Vines continues his strong work on Sunday, tossing 6 innings and allowing only 1 run and 4 baserunners and striking out 8. Between those two stalwarts, the rotation got a bit of a shake-up as righty Tanner Gordon was re-assigned from high-A Rome, righty Roddery Munoz was put back in the rotation, and young right-hander Jared Johnson was pulled up from extended spring training to make his season debut.
This week had some of the best offensive output of the season. Willie Carter (6-for-20) and Vaughn Grissom (8-for 21, 5 walks) continued putting up good performances, but the team also got contributions from other sources as well. Third catcher Victor De Hoyos made the best of increased playing time in the wake of an injury to starter Ricardo Rodriguez, going 4-for-9 including a mammoth home run over the centerfield batter’s eye. Landon Stephens was the hot hand at first base this week, hitting .368/.429/.737 on the week with 4 extra base hits including a home run and knocking in a team-high 6 runs.
The team is still waiting for young centerfielder Stephen Paolini to find his way at the plate however. This week he went 2-for-17 with 11 strikeouts, lowering his season slash line to .167/.283/.213.
ROME:
Rome welcomed the Asheville Tourists to town, and took 4 of 6 games from the Astros affiliate, playing around two weather postponements. They pushed their record to 19-17, in fourth place and five games back of Bowling Green, who will be Rome’s guest this week.
Top prospect Michael Harris only played in four of the six games, coming out of the Wednesday tilt with an injury. He returned to play in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday and was back in the line-up again on Sunday. In his place, fourth outfielder Shean Michel did his best Micheal Harris impression, going 7-for-14 on the week with a home run and a stolen base. Right fielder Jesse Franklin also didn’t let off the gas from his breakthrough performance last week, launching another 2 home runs on the way to a 7-for-16 week; since the calendar flipped to June, Franklin has hit .375/.444/.906 with 5 home runs. Left fielder Andrew Moritz was .333/.467/.333 on the week.
First baseman Bryce Ball continued to struggle however. While he continues to get on base via the walk, overall he has hit only .179/.333/.214 in June, and his last home run was on May 18.
The big news of the week was the return of right-hander Freddy Tarnok to the team after being held back at extended spring training nursing an undisclosed injury. Tarnok’s first outing of the year was a success has held Asheville scoreless for 4 innings, striking out 8. Starter Bryce Elder had his start on Tuesday truncated to only 2.1 innings, which was a shame as he was on a roll, striking out 3 of his 8 batters faced. He returned to the mound on Sunday with uncharacteristically shaky command, walking 3 and giving up 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits. Left-hander Jared Shuster was given the assignment to pick up Elder’s suspended game and he threw a season-high 49 pitches, completing 3 innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits with 4 strikeouts. Right-hander Spencer Strider was more hittable than usual in his start on Saturday, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits in 4.2 innings, striking out a season-low 4.
MISSISSIPPI:
The Mississippi Braves continued their two-week road swing with a six-game set in Biloxi against the Shuckers. Despite the sudden resignation of manager Wyatt Toregas during the series, the M-Braves took five out of six from the Shuckers to improve their record to 20-16 for the season, staying just one game back of Pensacola in the Double-A South South Division.
The M-Braves offense performed extremely well this week, scoring 38 runs in six games, and reaching double-digits twice. Catcher Shea Langeliers was not as dominant as he has been recently in going just 5-for-21, but two of the hits were home runs while he drove in six although he struck out eight times. Shortstop Braden Shewmake’s bat began to show signs of life this week in going 6-for-22 with two home runs to raise his batting average from .101 to .135. Shewmake now has three home runs for the season, all of which have been hit in Biloxi. Outfielder Justin Dean continued to do well at the top of the order, going 7-for-22 during the week with three doubles albeit with nine strikeouts (.318/.375/.455). The M-Braves got some additional offense this week from a couple of surprise sources: outfielder Jefery Ramos was 5-for-16 with a double, two home runs, and five RBI while Drew Lugbauer was 4-for-11 in brief playing time but had a double and two home runs with four RBI. Being an example of three true outcomes, though, six of Lugbauer’s outs for the week were via strikeout.
Starting pitching was once again front and center as M-Braves starters combined for a 1.17 ERA over 30.2 innings with a WHIP of just 0.847. Nolan Kingham was dominant in his Saturday start where he came within one out of a complete-game shutout, leaving only due to hitting his pitch limit. Kingham gave up just four hits and did not walk anyone. Jose Rodriguez also had a superior start in tossing six innings, giving up just one unearned run and two baserunners while striking out eight. Hayden Deal had two relatively short starts but gave up just two earned runs over seven total innings while AJ Puckett (4 IP, 1 ER) and Odalvi Javier (5 IP, 1 ER) also made solid contributions.
The M-Braves bullpen was leakier than it has been in previous weeks with only Chris Nunn (2 IP, 4 K) and Kurt Hoekstra (1.1 IP and a win) recording multiple scoreless outings. Troy Bacon came back down to earth as he gave up three runs during one outing although he rebounded with a shutout inning his next time out. Brooks Wilson continued to do solid work with one run allowed over three innings and now has 23 strikeouts in 15.2 innings this season. Daysbel Hernandez continued his up-and-down ways with one scoreless outing and another where he gave up two runs in an inning of work.
GWINNETT:
The Gwinnett Stripers this week visited the Memphis Redbirds, winning the first three games before dropping the last three to split the series. Gwinnett is still at .500 for the season (18-18), keeping them in fourth place in the Triple-A East Southeast Division, seven games back of Durham. They will next return home to face Nashville.
The Stripers offense did well early in the week, scoring 19 of their 29 runs for the week in their three wins. However, once Drew Waters suffered a thumb injury, Cristian Pache was limited by a tight hamstring, catcher Alex Jackson suffered a finger injury, and Travis Demeritte landed on the 7-day injured list with an undisclosed injury, the offense began to suffer significantly. Johan Camargo did his best to carry the load with four multi-hit games during an 11-for-23 week although just two of the hits were for extra bases. Waters was 5-for-12 before his injury, Pache was 3-for-10 with a two-home run game in sporadic action, and Alex Jackson had a home run in his only appearance of the week. Shortstop Orlando Arcia hit safely in all six games for the week, going 11-for-27 with two doubles and two home runs (.407/.429/.704), good enough to secure OFR Position Player of the Week.
Gwinnett’s pitching performed reasonably well this week, giving up just 22 runs over the six-game series. The starting rotation did not provide much help as Bryse Wilson (5 IP, 4 ER), Jasseel De La Cruz (3.2 IP, 4 ER), and Kyle Wright (1.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 BB, WP, 2 HBP, 59 pitches in a rain-shortened start) all performed below expectations. With Tucker Davidson now in Atlanta and a game being rained out, they also had to cobble together two Connor Johnstone-led bullpen games. The highlight of the week by far was Kyle Muller’s six-inning start where he gave up just one hit and three baserunners while striking out six. In his last three starts, Muller has a 1.69 ERA over sixteen innings with twenty strikeouts against just four walks.
Among the relievers, Jesse Chavez was the standout in two scoreless appearances where he struck out five over three innings while giving up just one hit and one walk. Tanner Roark had two two-inning scoreless outings as part of the bullpen games while Trevor Kelley also had two one-inning scoreless appearances. Jesse Biddle also had two scoreless outings covering 2.1 innings, striking out three and walking no one. Victor Arano, Jacob Webb, Chasen Bradford, Yoan Lopez, Ty Tice, Jay Flaa, and Thomas Burrows all had mixed results with one scoreless outing and another where each gave up at least one run. Webb’s outing on Sunday was particularly bad where he retired just two hitters while walking three, throwing two wild pitches, and letting two runs cross the plate.
POSITION PLAYER of the WEEK:
PITCHER of the WEEK:
Transaction Round-Up
6/7/2021: 1B Travis Snider placed on the temporarily inactive list for AAA Gwinnett; C Carlos Martinez activated from the developmental list
The 33-year-old major league veteran Snider is only hitting .146/.375/.244 in a reserve role with the Stripers. Martinez becomes the fifth active catcher with Gwinnett, along with Alex Jackson, Jonathan Lucroy, Jeff Mathis, and Jonathan Morales.
6/8/2021: RHP Kurt Hoekstra activated from the developmental list for AA Mississippi; RHP Emmanuel Ramirez placed on the developmental list
Hoekstra is a hard-throwing righty who has gotten major league invitations the last two spring trainings, but he had struggled with control early in the season with Mississippi before being moved to the developmental list a month ago. Presumably he has been working on refining his mechanics, but his first outing back he only threw 5 strikes out of 15 pitches, though he managed a scoreless frame.
6/9/2021: RHP Freddy Tarnok assigned to A+ Rome from extended spring training; RHP Ricky DeVito placed on the 7-day injured list
DeVito had an abbreviated 3-inning start on June 1, and it took 8 days for the organization to place him on the IL, so hopefully this is more of a precautionary move. DeVito was off to a strong start in Rome, pitching to a 2.66 ERA in five starts and showing improved secondary pitches.
6/10/2021: RHP Tanner Gordon assigned to A Augusta from A+ Rome; RHP Tyler Owens placed on the 7-day IL for Augusta
The Braves challenged Gordon, a 2019 6th-round pick, with a high-A starting rotation assignment after a 2019 short season in the Danville bullpen. Gordon is a strike-thrower with solid stuff, but has been a little to hittable, so he’ll step back and work on refining his command. If he shows that, his stay in Augusta may be brief.
A need opened in Augusta with Owens going on the shelf. A high-upside 13th-round pick in 2019 out of high school, Owens has been hit pretty hard in short stints in the rotation and as a piggyback reliever.
6/11/2021: OF Travis Demeritte placed on the 7-day injured list for AAA Gwinnett
Demeritte has been hitting .308/.438/.654 in what had been a crowded Gwinnett outfield until a sudden rash of injuries.
6/11/2021: RHP Jared Johnson assigned to A Augusta from extended spring training; RHP Tyler Owens placed on 7-day injured list
Johnson was one of the more notable players to remain in extended spring training. Unfortunately he replaces one of the other top young pitchers on the Augusta roster; Owens has been severely limited by pitch count and hard contact so far this year.
6/12/2021: RHP Chad Bryant activated from the 7-day injured list for A Augusta; RHP Carter Linton placed on the 7-day injured list
6/12/2021: C Ricardo Rodriguez placed on 7-day IL for A Augusta
Rodriguez has been one of Augusta’s more consistent offensive players in 2021.
Your Moment of Zen
YOINK @cristianpache25 pops one over the wall in left to extend the lead!
— Gwinnett Stripers (@GoStripers) June 11, 2021
Stripers: 4 Redbirds: 0 pic.twitter.com/wFsbZe9pAW
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