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.
Weekly Round-Up
FCL BRAVES:
The Braves accomplished something this week that they hadn’t been able to do all season — play all five games on the schedule for the full 9 innings each without postponement. The went 2-3 in this miracle week.
Young lefty Adam Shoemaker went 2.1 innings in his second pro start and allowed no hits and only one earned run; the run came on a groundout RBI after Shoemaker walked two. Atlanta Grant Dayton got a rehab “start”, but only threw 6 pitches before leaving the game. After giving up runs in bunches to start his pro career, 19th-round lefty Samuel Strickland seems to have found his groove, and he has allowed only 1 earned run in his last 4 outings covering 7.1 innings.
Outfielder Brandol Mezquita continued his unexpected power surge, hitting the team’s only home run and adding a couple of stolen bases. Outfielder Tyler Collins went 4-for-11 with 3 stolen bases.
AUGUSTA:
The GreenJackets made the final homestand of the season a memorable one, winning 5 of 6 against Columbia, only dropping the Sunday finale by a 6-7 score. Augusta runs their record to 50-64 and now travels to Myrtle Beach to wrap up the season.
A number of Jackets feasted on Firefly pitching, most notably OFR Position Player of the Week OF Landon Stephens who walloped 4 balls over the fence on his way to an 8 run/9 RBI week. Outfielder Christian Robinson carries a 5-game hitting streak into Myrtle Beach, and he hit .529/.556/.647 for the series. After a slow start, Robinson is now hitting .395/.425/.474 over the last 12 games. Third baseman Justyn-Henry Malloy has continued hitting, this week going .278/.458/.611 with 2 stolen bases and he enjoyed his first 2-home run day as a pro on Saturday. The Jackets also got good production from the catcher position, with Tyler Tolve going 3-for-7 and Adam Zebrowski 4-for-12 on the week. Infielder Cade Bunnell smacked two home runs this week while outfielder Willie Carter had one.
Right-hander Andrew Hoffman’s sixth start of his pro career turned out to be his best to date as he went 5 hitless and scoreless innings in only 70 pitches, striking out a career-high 7. Righty Jared Johnson returned to Augusta and threw 4 innings, allowing 1 hit and 1 unearned run. Johnson wasn’t the only starter coming up from the FCL Braves this week as righty Royber Salinas joined the Jackets in good fashion, tossing 4 hitless and scoreless innings, striking out 5. First-rounder Ryan Cusick returned to form after a shaky outing last week, striking out 7 and allowing 1 run on 2 hits in 3.2 innings.
Right Miguel Pena was the workhorse out of the bullpen this week, throwing 4.2 innings over two outings and striking out 10 while only giving up 2 hits and 1 unearned run. Righty Dylan Spain threw two more scoreless outings, giving him 10 consecutive scoreless appearances since starting his pro career in August.
ROME:
Rome split against Asheville on the road in a series that featured a whole lot of offense on both sides. Rome will enter the final series of the series at 54-59, with a shot to run their record over .500 if they run the table at home against Hickory.
Outfielder Drew Campbell, Atlanta’s 23rd-round pick out of Louisville in 2019, has spent most of the season on the IL, but he’s been hitting like he wants to make up for lost time since joining Rome on August 24. Campbell went 6-for-18 against Asheville with 2 doubles, a triple, and 3 home runs. Infielder Vaughn Grissom remains red hot, hitting .400/.536/.650 on the week while splitting time between second and short. Grissom had two doubles, a homer, a stolen base, and walked 7 times, allowing him to score 9 times. Outfielder Michael Harris continues to display his newfound patience at the plate as well, walking 6 times to give him a .261/.414/.435 batting line. Outfielders Shean Michel and Jesse Franklin also homered.
The starting pitching got hit hard, with right-hander Darius Vines having the best start, allowing 2 runs in 5 innings while striking out 6. Lefty Dylan Dodd was promoted from Augusta and had a rough Rome debut, giving up 8 runs in 3 innings.
Left-hander Jake Higginbotham contined to pitch well out of the bullpen since joining Rome, pitching his fouth and fifth scoreless outings. In 8 games pitched between Mississippi, Rome, and his rehab assignment in the FCL, Higginbotham has yet to be scored upon. Right-hander Justin Yeager got a 4-out save on Wednesday, and he now has struck out 25 batters in 17 innings with Rome with a .177/.292/.323 batting line against.
MISSISSIPPI:
The Mississippi Braves took four out of six games from the Montgomery Biscuits this week and clinched the best record in the Double-A South on Friday night, ensuring a postseason berth and homefield advantage in the best-of-five championship series. Their opponent is yet to be determined but Birmingham holds a three-game advantage with Pensacola, Montgomery, and Chattanooga all in the running going into the final week of the season. Speaking of Chattanooga, the M-Braves travel there for the last series of the regular season beginning on Tuesday.
Mississippi’s best start this week came from Freddy Tarnok, who tossed 6.1 scoreless innings, giving up just one hit and one walk. Tarnok now has a 2.41 ERA in eight Double-A starts with a 2.25 FIP, 3.45 xFIP, 12.3 K/9, and 2.9 BB/9. Jared Shuster’s second Mississippi start was much improved over his first as he gave up just one run over 5.2 innings although he allowed eight baserunners. However, Spencer Strider had a tough go of it this week with a start where he lasted just 3.1 innings and gave up four earned runs on four hits and four walks while also throwing two wild pitches and hitting a batter.
The big news this week out of the Mississippi bullpen is that right-hander Indigo Diaz allowed a run. After twelve scoreless appearances covering fifteen innings, Diaz finally allowed a run on Saturday night. His Double-A ERA now stands at 0.53. Brooks Wilson had three scoreless one-inning appearances during the week, striking out six and notching two saves. Daysbel Hernandez, Emmanuel Ramirez, and Brandon White each had multiple scoreless outings during the week.
The Mississippi offense only scored more than four runs once during the week but there were still several significant contributors. CJ Alexander was 7-for-13 during the week with three doubles and a triple. He is batting .409/.435/.727 during the month of September after tallying a .933 OPS in August. Backup catcher/DH Hendrik Clementina continued his recent run with a 5-for-15 week including two home runs and six RBI. Greyson Jenista was only 3-for-15 during the week but the three hits included two doubles and a home run with three RBI. Catcher Shea Langeliers was only 4-for-18 but he had a home run and four RBI while shortstop Braden Shewmake continued his late-season fade in going 2-for-18 with eight strikeouts. This week’s version of three true outcomes Drew Lugbauer had mostly one outcome as he was 1-for-16 with eleven strikeouts and three walks.
GWINNETT:
The Gwinnett Stripers hit the road this week to face the Columbus Clippers and performed very well in taking five out of six games behind dominant pitching in which the staff gave up just twelve runs in six games, not allowing more than three in any contest. The Stripers are now 66-48 on the season with a run differential of +119. Although they have been eliminated from the regular season championship, the Stripers are setting themselves up nicely for the ten-game Final Stretch that will begin after the final regular season home series this week against the Nashville Sounds.
Gwinnett starting pitching was dominant this week as they gave up just nine runs in 34 innings of work. Bryce Elder continued his tremendous work at Triple-A with seven scoreless innings in a win where he gave up just one hit and two walks, earning OFR Pitcher of the Week yet again. He now has a 2.78 ERA over his first four starts for Gwinnett. Kyle Wright also thrived during a start where he gave up just one run and three baserunners over seven innings with ten strikeouts. Kyle Muller racked up two more victories in solid starts where he gave up just four runs over eleven innings. He has a 3.08 ERA over thirteen Gwinnett starts this season. Jose Rodriguez gave up just one run over five innings in his start and now has allowed one earned run or less in five of his last six starts.
Among the bullpen arms, Victor Arano, Chasen Bradford, Thomas Burrows, and Yoan Lopez each had multiple scoreless outings while Jay Flaa had a much-needed solid appearance on Sunday where he tossed three shutout innings. Lopez and Trevor Kelley each tallied a save during the week.
The Gwinnett offense was not spectacular this week but provided enough support to take advantage of the tremendous pitching. Johan Camargo had four multi-hit games (.458/.500/.583) while William Contreras hit safely in the three games in which he played before being called back up to Atlanta to fill the void left by a hip injury to Stephen Vogt. Jason Kipnis continued to provide solid veteran work with a 6-for-15 week with two doubles, two home runs, and five RBI. Although Travis Demeritte was just 6-for-24 during the week, he had a double, three home runs, and eight RBI. Demeritte now sports a 1.003 OPS for the season. Drew Waters was 7-for-22 with a double and a home run while Cristian Pache was 7-for-25 with a double and a home run.
POSITION PLAYER of the WEEK:
PITCHER of the WEEK:
Transaction Round-Up
- 9/10/2021: OF Marcell Ozuna placed on restricted list for Atlanta
Ozuna comes off the injured list and as expected is placed on the restricted list pending MLB investigation into his domestic violence allegation.
- 9/10/2021: C Stephen Vogt placed on 10-day injured list for Atlanta; C WIlliam Contreras recalled from AAA Gwinnett
Vogt was in the midst of his best offensive game since joining the Braves when he hurt his hip fielding a ball in front of the plate and throwing to third. Atlanta is hopeful he will return before the end of the season, but the injury looked serious at the time.
- 9/7/2021: RHP Indigo Diaz activated from 7-day IL for AA Mississippi; RHP Emmanuel Ramirez assigned to AA Mississippi from A+Rome; C Mitch Calandra placed on developmental list
Diaz is the first of three pitchers placed on the IL during the team’s COVID shutdown to return. Ramirez fills in where he’s needed.
- 9/7/2021: RHP Dylan Dodd assigned to A+ Rome from A Augusta; RHP Royber Salinas assigned to A Augusta from FLC Braves
Dodd, a 3rd-round senior sign in 2021, had middling results in his three starts for Augusta but will be challenged with a high-A assignment anyway. High-A will likely be his opening assignment in 2022 so this will serve as something of a preview for him.
After being a solid starter for the DSL Braves in 2019, Salinas was a solid starter for the FCL Braves in 2021 before this promotion.
- 9/7/2021: C Javier Valdes activated from 7-day injured list for A Augusta, assigned to A+ Rome
- 9/8/2021: IF Brett Langhorne placed on 7-day injured list for A+ Rome
Valdes, a 21st-round pick in 2019, was having a solid season with Augusta (.263/.359/.329) before an injury knocked him out in mid-June. With the organization wanting 2021 draftees Adam Zebrowski and Tyler Tolve getting working behind the plate for Augusta, Valdes goes to Rome where he will split time with Rusber Estrada, with Carlos Martinez likely playing everyday at first base with the injury to Langhorne.
- 9/9/2021: 3B Maikel Franco assigned to AAA Gwinnett
Former Phillies, Royals, and Orioles veteran Franco was apparently stealth-signed back on August 31. This makes him eligible for the Braves postseason roster, so Franco may be a right-handed power option off the bench if the Braves make the playoffs. Franco has not played in a Stripers game yet, and the Athletic’s David O’Brien indicates that Franco has a lingering ankle issue from his time with the Orioles that he and the Braves are allowing time to fully heal up.
- 9/9/2021: IF Riley Unroe assigned to AAA Gwinnett from AA Mississippi
It’s back to where Unroe started the season, now providing the Stripers some middle infield depth in the wake of last week’s promotion of Orlando Arcia to Atlanta. Unroe has had a difficult 2021 between his early demotion to Mississippi followed by several IL stints.
- 9/9/2021: RHP Troy Bacon placed on 7-day injured list for AA Mississippi; RHP Sean McLaughlin activated from 7-day injured list
A 4th-round pick in 2017, Bacon has had a breakout season with Mississippi, pitching to a 2.87 ERA in 30 appearances. This move was made retroactive to 9/6, hopefully meaning they believe he can come back quickly.
McLaughlin was placed on the IL during the team’s COVID-related shutdown two weeks ago.
- 9/9/2021: RHP Joey Estes placed on 7-day injured list for A Augusta; RHP Jared Johnson assigned to A Augusta from FCL Braves
Estes has been one of the biggest success stories of the Braves minor leagues this season. His last outing only went one inning however, and we don’t know the nature of the injury. He was 4th in all of low-A in innings pitched as a 19 year old however, and its possible that this move is simply a recognition of that.
Johnson returns Augusta after compiling a 7.04 ERA in 10 starts in June through August. His bugaboo in his earlier stint was missing too much in the zone; he seems to have over-adjusted as he allowed just one hit in his first start upon his return but walked five.
Your Moment of Zen
Nothing like that postseason-clinching final out!!! pic.twitter.com/NSkDDFgYQJ
— Mississippi Braves (@mbraves) September 11, 2021
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