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.
Who should be subject of the Prospect Spotlight on Monday's Farm Report?
— Outfield Fly Rule (@OFRSports) April 14, 2022
Prospect Spotlight: Royber Salinas
Position: RHP
Age: 21
Height: 6′-3″
Weight: 205 lbs
Performance: 2 G, 2 GS | 0.96 ERA | -0.25 FIP | 9.1 IP | 1.93 BB/9 | 23.14 K/9
Current Grades
Fastball: 60
Curveball: 35
Control: 40
Command: 30
Royber Salinas signed with Atlanta at age 17 as an international amateur free agent out of Venezuela late in 2018. An unheralded signing, Salinas reported to the Braves’ Dominican Summer League complex in 2019. During the season, Salinas showed a live arm and poor control but was one of the standout pitchers of the team. After the 2020 minor league shutdown the Braves elected not to field a Dominican Summer League team in 2021, so Salinas pitched in the Florida Complex League.
Despite a walk rate almost 14% in the FCL, Salinas kept the hits to a minimum and was effective enough that he was selected late in the season to jump to Augusta to help out its injury-plagued rotation. Salinas pitched 14 innings over 3 starts and allowed only 1 earned run, again despite a high walk rate. Salinas was chosen to be Augusta’s Opening Day starter in 2022 and he responded by striking out 11 of the 18 batters he faced. He topped that in his last start on April 14, striking out 13 of the 15 batters he faced. Just as encouraging, he has only given up 2 walks on the season.
Salinas relies heavily on a 95-99 mph 4-seam fastball that he usually rides high in the zone to try to get batters to swing under. The fastball has a nice natural rising action. He combines this with a shallow curveball that also typically is thrown high in the zone, acting almost as a sort of change-up. Low-A batters are having a difficult time separating the two, causing them to be late on the fastball and early on the curve. Occasionally Salinas throws the curveball with more depth and bite; this is where he will need to get to more consistently to be successful at higher levels.
While Salinas is listed at 205 pounds, the eye test would seem to give him a little more heft. It doesn’t seem to slow him down, but it’s something to keep an eye on.
Prospect watchers from last season saw how much success the likes of Spencer Strider and Ryan Cusick had at low-A basically riding a high-velocity 4-seamer and a breaking ball and Salinas is currently following that pattern. Long-term he doesn’t seem likely to stay as a starter unless he has a third pitch he has been keeping under wraps. If not, he could be successful as a fastball/curve reliever.
Here is all 11 of Salinas’s strikeouts from Opening Day.
Weekly Round-Up
AUGUSTA:
Augusta rolled into Myrtle Beach this past week and seemed to lose their bats along the way, scoring only 20 runs total in the 6 games, with 9 of them coming in Friday’s 9-2 win. Augusta dropped 4 games out of the 6 game series, but will now head to SRP Park to make their home opener in a 6-game series against the Fayetteville Woodpeckers of the Astros affiliate system.
One of their two wins was a brilliant 1-0 shutout headed by 2019 13th-rounder Tyler Owens, who pitched a career high 5 innings in his 2021 debut, striking out 5 and only allowing a single and a walk. Owens is looking to rebound from an injury-plagued 2021. Royber Salinas was even more electrifying in his second start of the season, striking out 13 of 15 batters while only allowing 1 hit. Free agent signee Landon Leach got two starts this week to mixed results; his first on Tuesday was a strong 5-inning effort where he scattered 5 baserunners but kept them from scoring. The second on Sunday only lasted 3 innings and his control was spotty as he allowed 5 runs (4 earned) and walked 3. Teenagers A.J. Smith-Shawver and Adam Shoemaker each had short outings, with Shawver being the beneficiary of 9 runs after allowing 2 in 3.2 innings, walking 4 but also striking out 6.
The Greenjackets did get some sterling relief efforts, with J.J. Niekro again putting in some strong long relief, going 4.1 innings on Saturday without allowing a run. Lefty Kris Anglin went 3 scoreless in relief of Smith-Shawver to earn the win, while Luis Vargas and James Acuña each had two scoreless outings.
Utility infielder Caleb Durbin led the offense this week, getting starts at second, third, and short while going 6-for-17 with a home run and 4 stolen bases while scoring 7 runs. Catcher Adam Zebrowski went 5-for-15 with 3 doubles; the 2021 13th-rounder has 5 extra base hits out of the hits he’s collected so far in the young season. After a hot opening weekend, shortstop Cal Conley has cooled off a bit, going 5-for-25 with a double, though he made the most of his time on base by collecting 4 stolen bases.
ROME:
Rome came home to host a Hudson Valley Renegades team that featured three top-15 Yankees prospects in their line-up and won the series 4 games to two. Their next series doesn’t figure to be any easier as they go back on the road to the 2021 league champ Bowling Green Hot Rods.
After getting blown out 11-1 in their home opener, Rome righted the ship the very next day, winning 8-1 behind some solid pitching by starter Roddery Munoz (3.2 innings, 2 hits, 1 unearned run, 5 strikeouts) and relievers Jake McSteen, Lisandro Santos, and Austin Smith. Outfielder Landon Stephens hit a homer in this game, the first of three home runs in three consecutive games. After dropping Thursday’s match 2-8, Rome won all three games of the weekend, with right-hander Tanner Gordon‘s 6 shutout innings on Saturday a highlight worthy of collecting this week’s OFR Pitcher of the Week honors. Righty Andrew Hoffmann had a solid outing on Friday (5 IP, 5 H, 3 R/2 ER, 6 SO) and lefty Luis De Avila recovered from a poor start at the beginning of the week to grind out 4.1 shutout innings on Sunday.
Justin Yeager and Austin Smith each picked up a save apiece, with Yeager striking out six of the nine batters he faced over two outings.
In addition to Stephens and his 3 home runs, 2B/CF Cody Milligan had a strong offensive week, getting on base at a .565 clip thanks to 7 hits and 6 walks. Catcher Javier Valdes made the most of part-time duty, going 3-for-6 with a double. Top Rome prospect Vaughn Grissom went 4-for-20 on the week with a double and a stolen base.
MISSISSIPPI:
The Mississippi Braves hit the road for the first time this season and were waylaid by the Biloxi Shuckers, losing five out of six games, and not scoring more than four runs in any game. The M-Braves now return home to face the Chattanooga Lookouts.
Although the M-Braves fared poorly during the week, they did get one good and one tremendous start over the course of the week. On Wednesday, Freddy Tarnok went 4.2 innings (75 pitches) in his first start of the season and did not give up any runs, giving up just one hit and walking three. On Saturday, Jared Shuster had a spectacular rain-shortened complete game shutout, allowing just three baserunners while striking out a career-high twelve, far past his previous career high of seven. In addition, he tied a Southern League record by striking out eight consecutive batters. Alan Rangel started twice during the week, and both went poorly as he went a total of five innings, giving up five runs (three earned) while walking nine. Darius Vines was roughed up in his second Double-A start, giving up six runs (only one earned) while allowing nine baserunners in just three innings of work.
Among the relievers, Hayden Deal continued his strong start to the season with 5.1 more scoreless innings to bring him up to eight innings to start the season with no earned runs allowed and eleven strikeouts. Both Indigo Diaz and William Woods started the week poorly but finished strong: Diaz issued four walks in the ninth inning of a tied game on Tuesday to let the Shuckers walk off with a victory but pitched a perfect inning on Friday. Woods was moved to the bullpen from the starting rotation this week and had a rough first outing with three runs allowed in his first one-inning outing but was dominant in a perfect second appearance while striking out two batters.
Michael Harris continued his strong start in Double-A in extending his hitting streak to nine games in going 9-for-24 (.375/.400/.542) while stealing two bases from the leadoff spot. Outfielder Jesse Franklin (5-for-24) and third baseman CJ Alexander (5-for-18) were the only other M-Braves to reach as many as five hits on the week. 1B-DH Drew Lugbauer was just 3-for-21 with a double, two home runs, and twelve strikeouts while infielder Luke Waddell continued his rough start with a 2-for-19 week. Waddell is now batting .111 in 27 plate appearances to start the season.
GWINNETT:
The Gwinnett Stripers opened their 2022 home slate this week against the Nashville Sounds. Although the pitching was reasonably good, the offense failed to show up as the Stripers scored only fifteen runs in the six-game series and were shut out in the final two games. Gwinnett now takes their 5-7 record on the road to take on the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, with reports that outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. will be added to the roster on Tuesday on rehab assignment.
Gwinnett starting pitching was once again led by Kyle Muller, who gave up just two runs over six innings on Sunday (although he took the loss) and now sports a 2.87 ERA and 0.83 FIP over three starts this season. Touki Toussaint also had another successful start in giving up just one run in four innings although he gave up four hits and three walks and was taken out after 80 pitches. Allan Winans also had a solid start with 4.2 innings of shutout ball. On the negative side, Jasseel De La Cruz followed up his initial solid effort with a one-inning dud on Thursday where he gave up four runs on four hits, two hit batsmen, and a wild pitch. Tucker Davidson had a poor outing on Saturday after being optioned from the big club with five runs (three earned) in 4.1 innings with two home runs allowed.
Among the bullpen arms, Nolan Kingham pitched 4.2 shutout innings, striking out five, while Nick Vincent tossed three scoreless innings over two outings including a stint as an opener for a bullpen game. Brandyn Sittinger had two two-inning scoreless outings while Brad Brach racked up a win and a save.
Although the offense did not have much production during the week, there were some notable efforts. Outfielder Travis Demeritte was 5-for-20 with a double, triple, a home run, and three RBI while fellow outfielder Justin Dean was 5-for-13 with a double, two stolen bases, and an outfield assist. William Contreras saw his first action after being optioned from Atlanta and went 4-for-17 with two doubles, two walks, and four RBI. OF-DH Greyson Jenista had a two-home run game on Tuesday and now has four on the young season.
POSITION PLAYER of the WEEK:
PITCHER of the WEEK:
Transaction Round-Up
- 4/6/2022: Atlanta Braves signed free agent RHP Jesus Cruz to a minor league contract.
This transaction apparently completed the week prior, but did not post until last week. Cruz is a late bloomer, working in the Mexican League until the Cardinals signed him as a free agent in 2017 at the age of 22. He worked his way up their ladder, appearing in 87 games at the AAA level between 2019 and 2021 and making one appearance with the big league Cards in 2020.
Cruz was assigned to AAA Gwinnett on April 15.
- 4/12/2022: Atlanta Braves selected the contracts of RHPs Jackson Stephens and Bryce Elder from Gwinnett Stripers; optioned C William Contreras and LHP Tucker Davidson to Gwinnett Stripers; designated RHP Jacob Webb and C Chadwick Tromp for assignment
With the Braves determined to go with a six-man rotation and with both Tucker Davidson and Spencer Strider forced into relief duty in an abbreviated Huascar Ynoa start, the Braves were forced into a series of moves last Monday. With a rule in place that players optioned to the minors cannot be recalled unless as an injury replacement, the team couldn’t simply recall pitchers like Touki Toussaint or Dylan Lee and were forced to make room on the 40-man roster for Elder and Stephens. Fortunately both played important roles in a needed victory against Washington last Tuesday. Elder now officially joins the pack of starters on the 40-man roster vying for innings and starts in the back-half of the rotation along with Kyle Wright, Huascar Ynoa, Tucker Davidson, Spencer Strider, Kyle Muller, and Toussaint.
Jacob Webb had been in the Braves organization since being selected in the 18th-round of the 2014 draft. He had shown promise at the major league level in 2019 and 2020, but also had several injury issues in his Braves tenure. Expected to challenge for a bullpen spot this spring, instead he did not make a spring appearance and also did not appear in a game for Gwinnett in the week he was with the club.
- 4/17/2022: Augusta GreenJackets placed RHP Miguel Pena on the 7-day injured list.
The right-handed reliever had pitched one scoreless inning this season. A replacement from extended spring training will likely wait until the team returns home on Tuesday.
Your Moment of Zen
Hey, @mbraves . Just wanted to make sure you saw all your champs get their Double-A South rings. pic.twitter.com/yaSysMN3hf
— Gwinnett Stripers (@GoStripers) April 14, 2022
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