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
AUGUSTA:
The Greenjackets rallied this weekend to split a hard-fought six-game series at Carolina. Augusta is now 15-12 on the season and are 4 games behind the division-leading Myrtle Beach Pelicans. The Jackets return home to SRP Park this week to face the Columbia Fireflies.
Augusta stumbled early in the series, losing the opener 1-14 followed by a walkoff 3-4 loss on Wednesday. Right-hander Luis Vargas, who had not allowed an earned run in four previous appearances, surrendered 9 runs (6 earned) on Tuesday to put Augusta in a big hole early. AJ Smith-Shawver fared better on Tuesday, giving up 3 runs in 5 innings while striking out 7. Augusta rallied in the 8th inning on a Connor Blair 2-run homer but right-hander Rolddy Munoz, working in his second inning of the game, couldn’t hold the tie in the bottom of the 9th.
The Jackets won game 3 of the series despite a rough outing from starter Landon Leach, who lasted only 1 inning after giving up 5 runs. The offense stormed back thanks to a Cal Conley solo shot in the 3rd, Brandol Mezquita‘s 2-run double in the 5th and solo homer in the 7th, Brandon Parker‘s 2-run triple in the 7th, and an Adam Zebrowski 2-run double in the 8th to complete a 10-5 comeback win. Just as impressively, righties Estarlin Rodriguez, Juan Mateo, and Rob Griswold combined to pitch 8 no-hit innings in relief to hold down the potent Carolina line-up.
Recently promoted right-hander Jordano Perez made his Augusta debut on Friday and had the best starting effort of the week, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) over 5 innings. Carolina got their 2nd come-from-behind win of the series however with reliever Peyton Williams surrendering a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 8th to put the Mudcats ahead 5-4. Augusta returned the favor on Saturday, winning 6-5 thanks to a Rusber Estrada RBI single in the 10th. Geraldo Quintero‘s 2-run triple in the 7th got Augusta back in the lead after a rough relief outing by JJ Niekro. The Jackets then spoiled Mother’s Day for the Mudcats, with Luis Vargas having a better start in his second chance in Carolina, going 4.1 innings and allowing only 2 runs. The Greenjackets won 9-7 behind Kadon Morton‘s 4-for-4 day and a clutch 9th-inning home run from Stephen Paolini.
It was a big series for catcher Adam Zebrowski, who went 5-for-13 with a double, triple, homer, 5 walks, 6 runs scored, and 5 RBI in only 4 games played. Outfielder Brandol Mezquita continues to swing a hot bat, going 8-for-21 with a homer and two doubles to raise his season batting line to .352/.439/.477 in 23 games and putting the 20-year-old on a path for a mid-season promotion.
ROME:
Rome took it on the chin this week, dropping five of six on the road to Greenville, their first losing series this season. Rome’s record dropped to 14-13 on the season putting them now in 4th place in the division, though still only 2.5 games behind division-leading Bowling Green. The Braves will try to get back on track this week at home against Winston-Salem.
Despite the lopsided win/loss results, most of the games were fairly close in score. The Tuesday opener saw a patient approach from Greenville knock righty Andrew Hoffmann out of the box early as he threw 52 pitches in only 2 innings and surrendering 3 runs on the way to a 4-2 loss. Wednesday was Rome’s only win of the series as the Braves rallied for 4 runs in the top of the 10th to secure a 9-5 come-from-behind win with catcher Javier Valdes socking a 2-run homer in the frame.
On Thursday, righty Luis De Avila gave up six runs in 5 innings, a deficit they were unable to overcome, dropping 4-7. Rome then lost Friday despite a 13-hit attack that featured homers by third baseman Justyn-Henry Malloy and outfielder Christian Robinson. Starter Roddery Munoz allowed 5 runs and reliever Dylan Spain another 3 as the Braves couldn’t complete a comeback, losing 7-8.
Minor league strikeout leader Royber Salinas made his much-anticipated high-A debut on Saturday and flopped, giving up 4 runs and only retiring 2 batters in his first start. Salinas walked 3 and only struck out 1 while only finding the strikezone 14 times in 31 pitches. The Rome bullpen did a nice job of holding the line after that, only allowing 1 run on 2 hits the rest of the way, but the offense could only muster 1 run on 3 hits. Sunday was the most lopsided game of the series, with Greenville scoring 4 runs of starter Dylan Dodd in the second innings and not looking back, winning 3-10.
Infielder Cade Bunnell had been struggling the last couple of weeks but had a good series, going 6-for-17 with a double, homer, and 3 walks. Malloy also had a good series, going 7-for-23 with 2 homers, while second baseman/centerfielder Cody Milligan posted a .400 OBP for the week with 2 stolen bases. Overall Milligan is hitting .307/.451/.386 in 23 games with 5 stolen bases out of the lead-off spot while showing improved defense at second.
MISSISSIPPI:
The Mississippi Braves returned home this week to take on the Pensacola Blue Wahoos in a series highlighted by the Atlanta Braves World Series trophy making an appearance on Friday night as well as the M-Braves staff receiving their World Series rings. The two teams split the six-game set and the record for the M-Braves now stands at 11-16. Mississippi now takes a long-distance road trip to take on the Chattanooga Lookouts.
The starting pitching received several good outings this week, with Darius Vines racking up two solid starts. Vines gave up just one earned run over five innings on Tuesday and pitched even better on Sunday in a start where he struck out a career-high eleven over 6.1 innings. Vines gave up three runs but all were on a home run to the final batter he faced. Jared Shuster had another good start, giving up just one run over 5.1 innings in a start that was shortened due to a rain delay. Alan Rangel had by far his best start of the season, getting his first nine outs via strikeout and finishing with eleven strikeouts in four innings while allowing just one run before leaving due to hitting his pitch limit. Freddy Tarnok had a solid start with one run allowed in 4.2 innings and six strikeouts before leaving after 90 pitches. Unfortunately, Tanner Gordon’s first Double-A start did not go well at all as he only retired five batters while giving up eight runs, six hits (two home runs), and five walks with no strikeouts.
In the bullpen, Indigo Diaz continued his recent resurgence with three scoreless one-inning appearances where he only allowed one walk while striking out five. Justin Maese and Tyler Ferguson each also had three scoreless outings while Victor Vodnik had two more scoreless appearances and a save.
Outfielder Michael Harris didn’t have the greatest hitting line this week (.269/.269/.423) but he continued his hitting streak (now at 14 games), his on-base streak (now at 27 games), and now also has four straight games in which he has hit a double. Harris had eight strikeouts in 26 plate appearances for the week and did not register a walk. Shortstop Luke Waddell continued his recent run of success with a .294/.455/.647 week with three doubles and a home run. 1B-DH Drew Lugbauer finally had a subpar week where he went just 4-for-21 with two doubles and a home run but also eleven strikeouts. Outfielder Andrew Moritz had a rough week where he went just 1-for-17, punctuated by a platinum sombrero (five strikeouts) on Friday night.
GWINNETT:
The Gwinnett Stripers finished their two-week homestand this week against the Charlotte Knights by splitting a six-game set and keeping their season record at .500 (15-15). The Stripers now hit the road to visit the Durham Bulls.
Gwinnett starting pitching had two good rebound performances from the recently optioned Kyle Muller (6 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) and Bryce Elder (7 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K). Tucker Davidson had a decent start (6 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 9 K) where all the damage done was in the fourth inning while Huascar Ynoa (5 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 2 HR) and Touki Toussaint (4.2 IP, 10 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 2 HR) were both roughed up in their starts this week.
Relievers Jesus Cruz, Seth Elledge, Nick Vincent, and R.J. Alaniz each had two scoreless appearances during the week as did World Series starting pitcher Dylan Lee, who now has a 1.54 ERA in ten games this season and could be an option to return to Atlanta in the near future as he is already on the 40-man roster. William Woods returned to Gwinnett after being assigned as the 27th man in Atlanta’s Tuesday doubleheader and, unfortunately, was removed from Friday’s game after two pitches with an apparent injury.
Outfielder Drew Waters returned to Gwinnett this week after his rehab stint at Rome, going 4-for-4 in his first game with a home run then missed two games and made a couple of appearances towards the end of the week including a three-hit game on Sunday. Fellow outfielder Preston Tucker hit safely in all five of his games this week, going 7-for-17 with a double and a home run while shortstop Braden Shewmake was 4-for-16 with three more walks and a double. The offensive star for this week, though, was catcher Chadwick Tromp, who was 8-for-17 with three doubles, four home runs, twelve RBI, and a .471/.526/1.353 batting line.
POSITION PLAYER of the WEEK:
PITCHER of the WEEK:
Transaction Round-Up
- 5/3/2022: RHP Tanner Gordon assigned to AA Mississippi; RHP Royber Salinas assigned to A+ Rome
It was time for the two biggest positive surprises in the Braves farm system to move on to new challenges. Gordon steps into the rotation spot of AJ Puckett, who returns to the bullpen, and of course Salinas replaces Gordon. Both pitchers stumbled in their first outings at their new levels.
- 5/3/2022: OF Drew Waters activated from 7-day injured list for AAA Gwinnett; OF Justin Dean reassigned to AA Mississippi from AAA Gwinnett; OFs Jacob Pearson reassigned to A+ Rome from AA Mississippi
The return of Waters created a backwards train car shuffle. With Gwinnett chock full of veteran outfielders like Alex Dickerson, Preston Tucker, and Delino DeShields Jr., there just wasn’t playing time for Dean, who struggled at the plate in his first taste of AAA ball. He’ll join with Michael Harris and Jesse Franklin in what should be an outstanding defensive outfield. For Pearson it’s a tough pill to be back in A-ball after spending all last season at AA. Pearson has only hit .153/.250/.258 in 222 plate appearances with Mississippi.
- 5/3/2022: RHP Trey Riley assigned to A+ Rome from AA Mississippi; RHP Benjamin Dum assigned to A+ Rome from A Augusta
Rome had been running low on relievers, so they get reinforced from both directions. For Dum this is a return after dropping down a level to relieve depth issues in Augusta. For Riley, he returns to Rome after a strong season there in 2021, looking to remedy the control problems that plagued him earlier in his career and have now resurfaced.
- 5/3/2022: LHP Kris Anglin activated from the 7-day injured list; RHP Jordano Perez assigned to A Augusta from extended spring training
Anglin is a cornerstone of the Augusta bullpen and his return allowed Dum to return to Rome. He’s joined by Perez, at 21-year-old Dominican righty who played in the DSL in 2019 and the FCL in 2021 and is set to make his full-season debut.
- 5/7/2022: RHP Darling Florentino assigned to A Augusta from extended spring training; LHP Samuel Strickland placed on the 7-day injured list
Strickland has pitched will in two outings covering 8.1 innings, including his first professional start. For Florentino this is his second stint in low-A, but the first chance as a pitcher. He was low-A Rome’s Opening Day third baseman in 2019, playing 36 at the tender age of 17 before being moved back down to the complex league. After the COVID minor league shutdown he emerged in 2021 as a pitcher.
Your Moment of Zen
WELCOME BACK DREW WATERS. pic.twitter.com/ZkKOVQgfpu
— Gwinnett Stripers (@GoStripers) May 3, 2022
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