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.
The OFR Farm Report Podcast is taking this week off, but will return next week.
Braves Expected To Sign All Draft Picks
The conclusion of the 2022 amateur draft isn’t even a week old, but reports strongly suggest that the Braves either have or will have signed all 22 of the players selected by the team.
According to Battery Power’s Garrett Spain, all of the picks are now at the North Port complex. After physicals, signings, and workouts, the players should be assigned to affiliates and complexes. Expect most picks to start their pro careers in the Florida Complex League, but many of the college players may advance directly to low-A Augusta.
You can can check out our draft analysis from last week for more information on the players. For our thoughts on the draft and the players, check out our OFR Farm Report Podcast draft special.
Weekly Round-Up
COMPLEX LEAGUES:
The DSL played a full slate of games this week, the only league not taking an All-Star break. Centerfielder Robert Gonzalez went 9-for-20, getting into all 7 games on the week thanks to a rain-out make-up on Saturday. Gonzalez hit two doubles and triple and had a .522 OBP from the top of the order.
Right-hander Jhancarlos Lara continued his good work, pitching 4 shut-out innings in his start on Friday, scattering 4 hits and striking out 8. Lara has now only surrendered one earned run in 20.2 innings on the season. His 29 strikeouts on the season now lead the team after Didier Fuentes had his start washed out. Overall, the Braves lead the DSL in ERA with a 2.67 team mark.
In the FCL, infielder Alexander Then took advantage of increased playing time after the promotion of shortstop Francisco Floyd to Augusta to go 5-for-10 in the three games played last week, raising his batting average 46 points to .271. Outfielder Jair Casanova continued to be the most consistent producer on the squad, going 4-for-10 with a homer and the 18-year-old is now hitting .297/.404/.363 on the season.
On the pitching side, righty Allan Winans, on rehab from Gwinnett, threw a 3-inning, 1-hit start, striking out 3. Right-hander William Woods also made an appearance, pitching a scoreless inning, allowing a hit and striking out 1.
AUGUSTA:
Augusta made the hourish-long bus ride up I-20 to Columbia this weekend to take on the Fireflies. They split the first two games before the Sunday match-up was washed out to be made up in a subsequent visit. Augusta returns home to start a six-game set against Myrtle Beach on Tuesday.
Augusta unleashed a 10-hit attack on Friday, led by catcher Adam Zebrowski‘s 3-for-4 night with a walk, a double, and two runs scored. Shortstop Francisco Floyd continued his good work since his promotion last week, going 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, and a run scored. Starter Luis Vargas allowed 1 run on 2 hits in five innings as Augusta won 6-3.
The Jackets dropped 5-6 on Saturday, all of Augusta’s runs coming in the 5th inning with back-up catcher Victor De Hoyos‘s three-run double the big blow to make the score 5-2 Augusta. The bullpen couldn’t hold however, with Darling Florentino giving up two in the 7th and Rob Griswold one in the 8th.
ROME:
Rome came out of the break with a series win, taking two of three on the road at Winston-Salem, pushing their second-half record to 12-7 and remaining in first place, 2.5 games ahead of second-place Bowling Green. They head to Hickory, NC next for a six-game series against the Crawdads.
On Friday, lefty Luis De Avila was staked to an early 1-0 lead on a 2nd inning Beau Philip home run. Rome got two more in the 4th after outfielder Drew Campbell homered, catcher Tyler Tolve tripled, and Philip drove Tolve home on a single. De Avila pitched 6 scoreless, but got into trouble in the 7th after three consecutive singles made the score 3-1. Jose Montilla come on and allowed an inherited runner to score but limited the damage and pitched a scoreless 8th to boot. Right-hander Trey Riley nailed down the 9th to secure the save, striking out 2.
Both offenses were humming on Saturday, but a 3-run 7th by Winston-Salem broke Rome’s back in a 6-9 loss. Second baseman Caleb Durbin, freshly up from Augusta, got his first high-A hit in the one but also committed an error that allowed an unearned run. Starter Roddery Munoz went 4.2 innings, giving up 5 runs (2 earned), walking 3 and striking out 5. Catcher Javier Valdes homered for Rome.
Rome took the rubber match on Sunday by a 3-2 score behind five innings of 4-hit ball thrown by starter Royber Salinas, who only gave up one run while walking 2 and striking out 7. Davis Schwab, Austin Smith, and Alec Barger followed with four 1-hit relief innings, the only hit a solo homer off Smith. The Braves only got 6 hits on the day but took advantage of 5 free passes issued by Dash pitchers. Shortstop Cal Conley doubled home two runs in the 5th and is hitting .333/.415/.528 with four doubles, a homer, 5 RBI, and 2 stolen bases in 9 games since his promotion from Augusta.
MISSISSIPPI:
The first-place Mississippi Braves faced off against the second-place Montgomery Biscuits in a short weekend series. After splitting a pair of low-scoring 2-1 contests, the Biscuits scored early and often during a 15-1 romp on Sunday. The 15-6 M-Braves still have a two-game lead in the Southern League South Division and continue their road trip against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos this week.
Friday’s game was started by the rehabbing Kirby Yates, who tossed a scoreless inning before giving way to Jared Shuster, who gave up just a solo home run over five innings while striking out eight. On Saturday, Darius Vines had another tremendous start, tossing six shutout innings, giving up just one hit and one walk while striking out ten. Vines now has a 1.53 ERA over his last six starts and leads the Southern League with 114 strikeouts. Sunday’s starter, Alan Rangel, was knocked around for five runs in the first inning and left after three innings (7 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 5 BB, 3 K). Kirby Yates added another scoreless inning on Sunday. Lisandro Santos had a perfect inning in his only appearance with three strikeouts. Odalvi Javier gave up a walk-off HBP on Saturday but still extended his streak of appearances without giving up an earned run to eighteen dating back to May 30th.
The M-Braves had a tough week offensively, scoring just four runs in twenty-eight innings. Outfielder Justin Dean was only 1-for-11 on the week with a walk and six strikeouts, but his two-run single accounted for all of Mississippi’s offense on Friday. Catcher Hendrik Clementina was 2-for-7 with a solo home run and shortstop Vaughn Grissom was 2-for-12 with an HBP and a stolen base with his 19-game hitting streak dating back to June 29th and 45-game on-base streak dating back to May 27th both coming to an end on Sunday as he went 0-for-4. Drew Lugbauer was 0-for-10 on the week with six strikeouts, two walks, and an error. Outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy was 0-for-8 but had an HBP, three walks, and an outfield assist.
GWINNETT:
The Gwinnett Stripers hit the road following their midseason break to face the Memphis Redbirds in a short weekend series. After taking the first two games, Gwinnett dropped Sunday’s finale to fall below .500 at 46-47, good for sixth place and 9 ½ games out of first place in the International League West Division. The Stripers now return home to take on the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.
Gwinnett had an impromptu bullpen game on Friday as Huascar Ynoa was pulled from his start just before game time. On Saturday, Freddy Tarnok’s second Triple-A start did not go as well as his first as he lasted just 4.2 innings, giving up three runs on five hits, including a home run. On Sunday, Bryce Elder had a quality start as he gave up three runs over six innings, scattering nine baserunners. Tyler Ferguson and Roel Ramirez each had two scoreless outings among the bullpen arms. Thomas Burrows gave up three runs over two appearances including a two-run walk-off homerun on Sunday.
The Gwinnett offense racked up twenty runs over their three games, led by shortstop Braden Shewmake, who was 6-for-12 in the series including two doubles, a home run, two walks, and four RBI. Catcher Chadwick Tromp was 4-for-7 with three walks and a home run while Hernan Perez was 2-for-6 with two walks, an HBP, and a home run.
Transaction Round-Up
- 7/18/2022: 2B Phil Gosselin claimed off waivers from the Atlanta Braves
The Braves were hoping Gosselin would go unclaimed and he could return to AAA Gwinnett, but instead he gets a second go-around with the Angels. He was even in the line-up against Atlanta this weekend.
- 7/19/2022: IF Jordan Cowan activated from the AA Mississippi 7-day injured list
Cowan had been with Rome and looked like he may just stay there, but instead he goes back to Mississippi where he will battle for playing time with Riley Delgado, Yariel Gonzalez, and Jalen Miller.
- 7/21/2022: Atlanta signs RHP Cole Phillips
The only draft pick that has officially signed as of this writing is second-rounder Phillips, a hard-throwing Texas high schooler coming off Tommy John surgery. If prior years are any indicator, the team will announce all the signings at once.
- 7/22/2022: RHP Kirby Yates assigned to AA Mississippi on rehab assignment
The Braves must have liked what they saw from Yates in the FCL as they move him aggressively up to AA to resume his rehab. Assuming no set-backs, and early August debut in Atlanta seems likely.
- 7/22/2022: IF Caleb Durbin assigned to A+ Rome from A Augusta; OF Christian Robinson released by A+ Rome
Durbin could arguably be the Augusta MVP of the season, especially early on. He can play all infield spots and provides another infield option for Rome in addition to Beau Philip, Cade Bunnell, and Cal Conley.
Robinson was the 15th round pick by Atlanta in last year’s draft out of Stanford. The left-handed outfielder hit .261/.348/.380 in a part-time role, sharing the outfield corners with Drew Campbell and Wille Carter. With Campbell’s recent surge demanding more playing time and Landon Stephens commanding another corner, Robinson was squeezed out. It would not be surprising to see an Augusta outfielder moved up soon as well.
- 7/24/2022: OF Adam Duvall placed on the 10-day injured list (left wrist sprain); 1B Mike Ford recalled from AAA Gwinnett
In a tough blow, Duvall will require surgery on the wrist and will be out for the rest of the season. While Duvall has had an inconsistent season at the plate, he has been a valuable member of the club thanks to his defensive skills and ability to play all three outfield positions as well as his power. It’s a also a blow for Duvall personally as he goes into free agency.
Atlanta seems likely to address the loss via trade before next week’s deadline.
- 7/25/2022: RHP Jorge Bautista assigned to A Augusta from FCL Braves; RHP Jason Creasy assigned to AA Mississippi from FCL Braves
Bautista already had been up with Augusta briefly earlier in the year and has been a solid performer in the FCL Braves rotation. Creasy is a minor league veteran who was signed as a free agent early in the season and was likely around as an on-field coach. This seems like a reward for him while also clearing room for incoming draft picks.
Your Moment of Zen
Starting the night with some great defense courtesy of Brandon Parker! @ESPNAssignDesk #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/CahfrMstOY
— Augusta GreenJackets (@GreenJackets) July 23, 2022
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