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.
Check out the OFR Farm Report tomorrow for more observations and insights.
Weekly Round-Up
AUGUSTA:
The Greenjackets concluded their schedule by winning the final series against Kannapolis four games to two. They finished the second half in third place in the division with a 33-32 record, 8.5 games back of Charleston, who will advance to play firs-half winner Myrtle Beach for the Carolina League South Division crown. Overall Augusta finished with a 69-62 season record, their first over .500 in the their two seasons of affiliation with the Atlanta Braves.
The Jackets got a strong performance from right-hander Jorge Bautista in Tuesday’s 6-1 win (7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 SO). First baseman Mahki Backstrom homered in that one, as well as hitting a ninth-inning RBI triple the following night to send that game to extras en route to a 3-2 Augusta win. The winning run was knocked in by outfielder Noah Williams, playing in his first game for Augusta after having been promoted up from the FCL Braves late last week, capping off a 3-for-4 day, and ended up going 6-for-17 on the week with two doubles. Thursday’s game resulted in a 3-1 loss despite Augusta pitching now allowing an earned run, with errors by catcher Harry Owen and Backstrom proving to be critical.
Friday’s match-up was a 6-1 Augusta win featuring sterling pitching from starter Owen Murphy (4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO), Rainery Rodriguez (4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 SO), and Rob Griswold (1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO). Augusta won Saturday’s tilt in a 9-1 laugher with J.R. Ritchie putting up a 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 SO line in his final 2022 appearance. Augusta dropped Sunday’s season finale 6-5 despite a strong starting effort from 2nd-rounder Blake Burkhalter (3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 SO).
Augusta got 5.1 scoreless relief innings from righty James Acuna over two appearances while third baseman David McCabe hit .278/.409/.389 on the week.
ROME:
The Rome Braves will be Atlanta’s only affiliate to represent the club in the playoffs this season after clinching the best divisional record in the second half on Friday with a 5-4 win over Hickory combined with an Asheville Tourist loss. Rome closed out the regular season schedule winning four of five games in soggy Hickory with Saturday’s rained-out match-up being cancelled. Rome will meet first half South Atlantic League South Division champ Bowling Green for a best-of-three divisional playoff round starting at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, September 13 in Rome for Game 1 before the series moves to Bowling Green on Thursday and (if needed) Friday.
Rome pitching was smothering this week, staring with Wednesday’s 5-0 shutout with likely Game 1 starter Luis De Avila tossing 6 innings and striking out 8 against only 1 walk. The second half of that night’s doubleheader had righty Royber Salinas even more dominating, only allowing 1 hit in 5 scoreless innings while striking out 6 and earning the OFR Pitcher of the Week award and leading Rome to a 8-2 win.
Hickory rallied on Thursday to pull out a 5-4 win, scoring 4 runs late against reliever Trey Riley. Righty J.J. Niekro was the starter in Friday’s playoff clincher, throwing 5 innings and allowing just 1 run on 4 hits. Rome capped off the series and the season with a 4-2 “Johnny Wholestaff” win on Sunday, with eight pitchers combining to allow 11 hits and 2 runs.
The Rome catchers made their presence known this week, especially Tyler Tolve who went 4-for-12 in 3 games with 2 homers, 6 RBI, and a stolen base. Adam Zebrowksi shrugged off a tough start to his high-A career last week by hitting a double and a home run this week, going 2-for-9 in two games. Shortstop Cal Conley had been scuffling, hitting only .204/.301/.327 since the start of August coming into the series, but he ended on a strong note, going 5-for-14 in four games including a homer and a stolen base.
MISSISSIPPI:
The Mississippi Braves began their final road series of the season this week although they stayed in-state with the short drive down to Biloxi to take on the Shuckers. After winning the first two games of the series by a combined score of 26-4, they dropped the final four games of the series to eliminate them from playoff contention. The M-Braves now return home to wrap up the season against the Montgomery Biscuits.
The M-Braves had to lean heavily on their bullpen this week as the six starters only pitched a total of 24.2 innings. Tanner Gordon, Dylan Dodd, and Allan Winans all had similar starts as each gave up two runs over five innings (Winans’ runs were unearned). Alan Rangel gave up eight runs in just 3.1 innings along with three home runs in the worst outing for a Mississippi starter this week.
Justin Maese and Indigo Diaz had strong weeks as each tossed three one-inning scoreless outings, Diaz was perfect for the week with five strikeouts. Kyle Wilcox continued to find success with his slider-heavy repertoire, he had two more scoreless one-inning efforts and now has a 0.82 ERA in eleven outings for Mississippi this season.
Justyn-Henry Malloy continued his impressive run at Mississippi as he went 8-for-22 with a double, home run, five RBI, and HBP, and seven walks (.364/.533/.545). Jalen Miller was equally successful during a 7-for-22 week with two doubles, a home run, five RBI, four stolen bases, and eight walks (.318/.500/.545). Drew Lugbauer was 5-for-25 with three home runs, eight RBI, four walks, an HBP, and eight strikeouts (.200/.333/.560). Outfielder Andrew Moritz had two four-hit games during a 9-for-18 week with three doubles, two home runs, and five RBI (.500/.500/1.000). Landon Stephens’ struggles at Double-A continued as he has gone 0-for-15 over the last two weeks with thirteen strikeouts and an HBP. He now has a .122 batting average and a .481 OPS with Mississippi.
GWINNETT:
The Gwinnett Stripers underwent a long road trip this week to take on the Buffalo Bisons. Unfortunately, the weather was not particularly cooperative as the Tuesday and Sunday games were rained out although the Tuesday game was made up later. After dropping the first three games of the series, the Stripers won the final two to salvage a 2-3 week. The Stripers now return home to take on the Durham Bulls.
The starting pitching was not particularly good this week with the highlight being Darius Vines’ five-inning effort on Saturday where he gave up just one run. Kyle Muller was likely fortunate to give up just three runs over five innings in his start as he gave up six hits, two walks, and a two-run home run. Muller did get some help from Jake Marisnick throwing out a runner at the plate. Mike Soroka pitched well for the first three innings of his start on Friday, giving up just one walk before running into trouble in the fourth inning. Soroka allowed the first four runners to reach base and three to score before buckling down and retiring the next three hitters to minimize the damage. He was then removed after throwing 76 pitches. Ian Anderson’s start on Thursday began well as he allowed just two walks and a single over the first four innings. In the fifth inning, Anderson gave up a solo home run but he then ran into trouble in the sixth inning (and third time through the order). He gave up two hits and two walks to the first five hitters before giving way to William Woods, who gave up a walk and a home run to make Anderson’s final line look even worse (5.1 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, 1 HR). Freddy Tarnok’s Wednesday start was just ugly and Buffalo made him pay for every mistake as he gave up seven runs in just three innings including two home runs, the second of which was a grand slam in the fourth inning, After a walk to the next batter, Tarnok’s night was done after 82 pitches.
In the bullpen, Michael Tonkin registered saves in both Gwinnett victories during the week and tossed two scoreless innings. Jared Shuster pitched in long relief this week and gave up three runs during a four-inning outing in which he gave up a home run.
Taylor Motter had a huge week for the offense, going 9-for-15 with two doubles, four home runs, four walks, and seven RBI (.600/.684/1.533). Hernan Perez continued to wield a hot hand, going 6-for-19 with two home runs and two stolen bases. Ozzie Albies continued his rehab assignment, going 1-for-11 with three strikeouts. Newcomer Jake Marisnick went 0-for-10 with an outfield assist while Greyson Jenista was 0-for-11 with three strikeouts, lowering his average to .203 for the season with a .638 OPS.
POSITION PLAYER of the WEEK:
PITCHER of the WEEK:
Transaction Round-Up
- 9/5/2022: OF Jefrey Ramos and C Zade Richardson transferred to the 60-day injured list for Mississippi
- 9/6/2022: LHP Lisandro Santos activated from the Mississippi Development List
That will officially end the season for Ramos, who now has a .180/.250/.299 batting line in 85 AA games over two seasons.
- 9/6/2022: RHP Isrrael De La Cruz transferred to the Development List and LF Willie Carter transferred from the 7-day injured list to the 60-day injured list; RHP Grant Holmes assigned to A+ Rome from FCL Braves
Carter has hit .221/.303/.366 with 7 home runs in part-time work for Rome. The Rome outfield has almost completely turned over in the last three weeks with the promotions of Brandol Mezquita, Brandon Parker, and Kadon Morton.
Holmes was a late minor league free agent signing and appeared in the final game of the FCL Braves season. He was a former Dodgers and A’s farmhand who had made it as far as the AAA level.
- 9/6/2022: RHP Brent Burgess assigned to FCL Braves from A Augusta
Burgess made two appearances for Augusta in 2021 before getting injured. He appeared in 6 rehab games for the FCL and was sent up to Augusta but did not appear in a game. Looks like he’s not quite there yet.
Your Moment of Zen
Good morning from the Division Champs. pic.twitter.com/kbKVsspYuI
— Rome Emperors (@GoEmperors) September 10, 2022
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