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.
R-Braves Roster Review
A good many of this season’s Opening Day Rome roster got a taste of the high-A level in the second half of 2022 and helped push the team to the organization’s only minor league playoff berth. While this group may be light on the top prospects in the system, it would appear to be top-to-bottom a solid group that could do well in the standings.
Infielders:
Two of the more interesting bats in the system will play up the middle most days in Rome. Second baseman Geraldo Quintero, who we rated as #7 on our last prospect list, is a slash-and-run speedster with largely untapped potential power. His bat-to-ball skills may be tops in the system right now, rivalled only by his partner at the keystone, Ignacio “Nacho” Alvarez Jr. Alvarez was drafted out of community college after his first year and is young, having just turned 20, but shows an advanced feel for the bat. Both Alvarez and Quintero also have experience at third base and that’s likely Alvarez’s eventual home as he looks to continue to fill out his frame.
Third base will mostly be manned by Ogans, a natural shortstop moved to give Alvarez run at the position. Like many of the position players taken in the Day 3 of the last draft, Ogans has shown a knack for getting on base. When Quintero plays third a couple times a week, Cory Acton may play second base. Acton was a stand-out leader on the 2022 University of Georgia team.
Bryson Horne returns to the team and is one of the more likely sources of power for Rome. He’ll play first on most days. He’ll be backed up by Eliezel Stevens, who starts his fifth season in the organization in full-season ball for the first time. He also has some experience at second base in case the three other second baseman on the team fall down a hole or something.
Outfielders:
On any given day, there’s a good chance that Rome will field one of the better defensive outfields in the minor leagues. Kilpatrick will anchor the unit in centerfield most days. Another late-round 2023 draft pick that has exceeded expectations so far, Kilpatrick shows speed and instincts both in the field and on the basepaths and has been Rome’s lead-off hitter. A candidate for best overall outfield defender in the system is Kadon Morton, who could also play center but will line up in a corner on most days to take advantage of one of the stronger arms in affiliated ball. The former high school quarterback is a toolbox still learning how to hit, but is a potential breakout player if he can put it together.
Brandol Mezquita can also play center, but on this team will be in a corner. The 21-year-old Mezquita has hit/power/speed potential but has work to do with approach and recognition. Paolini is another athletic outfielder that can excel at any outfield spot but is still looking to find himself at the plate. He showed incremental progress in Augusta last year and looks to have made himself more selective.
Brandon Parker isn’t terrible in the field, but is definitely below the other four outfielders and as such will find himself relegated to the DH role many nights. Parker’s second year in Augusta in 2022 saw him set career highs in home runs and on-base percentage and he will try to translate those skills to the high-A level.
Catchers:
Baldwin was the top position player taken by Atlanta in the 2022 draft with a solid defensive reputation and bat-to-ball skills. He will be the primary catcher. Zebrowski was a 13th-rounder in 2021 and has shown power and a willingness to take a walk with Augusta. In addition to backing up Baldwin he will see time at DH.
Starting Pitchers:
Smith-Shawver is the top prospect of this group, coming in at #5 on our prospect list and higher on some of the national ones. Smith-Shawver has a potentially lethal fastball/slider combo that he demonstrated in a late-spring appearance. Ian Mejia also got some looks this spring and was the Opening Day starter. In a 2022 Atlanta draft full of high profile arms, the 11th-rounder out of New Mexico State has advanced the quickest to date.
J.J. Niekro returns to Rome after a mid-season call-up. The nephew of former Braves great Phil, Niekro has parlayed a non-drafted amateur free agent contract into becoming dependable organizational starter. Samuel Strickland and Luis Vargas were stalwarts in the Augusta rotation in 2022.
Relief Pitchers:
- Ronaldo Alesandro
- Brent Burgess
- Blake Burkhalter (injured)
- Benjamin Dum (injured)
- Joe Harvey
- Jonathan Hughes
- Ryder Jones
- Rolddy Munoz
- Tyler Owens
- Miguel Pena
- Hunter Riggins
- Estarlin Rodriguez
- Austin Smith (injured)
- Peyton Williams
Rome’s bullpen features a number of hard throwers, headed by Rolddy Munoz, the twin brother of Gwinnett’s Roddery Munoz. Like his brother, Rolddy can bring it in the high 90s and his a sharp slider. Ronaldo Alesandro has shown potential back-of-the-pen stuff but is working on finding the strikezone a little more often. The same could be said for 2022 Augusta stalwarts Estarlin Rodriguez and Peyton Williams.
The youngest member of the ‘pen is Tyler Owens, an overslot bonus selection in 2019 out of Trinity Catholic High School in Florida. A consistent injury history after being drafted have prompted Atlanta to move him to the bullpen where the hope short outings will help both his longevity and his stuff. Miguel Pena was one of the more reliable arms in the Augusta bullpen in 2022. They will be joined by minor league free agents Joe Harvey, Jonathan Hughes, and Ryder Jones in their first seasons in the organization. For Jones, he will attempt to return to the major leagues as a pitcher after having successfully ascended the ladder as a first baseman in the San Francisco system.
Brent Burgess successfully returned from TJS late last season and makes the high-A level for the first time. Former Southern Miss starter Hunter Riggins looks to eventually solidify a spot in the rotation but begins the season as a swingman. Rome veterans Ben Dum and Austin Smith will presumably rejoin the team at some point in the season, and 2022 second-rounder Blake Burkhalter will miss the entire season after needing Tommy John surgery this spring.
Weekly Round-Up
AUGUSTA:
Augusta dropped two of six against the Down East Ducks, all in very tightly contested matches. This included getting washed out on Thursday, requiring a Friday night doubleheader. Their two wins were back-to-back shutouts on Saturday and Sunday, and they will try to maintain that momentum for a six game series at Myrtle Beach on Tuesday.
Several of the Braves top young starting pitcher prospects made their season debuts this week and they were all impressive. In the second game on Friday, OFR #1 prospect Owen Murphy gave the Jackets four innings of shutout ball, allowing only two hits and a walk while striking out 6, showcasing a very lively four-seam fastball. Not to be outdone, his fellow first rounder J.R. Ritchie made his debut the following game and was dominating in his three innings, not allowing a baserunner and striking out 7 to start a four-pitcher 2-0 shutout. On Sunday, right-hander Jorge Bautista made his season debut and continued the string, tossing five shutout innings before giving way to Jared Johnson who struck out six in two innings of relief and showing off a 100 mph fastball.
Left-hander Adam Shoemaker made his season debut in Wednesday’s 1-3 loss, but he got the Greenjackets off to a good start with 3 shutout innings, only allowing a walk and striking out 4. Right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach picked up the Thursday start and allowed an unearned run on two hits, striking out 1 in 2 innings as the Braves are being very cautious about his return to action. The final starting pitcher to make his season debut was 17-year-old Didier Fuentes, who not only is the youngest player in full-season affiliated ball this year but is the youngest in the past six years. Fuentes took the loss as the Jackets couldn’t overcome the two earned runs in his 2.2 innings, walking three and striking out 4.
In addition to the strong effort from Johnson in middle relief, Augusta got excellent work from Landon Harper (3 IP, 3 H, 2 SO), Seth Keller (3 IP, 2 H, 4 SO), Chad Bryant (2 IP, 2 BB, 3 SO), and Jason Franks (2 IP, 1 BB, 3 SO), all putting up zeroes.
Runs were hard to come by this week. Third baseman David McCabe had a fantastic weekend however, capped off by a 3-for-4 Sunday with a homer and a double. Overall he hit .400/.500/.667 on the week. First baseman Justin Janas and infielder Francisco Floyd each went 4-for-13 and were on base consistently. Outfielder Jeremy Celedonio had a home run in his three hits on the week. Shortstop prospect Ambioris Tavarez is off to a tough start at the plate and has struck out 12 times in 7 games though has already showed off some flashy defensive play.
ROME:
After languishing for four games in listless loses at the Bowling Green Hot Rods, the Rome offense exploded over the weekend to salvage two wins to finish the short road trip 2-4. Rome will now return home to host the Hudson Valley Renegades.
The Rome catching corps lead the team at the plate. Drake Baldwin was an on-base machine, hitting .462/.563/.615 and throwing in a couple of doubles to go with it. Adam Zebrowski caught three games and picked another start up as the DH and made good use of the time, hitting .313/.421/.625 on the week with a big Sunday that saw him hit a 2-run homer and an RBI double. Ignacio Alvarez continued his hot start at the plate in the early going, going 8-for-23 on the week and walking 6 times for a .500 OBP on the week. Lead-off hitter Kevin Kilpatrick continued his stolen base barrage, swiping 4 bases thanks to getting on base at a .419 clip.
The Braves saw prospect A.J. Smith-Shawver make his season debut on Saturday and he didn’t disappoint, firing 4.2 shutout innings, allowing 3 hits, 1 walk, and striking out 8. Right-hander Ian Mejia again gave the Braves 5 good innings, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits, walking 2 and striking out 7.
Right-hander Estarlin Rodriguez appeared in two games in relief, allowing only 2 hits in 3.1 innings.
MISSISSIPPI:
The Mississippi Braves ventured out on their first road trip to Chattanooga to face the Lookouts. After winning the first two games, they dropped the final four games, the last three by a total of four runs. The 3-6 M-Braves now return home to take on the Montgomery Biscuits.
Luis De Avila got the bookend starts for the week; he pitched well in his first start in giving up just one run over four innings. However, in his Sunday start, he gave up two runs over 3.2 innings with four hits and four walks. Beau Burrows pitched well on Wednesday with 3.1 scoreless innings and five strikeouts, earning a promotion to Gwinnett soon after. Alan Rangel had mixed results in his start with five runs allowed over five innings, courtesy of three home runs but he also had eight strikeouts. Tanner Gordon was roughed up for eight runs in four innings but only four were earned due to defensive miscues.
In the bullpen, Alec Barger had two two-inning scoreless appearances with five strikeouts while Kyle Wilcox had a tremendous week with 2.1 perfect innings over two outings with five strikeouts. Domingo Gonzalez was shaky at times but had two scoreless outings with a save. Victor Vodnik had a great first outing for the week, striking out two of the three batters he faced. However, in his second appearance, he gave up two runs over two innings including three wild pitches.
The offense fared well, averaging five runs per game for the week although the strikeouts were plentiful. Cody Milligan continued to wreak havoc from the leadoff spot, going 6-for-18 with four walks, three HBP, two doubles, a home run, a stolen base, and nine runs scored (.333/.520/.611). Drew Lugbauer had two more home runs and four RBI but was just 3-for-19 overall with ten strikeouts and three walks (.158/.273/.474). Cade Bunnell was 6-for-23 with three doubles, five walks, and thirteen strikeouts (.261/.393/.391). Shortstop Luke Waddell only played in two games before being promoted to Gwinnett but was 2-for-5 with four walks, three RBI, and a stolen base. Catcher Arden Pabst arrived mid-week to replace Hendrik Clementina, who had been called up to Gwinnett, and made an immediate impact as he went 2-for-6 over two games with two walks and two home runs. Hudson Potts didn’t fare badly as he was 4-for-17 with a double and a home run but amassed eleven strikeouts including two four-strikeout games. Beau Philip had a big game on Wednesday with a double and a grand slam but was 0-for-10 the rest of the week with a four-strikeout game.
GWINNETT:
The struggles of the Gwinnett Stripers continued this week as they hosted the Memphis Redbirds. Both the offense and pitching were lacking as the Stripers were swept in the six-game set. Memphis averaged over six runs a game during the series while Gwinnett scored one run or less in three of the six games. The 2-12 Stripers now hit the road for a long road trip to Omaha to face the Storm Chasers.
Gwinnett’s starting pitching was actually pretty good this week as five of the six starters allowed three or fewer earned runs. Michael Soroka led off the week with an impressive four-inning effort in which he overcame first-inning struggles to give up just one run before reaching his pitch limit at 69. Nolan Kingham and Jared Shuster put up similar efforts as each allowed just one earned run over six innings while Dylan Dodd, in his first Gwinnett start this season, tossed 5.2 scoreless innings on Sunday. Allan Winans had a decent 5.1 inning effort on Saturday, giving up three earned runs, while Domingo Robles had the sole clunker of the week, being run after giving up seven runs over 3.2 innings.
The big story out of the bullpen this week was the addition of Roddery Munoz. Munoz, Mississippi’s opening day starter, saw action quickly and had two scoreless appearances during the week covering three innings with three strikeouts while allowing just one baserunner. Yacksel Rios also had an impressive week, tossing three one-inning scoreless frames with five strikeouts and just one hit allowed. Grant Holmes had three scoreless appearances as well covering 2.2 innings.
The Gwinnett offense averaged fewer than three runs per game so there’s not a lot to discuss here. Forrest Wall spent a lot of time in the leadoff spot, going 5-for-22 but he also had six walks, five runs, three stolen bases, a double, home run, and five RBI (.227/.393/.409). Shortstop Braden Shewmake was 4-for-16 with two doubles and two stolen bases over the first four games but took a batted ball off his throwing hand on Friday and missed the final two games of the series. Infielder Hoy Park was a bright spot in going 6-for-14 with four walks. Shortstop Luke Waddell was promoted to Gwinnett during the week as Vaughn Grissom was promoted to Atlanta and played in three games, going hitless in his first two games but had a two-hit game on Sunday.
POSITION PLAYER of the WEEK:
PITCHER of the WEEK:
Transaction Round-Up
- 4/11/2023: RHP Kyle Wright activated from the 15-day injured list; RHP Dylan Dodd optioned to AAA Gwinnett
Dodd’s second career major league start was a disaster as he allowed 7 runs on 10 hits in 4.1 innings. He now has a good idea what you can’t get away with at the big league level. Wright was shaky in his first start as well, but looked on more solid footing in his second start on Sunday against the Royals.
- 4/12/2023: IF Mitchell Tolman released from AA Mississippi
A minor league veteran brought in for depth, Tolman was buried on the M-Braves roster.
- 4/13/2023: LHP Richard Lovelady claimed off waivers by the Oakland A’s.
The Braves acquired him just before the season started from Kansas City in a cash transaction. They tried to sneak him through waivers. It didn’t work.
- 4/13/2023: LHP Domingo Robles assigned to AA Mississippi from AAA Gwinnett; RHP Beau Burrows assigned to AAA Gwinnett from AA Mississippi
Robles had done a nice job in two starts for Gwinnett, prompted by the Stripers rotation getting shredded early after Ian Anderson‘s injury and Bryce Elder promoted to the majors while Shuster and Dodd still had to make starts for Atlanta. Burrows is a more experienced arm and will look to be a swingman for Gwinnett.
- 4/14/2023: Placed SS Orlando Arcia on the 10-day injured list (left wrist fracture); recalled SS Vaughn Grissom from AAA Gwinnett.
After first saying the 98 mph Hunter Greene fastball Arcia took off his wrist did no damage, further examination revealed a microfracture for Arcia. It is unclear how quick he will return, but the Braves believe it will take less than 60 days.
Grissom, the presumptive starting shortstop by most going into spring training, will take over in the interim. He had been off to a hot start in Gwinnett (he won both previous OFR Position Player of the Week awards!) and so far that has carried over, including getting the game-winning RBI on Sunday. However the defensive questions that ended up getting him sent to Gwinnett have quickly come forward as well.
- 4/14/2023: IF Luke Waddell assigned to AAA Gwinnett from AA Mississippi
Waddell will backfill for Grissom in the Stripers infield, likely splitting time between second base and short with Braden Shewmake.
- 4/14/2023: C Ryan Casteel placed on the 7-day injured list for AAA Gwinnett; C Hendrik Clementina assigned to AAA Gwinnett from AA Mississippi; C Arden Pabst assigned to AA Mississippi from A+ Rome
Casteel had been activated when Chadwick Tromp was recalled to Atlanta but almost immediately has to go onto the IL himself, prompting a series of catcher moves to cover.
- 4/16/2023: RHP Jorge Bautista activated from the 7-day injured list by A Augusta; RHP Tyree Thompson transferred to the Development List.
Bautista wasn’t quite ready to answer the bell for Opening Day, but good things come to those who wait as he had a splendid start on Sunday.
Your Moment of Zen
Nine up, nine down, seven punchouts.
No. 3 @Braves prospect JR Ritchie with a perfect outing for the @GreenJackets: pic.twitter.com/uAKhiz2iag
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 16, 2023
Leave a Reply