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.
Summer Complex Leagues Start Today
Good luck to the FCL and DSL Braves on their Opening Day!
Weekly Round-Up
AUGUSTA:
The Greenjackets split the six game series at Charleston right down the middle, with Augusta winning the first three games and the RiverDogs the back half. The Jackets remain in fourth place in the division, but only 3 games behind duel front runners Columbia and Myrtle Beach. Myrtle Beach will come to SRP Park this week for a six-game set.
As you would expect, the pitching performances tended to be stronger earlier in the week. Righty Jorge Bautista, stepping into the rotation following the promotion of Cedric De Grandpre to high-A Rome, came through with a 6-inning, 2-run, no walk, 4-strikeout quality start while lefty Samuel Strickland took it the rest of the way for a 3-inning save to seal a 5-3 win. The next night Spencer Schwellenbach and Jared Johnson pretty much ran that same play, going 6 and 3 innings respectively to twirl a combined 5-hitter, winning 2-1. For Schwellenbach it was the longest outing of his pro career to date and he exceeded his previous high pitch count by 15.
The Jackets won on Thursday despite being put in a 3-0 hole in the first. Starter Jhancarlos Lara held the Pelicans there however and gutted through 4 innings, then turned it over to the bullpen trio of Tyree Thompson, Nolan Martinez, and Elison Joseph who combined for 5 innings of 1-hit ball, allowing Augusta to come back for a 4-3 victory. On Friday righty Owen Murphy was staked to a 3-0 first inning lead but could not hold on to it, giving up 4 runs in a shaky 3 innings. Starters Didier Fuentes and Adam Shoemaker got hit hard over the weekend.
Outfielder Ethan Workinger had another big week, going 7-for-25 with 3 homers. Since being installed in the lead-off spot on May 24, Workinger has hit .282/.317/.513. Outfielder Bryson Worrell only had four hits this week, but they all went for extra bases (a double, two triples, and a homer) to give him the odd looking .222/.300/.667 slash line. Shortstop E.J. Exposito continued to swing a hot bat, going 8-for-21 this week and he is hitting .353/.476/.588 since being installed as the everyday shortstop.
ROME:
Rome went on the road to face division nemesis Bowling Green and dropped four of the six games. After climbing over .500 two weeks ago Rome has now lost 7 of their last 10 and sit at 24-27, in fourth place and five games out of first. The Braves return home this week to face the Hickory Crawdads for six games.
Offensively, freshly promoted third baseman David McCabe was one of the lone bright spots. In his first taste of high-A ball, McCabe went 6-for-21 on the week with a homer and four walks against only two strikeouts.
Fellow new promote Cedric De Grandpre had a good start to his high-A career as well, pitching 5.2 shutout innings, allowing 4 hits, striking out 4, and not walking anyone in a 6-0 Rome win on Tuesday. Righty Daniel Martinez picked right up from his SAL (and OFR) Pitcher of the Week work, tossing 5 shutout innings in an 0-2 loss on Wednesday. Righty Rolddy Munoz threw 4 shutout innings in a start while Ian Mejia had his longest outing of the year, going 7 innings while giving up 4 runs on Friday in a 2-6 loss.
Right-hander Rob Griswold threw 4 shutout innings over two relief appearances, while Patrick Halligan picked up a win in a 2 shutout inning appearance in relief of Munoz on Saturday.
MISSISSIPPI:
The Mississippi Braves took to the road this week to take on the team with the worst record in the Southern League, the Birmingham Barons. After dropping two of the first three games, the M-Braves took the final three contests to get a series win. Unfortunately, the M-Braves did not make up much ground as their 24-26 record is still the worst in the South Division and are seven games back of first-place Pensacola.
The starting pitching was mostly rough this week, but Domingo Robles and Luis De Avila had standout performances: Robles gave up just one run over six innings in Wednesday’s 13-2 win and is now second in the Southern League in ERA (2.32) and third in WHIP (1.08) while De Avila tossed six scoreless innings during Saturday’s 1-0 victory. Hayden Deal served as the opener for a bullpen game on Sunday and tossed three scoreless innings and had a total of four scoreless frames for the week. Deal has a scoreless streak dating back to May 5th covering seven outings and 11.2 innings.
In the bullpen, Kyle Wilcox had two more scoreless appearances, giving him eight over 9.1 innings at AA so far this season. He has given up just three hits while striking out sixteen and walking just one batter, which was during his second appearance of this week. Victor Vodnik had a solid week with three scoreless innings over a pair of outings including a save although he walked three in his two-inning outing. Domingo Gonzalez had two more scoreless appearances during the week and now has nine straight scoreless outings covering 10.2 innings since April 30th. Daysbel Hernandez came off the injured list during the week and had a three-up, three-down outing on Sunday with two strikeouts.
Outfielder Justin Dean had a huge week for the offense as he went 10-for-24 with eight walks and nine runs scored (.417/.563/.417). Outfielder Jesse Franklin hit safely in all five of his games and went 6-for-20 with a double, five walks, an HBP, six runs scored, and four RBI (.300/.462/.350). Shortstop Luke Waddell hit safely in all six games as he went 9-for-25 with a double, home run, three stolen bases, seven walks, four RBI, and eleven runs scored (.360/.500/.520). 1B-DH Drew Lugbauer went 7-for-18 with three doubles, four walks, and four RBI (.389/.500/.556) and leads the Southern League in OPS at .927. Catcher Javier Valdes was 4-for-11 with a home run and three RBI (.364/.563/.636). The OFR Position Player of the Week however is outfielder Landon Stephens, who had three multi-hit games during an 8-for-19 week with a double, two home runs, and eight RBI (.421/.522/.789).
GWINNETT:
The Gwinnett Stripers hit the road this week to take on the first-place team in the International League East, the Norfolk Tides. Unfortunately for the Stripers, the Tides took five out of the seven games in the series, improving their record to 40-17 for the season. The Stripers, after flirting with the .500 mark, now have a 24-33 record and are now in last place in the IL West, sixteen games back of St. Paul. Gwinnett now returns home for a series against Charlotte.
Gwinnett did receive several solid efforts from their starting pitching this week: Nick Margevicius tossed five shutout innings in the first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader for one of the two Gwinnett wins during the week. Tanner Gordon tossed seven solid innings the following night, giving up three runs on just four hits and throwing 97 pitches. Allan Winans had a tremendous start on Friday night with seven scoreless innings, striking out six and giving up just four hits and no walks. Winans now has a 2.91 ERA on the season. Dylan Dodd made a start in one of the Wednesday doubleheader games but lasted just three innings while giving up six runs and two home runs.
Danny Young was the only Gwinnett reliever to record multiple scoreless outings with 2.1 innings of work. Roddery Munoz tossed two scoreless innings to finish off Winans’ start on Friday while Dereck Rodriguez struck out five in two perfect innings during his lone relief appearance of the week.
Although the overall record was poor during the week, the Gwinnett offense averaged nearly six runs during the week, buoyed by a 16-0 victory on Friday night. Outfielder Forrest Wall did not record an extra-base hit during the week but still went 11-for-28 with six walks, six stolen bases (for the second straight week), and even two outfield assists (.393/.500/.393). Infielder Vaughn Grissom was 11-for-29 with three doubles and five RBI (.379/.438/.483) while fellow infielder Braden Shewmake was just 4-for-25 but had a double, home run, and four RBI (.160/.300/.320). Catcher Chadwick Tromp was just 3-for-17 but made the most of his hits with two home runs and six RBI (.176/.333/.529). Outfielder Eli White was just 6-for-26 but had three home runs and six RBI (.231/.333/.577). Joe Dunand only played in four games but went 5-for-13 with five walks, a double, two home runs, and three RBI (.385/.556/.923).
POSITION PLAYER of the WEEK:
PITCHER of the WEEK:
Transaction Round-Up
- 5/30/2023: RHP A.J. Smith-Shawver selected from AAA Gwinnett; LHP Lucas Luetge designated for assignment
Luetge had made two appearances since being activated from the injured list and needed 72 pitches to get the three outs he got over those two appearances. The Braves decided enough was enough and that they would break in the 20-year-old Smith-Shawver in the bullpen after he only threw 110 total innings in the minor leagues. Smith-Shawver made his major league debut on Sunday against Arizona, throwing 2.1 scoreless innings and striking 3 in Atlanta’s come-from-behind victory.
- 5/30/2023: RHP Nick Howard assigned to AA Mississippi from A+ Rome; RHP Ronaldo Alesandro assigned to A Augusta from A+ Rome; RHP Cedric De Grandpre assigned to A+ Rome from A Augusta, RHP Roel Ramirez activated from developmental list for AAA Gwinnett and assigned to A+ Rome; RHP Miguel Pena assigned to A+ Rome from AA Mississippi; RHP Tyree Thompson activated from the temporary inactive list for A Augusta
The Braves shuffled some arms around on Tuesday. The biggest of these moves was the promotion of De Grandpre from Augusta to Rome. He had been Augusta’s most consistent starting pitcher, pitching to a 1.95 ERA in 7 appearances (5 starts). Rome also saw the return of Miguel Pena, a reliable bullpen arm who dropped down to make way for Nick Howard, a minor league veteran who is making his way back to AAA.
- 5/30/2023: 3B David McCabe assigned to A+ Rome from A Augusta; IF Cory Acton assigned to A Augusta from A+ Rome
The position player shuffle involved fewer names. McCabe has emerged as perhaps the top power-hitting prospect in the Braves system, hitting .298/.406/.583 with 6 home runs since the start of May. Acton had been a bench player with Rome, but received some playing time when Keshawn Ogans was out of the line-up for two weeks in April. Acton played well enough that the Braves may want to see more from him, and he’ll get more of a look in Augusta where E.J. Exposito has moved from second base to shortstop, allowing Acton to step in at second.
- 5/30/2023: RHP Kelvin Pena traded from the Toronto Blue Jays, assigned to FCL Braves
No word on what went the other way, so likely this was a cash transaction. The FCL and DSL seasons start today.
- 5/31/2023: C Wiston Cerrato activated from developmental list for A+ Rome; OF Brandol Mezquita placed on the 7-day injured list
It has been a brutal season so far for Mezquita, who has not been able to translate his low-A success (.281/.371/.375 for Augusta in 2022) to the high-A level (.179/.254/.265 in Rome in 2022 and 2023).
- 5/31/2023: DH Yorlis Lendor released by DSL Braves
Lendor hit .203/.316/.313 as the DSL Braves primary designated hitter in 2022.
- 6/3/23: RHP Daysbel Hernandez activated from the 7-day injured list for AA Mississippi
Hernandez was on the IL for 14 days. He is still working his way back to form from having TJS before the 2022 season.
Your Moment of Zen
Tyree Thompson made this look easy 😮💨
The @Braves prospect makes a behind-the-back snag on the mound for the @GreenJackets! pic.twitter.com/UGd222X5sT
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) June 2, 2023
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