Monday Braves Farm Report, 6/12/2023

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.

Rome Braves’ Daniel Martinez and Luis Vargas Toss Combined No-Hitter

I was in attendance on Wednesday as the Rome Braves posted up their first no-hitter in exactly 18 years (June 7, 2005 to June 7, 2023). The combined efforts of starter Daniel Martinez and Luis Vargas sealed a 3-0 Rome victory over the Hickory Crawdads.

Martinez, a former Oakland farmhand that signed a minor league free agent deal with the Braves this offseason, has been on a role. He came into the game not having allowed a run in his previous two starts and had been named SAL Pitcher of the Week (and OFR Pitcher of the Week) two weeks prior. He brought in a minuscule 4.1% walk rate into the game, so it was with some alarm that we watched him walk two batters in the first. Martinez settled down in the second and struck out the side, but in the third inning the second batter reached on a throwing error by third baseman Keshawn Ogans, and Martinez followed that by walking his third batter of the game. Fortunately, a strikeout and a pop up ended that threat.

Martinez really settled in after that, striking out the first batter of the 4th on three pitches, then getting two fly outs on the next four pitches. Martinez got to face two batters in the 5th, striking out both, before he reached his pitch count. It looked like Martinez had more in the tank and he looked bummed that he was leaving. Vargas entered the game and got a flyout to end the inning on his second pitch of the game.

From then on it was the Luis Vargas Show as he repeatedly got ahead of the Hickory batters. He retired the next six batters in order on balls in play. Meanwhile, the Rome offense, stymied for five innings by Hickory starter Josh Stephan, finally pushed across a run in the 6th on a two-out Geraldo Quintero RBI single to score Nacho Alvarez.

Between all the Hickory traffic on the bases and the tight game overall as Rome missed several scoring opportunities, I am embarrassed to report that I was not really cognizant of the no-hitter in progress until after the 7th when my wife pointed out to me. Between the Hickory baserunners in the first and the concern about the offense, it never registered with me despite looking at the scoreboard regularly. In the eighth Vargas again faced the minimum despite hitting the first batter with a pitch. After a successful sac bunt moved the runner to second, Eliezel Stevens made a terrific play at second base to snag a liner and double off the runner at 2nd with a quick throw to Alvarez.

Rome posted two runs in the bottom of the 8th, so some pressure was off as Vargas came back out in the 9th to wrap the game up. Once again he hit the first batter, and once again he was able to face the minimum thanks to a double play behind him. The team had a spirited celebration on the field and the light weekday crowd of 1258 cheered appreciatively. I had witnessed my first live no-hitter, and it was fun and I thank Daniel Martinez, Luis Vargas, and the Rome Braves for the experience. -AH

It’s HISTORY!

Daniel Martinez and Luis Vargas have combined for the first Rome Braves Combined No-Hitter since 2005! pic.twitter.com/ZsI9p2yVyB

— Rome Emperors (@GoEmperors) June 8, 2023

Weekly Round-Up

COMPLEX LEAGUES:

The summer complex leagues got underway, including a DSL Braves team almost completely filled by players making their professional debuts. Among them were top 2023 Braves international signing Luis Guanipa who demonstrated by the Braves are so excited about him. The 17-year-old went 6-for-18, with 2 home runs, 2 doubles, and 4 stolen bases. Fellow freshly minted outfielder John Estevez rocked his debut as well, going 7-for-17 with a homer, a double, a triple, and a stolen base. Among the pitchers, Edward Cedano had the best start, going 3 scoreless innings.

The FCL Braves opened with a roster almost completely filled by international players, a situation that will likely continue until the 2023 draft selections are signed in late July and August. Infielder Leiker Figueroa had a strong 2023 debut, going 4-for-18 with 2 doubles.

The DSL Braves went 0-5 on the week while the FCL Braves went 2-3.

AUGUSTA:

Augusta was hoping that a series against division-leading Myrtle Beach would put them in the thick of the division competition, but they only could manage one win in the six games. The Jackets have now fallen to 27-30 on the season, 7 games back of Myrtle Beach as they host the Carolina Mudcats this week.

I suppose you could say Myrtle Beach’s pitchers were effectively wild, because the Jackets were on base a lot via the walk — 42 times over the six games, versus 37 hits, good for a team .364 OBP on the week. Outfielder Bryson Worrell walked 8 times and had a .550 OBP despite only going 3-for-12. Somehow he only scored twice. Infielder Francisco Floyd, who has been getting the majority of the playing time at third base since the promotion of David McCabe to Rome two weeks ago, likewise managed a .533 OBP despite only getting 2 hits this week, one being a home run. Part-time outfielder Andrew Keck went 1-for-4 with 4 walks in his two games, with the 1 hit being and inside-the-park home run off the centerfielder’s glove.

It was a tough week for most of the Augusta starting pitchers. Jorge Bautista, Spencer Schwellenbach, Owen Murphy, and Adam Shoemaker all gave up at least 4 runs, with Murphy’s coming in less than a full inning. Murphy’s early exit was due to throwing 30 pitches in an inning after the home plate umpire appeared to whiff on a would-be called strike three and calling catcher’s interference in the next plate appearance when it appeared the batter tipped the ball into the mitt for what would have been another strikeout. The best start of the week was Sunday’s spot start by Jared Johnson, who went 3.2 innings without allowing a hit. Reliever Tyree Thompson pitched 3.2 scoreless innings over two appearances and has a string of 8 appearances without allowing an earned run.

ROME:

Rome split their second series in a row, this time at home against the Hickory Crawdads. The Braves remain in 4th place in the division, 5 games back of Greenville. Rome will now go on the longest road trip of the season, at least by miles, visiting the northern part of the league with stops in Hudson Valley this week and Jersey Shore the next.

Third baseman David McCabe missed three games in this series with a mild injury but made up for it on Sunday hitting a third inning grand slam to key a 10-run inning as Rome wrapped up the series with a 12-3 win. Nacho Alvarez shrugged off a slump to go 6-for-17 while Geraldo Quintero went 7-for-22. Unfortunately, McCabe’s homer was the only one hit for the team in the six games and it was only 1 of 11 extra base hits turned in by the Braves in the series.

In addition to Martinez and Vargas’s combined no-hitter, Ian Mejia and Hunter Riggins also turned in strong starts. Mejia allowed only 1 run on 5 hits in 7.1 innings in a 2-1 Rome win on Thursday, while Riggins allowed 1 run on 4 hits in 6 innings, throwing a career-high 85 pitches in the process. Rolddy Munoz didn’t get a start this week but put in a nice 4 shutout innings piggybacking starter Patrick Halligan on Friday.

MISSISSIPPI:

The Mississippi Braves returned to Trustmark Park this week for a series against their intra-state rival, the Biloxi Shuckers. In an evenly matched, mostly low-scoring series, the two teams split the series as Biloxi took Sunday’s series finale behind Wade Miley, who was on a rehab assignment for the Milwaukee Brewers. The 27-30 M-Braves now return to the road as they head to Florida to face the first-place Pensacola Blue Wahoos.

Starting pitching was not a strong suit for the M-Braves this week as only Alan Rangel provided a quality start on Wednesday as he gave up three earned runs over six innings. Domingo Robles got the bookend starts this week and didn’t fare well in either as he gave up seven runs over 4.2 innings on Tuesday and three runs in four innings on Sunday. Scott Blewitt was ok giving up three runs over 5.2 innings on Wednesday, Luis De Avila tossed four scoreless frames on Friday although he left after throwing 78 pitches, and Hayden Deal threw three scoreless innings in Saturday’s bullpen game.

In the bullpen, Kyle Wilcox gave up his first earned run at AA this season in his twelfth appearance, but he did have a save earlier in the week. Daysbel Hernandez had two more hitless and scoreless appearances and earned a win in Saturday’s walk-off victory. Victor Vodnik had a second straight tremendous week as he had 3.1 scoreless innings over two outings while striking out eight including five of the six batters he faced on Saturday. Jake McSteen and Alec Barger also provided multiple scoreless outings.

1B-DH Drew Lugbauer had another tremendous week, going 6-for-12 with two doubles, a stolen base, and four RBI (.500/.625/1.000) while maintaining his league lead in slugging (.591) and OPS (.974). Outfielder Landon Stephens acted as the right-handed complement to Lugbauer in going just 4-for-18, but adding a double, three home runs, eight RBI, and hitting a walk-off home run on Saturday (.222/.263/.778). Catcher Tyler Tolve had a solid week in going 4-for-15 with a double, home run, and three RBI. Outfielder Jesse Franklin was 5-for-20 with a double, home run, and two RBI.

GWINNETT:

The Gwinnett Stripers returned home this week to take on the Charlotte Knights. Behind standout pitching, the Stripers took the first five games of the series before dropping Sunday’s series finale. Gwinnett’s record now stands at 29-34 on the season and they now head back out on the road for a series against the Nashville Sounds.

Gwinnett received several standout performances from their starting rotation this week, including a complete-game effort from Allan Winans on Thursday. Winans gave up just one run and four hits while throwing just 92 pitches and lowering his season ERA to 2.66. The night before that, Tanner Gordon gave up just one earned run and five hits over seven innings on just 79 pitches before being sent back down to Mississippi. Michael Soroka made his first Gwinnett start after being optioned from Atlanta and gave up just one run over six innings while allowing just three hits and two walks, although he did hit two batters. Dylan Dodd was solid on Friday night with just two runs allowed over 5.2 innings although he did give up eight hits. Justus Sheffield made his Gwinnett debut on Sunday and pitched scoreless ball for the first three innings before the bottom fell out in the fourth innings where he gave up five runs including a grand slam before he was removed from the game.

In the bullpen, Ben Heller made his Gwinnett debut this week after being traded from the Tampa Bay Rays, he tossed two scoreless one-inning outings. Yacksel Rios made his return from the injured list and matched Heller’s two one-inning scoreless frames. Dereck Rodriguez had four scoreless innings for the week over two games while Grant Holmes logged two saves in 2.1 scoreless innings. Lucas Luetge made his first appearance for Gwinnett after being outrighted from the big club and retired four of the five batters that he faced.

The Gwinnett offense, like last week, averaged nearly six runs during the week, led by outfielder Forrest Wall, who was 8-for-19 with a triple, two home runs, four RBI, and seven stolen bases (.421/.500/.842). Infielder Joe Dunand had a tremendous week as well with three multi-hit games with two doubles, two home runs, and four RBI (.450/.450/.850). Shortstop Vaughn Grissom had a decent week, going 7-for-25 with three doubles although he had a two-error game at short on Wednesday (.280/.308/.400) but Braden Shewmake continued his struggles with a 5-for-25 week with no extra-base hits although he did have five RBI. Luke Williams was just 4-for-20 during his first full week in a Stripers uniform with a double and a stolen base.

POSITION PLAYER of the WEEK:

PITCHER of the WEEK:

Transaction Round-Up

• 6/5/2023: RHP Michael Soroka optioned to AAA Gwinnett; RHP Roddery Munoz recalled from AAA Gwinnett

After a shaky start in Arizona, the Braves decided to send Soroka back to Gwinnett to work on his command and install 20-year-old rookie AJ Smith-Shawver in the rotation. Munoz filled the roster spot briefly and did not get a chance to make his major league debut.

• 6/5/2023: UT Luke Williams claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers; LHP Max Fried transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list

A 3rd-round draftee by the Phillies in 2015, Williams has made his rounds of the National League the last couple of seasons with stops in the San Francisco, Miami, and Dodgers organizations. He has played every position on the field except catcher and would likely be a call-up if the Braves needed a short-term bench bat.

Fried’s transfer to the 60-day IL was retroactive and does not impact his timetable, with team officials hoping he will be back shortly after the All-Star break.

• 6/6/2023: RHP Michael Tonkin activated from the 15-day injured list; RHP Roddery Munoz optioned to AAA Gwinnett

Tonkin was on the IL for the minimum stay due to a stiff neck.

• 6/6/2023: Tampa Bay Rays trade RHP Ben Heller to the Atlanta Braves for future considerations; RHP Ben Heller optioned to AAA Gwinnett; UT Nick Solak designed for assignment
• 6/9/2023: UT Nick Solak claimed off waivers by the Detroit Tigers

Heller has pitched in parts of four seasons with the Yankees but missed the 2021 season with a stress fracture in his elbow. He signed as a free agent with Tampa this offseason and was called up to the majors in late May but did not make an appearance with the Rays before being designated for assignment. He will join the Gwinnett Shuttle along with Dereck Rodriguez and Danny Young as the big league team requires a fresh arm.

Solak hit well in his slightly over one-month tenure with the Stripers, but worked solely in the outfield. The team likely saw Williams as a more versatile defensively. Solak was quickly claimed by the Tigers.

• 6/6/2023: LHP Lucas Luetge outrighted to AAA Gwinnett

Luetge went unclaimed after the Braves designated him for assignment on 5/30. It’s a quick comedown for the lefty, who was very good for the Yankees in 2021-22. He will try to turn things around in Gwinnett and be available if Atlanta needs an arm.

• 6/6/2023: C Hendrik Clementina activated from the developmental list for AAA Gwinnett; OF Magneuris Sierra placed on the 7-day injured list for AAA Gwinnett

The Curaçao Cannon once again takes his spot among the Striper sluggers.

• 6/8/2023: RHP Yacksel Rios activated from the 7-day injured list for AAA Gwinnett; RHP Nolan Kingham transferred to the developmental list for AAA Gwinnett

Rios was Gwinnett’s top reliever before having to go on the shelf on May 25.

• 6/6/2023: SS Ambioris Tavarez and 3B Hudson Potts assigned to A Augusta from FCL Braves

After starting the season as Augusta’s shortstop, Tavarez was sent back to the FCL for more work as his strikeouts kept piling up. His return to Augusta has not meant a return to the line-up as Tavarez has not made an appearance since his return to the club.

Potts was a minor league free agent signing looking for a fresh start after six seasons. He lost his share of time at third base for Mississippi after hitting .196/.284/.330. He also has not appeared in a game since leaving the M-Braves.

• 6/8/2023: OF Eli White placed on the 7-day injured list for AAA Gwinnett; OF Justin Dean assigned to AAA Gwinnett from AA Mississippi; OF Drew Campbell activated from the developmental list for AA Mississippi

White had been hitting .256/.355/.504 for Gwinnett while serving as the primary centerfielder. For Dean this is his second go with the Stripers after opening the season with them. Dean hit .235/.371/ .330 in 32 games with Mississippi in between his Stripers time.

• 6/8/2023: RHP Tanner Gordon assigned to AA Mississippi from AAA Gwinnett; RHP Domingo Gonzalez transferred to the developmental list for AA Mississippi

After his best start as a Striper, Gordon is sent back to Mississippi in favor of Justus Sheffield (see below). Gordon seems like to return to Gwinnett before long.

• 6/9/2023: LHP Justus Sheffield assigned to AAA Gwinnett from FCL Braves

The former 2014 Cleveland 1st-rounder signed with Atlanta on May 4 and had been in extended spring training. After pitching for parts of five years in the majors he will join the Striper rotation looking to resuscitate a once-promising career. The Braves have had a solid recent track record with reclamation projects like this, most famously with Tyler Matzek.

• 6/10/2023: RHP Roddery Munoz assigned to the FCL Braves from AAA Gwinnett; 

Munoz goes back to Northpoint to work on something. With the Gwinnett Shuttle now fully stocked with Danny Young, Dereck Rodriguez, and Ben Heller, its possible he’s being stretched back out to start.

Your Moment of Zen

Just how he drew it up.

Andrew Keck hits an inside-the-park homer to put us up 1-0…and check out the flow 🔥@MLBPipeline @SEMObaseball pic.twitter.com/Rzlhwr9Juh

— Augusta GreenJackets (@GreenJackets) June 11, 2023