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.
Weekly Round-Up
COMPLEX LEAGUES:
This week marks the end of the regular season for the complex leagues, who will wrap up the season on Tuesday with playoff games following afterwards. The DSL Braves won’t need to worry about playoff logistics who enter the week at 15-35, 25 games out of first place. They did get some solid offensive production last week from several players. Outfielder Carlos Monteverde went 6-for-14 with 2 doubles and a stolen base, shortstop Mario Baez went 6-for-17 with 2 doubles and two stolen bases, and outfielder Luis Guanipa parlayed 4 hits and 4 walks to post a .421 OBP. The Braves got 6 scoreless innings from right-hander Cristobal Abreu in a piggyback outing.
The FCL Braves went 3-1 last week to continue their late playoff push. They are now 29-23 on the season, only half game back of the Pirates who once had a commanding lead in the division but have have lost 8 of their last 10. Due to a rainout, the Braves have three games to play in two days, starting with a doubleheader today. For the second week in a row, right-hander Rolando Guiterrez pitched long enough in a start to get a win, this time going a career-high 6 innings, giving up 2 runs. Righties Isaac Gallegos and LJ McDonough made their pro debuts, Gallegos pitching a scoreless inning and McDonough surrendering 3 unearned runs in 2 innings over 2 appearances. Shortstop Diego Benitez has struggled much of the season but has turned things about over the last month. Since July 20, Benitez has hit .300/.375/.433 and last week he also found his power stroke, putting two over the fence for his first home runs of the year. Outfielder Robert Gonzalez and infielder Luis Sanchez also came up big last week, getting 6 hits apiece with Gonzalez stealing two bases and Sanchez homering. Catcher Will King hit his first pro home run on Tuesday while outfielder Isaiah Drake continued to see more positive results, going 7-for-19 with 4 stolen bases. Drake has now hit .317/.378/.366 in the last two weeks after starting his career going 2-for-25.
AUGUSTA:
Augusta took it on the chin in Fredericksburg last week, dropping five of six and taking their second half record down to 21-27, 10 games back of Charleston.
Augusta will try to right themselves with a two week homestand starting with Charleston. The Jackets’ one win was a 15-7 blowout on Friday, which was started by right-hander Owen Murphy who allowed runs over 5 innings, striking out 9. He had an 11-2 lead going into the 6th, but after allowing 3 singles, Augusta made the switch. This may end up being Murphy’s final start with Augusta as there has been credible talk of an emanant promotion to Rome. Outfielder Jace Grady was the offensive star of the week, going 7-for-19 with 2 homers on the week, 4 of those hits coming in that Friday blowout.
Right-hander Jhancarlos Lara had another strong start as he threw 5 scoreless innings, striking out 9. In three starts since the beginning of August, Lara has a 1.76 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 15.1 innings. Reliever Shay Schanaman threw his third scoreless appearance, 3.1 innings on Thursday; since his arrival in Augusta, Schanaman has appeared in 3 games and thrown a total of 6.1 scoreless innings, allowing only 2 hits and 1 walk while striking out 8.
ROME:
Rome kept their flickering playoff hopes alive by going to Hickory and taking four of six, evening their second-half record to 24-24. They come home this week to take on Greensboro. Outfielder Stephen Paolini, used as a reserve most of the year, made the most of his four starts last week by going 7-f0r-15 with 3 doubles, a triple, and 2 homers to post a 1.200 slugging percentage and win OFR Position Player of the Week honors. After hitting .191/.344/.244 with 1 home run through the end of July, Paolini has hit .357/.471/.821 in 9 games in August, so perhaps something has unlocked for the 2019 5th-rounder. Catcher Drake Baldwin continued his hot run at the plate, going 6-for-14 with a home run. Baldwin is nursing an 11-game hitting streak and is hitting .324/.460/.550 since July 1.
The Braves got quality starts from Jorge Bautista, Cedric De Grandpre, and Daniel Martinez, all of whom gave the team 6 innings. First-rounder Hurston Waldrep made his second start for Rome on Saturday, throwing 3.2 innings on 57 pitches, allowing 1 run on 1 hit and 2 walks while striking out 5. In three starts for Augusta and Rome totaling 10.1 innings, Waldrep is allowing a .118/.250/.147 battling line against him.
MISSISSIPPI:
The Mississippi Braves returned to Trustmark Park this week for a series against the Biloxi Shuckers in which the weather sometimes exceeded 100 degrees at game time. While the pitching performed well this week, the offense essentially no-showed as they only scored eleven runs over the six games and never exceeding three in any game. The M-Braves ended up dropping five out of six to the Shuckers with the only victory being a 3-1 win on Saturday night. Mississippi now takes their 17-27 second-half record to Montgomery for a series against the Biscuits. Mississippi’s starting pitching effort this week was led by Alan Rangel, who got the bookend starts and performed well in both and earns this week’s OFR Pitcher of the Week honors. Rangel gave up one run over five innings on Tuesday then followed that up with one run allowed over six innings on Sunday (11 IP, 11 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 11 K). Domingo Robles earned the lone Mississippi victory of the week with a five-scoreless inning effort on Saturday in which he gave up just one hit and one walk. Nolan Kingham also provided a solid start on Thursday with just two earned runs given up in five innings of work.
There weren’t many standouts in the bullpen this week, but Hayden Harris continued his impressive run since arriving in the Magnolia State. Harris struck out five in 2.1 scoreless innings of work and now has a 2.48 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 25.1 innings of work (13.9 K/9). Domingo Gonzalez also had a great week, giving up no earned runs in 3.1 innings with eight strikeouts.
Outfielder Jesse Franklin was just 4-for-21 on the week with three walks but it was enough to extend his on-base streak to 29 games. Shortstop Luke Waddell went 9-for-22 including a four-hit game on Sunday in which he had all the team’s hits as well as driving in five of the team’s eleven runs for the week (.409/.480/.500).
GWINNETT:
The Stripers rotation put up mixed results this week as they got good efforts from AJ Smith-Shawver, Darius Vines, Michael Soroka, and Jackson Stephens while the efforts of Jared Shuster and Dylan Dodd were not quite as good. Smith-Shawver gave up three runs over five innings on Tuesday, Vines allowed two earned runs with seven strikeouts in 5.2 innings on Thursday, Soroka gave up two runs over 4.2 innings on Saturday but struck out nine and walking no one before leaving at his pitch limit of 73, and Stephens wrapped up the week on Sunday with three scoreless innings in a spot start. Shuster gave up five runs and two home runs in 5.1 innings on Wednesday while Dodd gave up six runs in six innings on Friday.
In the bullpen, Ben Heller led the way with three scoreless innings in which he gave up just one hit and no walks while striking out seven. Dylan Lee continued his rehab assignment but was hit hard in two of his three outings and finished the week with five runs allowed in 3.1 innings while giving up three home runs. Seth Elledge was hit especially hard this week as he gave up seven runs in 2.1 innings with three home runs allowed.
Drew Lugbauer’s promotion to Gwinnett this week went well as he hit safely in all six games and went 8-for-27 with a double, two home runs, and seven RBI although he struck out thirteen times (.296/.296/.556). Jesus Aguilar continued to produce as he went 7-for-13 with a double, home run, five walks, and three RBI (.538/.667/.846). Braden Shewmake was 7-for-27 with a double, triple, and four RBI (.259/.286/.370). Outfielder Forrest Wall was optioned from Atlanta this week and went on a tear, going 10-for-22 with a double, home run, three stolen bases, and three RBI (.455/.455/.636). Wall’s 47 stolen bases on the season is a new Gwinnett franchise record.
POSITION PLAYER of the WEEK:
PITCHER of the WEEK:
Transaction Round-Up
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- 8/15/2023: UT Luke Williams recalled from AAA Gwinnett; OF Forrest Wall optioned to AAA Gwinnett
Second baseman Ozzie Albies suffered a hamstring strain on Monday, August 14. Early the next day it seemed like Albies may be able to avoid the IL, with Nicky Lopez taking over at second for a few days. To back up Lopez, Williams was called up; while playing primarily outfield for the Stripers out of team need, Williams has experience all over the diamond including second. Williams had been hitting .300/.404/.575 with 3 home runs over the previous 10 games with Gwinnett at the time of his recall.
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- 8/15/2023: 2B Ozzie Albies placed on the 10-day injured list (strained left hamstring); IF Vaughn Grissom recalled from AAA Gwinnett
Later in the day the decision was made to inactivate Albies. He has already begun running drills so it appears the IL stint may be brief. Grissom, the reigning OFR Position Player of the Week at the time of his call-up, was pretty much the hottest hitter in the minor leagues, hitting .351/.468/.545 since June 28, the start of a 36-game on-base streak.
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- 8/15/2023: 1B Drew Lugbauer assigned to AAA Gwinnett from AA Mississippi; RHP Beau Burrows activated from the developmental list for AAA Gwinnett; LHP Justus Sheffield placed on the 7-day injured list for AAA Gwinnett
The man they call Slugbauer finally gets promoted to AAA after manning first base in Mississippi since 2021. He departs the M-Braves as their franchise leader with 68 home runs and 191 RBI and at the time of the promotion was leading the Southern League with 22 home runs on the season. Lugbauer also was posting AA career highs in batting average (.279) and on-base percentage (.385).
The road toward a comeback has been rocky for former first-rounder Sheffield. In 9 appearances (8 starts) with the Stripers he has pitched to a 7.38 ERA with 27 walks in 42.2 innings pitched.
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- 8/15/2023: OF Bryson Worrell assigned to AA Mississippi from A+ Rome; C Nick Clarno assigned to AA Mississippi from Augusta; C Tyler Tolve placed on the 7-day injured list; C Dawson Dimon activated from the developmental list for A Augusta
Worrell had just been promoted to Rome last week and was hitting .182/.333/.182 in four games for the R-Braves, so this was primarily about filling the roster after Lugbauer’s promotion. Clarno steps in as the second catcher for Mississippi after Tolve’s injury. While only hitting .157/.293/.254 for Augusta, his 37% caught stealing rate is among the leaders in the minors.
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- 8/15/2023: RHPs Isaac Gallegos and LJ McDonough assigned to FCL Braves
Gallegos was Atlanta’s 16th-round pick out of New Mexico. McDonough was a non-drafted free agent signing out of Florida Gulf Coast University.
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- 8/15/2023: 3B Christian Suarez released by DSL Braves
Suarez tested positive for performance enhancing drugs last season. Now at the conclusion of his mandatory suspension the Braves have cut him.
Your Moment of Zen
This double play 😍
— Gwinnett Stripers (@GoStripers) August 20, 2023
Sánchez ➡️ Shewmake ➡️ Lugbauer pic.twitter.com/wkngMiMHJl
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