Monday Farm Report, 8/28/2023

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.

FCL Braves Win League Championship

The Braves won the 2023 Florida Complex League Championship on Saturday, defeated the Yankees in a best-of-three series two games to zero. This is the first championship for the FCL Braves (formerly known as the GCL Braves), and the first time they had even made the playoffs since 2016 when Kyle Muller and Bryse Wilson each threw 4 innings in a 4-3 loss to the Phillies in the play-in game.

Finishing out the season in second place in the FCL South Division but earning a play-in game, the Braves started their playoff run on Thursday with a 7-1 win against the FCL North winning Mets. Right-hander Davis Polo earned the starting assignment based on his recent performance (2.81 ERA in last 4 starts with 11 strikeouts). He held the Mets scoreless on 4 hits through 4.2 innings. The bullpen was nearly as stingy with Adel Dilone, LJ McDonough, and Miguel Hernandez holding the Mets to only 1 hit through the remaining 4.1 innings of the contest. The Braves scored 7 runs on only 4 hits, but one of those hits was a big bases-loaded double by catcher Will King to make the score 3-0 in the 4th. Two outs later, centerfielder Isaiah Drake singled home two more to make the score 5-0, then scored himself when he stole third base and an errant throw allowed him to scamper home. In the 8th leftfielder Robert Gonzalez manufactured the final run of the game almost single-handedly, by walking, stealing second, stealing third, and like Drake before him coming home on an errant throw to make the score 7-1.

Game One

The Braves turned to 2023 9th-rounder Riley Gowens in Game One and he delivered, going 4 innings and giving up only 1 run on 2 hits on the day while striking out 4. The one run was on a 1st inning sacrifice fly, and the Braves answered in the bottom of the 1st with a sac fly of their own, shortstop Diego Benitez sending one deep enough to center to bring home the speedy Isaiah Drake. Outfielder Douglas Glod would put the Braves ahead in the 2nd inning with a solo home run. 

Right-hander Brooks Wilson would pitch the 5th and 6th innings, the 27-year-old Gwinnett Striper on rehab assignment with the FCL Braves. He’d do what you would expect with such a mismatch, holding the Yankees hitless while striking out 3, a performance which would end up giving him the win. The Braves scored their 3rd run of the game when first baseman Elian Cortorreal singled home Robert Gonzalez. Lefty Mitch Farris would pitch the final three innings for the Braves, giving up a single run in the 7th to tighten the game to 3-2, but Farris would hold the Yankees there to pick up the save. 

Game Two

With the championship one win away, veteran manager Nestor Perez turned to his best starter since July 1, right-hander Rolando Gutierrez. The top of the 1st saw the Braves strike first with Diego Benitez tripling home Isaiah Drake, who had walked, stolen second, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. After two quick outs, Gutierrez would get into some trouble with a walk and a single, with both runners advancing on an ill-advised throw by Gutierrez trying to steal an out. A runner would then come in on a balk to tie the game. 

The Braves would answer in the top of the 2nd however. Catcher Harry Owen walked to start this inning and advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch. One out later second baseman Leiker Figuerora singled to put runners on the corners. With two out, Owen would end up scoring on a balk to put the Braves ahead. After a Drake walk, third baseman Luis Sanchez singled to bring home Figueroa for a 3-1 Braves lead. 

The score remained this was until the 8th with Gutierrez turning in a 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 SO performance. In the top of the 8th, new Yankees pitcher Jordy Luciano would walk Benitez, Gonzalez, and Glod to open the frame before being replaced by Pablo Mujica. With still no one out, Owen would single home Benitez and Gonzalez to make the game 5-1. The Braves would then blow the game open in the top of the 9th with singles by Sanchez, Benitez, and Gonzalez setting up a two-run double off the bat of Douglas Glod. Glod would end up scoring on a Noah Williams sac fly to put the cherry on top of a 9-1 win. Righty Jose Ojeda pitched the final 3 frames, allowing only two hits to pick up the save as the FCL Braves enjoyed the feeling of championship.

Weekly Round-Up

AUGUSTA:

The Jackets dropped 4 of 6 at home to the frontrunning Charleston RiverDogs, essentially ending their fledgling playoff hopes with 12 games left in the regular season. Augusta is 23-31 in the second half and 54-65 overall. They will host Salem this week in the team’s final homestand. 

The bright spots this week were mostly made by the starting pitches. Right-hander Jhancarlos Lara delievered his third consecutive scoreless start, and it was his best yet as he allowed only 1 hit, walked none, and struck out 9 in 6 innings to earn not just the OFR Pitcher of the Week but also a promotion to Rome for whom he will likely make his high-A debut Tuesday or Wednesday. Right Luis Varagas was solid in a 5-inning effort, allowing 6 hits and 2 runs. Two relative newcomers to the rotation pitched well, with righty Riley Frey throwing his best start of his three outings for Augusta to date, scattering 4 hits and allowing a run in 4 innings. Lucas Braun pitched an almost identical outing on Sunday and his ERA in 4 Augusta starts now stands at a paltry 1.04.

On the flipside, the Greenjacket offense continues to sputter most nights. The team collectively only hit .209 on the week and only scored 18 runs. The best hitter this week was shortstop Ambioris Tavarez, who went 8-for-19 on the week, including a 4-for-4, 3 stolen base effort to back Lara’s pitching performance on Wednesday. Outfielder Jace Grady was 6-for-18 with 3 doubles.

ROME:

Rome is still hanging on the outskirts of the playoff picture, winning another series at home, this time against the Greensboro Grasshoppers at home 4 games out of 6. Rome is now 28-26 in the second half and in third place 7 games back of Hickory, who are showing signs of weakness. Rome now travels to Winston-Salem for six games before coming home to finish out the regular season against Asheville. 

Catcher Drake Baldwin has been hot since the beginning of July but this week he went to another level, going 9-for-15 with 2 doubles and 3 homers to post the .600/.647/1.333 triple slash and earn our OFR Position Player of the Week honors. First baseman Justin Janas went 5-for-16 with a triple and a stolen base, but otherwise the lineup regulars struggled this week. Nacho Alvarez had a rare 2-for-18 week, though he did hit a homer.

Fortunately the pitching picked the team up last week as you would expect from the pedigree of most of the starters. Right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach, on the injured list since the All-Star break, finally made his high-A debut on Wednesday and was perhaps understandably rusty, allowing 3 runs on 2 hits and a walk. On Thursday, Rome was buoyed by a rehab start from Atlanta righty Kyle Wright, who pitched like a major leaguer against high-A hitters, allowing 1 hit in his 3 innings of work and striking out 4 in only 26 pitches.

Friday night saw the high-A debut of 2022 first-rounder Owen Murphy. Murphy gave up some contact but kept his cool and delivered 6 solid innings, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits while walking 1 and striking out 4. Hurston Waldrep followed on Saturday and for most of the outing looked electric, striking out 10 in 4.2 innings with liberal use of his confounding split-finger change-up. J.J. Niekro and Ian Mejia pitched the bookend games, with Niekro allowing 2 runs in 5 innings while striking out 7 in only his second start since May while Mejia finished out the series on Sunday giving up only 1 hit in 4.1 innings and surrendering 3 unearned runs. Relievers Miguel Pena and newcomer Shay Schanaman each posted a scoreless 2-inning save. 

  MISSISSIPPI:

The Mississippi Braves played a road series this week against the Montgomery Biscuits. The pitching let the team down as they allowed at least six runs in all but one game. That game turned out to be the only victory of the week as their record fell to 18-32 in the second half, 10 ½ games back of first-place Montgomery. The M-Braves now return to start their final homestand of the season, first against the Rocket City Trash Pandas.

Mississippi’s starting pitching provided several good efforts this week, including quality starts from Daniel Martinez on Thursday (6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 6 K) and Domingo Robles on Saturday (6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 K). Alan Rangel also had a solid start on Sunday (5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 5 K). Hayden Harris continued his great run for Mississippi with two more scoreless outings covering three innings with four strikeouts. Harris now has a 2.22 ERA in 28.1 innings for Mississippi with 43 strikeouts in 28.1 innings.

Shortstop Luke Waddell led the team with six RBI during a .280/.308/.320 week. Outfielder Jesse Franklin only played in three games but went 2-for-9 with a double, home run, two stolen bases, five walks, and three RBI. Cade Bunnell exhibited some pop as he went 5-for-17 with a double, two home runs, and a stolen base (.294/.429/.706). Second baseman Cal Conley went 7-for-23 with a double, triple, and four stolen bases (.304/.407/.435). Outfielder Landon Stephens went 5-for-13 with a double and two home runs, including his 20^th of the season (.385/.467/.923). Newly added outfielder Brandon Parker, a Mississippi native, went 3-for-13 with a double and four walks.

GWINNETT:

The Gwinnett Stripers finally returned home this week and began a series against the Nashville Sounds. After dropping the first four games of the series and scoring a total of eleven runs, the Stripers took the final two games. Gwinnett now takes a 57-67 record back out on the road for a six-game get against the Memphis Redbirds.

The Stripers rotation did not get much from Dereck Rodriguez and Justus Sheffield in their starts at the beginning and end of the week but got solid efforts from everyone in-between. Darius Vines put up a tremendous start on Wednesday as he gave up just two runs over seven innings, allowing just four hits and no walks while striking out five on just 90 pitches. Dylan Dodd was solid on Thursday as he gave up just two runs over six innings. Michael Soroka’s overall numbers did not look great (5 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 4 K) but he allowed just an HBP through the first five innings before three hits and a walk to lead off the sixth led to all four of the runs he gave up. Allan Winans gave up just one run over five innings on Saturday on just 63 pitches.

In the bullpen, Seth Elledge had two scoreless outings totaling 3.1 innings with five strikeouts. Lucas Luetge had three scoreless outings and matched Elledge’s output with 3.1 innings and five strikeouts. Grant Holmes saved both victories during the weekend and now has twelve on the season.

Gwinnett’s offense was led by a couple of veterans in Forrest Wall, who went 7-for-18 with a home run, two stolen bases, and five runs scored (.389/.476/.556), and Yolmer Sanchez, who was 6-for-13 with a double, home run, a stolen base, and six walks (.462/.632/.769). Hoy Park also had a solid week in going 6-for-16 with two doubles, a triple, and four RBI (.375/.444/.625). Shortstop Braden Shewmake went just 2-for-21 during the week and is now hitting just .224 with a .686 OPS for the season.

 

POSITION PLAYER of the WEEK:

PITCHER of the WEEK:

Transaction Round-Up

• • 8/21/2023: RHP Allan Winans recalled from AAA Gwinnett; RHP Yonny Chirinos paced on the 15-day injured list (right elbow inflammation)

The Braves continued extended tryouts for the role of “5th Starter” continued this week, with Winans brought in for a call-back. Facing the New York Mets for the second time in less than a week, he was knocked around for 7 runs on 9 hits. 

The Yonny Chirinos project for the moment is put on pause. The Braves clearly think there’s more to get out of the righty, but for now he’ll be stashed on the IL. 

• • 8/21/2023: SS Joe Olsavsky assigned to FCL Braves

A non-drafted amateur free agent out of John Carroll University, Olsavsky becomes the first player from that institution to play in affiliated ball. He joined the Braves just in time to play in the team’s final game of the regular season. 

• • 8/22/2023: LHP Jared Shuster recalled from AAA Gwinnett; RHP Allan Winans optioned to AAA Gwinnett

At first many thought Shuster was only up to potentially fill in innings in relief, but he ended up starting on Sunday and actually didn’t pitch all that badly. With the Braves listing TBA for Wednesday’s start in Colorado however, Shuster will likely be sent back down in favor of yet another 5th starter candidate. 

• • 8/22/2023: LHP Justus Sheffield and C Hendrik Clementina assigned to AA Mississippi from AAA Gwinnett; OF Brandon Parker assigned to AA Mississippi from A+ Rome

With the Gwinnett rotation at least temporarily bursting at the seams, Sheffield took a quick detour to Montgomery, AL to make a start for Mississippi, but he’d return to Gwinnett quickly. Clementina is familiar to Mississippi fans, while Brandon Parker comes of the Rome IL and returns to his home state to take his first stab at AA pitching. 

• • 8/22/2023: RHP Kodi Whitley activated from the developmental list for AAA Gwinnett

Whitley had only been on the active roster a little over a week after signing a minor league deal with Atlanta before being placed on the developmental list on August 3. 

• • 8/22/2023: RHP Owen Murphy assigned to A+ Rome from A Augusta; C Nick Clarno assigned to A Augusta from AA Mississippi; OF Jeremy Celedonio activated from the developmental list and OF Jair Casanova placed on the developmental list for A Augusta

Murphy had been showing good progress in the prior six weeks and was rewarded with this late-season bump to Rome where he joined an unusual line of three consecutive first round starting pitchers going in three consecutive games — Kyle Wright (2017) on Thursday, Murphy (2022) on Friday, and Hurston Waldrep (2023) on Saturday. 

• • 8/23/2023: RHP Spencer Schwellenbach activated from the 7-day injured list for A+ Rome; RHP Daniel Martinez assigned to AA Mississippi from A+ Rome; LHP Justus Sheffield assigned to AAA Gwinnett from AA Mississippi

The good news kept coming for Rome with the delayed debut of 2021 2nd-rounder Schwellenbach for the club. The activation pushed Martinez back up to Mississippi, where he had started the season. Martinez had largely impressed, pitching to a 3.07 ERA in 18 starts and 82 innings for the R-Braves, limiting hard hit balls and walks, two things that tend to get pitchers promoted in the Braves system. 

• • 8/24/2023: RHP Patrick Halligan assigned to AA Mississippi from A+ Rome; LHP Hayden Deal placed on the 7-day injured list for AA Mississippi

Deal has had yet another solid season as bulk innings reliever and swingman for Mississippi, his third in a row. Halligan had not pitched as well in the same role for Rome but gets the bump up to get innings.

• • 8/24/2023: RHPs Jhancarlos Lara and Shay Schanaman assigned to A+ Rome from A Augusta

This is a well-earned promotion for Lara, a 20-year-old righty who since being permanently installed in the Augusta rotation on June 1 has posted a solid .228/.326/.342 batting line against and struck out 65 in 51 innings pitched and is also riding a 17-inning scoreless streak over 3 starts. Non-drafted signee Schanaman gets to high-A where he is roughly the league average age. The former Nebraska closer didn’t find much challenge in the lower levels and has not allowed a run in his pro career to date, albeit only in 10 innings pitched. 

Your Moment of Zen

YOUR 2023 FLORIDA COMPLEX LEAGUE CHAMPIONS!🏆#FCLChampions pic.twitter.com/YLfziC9qTz

— CoolToday Park (@cooltodaypark) August 26, 2023