Monday Farm Report, 9/18/2023

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.

Weekly Round-Up

MISSISSIPPI:

The Mississippi Braves finished out their season this week with a road series in Pensacola against the Blue Wahoos. The M-Braves took three of the first four games of the series but dropped the final two for a series split. Mississippi finishes the second half with a 29-40 record and a full season mark of 62-75.

Mississippi’s starting pitching was eventful this week as Drue Hackenberg got his first Double-A start and Hurston Waldrep made his third start for the M-Braves. Hackenburg made the start on Tuesday and it went very badly as he did not escape the first inning after retiring just two batters while walking the other four hitters he faced. Waldrep’s start on Saturday went better as he gave up just one run in four innings while striking out five and giving up just four hits and a walk. In between, Luis De Avila gave up one run over four innings on Wednesday, Domingo Robles, one earned run in 5.2 innings on Thursday, and Daniel Martinez one run over six innings on Friday. Brooks Wilson continued to impress in the bullpen with a win and a save in his two appearances, where he gave up just a solo home run and a walk over 3.1 innings while striking out six. Wilson now has allowed the one hit and run over 8.1 innings for Mississippi while striking out twelve and walking two.

Shortstop Luke Waddell finished the week going just 4-for-17 but added six walks and an HBP. First baseman Bryson Horne went just 3-for-16 but the hits were two doubles and a home run while adding four RBI. Catcher Hendrik Clementina went 3-for-8 over two games with a double, a walk, and three RBI.

Final statistical leaders:

GWINNETT:

The Gwinnett Stripers wrapped up the road portion of their 2023 schedule this week with a series against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. The Stripers dropped the first and final games of the series but took the middle four games to win the series. Gwinnett now brings a 68-74 record (35-32 in the second half) home to finish out their season against the Durham Bulls.

Due to forced pitch counts and bullpen games, the Stripers only got 18.2 innings out of their starters this week, forcing the bullpen to absorb significant innings. Jesse Chavez made one appearance as an opener and two more as a reliever, tossing 3.1 scoreless innings overall. He loaded the bases full in his first appearance but gave up nothing in the other two outings (3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K). Alan Rangel started on Thursday and had a solid outing, giving up three runs over five innings. AJ Smith-Shawver started on Friday but only threw 29 pitches due to a forced pitch count but managed to toss three scoreless innings while giving up just a walk. Darius Vines followed that up in a piggyback appearance and went the rest of the way in tossing six scoreless innings on just 67 pitches. Dylan Dodd had a nice outing in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, giving up just one run and two hits over 4.2 innings. Nolan Kingham followed up Chavez’s opener appearance on Tuesday with five innings where he gave up just an unearned run. Grant Holmes recorded a win and a save in his two appearances for the week.

Gwinnett’s offense only scored more than two runs in two of their six games and only registered seven extra-base hits and one home run during the week (by Justin Dean). Shortstop Vaughn Grissom returned from a hip injury and went 3-for-10 with five walks and two RBI in three games. Outfielder Dalton Guthrie hit safely in five out of six games, going 7-for-17 with four RBI. Yolmer Sanchez was 3-for-12 with eight walks and three RBI while Ehire Adrianza went 2-for-12 with a double in his rehab assignment.

POSITION PLAYER of the WEEK:

PITCHER PLAYER of the WEEK:

Transaction Round-Up

• 9/11/2023: RHP Jackson Stephens selected from AAA Gwinnett; RHP Kyle Wright activated from the 60-day injured list; RHP Allan Winans optioned to AAA Gwinnett; RHPs Michael Soroka and Daysbel Hernandez transferred to the 60-day injured list from the 15-day injured list

A little over 11 months after getting injured in a spot start in Miami, Jackson Stephens made his return to the Atlanta Braves bullpen. He pitched well in two multiple inning appearances last week.

Kyle Wright’s return to a big league mound was perhaps understandably rocky as he faced a tough Phillies line-up on the road. Atlanta’s early division clinch means the team can bring him along gradually and see what he may have to offer the team in the postseason.

• 9/12/2023: RHP Nolan Kingham assigned to AAA Gwinnett from AA Mississippi; OF Magneuris Sierra placed on the developmental list for AAA Gwinnett

Nolan Kingham: have arm, will travel.

• 9/12/2023: RHPs Jose Montilla, Trey Riley, and Peyton Williams activated from the developmental list for AA Mississippi; OF Jacob Pearson activated from the 7-day injured list for AA Mississippi; RHPs Hayden Harris and Tyler Owens placed on the developmental list for AA Mississippi

The M-Braves have been switching out chunks of their bullpen pretty much every week over the last couple weeks.  This time Harris and Owens, the two best bullpen prospects at this level, get a break, perhaps to allow them extra time to prepare for an Arizona Fall League assignment.

• 9/12/2023: IF Cory Acton released by A+ Rome

The former Georgia infielder was a 9th-round selection by Atlanta in the 2022 draft. This season he bounced between Rome and Augusta, backing up at first, second, and third base and hitting a combined .237/.364/.303 at both levels. A very useful player to have on a roster, but he was in a tough position going forward with a slew of young infielders percolating at the lower levels of the Braves organizational ladder.

• 9/13/2023: Recalled LHP Jared Shuster from AAA Gwinnett; optioned RHP AJ Smith-Shawver to AAA Gwinnett

Smith-Shawver didn’t make an appearance in the 3 days he was back up with the big league club and his apparent role this time around — emergency long reliever — now seems to be occupied by Stephens to thankfully he was sent back to Gwinnett where he can log some innings.

Shuster ended up having a rough outing against Miami, against showing an inability to put away big league hitters.

• 9/13/2023: LHP Justus Sheffield activated from the 7-day injured list for AAA Gwinnett; RHP Nolan Kingham placed on the developmental list

Churn.

• 9/13/2023: RHP James Acuna released by A Augusta

Recovering from TJS when drafted by the Braves in the 29th round of the 2019 draft, thanks to the COVID season Acuna didn’t make his pro debut until 2021. He appeared in 31 games for Augusta in ’21, and then had a very nice season back with Augusta in 2022, pitching to a 3.17 ERA over 28 appearances. He apparently got injured again that offseason however and spent all of 2023 on the injured list.

• 9/14/2023: SS Vaughn Grissom activated from the 7-day injured list for AAA Gwinnett; 1B Drew Lugbauer placed on the developmental list for AAA Gwinnett

Grissom spend the minimum 7 days for his hip injury, putting him back in contention for a spot on Atlanta’s playoff bench.

• 9/14/2023: RHP Drue Hackenberg assigned to the FCL Braves from AA Mississippi

After two dominating appearances with Augusta, the Braves challenged him with a start in Mississippi which did not go particularly well. This is not a bad thing… it will give Hackenberg a clearer idea of what he needs to work on in the offseason, likely starting with instructional league work in North Port.

• 9/16/2023: RHP Charlie Culberson activated from the developmental list for AAA Gwinnett; RHP Mike Morin placed on the developmental list

Culberson has not had a plate appearance for Gwinnett since May 18, but on the day he was activated here he made a 1-inning pitching appearance against Jacksonville.

• 9/17/2023: RHP Dereck Rodriguez selected from AAA Gwinnett; LHP Jared Shuster optioned to AAA Gwinnett; LHP Dylan Lee transferred from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list

The big news with these transactions is that Dylan Lee will likely not be available for the postseason.