Listen, it wasn’t a great Saturday if you like Atlanta Braves minor league baseball. I have to say I was thoroughly disappointed by these final scores on an 0-6 day. However we’re still seeing some good stuff, like Jhancarlos Lara making his second start since returning to Rome and Adam Maier continuing his solid season in Augusta.
(18-19) Gwinnett Stripers 2, (15-22) Charlotte Knights 6
- Forrest Wall, LF: 1-5, 3B, RBI, .302/.429/.460
- Taylor Widener, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 4.50 ERA
- Grant Holmes, RP: 3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 1.47 ERA
It was just one of those days, man. Gwinnett ran out their regular offense save JP Martinez, and the team as a whole just did not hit well. The Stripers offense totaled only four hard hit balls in the game and none of them went for hits. It looked very early like it may be a day to play for the Stripers, as Forrest Wall needed only two pitches before he found one to sneak down the right field line for a leadoff triple. He scored to give Gwinnett the early lead, and Taylor Widener looked solid on the mound.
Widener has been integral to the Stripers as a reliever, putting up 20 strikeouts in 12 1⁄3 innings with only three walks issued. Unfortunately his stuff takes a hit when he is forced to work longer outings, and this was a case of early success that turned around quickly the second time through the order. Charlotte couldn’t find hard contact against Widener early, but the more looks they got the more it swung in their favor and he ended up allowing five runs combined in the fourth and fifth innings.
Grant Holmes on the other hand seemed unperturbed by a multi-inning outing, as he still lit it up with his slider across three innings. Holmes has seemingly found a resurgence in his career since joining the Braves system, stepping up his game in both years with Gwinnett and now looking like a real major league quality reliever. Whether the Braves truly see him as a competent middle relief option is unclear, but he has done nothing but succeed thanks to his slider progressing into a buzzsaw. Should Holmes not find a role with Atlanta this year I would not blame him for looking elsewhere for opportunity, as he certainly has the arsenal of a major league reliever in my opinion.
(11-21) Mississippi Braves 1, (16-15) Rocket City Trash Pandas 6
- Nacho Alvarez, SS: 0-4, .274/.384/.321
- Drake Baldwin, C: 1-4, .233/.304/.291
- Keshawn Ogans, 3B: 2-4, 2B, .215/.270/.269
- Luis De Avila, SP: 4.1 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 5.29 ERA
- Trey Riley, RP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 7.20 ERA
Luis De Avila could not find his command in the first inning of the game, and Mississippi never recovered from the four run deficit he put them in. De Avila didn’t have a terrible game after this, he actually pitched quite nicely once he settled in, but the stark drop off in whiffs for him this year have been concerning. De Avila had a career year with Mississippi in 2023, but his strikeout rate has dropped this year from 24% to 16% without a decrease in walk rate. If De Avila gets to the next level it was never really expected for strikeouts to be his game, but if they are going to come at this rate his command just has to be better than it has been.
Also on the pitching end of things Parker Dunshee has been a solid minor league free agent pick up this year, as he has a 46.3% strikeout rate out of the Mississippi bullpen. He struck out seven of the 12 Trash Pandas he faced, primarily working with a low-90’s four seamer and a mid-80’s slider. Dunshee’s nastiest offering a curveball that works in the 77-81 range, though he uses it only sparingly and only against left handed batters.
Twelve strikeouts and no walks isn’t the way you want your offense to perform, and Mississippi couldn’t scratch together rallies despite out-hitting Rocket City. The top of the Braves order did show a little life, with Justin Dean getting two hits in the leadoff spot and Keshawn Ogans getting multiple hits for the second straight day, but the only run Mississippi scored was a solo shot from Geraldo Quintero. Also notable outside of his 0-4 day, Nacho Alvarez left the game after a pop out in the 8th innings. Alvarez didn’t appear to show any visible pain, but after a slow jog down to first he spent a lot of time talking to the first base coach before ultimately not coming out in the field in the bottom of the inning.
(16-14) Rome Emperors 1, (18-14) Brooklyn Cyclones 2
- Stephen Paolini: 2-4, 2B, RBI, .205/.330/.321
- Kevin Kilpatrick Jr., CF: 1-5, .276/.333/.415
- EJ Exposito, 2B: 1-4, BB, .284/.359/.630
- Jhancarlos Lara, SP: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 1.35 ERA
Jhancarlos Lara is made his second start in return from injury, and there are a few takeaways from this game for him. The most important thing is that he is healthy and throwing. Beyond that, his stuff from a shape and velocity perspective was where you want it to be. He forced whiffs with both his fastball and slider, and was able to ramp up to 73 pitches this game. There is clearly a lot of rust with Lara though, as the command has so far stepped back from the end of last season and we will have to take that evaluation game-by-game going forward to see how he improves. Lara has struggled to find consistent form with his lower body, falling off glove side quite often during his delivery, and it seems most of the inconsistency has come from this. These are things that can take time to get a feel for after being limited like Lara has, and he’s landed some nice pitches when he has stayed downhill on line.
Rome scored one run in this game, but it was not for lack of opportunity. The Emperors had 15 chances with runners in scoring position in this game, and their lone hit came in the sixth inning when Stephen Paolini took an outside fastball and clocked it the other way for a double. This scored the tying run and had two runners in scoring position with only one out, but Rome failed to come through with another run-scoring hit. I’ve talked positively about Paolini this season and still believe the improvements in his strength are real, although against this Brooklyn pitching staff (which ranks first in the South Atlantic League) he has nine strikeouts in four games.
(14-16) Augusta GreenJackets 8, (12-18) Myrtle Beach Pelicans 9 F/10
- Alexander Martinez, C: 2-4, 2 RBI, .137/.185/.157
- Luis Sanchez, 3B: 2-6, 2 RBI, .283/.360/.333
- Luis Vargas: RP: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
(14-17) Augusta GreenJackets 1, (13-18) Myrtle Beach Pelicans 3
- Robert Gonzalez, CF: 1-3, .223/.265/.298
- Luis Sanchez, 2B: 1-3, RBI, .283/.360/.333
- Adam Maier: SP: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 4.18 ERA
We had two to play in Augusta after last night’s suspended game, and it started out quite well for the Jackets. Augusta jumped out to a 7-0 lead after the third inning, and behind Luis Vargas cruised through four with that lead intact. The bullpen did not hold things down, however, and Myrtle Beach tied it and sent the first of the double header to extra innings. Augusta finally woke up in the tenth and a Jace Grady single sent home the free runner, but Myrtle Beach responded with two runs to walk the game off. Luis Sanchez performed well in both games on Sunday, getting three total hits to run his hitting streak to eight games. Sanchez is certainly an interesting prospect for the Braves, because the dude hits a ton and has a solid approach at the plate. He’s unfortunately similar to Geraldo Quintero, however, in that he lacks the strength to make impact content and doesn’t have the defensive ability to stick at shortstop. Now, Sanchez is a better defender with a better arm than Quintero, which certainly helps with projecting him forward, but without the ability to play shortstop or hit for power it’s hard to project him to a regular role.
Game two gave us Adam Maier day for the Jackets, and that was their lone bright spot. The offense was abysmal, scoring only one run on a Luis Sanchez RBI single in the 5th inning. This did, however, give them a lead as Maier was dealing. Maier was ending at bats quickly, filling up the bottom of the strike zone with sinkers and forcing a lot of weak contact. This is a similar start that we’ve seen quite a bit from Maier this season, as he is really pounding the zone and batters are going after everything. This includes pitches that are strikes, but not necessarily easy pitches to hit, and as Maier advances and batters get more patient on the edges he will likely see more later at bats and opportunities to put batters away with his secondaries. Maier allowed six hits in this game, and unfortunately five of them came in the fifth inning to chase home three runs. Not one of the five was a hard hit ball, but when guys make as much contact as they have against Maier this year these things will just sometimes happen. Still though Maier being healthy is point one of focus, and even with the high contact rates if it’s of the quality it has been over his past few starts you can live with batters swinging at the pitches they have. Also of note Diego Benitez made his 12th error in just his 24th game at shortstop, and while wasn’t great at the position last year his inability to make accurate throws with even routine footwork has to be a concern and it’s a wonder if there may be a case of the yips going on.
(0-6) FCL Braves 2, (5-1) FCL Rays 5
- Isaiah Drake, CF: 0-2, 2 BB, .000/.714/.000
- Leiker Figueroa, 2B: 1-3, .200/.333/.200
- Jeremy Reyes, SP: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 0.96 ERA
Eventually the FCL Braves are going to win a game, and when it does happen it will probably come on Jeremy Reyes’s start day unless a spot in Augusta opens up and he gets promoted. Reyes is the clear top pitching prospect for the Complex League squad, and he had a terrific game statistically with six strikeouts across 4 1⁄3 scoreless innings. Reports have Reyes touching 99 with his fastball, and if he can continue the performances he’s showcased in his first two starts it may not be long before he heads to a full season affiliate. Speaking of full season players, the team is hosting a handful of rehabbing players, most notably Isaiah Drake. Drake hasn’t gotten many swings in his two games since coming back from his lower body injury in Augusta, with five walks in seven plate appearances. Skye Bolt got four plate appearances today and drew a walk, and will probably head back to Gwinnett next week. Playing second base Leiker Figueroa notched a single in this game.
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May 12, 2024 at 09:00PM
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