Atlanta Braves: Thursday Minor League Ag Report

Braves Minor League Ag Report: Rome Braves (4-7)

Rome squandered a very solid pitching performance by Zach Quintana, who pitched 3 innings of perfect relief after starter Alec Grosser left the game after giving up 4 runs in 4 innings.  Rome clawed their way back to the lead before two 8th inning runs gave the game to Savannah 6-5. Ozhaino Albies broke out of an early season funk with 3 hits, and Braxton Davidson had two hits, including a double.  Joseph Daris and Jordan Edgerton also had doubles on the night.

Chad Sobotka gave the R-Braves a great start Tuesday against Savannah, going 5 innings while walking none and striking out 3 in a 2-1 Rome win. Ozhaino Albies had his second consecutive multi-hit day with a triple and single.  Center fielder Keith Curcio had a double.

The Braves had a tough performance from Max Povse, who had looked very solid in his previous outings.  He gave up four runs in 2 2/3 innings with one walk and two strikeouts.  Codey McElroy was the primary offensive weapon of the 9-5 loss with 3 hits, including a double and a stolen base.  While Ozhaino Albies collected another hit to bring his average on the season to a solid .273, he was caught stealing, something that’s been a bit of an issue for him, as he has 3 caught stealing attempts this year already.  Braxton Davidson had two more hits, his second multi-hit game of the week.

Braves Minor League Ag Report: Carolina Mudcats (6-6)

Carolina had a huge offensive output on Monday to defeat Winston-Salem.  The Mudcats were led by 3 hits, including a double and a stolen base, from center fielder Connor Lien.  Second baseman Levi Hyams had 3 walks, but in his one at bat, he hit a 6th inning home run.  Johan Camargo had a triple and Jacob Schrader had a home run as part of the hitting parade that the Mudcats won 10-5.

Lien and Hyams led the offensive performance against Winston-Salem on Tuesday, but the team ended up on the short side of a 5-1 decision.  Lien and Hyams hit doubles, as did Dustin Peterson. After Yean Carlos Gil gave up 5 runs in 5 innings, Blair Walters and Tyler Jones pitched very well, with 3 perfect innings, including 4 strikeouts.

Lucas Sims had his second straight poor start Wednesday for Carolina, allowing 4 runs (2 earned) in 3 2/3 innings while walking 4 and striking out 6.  While they count as unearned runs, Sims really “earned” his unearned runs with two errors.  Jacob Schrader was the bright spot in the Carolina lineup with three hits, including a double, in the 4-2 loss.

Braves Minor League Ag Report: Mississippi Braves (8-4)

Mississippi started out their week well Monday with a late offensive explosion, defeating the Twins’ Chattanooga affiliate with six runs in the 8th and 9th innings to win 6-5. Jason Hursh struggled with his command, walking 4 and allowing 5 runs on 6 hits in 4 1/3 innings. Mallex Smith and David Rohm had extra base hits, and Daniel Castro had 2 hits on the night.

Mississippi rode an excellent pitching performance from Tyrell Jenkins to a 4-1 win on Tuesday night.  Jenkins only allowed one hit in 5 2/3 innings, but he walked 4 in the start.  Daniel Castro had his second multi-hit game of the week, collecting the only M-Braves extra base hit with a double. Matt Lipka and Kevin Ahrens also had 2 hits in the victory.

The Braves used a 4-run 5th inning to beat Chattanooga 4-3.  Jake Brigham had a solid 6-inning start, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits.  Mallex Smith led the team with 3 hits.  Corban Joseph had a double as part of his two hits while Kevin Ahrens had 2 hits and a steal.  The Braves have seen a very good performance from former top pick Matt Lipka, who is hitting .412, but most importantly, he looks very good in his move to left field and on the bases.  He may be working his way into 4th outfielder discussion going forward.

Braves Minor League Ag Report: Gwinnett Braves (5-8)

Gwinnett’s Monday night game has been reviewed on the site already.  More specifically, Michael Foltynewicz‘s performance has been reviewed by yours truly. Folty’s performance Monday might be the best performance by a Braves pitcher this season thus far, on major or minor league level.  The G-Braves squandered that performance in a 1-0 loss, but it sure wasn’t due to having runners on the bases.  In fact, Gwinnett had 10 runners on base in the game, including 3 hits from Todd Cunningham and a double by Cedric Hunter.

Manny Banuelos took the mound for Gwinnett on Tuesday and the Braves scored a 5-4 victory.  Banuelos stuck strongly to his fastball/changeup combo, which while very controllable, is fairly hittable.  He allowed 4 runs on 6 hits in 5 2/3 innings, though he did have a very solid 5 strikeouts and one walk in the outing.  Once again, the Braves racked up the hits against Norfolk, collecting 12 hits.  Jose Peraza had 3 hits, Joe Benson had 2 hits (including a double), and Pedro Ciriaco had 2 hits.  Elmer Reyes also had a double as part of the offensive attack.  The Braves were also busy on the bases as well with Jose Peraza collecting 2 steals and Eury Perez stealing his 8th base of the season.

Gwinnett got another tremendous pitching performance, this time from Williams Perez, on Wednesday.  Perez went 7 innings, allowing 2 runs (one earned) on 6 hits allowed with 5 strikeouts.  The bullpen also pitched well, throwing 2 innings of relief and gathering 4 strikeouts in a 3-0 victory. Jose Peraza again collected multiple hits, though Todd Cunningham’s 3 hits (including a triple) led the team.  The G-Braves also had doubles from Eury Perez and Adonis Garcia along with a triple by Joe Benson.  One concerning thing from this week.  Joe Benson committed two errors in the week, his 2nd and 3rd of the season, which is an odd thing for an outfielder with a very solid reputation.  It could be simple struggle, but Benson’s knee issues have taken away a good amount of his speed, and if he’s still adjusting to his new wheels, that could lead to some defensive struggles.

That’s All, Folks!

On cattle farms this spring, calves are coming around quite a bit.  My father’s herd is over half-calved at this point, and those little calves always stumble as they start walking.  I think of this as I watch guys like Lucas Sims, Max Povse, and Jason Hursh struggle with their command this week.  Remember it’s only April, and we have a long ways to go!