Atlanta Braves Minor League Weekend Report

Mar 7, 2015; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher

(64) throws against the New York Mets during the spring training baseball game at Tradition Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports

Braves Minor League Weekend Report

The weekend brought out some very exciting things for Braves fans to look forward to, but we’ll highlight two. First, we’ll start with the man pictured in the article header, and that’s Manny Banuelos.

Banuelos continues to look more and more like the guy who was an elite prospect before surgery took him down in 2012. He’s got his velocity back slowly but surely, and he’s showing excellent break on his pitches again. His control comes and goes at times, but he doesn’t often miss the location, just the plate, which is actually a very good sign for a post-surgery rehab.

The Braves may be looking at a mid-season call up to the bullpen for Banuelos, but personally, I would like to see him continue his starting in Gwinnett until he’s hit his innings limit because his future is absolutely as a starter, and with the injuries to Mike Minor, that future may be coming as soon as next season, so I’d rather see him continue to be used as a starter in preparation for stepping into the rotation possibly next season.

The second big thing to come from the weekend was the return to form for Dustin Peterson. Dustin has arguably been the Braves most surprising and impressive offensive performer in the minor leagues this season. The Braves took a long swing from Dustin when he arrived, and when you see his swing now, he rarely gets a pitch that he doesn’t get the bat head on, something guys with long arms like Dustin’s often struggle to do. He took some significant time to return to the lineup after the bus crash, but this weekend had him knocking out his first home run since returning and even taking 4 walks. He’s very possibly the Braves best power bat in the system, and he’s been no slouch in the outfield either.

Dustin is likely going to see a late push up to AA, but at 20 years old, he’d not be hurt at all by a full season in A+ ball. He’s adjusted very well to the move off of third base to left field, and he’s got a chance to jump up to the majors by 2017, which very few would have predicted when he was acquired in the Justin Upton deal.

There are lots more things to read as you page through each affiliate’s roundup for the weekend…

Hit “Next” to continue!

Mississippi Braves (30-25)

Thursday

Thursday started their weekend hosting Jackson, pulling off an 8-1 victory. Jake Brigham pitched a complete game for the M-Braves. He allowed one run on one hit while striking out 10 hitters in the start, winning his 5th game of the season. Eric Garcia led the offense with 2 hits, including his 1st home run of the season, driving in 3 runs in the process. Emerson Landoni had two hits and a double. Rio Ruiz had a double and a walk. Matt Kennelly, KD Kang, and Kevin Ahrens added 2 hits, and Matt Lipka added a double.

Friday

It took 12 innings, but Mississippi defeated Jackson 4-3. Jorge Reyes started the game, but he only went 4 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 5. Matt Lipka, Kevin Ahrens, and Seth Loman each had two hits and a double. Levi Hyams and Steve Rodriguez each added 2 walks.

Saturday

Mississippi hit the road to Montgomery and ended up on the short end of a 7-4 loss. Starter Greg Ross allowed 6 runs in the 1st inning, but settled down after that, ending the day with 5 2/3 innings pitched with 7 runs allowed on 9 hits and 4 walks while striking out 4. Emerson Landoni had a triple as part of his two hits. Eric Garcia had two hits, including a double. Mallex Smith had two hits as well on the day.

Sunday

Mississippi’s offense couldn’t push across a run, and the M-Braves bullpen blew open the game in a 6-0 loss to Montgomery Sunday. Jason Hursh started the game and went 6 solid innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits and a walk while striking out 3. Rio Ruiz collected two singles and the only RBI of the day. Mallex Smith and Levi Hyams each had a single and a walk while David Rohm added a double.

Leaders

BA: Mallex Smith .337
OBP: Mallex Smith .405
SLG: Mallex Smith .407
HR: Seth Loman 4
SB: Mallex Smith 18

W: Jake Brigham/Jorge Reyes 5
SV: Ryan Kelly 10
SO: Jason Hursh/Tyrell Jenkins 40
ERA: Ryan Kelly 0.48
WHIP: Ryan Weber 0.91

Carolina Mudcats (27-28)

Thursday

Carolina squeaked out a 3-2 victory at Myrtle Beach on Thursday. Yean Carlos Gil picked up his first win of the season, throwing 5 innings, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks, striking out 3. Dustin Peterson picked up his first hit and RBI since returning after the bus crash. Sean Godfrey collected two hits, including his 7th double. Jose Briceno hit a solo home run in the 3rd inning, and Connor Lien stole his 6th base of the year.

Friday

The Mudcats played a double-header against Myrtle Beach on Friday. In the opener, Sean Webster led Carolina to a 5-3 win with a complete game, throwing 7 innings, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits while striking out 7. Connor Lien had two hits and a stolen base. Carlos Franco had two hits, including his 4th home run of the season. Johan Camargo added two hits, and Jacob Schrader added a double.

Myrtle Beach took the night-cap 5-2. Andrew Waszak went 5 innings, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4. Dustin Peterson had a double and a walk on the day to get his batting average over .300.  Carlos Franco had a triple and a walk on the day.

Saturday

Carolina swept a double-header on Saturday against Myrtle Beach. In the early game, they won 1-0 on a very good pitching performance by Brandon Barker, who threw 6 innings, allowing 3 hits while striking out 1. Dustin Peterson hit his 4th home run of the season for the only run of the game.

The second game ended with the Mudcats on top 4-2. Andy Otero started the bullpen game for Carolina, going 3 2/3 innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3. Dustin Peterson had a triple and a walk. Joey Meneses had a home run and Johan Camargo added a double. Sean Godfrey and Reed Harper each had a single and a walk on the day. Godfrey added his 7th steal of the season, but he also had his 6th caught stealing as well.

Sunday

After clawing back to .500 Saturday, Carolina dropped a game late 4-1 to Myrtle Beach to finish the weekend one game under .500 on the season. Blair Walters got the start and went 5 2/3 innings, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6. His biggest damage was done on a Mark Zagunis home run in the 6th inning. Sean Godfrey and Joey Meneses each had 2 hits, including a double. Carlos Franco had two singles and his first steal of the year, and Dustin Peterson had two walks on the day.

Leaders

BA: Dustin Peterson .302
OBP: Dustin Peterson .386
SLG: Jacob Schrader .534
HR: Jacob Schrader 6
SB: Connor Lien/Sean Godfrey 7

W: Steve Janas/Andrew Thurman 4
SV: Tyler Jones 6
SO: Yean Carlos Gil 36
ERA: Tyler Jones 0.00
WHIP: Steve Janas 0.53

Rome Braves (27-30)

Thursday

Rome dropped a home game to West Virginia on Thursday 6-5. Chad Sobotka had a tough start, but due to his pitch limit as he returns from injury, he only threw 4 1/3 innings, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks while striking out one. No Brave had multiple hits, but Joseph Daris did have two walks and stole his 10th base. Jordan Edgerton had a double and a walk. Tanner Krietemeier, Braxton Davidson, and Tanner Murphy each had a walk and a single.

Friday

Friday’s game was a blowout in favor of Rome, defeating West Virgina 13-2. Max Povse had a very good start, hurling 5 1/3 innings, allowing 2 runs (one earned) on 5 hits and a walk, while striking out 4. Tanner Krietemeier had four hits, including a double, and he added 2 RBI. Connor Oliver had 3 hits and a double. Justin Black had a home run among his 2 hits and a walk on the day. Ozhaino Albies had 3 hits, including 2 doubles. Jordan Edgerton had two hits and a walk while Braxton Davidson added two hits and Matt Tellor hit his 4th double.

Saturday

West Virginia made an effort in the 9th after Rome grabbed the lead in the bottom of the 8th inning, but Kyle Kinman closed the door on a 5-4 game. Alec Grosser started the game and threw 6 innings, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits and 1 walk while striking out 3. Connor Oliver and Joseph Daris each had two hits, including a double each. Jordan Edgerton hit his first home run of the season and walked. Omar Obregon added 2 steals to get to 14 on the season, and Ozhaino Albies added his 21st steal of the year.

Sunday

Rome lost their Sunday game against West Virginia 4-3. Ricardo Sanchez returned from his injury, and he looked solid. He threw 4 innings on a pitch count, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits and 1 walk. His return could really help a Rome pitching staff that has been short of depth in recent weeks. Jordan Edgerton hit his 2nd home run in as many days, and Tanner Krietemeier added his first home run of the season as well as a walk. Justin Black stole his first base of the year, and Joseph Daris added a triple.

Leaders

BA: Ozhaino Albies .317
OBP: Braxton Davidson .395
SLG: Joseph Daris .458
HR: Braxton Davidson 4
SB: Ozhaino Albies 21

W: Caleb Beech 5
SV: Kyle Kinman 8
SO: Max Povse 39
ERA: Jorge Zavala 0.73
WHIP: Jorge Zavala 0.97

DSL Braves (3-4)

Thursday

The DSL Braves picked up their 3rd win of the season Thursday, defeating the Brewers’ squad 8-1. Filyer Sanchez started for the Braves, but it was Gabriel Henry who turned in the most impressive outing, hurling 2 innings of relief while allowing one hit and striking out 4. Randy Ventura was the only Brave with multiple hits and added a steal. Anthony Concepcion had a double and three walks. Terrence Josephina doubled and walked on the day, while Felipe Zorrilla added a single, a walk, and two stolen bases.

Friday

The Brewers got back their game on Friday 13-7 after the Braves beat them on Thursday. Ali Pantoja started the game for the Braves. Jan Guerrero had three hits and a walk. William Contreras had a single and a walk and stole his first base of the year. Terrence Josephina had a double on the day. Anthony Concepcion, Randy Ventura, and Alex Aquino each stole a base.

Saturday

The Cubs blanked the Braves on Saturday 8-0 behind Pedro Silverio, who went 6 innings and struck out 9 Braves hitters. Bredio Vega got the start for the Braves. Luis Olmos had a double on the day, but no Brave was even on base twice in the game.

Sunday

The Braves had Sunday off.