Atlanta Braves Minor League Monday

May 6, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves catcher

(27) throws to first base for an out in the sixth inning of their game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Turner Field. The Braves won 7-5. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Braves Minor League Monday

It’s good to be back!

After a two-week layoff while on my honeymoon (more about that in an article later today), I’m back with the minor league report. While I’ve had the chance to see a lot of baseball over the last two weeks, admittedly, not much of it was minor league baseball, so I’ve got some catching up to do, especially with the Braves’ rookie league teams!

I’ll be keeping up leaderboards on each squad with only active players on each team eligible. Those will show up on every Monday. On Thursday, you’ll see the projected starters for the weekend for each squad.

Danville and GCL started since I left, and they’re off to mixed results so far. Carolina has gotten their mojo back now with Steve Janas returning this week and the offense clicking again like it was before the bus crash. Lucas Sims returned to the mound this week in Rome on rehab, and hopefully he’ll return to Carolina soon.

Next: The AAA Report

Mississippi Braves (35-37, 2-2 in 2nd half)

Thursday

Pensacola got to Mississippi starter Greg Ross early Thursday and held on to win 9-3. Ross gave up 6 runs over 4 innings, allowing 8 hits and a walk while striking out 2. Sean Godfrey was on base 3 times with two singles and a walk. Emerson Landoni and Matt Kennelly each had a hit and a walk, with Kennelly’s hit being a double.

Friday

Mississippi joined Gwinnett with a 1-0 victory on Friday. Victor Mateo threw 6 scoreless innings, allowing 6 hits and 3 walks while striking out 5 to pick up his 4th win. No M-Brave was on base multiple times on the day, but Matt Lipka stole his 9th base and drove in the game’s only run.

Saturday

Another game, another 1-0 game as Pensacola defeated the M-Braves on Saturday. Jorge Reyes gave the Braves a solid start, going 5 scoreless innings, scattering 6 hits and striking out 2. Matt Lipka and Rio Ruiz were the only two Mississippi hitters to get on base twice. Ruiz had two walks while Lipka had two singles and a stolen base.

Sunday

Mississippi finished their weekend strong with a win over Pensacola 3-1. Tyrell Jenkins got the start and went 5 1/3 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and 5 walks while striking out 6. Emerson Landoni had two hits, including a triple. Rio Ruiz and Matt Lipka each had a single and a walk, and Lipka stole his 11th base of the season.

Leaders

BA: Chris O’Dowd .304
OBP: Chris O’Dowd .429
SLG: Chris O’Dowd .468
HR: Seth Loman 4
SB: Matt Lipka 11

W: Jorge Reyes 5
SV: Tyler Jones 7
SO: Tyrell Jenkins 55
ERA: Tyler Jones 1.29
WHIP: Arodys Vizcaino 0.50

Next: Carolina League Carolina Mudcats

Carolina Mudcats (37-36, 3-1 in 2nd half)

Thursday

Carolina got a solid start from Brandon Barker and held on to win against Myrtle Beach 2-1. Barker went 5 scoreless innings, allowing only 2 hits and a walk while striking out 2. Carlos Franco led 5 Mudcats with multiple hits with 2 doubles. Also collecting a double among his 2 hits was Jacob Schrader. Connor Lien, Jose Briceno, and Johan Camargo had 2 singles each.

Friday

Carolina’s offense exploded for 9 runs in the first two innings against Myrtle Beach Friday, winning 9-2. Blair Walters went 6 innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits and 1 walk while striking out 1 to earn his 3rd win of the season. Jacob Schrader provided the big hit, knocking out his 8th home run of the season and also walking on the day. Dustin Peterson and Carlos Franco each added a single and two walks while Jose Briceno continued his recent hot streak with 3 hits, including a double. Keith Curcio had a solid day at the plate with 2 hits, including a double. Connor Lien added a double.

Saturday

Carolina took a third consecutive game from Myrtle Beach, winning Saturday 4-3. Steve Janas returned to the mound for the first time in a month, and he didn’t skip a beat, hurling 5 scoreless innings, allowing 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 1. Connor Lien led the Mudcat offensive attack with two hits, including a double, a walk, and two stolen bases. Dustin Peterson and Carlos Franco each had two hits, including a double each. Jacob Schrader had a double while Johan Camargo stole a base.

Sunday

Potomac took down the Mudcats 3-1 on Sunday. Seth Webster got the start and went 7 innings, allowing 3 runs on 10 hits and striking out 1. Jose Briceno continued his hot hitting, knocking out two singles and stealing his second base. Keith Curcio and Dustin Peterson each had a double. Sal Giardina had a single and a walk while stealing his first base of the season.

Leaders

BA: Connor Lien .304
OBP: Dustin Peterson .356
SLG: Jacob Schrader .525
HR: Jacob Schrader 8
SB: Connor Lien 12

W: Steve Janas 5
SV: Andy Otero 3
SO: Blair Walters 36
ERA: Caleb Dirks 0.00
WHIP: Steve Janas 0.59

Next: Off to Rome

Rome Braves (33-41, 2-2 in 2nd half)

Thursday

A scoreless game going into the 12th inning ended up with Rome falling just short 3-2 after that 12th inning. Yean Carlos Gil had his best start in some time, going 7 scoreless innings, allowing only 3 hits and a walk while striking out 3. In spite of 12 base runners, the Braves could only push across two runs in the bottom of the 12th inning. Omar Obregon led the team with a single and two walks. Ozhaino Albies had two hits, including a triple. Jordan Edgerton had two singles and stole two bases as well. Braxton Davidson walked twice, and Bryan De La Rosa added a double.

Friday

Rome again went to extra innings on Friday before pulling out a 3-2 win over Augusta. Zach Quintana started, but he was not the pitching star of the game. That honor would go to Sean Furney, who pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings of relief, allowing 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3. Jordan Edgerton racked up 3 walks on the day. Joseph Daris had 2 hits, including a triple. Wigberto Nevarez added two singles and his first stolen base of the season while Omar Obregon added two singles as well. Matt Tellor had a double on the day.

Saturday

Augusta blew out Rome on Saturday 10-2. Ricardo Sanchez struggled with his control on the game, throwing 3 1/3 innings and allowing 4 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks while striking out 3. Rome had 9 hits and 2 walks, but they could only push 2 runs across. Joseph Daris had a triple and two walks on the day. Ozhaino Albies and Omar Obregon each added two singles.

Sunday

Rome finished their weekend strong with a 6-4 win over Augusta. Newly-acquired Touki Toussaint got the start and went 4 1/3 innings, allowing 1 run on 2 hits and 5 (!!) walks while striking out 5. Tanner Murphy had 2 hits, including a double. Ozhaino Albies and Conner Oliver each had two hits. Braxton Davidson added a double.

Leaders

BA: Ozhaino Albies .325
OBP: Braxton Davidson .399
SLG: Joseph Daris .426
HR: Braxton Davidson 6
SB: Ozhaino Albies 22

W: Caleb Beech 5
SV: Kyle Kinman 11
SO: Max Povse 50
ERA: Kyle Kinman 1.80
WHIP: Max Povse 1.11

Next: New: the Danville Braves start their short season

Danville Braves (3-3)

Thursday

The Pulaski Yankees used a 7-run 7th inning to defeat Danville 8-2. Ryan Lawlor started the game for the Braves, but he only completed one inning. Carlos Castro was on base four times for the Braves with three singles and a walk. Kelvin Estevez had two hits, including a home run. Jose Morel had a single, walk, and a steal.

Friday

Danville shut out the Greeneville Astros on Friday, winning 4-0. 2015 draftee Matt Withrow started the game, and threw 2 innings, allowing 2 hits and walking 3 while striking out one. Luke Dykstra had three hits, including a triple to lead the offense. Jose Morel had two hits and a walk. Carlos Castro provided two singles while Ian Hagenmiller and Yeudi Grullon each had two walks.

Saturday

Greeneville scored 3 in the 7th inning to defeat the Braves 4-3. Top 2014 pick Garrett Fulenchek started the game with some control issues, going 3 innings, allowing 1 run on 2 hits and 4 walks while striking out 3. Luke Dykstra had two singles on the day. Jose Morel and Jake Lanning added a single and a walk. Ray-Patrick Didder hit a double.

Sunday

Danville fell Sunday 1-0 to Greeneville. Patrick Weigel started the game and went 4 hitless, scoreless innings with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. Kurt Hoekstra hit a triple and walked as the only Braves hitter who was on base twice on the day.

Leaders

BA: Carlos Castro .417
OBP: Stephen Gaylor .556
SLG: Stephen Gaylor .667
HR: Kelvin Estevez 1
SB: Stephen Gaylor 2

W: Stephen Moore, Ian Stiffler, and Josh Graham 1
SV: Bradley Roney, Sean McLaughlin, Daniel Cordero 1
SO: Bradley Roney 7
ERA: 10 with 0.00
WHIP: Dakota Dill 0.27

Next: Also New: the Gulf Coast League is underway

GCL Braves (1-5)

Thursday

The Braves fell to the Tigers GCL squad on Thursday 8-5. Lucas Sims threw 2 innings to start the game for the GCL Braves, but he got roughed up pretty well in his first game back after the bus crash, giving up 4 runs. Juan Yepez led the offensive attack with two walks and a triple. Bradley Keller had two hits, including a double, and a walk. Collin Yelich had a double and a walk. Alejandro Salazar and Ronny Guillermo each had two hits, including a double each. Justin Ellison had a single, a walk, and a steal on the day.

Friday

The GCL Blue Jays had a 6-run 8th inning to seal the win over the Braves 8-3. Jhon Martinez got the start for the Braves, and he threw 3 scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits and striking out 5. Jose Pina provided the power on the day, clubbing a home run among his two hits and driving in two of the three runs as well as stealing a base. Juan Yepez drew three walks as the only other Brave to be on base multiple times. Yepez also added a steal. Ronny Guillermo turned one walk into two steals.

Saturday

The Braves were touched up by the Blue Jays 11-4 on Saturday. Luis Gomez started the game for the Braves and took the loss. Juan Yepez had two doubles and Jose Pina had two hits, including a double. Ronald Acuna added a double.

Sunday

The GCL Braves were off on Sunday.

Leaders

BA: Lucas Herbert .500
OBP: Lucas Herbert .600
SLG: Lucas Herbert 1.250
HR: Lucas Herbert 1
SB: Ronald Acuna 4

W: Evertz Orozco 1
SV: None
SO: Odalvi Javier 6
ERA: Alan Rangel and Jhon Martinez 0.00
WHIP: Jhon Martinez 0.67

Next: To the Caribbean...

DSL Braves (10-15)

Thursday

The Braves scored a run in each of the first four innings, and they held on to defeat the Brewers 6-5. Luis Perez started the game for the DSL squad. Randy Ventura had two singles and stole two bases, bringing his total to an astounding 21 already. Luis Olmos and Carlos Centeno each had two singles. Anthony Concepcion had a single and a walk and stole his 7th base. Grendis Ferrer had a single and a walk as well. Raysheandall Michel added a triple.

Friday

Six runs between the 8th and 9th innings led the Braves to a win over the Brewers Friday. Filyer Sanchez started the game for the Braves. Randy Ventura was on base four times between two singles and two walks, and he added 2 more steals, bringing his season total to 23. Interestingly enough, he was caught stealing for only his 2nd time on the year. Raysheandall Michel had three singles and a steal on the year. Anthony Concepcion had two hits while Luis Alonso had a walk and a single. Alex Aquino had a stolen base.

Saturday

The DSL Cubs followed a solid pitching performance from their starter Jesus Tejada, defeating the Braves 5-1. Luis Mora started the game for the Braves. Randy Ventura had a single and a walk and stole his 24th base. Raysheandall Michel had two hits, including a triple, and he added his 5th steal of the year.

Sunday

The DSL Braves were off on Sunday

Leaders

BA: Randy Ventura .431
OBP: Randy Ventura .500
SLG: Raysheandall Michel .575
HR: Anthony Concepcion 2
SB: Randy Ventura 24

W: Alexander Sanchez and Ramon Taveras 2
SV: Jesus Jones, Ramon Taveras, and Jason Laguna 1
SO: Luis Mora 19
ERA: Carlos Lopez and Filyer Sanchez 0.00
WHIP: Filyer Sanchez 0.81

Next: Braves Take the Bucs to the Wood-shed