Atlanta Braves Minor League Monday

Feb 23, 2015; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves pitcher Tyrell Jenkins stretches during spring training workouts at Champion Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta Braves Minor League Monday

This was a rough week for the top-level club as the Gwinnett club had to struggle to fill out the rotation as Manny Banuelos was called up. The Braves then wasted their best start of the weekend from Mike Foltynewicz due to poor defense giving up 4 unearned runs.

There were a few highlights from the weekend, but another reason to keep track of DSL Braves outfielder Randy Ventura. He took over the Braves organizational lead in stolen bases this weekend when he stole his 29th base of the year. To put that in perspective, Eury Perez stole 28 in 60 games for Gwinnett before his promotion to Atlanta. Ventura stole his 29th base in his 22nd game of the year. Heck, he hasn’t even topped 100 plate appearances yet on the season.

It was great to see Andrew Thurman return to the hill, becoming the last of the victims of the Carolina Mudcats bus crash to return. Hopefully, he can get back to Carolina soon after his rehab and build on the great season he was having before the accident. Lucas Sims continues to struggle since his return, Max Povse is struggling since his promotion to Carolina, and Jason Hursh has now had three poor starts in a row again after seemingly getting his season on track before these last few starts.

Last, as a bit of an announcement, the Tomahawk Take team of writers are putting together a review of our preseason top 20 prospect list that should keep you entertained during the All-Star break. Keep your eyes open for this in a week or so!

Next: Gwinnett Braves Report

Gwinnett Braves (42-41)

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Thursday

Gwinnett won a sloppy game over Charlotte on Thursday 7-4. Kanekoa Texeira started the game and went 5 innings, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 7 hits and 1 walk with 4 strikeouts. There were three errors charged in this game between the two teams, but that was due to a generous Charlotte scorer as there were at least 2-3 more that could have been charged on the day. Mallex Smith had a solid day with 3 hits, including a double. Eric Young, Jr. had two hits, including one of three triples on the day for the G-Braves. Cedric Hunter and Sean Kazmar also had triples. Jose Peraza stole his 21st base on the season, and Daniel Castro had his first steal at AAA.

Friday

Gwinnett split a double-header on Friday against Charlotte. Gwinnett won the opener 11-4. Greg Smith got the start and went 5 innings, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits while striking out 2. Mycal Jones and Adonis Garcia each had three hits, including 2 doubles apiece. Jose Peraza had the big hits of the game, driving in 4 runs on his 3rd home run and a double. Mallex Smith and Eric Young, Jr. each had two hits and a double. Christian Bethancourt had two hits. Cedric Hunter had his 4th home run as well.

Charlotte followed an excellent start from former MLB All-Star Brad Penny to defeat Gwinnett in the second game 11-2. Jorge Reyes got his first start for Gwinnett, throwing 5 innings, but allowing 8 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3. Reyes also allowed 3 home runs. Mallex Smith provided the best performance of the day at the plate with two hits, including a triple.

Saturday

Poor defense really bit Gwinnett on Saturday as the Braves fell to Charlotte 5-1. Mike Foltynewicz got the start and went 6 innings, allowing 5 runs (only one earned) on 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out 8. Jose Peraza was the only Gwinnett hitter on base twice with two singles and a stolen base on the day. Daniel Castro had a double, and Christian Bethancourt added his 4th steal since his demotion from the big league club.

Sunday

Brandon Barker got his first start in AAA after 8 in Rome and 7 in Carolina, but his first start at home in Gwinnett did not go well as Charlotte defeated the Braves 5-4. Barker went 4 1/3 innings, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks, but he did strike out 7 batters. The Braves offense was led by Sean Kazmar, who had two hits, including his first home run of the year. Jose Peraza had 2 singles, but he also committed his 11th error of the season with an errant throw from second base. Cedric Hunter hit his 5th home run in the 9th inning as the Braves made an effort to come back in the bottom of the 9th, but fell one run short.

Leaders

BA: Christian Bethancourt .328
OBP: Mycal Jones .368
SLG: Mycal Jones .460
HR: Cedric Hunter 5
SB: Jose Peraza 22

W: Aaron Kurcz 4
SV: Aaron Kurcz 7
SO: Mike Foltynewicz 54
ERA: David Carpenter 0.73
WHIP: Ryan Weber 0.94

Next: Mississippi Braves Report

Mississippi Braves (38-40)

Thursday

Biloxi used a 3-run 3rd inning to push past Mississippi 4-1 on Thursday. Victor Mateo started for the M-Braves, throwing 4 innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks while striking out 2. Mississippi did not have a single batter reach base twice, but KD Kang and Levi Hyams did have extra base hits with doubles. Sean Godfrey stole his first base since his promotion to Mississippi and threw out a runner at home.

Friday

Mississippi scored two in the top of the 9th to defeat Biloxi 4-3. The big story here was the first start of Steve Janas at AA after his promotion from Carolina. Janas threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing only 3 hits while striking out 3. The secondary headline was the first home run of third baseman Rio Ruiz to take the lead in the 9th inning as he came off the bench to pinch hit. Braves fans have been waiting for Ruiz’s power to manafest, and his solid June leading into a positive power July would be excellent. Kevin Ahrens had a home run and a double. Emerson Landoni had two singles. Eric Garcia added a double and two walks. Janas even added two walks at the plate on the day.

Saturday

Tyler Jenkins broke out of a personal slump to lead Mississippi to a 4-2 win over Jackson on Saturday. He threw 7 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits, striking out 4. The biggest part of this start for Jenkins was the 0 walks allowed in the game, something that’s plagued Jenkins throughout the season. The Braves pushed across 4 runs in spite of only 7 base runners, and only catcher Steve Rodriguez was on base twice with two hits, including a double.

Sunday

Jackson scored 3 runs in the first against Jason Hursh, and they kept piling on throughout the game, beating Mississippi soundly 9-2. Hursh went 3 innings, allowing 6 runs (4 earned) on 8 hits and a walk while striking out 2. He even gave up a home run to Jordy Lara, only his second home run allowed all season. Hursh was also his own worst enemy, committing 2 errors. Rio Ruiz led the M-Braves offensive attack with 2 hits, including a double. Levi Hyams had two singles, a walk, and a stolen base. David Rohm had a double and a walk on the day, and Sean Godfrey added a double.

Leaders

BA: Matt Lipka .277
OBP: Levi Hyams .348
SLG: Matt Lipka .345
HR: Seth Loman 4
SB: Matt Lipka 11

W: Tyrell Jenkins 5
SV: Tyler Jones 9
SO: Tyrell Jenkins 59
ERA: David Peterson 0.00
WHIP: Ryne Harper 0.95

Next: Carolina Mudcats Report

Carolina Mudcats (39-41)

Thursday

The Mudcats started off the weekend strong with a win 3-1 over Winston-Salem. Andrew Waszak had one of his best starts, going 6 2/3 innings, allowing 1 run (unearned) on 1 hit and 2 walks while striking out 6. Joey Meneses was on base three times on the day with a triple, a double, and a walk. Keith Curcio had a single and a walk on the day, and he stole his 8th base since moving up to Carolina.

Friday

The Mudcats finally pushed a run across in the bottom of the 9th, but it wasn’t enough as they fell to Winston-Salem 2-1. Seth Webster had a strong start, going 8 innings, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits while striking out 5. Carlos Franco had a double and a walk. Keith Curcio, Connor Lien, and Dustin Peterson each had a single and a walk on the day.

Saturday

Carolina ran into a buzzsaw on Saturday as Myrtle Beach scored 7 in the first and continued piling on, winning the game 16-4. Max Povse struggled in his start, only going 1/3 of an inning, allowing 6 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks. Joey Meneses had 3 hits on the day. Jose Briceno added two hits, including a double. Keith Curcio had a triple, and Connor Lien stole his 15th base.

Sunday

Mother Nature applied the mercy rule on Sunday, raining out the Mudcats as they were down 12-0 with Myrtle Beach threatening to add even further to the lead. Lucas Sims returned to Carolina, but it wasn’t pretty as he allowed 6 runs in 3 innings on 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out only 1. Myrtle Beach’s Daury Torrez dominated the Mudcats, allowing only three hits on the day and striking out 6.

Leaders

BA: Johan Camargo .293
OBP: Johan Camargo .356
SLG: Jacob Schrader .485
HR: Jacob Schrader 8
SB: Connor Lien 15

W: Andrew Waszak 5
SV: Andy Otero 3
SO: Blair Walters 41
ERA: Kyle Kinman 0.00
WHIP: Kyle Kinman 1.00

Next: Rome Braves Report

Danville Braves (4-7)

Thursday

Princeton Rays had 3 runs in the 2nd to defeat Danville 3-1. In his last start as a Brave, Garrett Fulenchek allowed 3 runs in 1 2/3 innings on 3 hits and 4 walks while striking out 1. Kurt Hoekstra had two hits and a walk. Alejandro Flores also had two hits and a walk. Carlos Castro added his first double of the season.

Friday

Danville had another solid pitching performance from their staff, but the offense couldn’t push across enough runs as Princeton won 2-1 Friday. 2015 7th round selection Patrick Weigel started the game and went 4 scoreless innings, allowing 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3. Luke Dykstra had the best day of any Brave at the plate, picking up two hits, including a double.

Saturday

The Braves were rained out on Saturday.

Sunday

Danville’s Sunday game with Pulaski was suspended in the top of the 3rd inning with the Braves ahead 3-0. The game will be completed on Monday.

Leaders

BA: Carlos Castro .321
OBP: Yeudi Grullon .400
SLG: Luke Dykstra .417
HR: Kelvin Estevez 1
SB: Leudys Baez 2

W: Four with 1
SV: Three with 1
SO: Evan Phillips 8
ERA: 7 with 0.00
WHIP: Matthew Custred 0.00

Next: GCL Braves Report

GCL Braves (3-9)

Thursday

Despite 8 hits, the GCL Braves were unable to push a run across and fell to the Phillies 4-0. Andrew Thurman threw a rehab start and looked solid, going 2 scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits and striking out 3 as he works his way back from injuries sustained in the Carolina bus crash. Former Brave Charlie Leibrandt‘s son, Brandon Leibrandt, started for the Phillies and had a very solid start. 41st overall pick in the recent draft, Austin Riley, started at 3B for the Braves and had 3 hits, including 2 doubles. Collin Yellich had a single and a walk, and Ronald Acuna added a double. Justin Ellison had his third stolen base of the year.

Friday

The Braves were shut out Friday by the Pirates 2-0. Luis Gamez started the game and went 4 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6. No Brave was on base multiple times, but Austin Riley did have a double and Ruben Perez added a stolen base.

Saturday

The Braves fell to the Pirates 9-3 on Saturday. Dilmer Mejia started for the Braves and went 4 innings, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits while striking out 3. Collin Yelich had 2 singles and a walk.

Sunday

The GCL Braves were off on Sunday.

Leaders

BA: Collin Yelich .313
OBP: Collin Yelich .450
SLG: Ronald Acuna .429
HR: Three with 1
SB: Ronald Acuna 4

W: Three with 1
SV: None
SO: Dilmer Mejia and Luis Gamez 9
ERA: Five with 0.00
WHIP: Wes Parsons 0.50

Next: DSL Braves Report

DSL Braves (12-19)

Thursday

The Braves made a valiant come back after being down 7-0 after 3 innings, but still fell to the Yankees2 team 10-9. Jesus Heredia started for the Braves and took most of the damage, allowing 6 runs in 2 innings on 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out 2. William Contreras and Luis Mejia each had three singles, and Mejia added a walk on the day as well. Randy Ventura had two hits, including a triple, and a walk. Raysheandall Michel had two hits and 2 steals to bring his season total to 7. Terrence Josephina and Ildion Martina each had a single and a walk while Felipe Zorrilla stole his 8th base of the season.

Friday

The game went 11 innings, and 4 runs were scored in the 11th, but the Braves fell to the Yankees2 club 11-9. Javier Sanchez started the game and went 3 scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 1. Anthony Concepcion had four hits on the day, including two doubles. Alex Aquino drove in 3 runs on two singles. Randy Ventura had a single and two walks and stole two bases to bring his season total to 28. Luis Mejia had two walks and stole his 3rd base of the year. William Contreras had two hits, and Grendis Ferrer added a double.

Saturday

The Braves hosted the Mets2 squad on Saturday and came away with a loss, losing 8-7. Starter Gabriel Henry struggled, allowing 5 runs in 1 2/3 innings on 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 1. Randy Ventura was on base three times with a single and two walks. Ventura stole his 29th base of the summer, taking over the Atlanta Braves minor league lead while playing only half of the games that the previous leader, Eury Perez, had played to reach 28. Danyer Salazar and Alex Aquino each had two singles. William Contreras and Sander Boeldak each had a single and a walk, and Anthony Concepcion had a double and a stolen base on the day.

Sunday

The DSL Braves were off on Sunday.

Leaders

BA: Randy Ventura .405
OBP: Yander Martinez .500
SLG: Yander Martinez .538
HR: Anthony Concepcion 2
SB: Randy Ventura 29

W: Three with 2
SV: Three with 1
SO: Luis Mora 20
ERA: Deyvis Julian 0.95
WHIP: Carlos Lopez 1.00

Next: Braves Take the Bucs to the Wood-shed