Atlanta Braves Minor League Ag Report, July 30

Jun 3, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Atlanta Braves catcher Christian Bethancourt (27) asks for a replay against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the seventh inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta Braves Minor League Ag Report

Braves affiliates continue to climb up the rankings everywhere but Rome seemingly. Even Danville has gotten to .500 in recent weeks.

A big player spotlight in this ag report is a guy who likely won’t qualify for many prospect lists right now, and he probably has about the most negative vibe among top 10 preseason guys within the organization currently. That guy is Christian Bethancourt.

Bethancourt had a bit of an injury bug recently, and he played through it, which really hurt his stats, but after taking a few days off last week, he returned in the series versus Durham with a force, collecting 8 hits, including 5 doubles. The defense worried you at the MLB level? Watch the start he caught of Tyrell Jenkins. He was in perfect position on so many pitches and really worked well with Jenkins all game long.

This is the time of year when a lot of guys are moved around the league, and we’ll see tomorrow how the deadline turns out, but if the Braves, as expected, move A.J. Pierzynski in a trade, Bethancourt could be spending a lot of time in Atlanta to finish out the year. For those who are concerned heavily on Bethancourt’s offense, remember that Yadier Molina (a guy Bethancourt has a lot of similarity to both at the plate and behind it in raw skills) had a .238/.291/.342 in his first 1000+ plate appearances in the major leagues. The biggest thing for Bethancourt would be to get stable playing time if he’s in Atlanta, something manager Fredi Gonzalez wasn’t affording him this season for myriad reasons that make sense in the moment, but not for the long-term.

Next: Gwinnett Braves Report

Gwinnett Braves (53-51)

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Monday

Tyrell Jenkins threw easily his best start of the season on Monday as the Braves defeated the Durham Bulls 5-2. Jenkins went 8 scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5. Christian Bethancourt returned to the field with a force, hitting 3 doubles. Jose Peraza also had 3 hits, including a double and a triple. Cedric Hunter added his 6th steal on the season.

Tuesday

Gwinnett ran their winning streak to 5 with a win over Durham Tuesday, 9-3. Greg Smith got the start, but only went 4 scoreless innings, allowing 4 hits and striking out 3 in a bullpen led game. Todd Cunningham had a 4-hit game. Christian Bethancourt continued his explosion since his return, knocking out two more doubles in his 3 hits. Mallex Smith had two singles and two steals. Barrett Kleinknecht had two singles. Jose Peraza and Joey Terdoslavich each had a double, and Eric Young, Jr. added his 14th steal.

Wednesday

The Braves had their win streak snapped Wednesday against Durham, falling 5-3. Sugar Ray Marimon got the start, but lasted only 3 2/3 innings, giving up 4 runs on 7 hits and a walk while striking out 4. Ryan Weber once again showed his value in the bullpen as a swing man, coming in to throw 3 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing 3 hits and striking out 3. Christian Bethancourt continued his hot hitting with two singles on the day. Jose Yepez added a single and 2 walks. Todd Cunningham had a triple. In what may have been his last game as an Atlanta Braves prospect, Jose Peraza stole his 26th base.

Weekend Matchups

Thursday: Off
Friday: @ Durham, 7:05pm ET
Saturday: @ Durham, 6:35pm ET
Sunday: @ Durham, 5:05pm ET

Next: Mississippi Braves Report

Mississippi Braves (51-49)

Monday

Mississippi had Monday off.

Tuesday

The day off Monday showed well with the Mississippi bats on Tuesday, as they pounded Birmingham 12-3. Greg Ross got the start for Mississippi, and he went 7 innings, allowing 1 run on 6 hits and a walk while striking out 7. The big story was the offense, though, and especially KD Kang, who had three hits, including a mammoth home run and a double on the day. Levi Hyams added 3 hits of his own with a double and a walk. Sean Godfrey had 2 hits and a double. Rio Ruiz had 2 hits and a walk. David Rohm had two hits, including a double. Kevin Ahrens had two singles. Luis Mateo knocked in three runs on two hits, including a double. Matt Lipka had a single and a walk. Matt Kennelly was the only starter who did not reach base at least twice, but even he had a single.

Wednesday

Birmingham scored 3 in the 7th inning to defeat the M-Braves 3-2 on Wednesday. Victor Mateo had an excellent start, going 6 scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits and 3 walks while striking out 2. He brought his season ERA down to 2.68. David Rohm had a solid night at the plate for the Braves, collecting 3 hits, including a double. Rio Ruiz had a single and two walks. Matt Lipka added a triple, while KD Kang had a single and a walk.

Weekend Matchups

Thursday: @ Birmingham, 7:05pm CT
Friday: @ Birmingham, 7:05pm CT
Saturday: @ Birmingham 6:30pm CT
Sunday: vs. Montgomery 5pm CT

Next: Carolina Mudcats Report

Rome Braves (43-58)

Monday

Rome continued to struggle offensively on Monday, getting shut out by Asheville, 2-0. Sean Furney had a tremendous start, going 7 scoreless innings, allowing 6 hits and striking out 5. Stephen Gaylor had 3 hits, including a triple. Omar Obregon had a double. Gaylor and Obregon composed the entirety of the Braves hits on the day.

Tuesday

Asheville once again nipped Rome with a 3-2 win on Tuesday. Yean Carlos Gil went 6 2/3 innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4. The Rome offense collected 8 hits and 4 walks, but could only get two runners across the plate. Jordan Edgerton had two hits, including a double. Omar Obregon had a single and two walks. Bryan De La Rosa and Stephen Gaylor each had two singles.

Wednesday

Rome had Wednesday off.

Weekend Matchups

Thursday: vs. Augusta, 7:00pm ET
Friday: vs. Augusta, 7:00pm ET
Saturday: vs. Augusta, 6:00pm ET
Sunday: vs. Augusta, 2:00pm ET

Next: Danville Braves Report

Danville Braves (17-17)

Monday

Danville pulled off a win over the Burlington Royals on Monday, winning 6-5. Ryan Lawlor got the start, throwing 4 innings, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6. Kelvin Estevez had two hits, including a double. Dylan Manwaring also had two hits, including a double. Carlos Castro played first base and gathered two hits. The Braves seem to be working more and more to get Castro’s bat into the lineup.

Tuesday

Danville was rained out on Tuesday.

Wednesday

Danville used a 3-run 5th to defeat Burlington 4-2 and move to .500 on the season. Matt Withrow got the start and went 4 innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits and a walk. Ray-Patrick Didder had himself a ballgame, going 3-3 with a triple and a walk on the day. Jose Morel added a double, and Kelvin Estevez added a triple.

Weekend Matchups

Thursday: @ Burlington, 7pm ET
Friday: @ Bristol, 7pm ET
Saturday @ Bristol, 7pm ET
Sunday @ Bristol, 6pm ET

Next: GCL Braves Report

GCL Braves (13-18)

Monday

The GCL Braves defeated the Tigers on Monday, 8-4. Mike Soroka allowed his first runs of the season, going 3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits and a walk while striking out 5. Austin Riley took the spotlight for good and bad reasons both. He had a grand slam in the 2nd inning that broke the game open, but he also committed two errors to bring his season total to 7 in only 20 defensive games. Ronald Acuna had two hits and a walk, including a double. Ronny Guillermo had two singles and a steal. Justin Ellison and Juan Yepez each had two singles. Alejandro Salazar had a single and a walk.

Tuesday

The Braves were spanked by the Tigers on Tuesday, 9-1. Gabino Avalos started for the Braves, and he went 4 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and a walk while striking out 4. Austin Riley did launch his 6th home run of the season. Collin Yelich added two singles, but those two were the only Braves to collect hits in the whole game.

Wednesday

Rain shortened the Wednesday game after the Braves were clawing back into the game, but ended up losing 3-2 to the Blue Jays. Jhon Martinez went 4 2/3 innings, allowing 3 runs (all in the first inning) on 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4. Austin Riley continued his hot hitting with two singles on the day. Robert Nesovic stole his first base of the season.

Weekend Matchups

Thursday: vs. Blue Jays, 12pm ET
Friday, game 1: @ Yankees1, 11am ET
Friday, game 2: @ Yankees1, TBD
Saturday: @ Yankees1, 10am ET
Sunday: Off

Next: DSL Braves Report

DSL Braves (23-28)

Monday

The Braves took down the Mets2 team on Monday, 6-2. Luis Mora got the start and threw 2 2/3 innings, allowing 1 run on 2 hits and 2 walks, striking out 4. Sander Boeldak had a big day, collecting 2 hits and two walks, including a triple and 4 RBI. Jeremy Fernandez had two hits and a walk. Randy Ventura had two walks. Luis Alonso added a double.

Tuesday

The Braves were on the wrong side of a pitcher’s duel on Tuesday, losing to the Mets2 squad 2-1. Gabriel Henry got the start and went 3 innings, allowing 1 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks, striking out 1. Randy Ventura and Jeremy Fernandez each had two singles. Luis Mejia added a double.

Wednesday

The Braves took until 10 innings, but they defeated the Red Sox2 3-1 on Wednesday. Jhonny Diaz got the start, and he threw 3 scoreless innings, allowing 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 4. Jason Laguna followed and also went 3 scoreless innings, allowing 1 hit and 1 walk, striking out 3. Sander Boeldak and Alex Aquino each had 3 singles on the day. William Contreras had two singles. Luis Olmos had two walks. Randy Ventura stole two bases to bring his season total to 41.

Weekend Matchups

Thursday: vs. Red Sox2, 10:30am ET
Friday: vs. Rangers2, 10:30am ET
Saturday: @ Rangers2, 10:30am ET
Sunday: No game

Next: Blockbuster Pending