Atlanta Braves Minor League Ag Report, August 13

Apr 13, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves grounds crew member Carlos Restrepo parks a tractor on the infield tarp during a rain delay prior to the game against the Miami Marlins at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta Braves Minor League Ag Report

We’re certainly in the midst of the dog days of August, as evidenced by the heat across the country. On the farm, we’re seeing that heat finish the corn and soybeans, drying out the plants so the ears and pods can be harvested.

As we head into the final stretch, we’ll start seeing playoffs soon. I’ll cover the playoff scenarios for each team in Monday’s recap.

Player spotlight

Not many guys are found in the 15th round of the draft. In fact, arguably the Braves most notable 15th round pick was in the news in the last week as Mike Hessman set the minor league career home run record this last week. Congratulations to Mike from all of us at Tomahawk Take!

In the 15th round of this June’s draft, the Braves drafted a lightly heralded high schooler from North Carolina named Bradley Keller. While he played catcher in high school, the Braves immediately moved him to the outfield, and he’s shown good proficiency in the outfield for a guy fairly raw at the position. He’s played all three outfield positions, and his speed and arm make any of the three outfield spots a possibility long-term.

However, I’m not highlighting Keller because of his defense. In 30 games for the GCL Braves, Keller has shown power and speed offensively. He’s currently sitting with a .319/.377/.468 slash line with 3 home runs and 7 stolen bases on the season. Keller does have a concerning 8/32 bb/k rate, but from what I can gather from those who’ve seen him, a lot of his offensive game is raw, but very, very talent-laden. He’ll likely not be pushed hard up the ladder until he develops more plate discipline so he can turn those tools into skills both on offense and defense.

Enjoy this week’s report!

Next: Gwinnett Braves Report

Gwinnett Braves (63-54)

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Monday

Gwinnett continued their recent surge with a big win over Charlotte on Monday, 12-3. Kanekoa Texeira picked up his 5th win of the season, throwing 5 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks, striking out 4. The Braves offense racked up 16 hits and 5 walks on the day, including 7 doubles as a team. Cedric Hunter was on base 4 times on the day with two singles and two walks. Todd Cunningham collected 3 hits, including a double. Christian Bethancourt continued his hot hitting with 2 doubles and a walk. Daniel Castro had a double, a single, and a walk. Luis Mateo had a double and a single. Eric Young, Jr. had two singles. Jordan Lennerton had a single and a walk. Sean Kazmar and Mallex Smith each had doubles.

Tuesday

Gwinnett tried to climb back in late, scoring two runs in the top of the 8th inning, but they fell short on a 3-2 loss to Charlotte on Tuesday. Tyrell Jenkins threw 6 innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5. The striking thing about Tuesday’s start for Jenkins was the two home runs he allowed, which put all 3 runs on the board. Jenkins has done a very good job of keeping the ball in the park this season, so to see that performance was notable. Hopefully it was a one-game anomaly. Sean Kazmar had 3 singles on the day. Christian Bethancourt had a single and a double. Cedric Hunter and Luis Mateo had two singles. Mallex Smith had his 20th steal for Gwinnett and his 43rd stolen base of the season.

Wednesday

The Braves offense ended the week strong with a big 11-1 victory over Charlotte. Greg Smith picked up his 6th win of the season, going 7 innings, allowing only a solo home run among 5 hits, striking out 3. The Braves offense had 17 hits and 6 walks. Cedric Hunter had 3 hits, including a double and a home run. Christian Bethancourt had 3 hits, including a double, and a walk, bringing his average with Gwinnett up to .329. Sean Kazmar and Daniel Castro each had 3 singles. Mallex Smith had a double, single, 2 walks, and 2 stolen bases. Eric Young, Jr. had a single, 2 walks, and a stolen base. Jordan Lennerton and Todd Cunningham each had a double. Luis Mateo stole a base.

Weekend Matchups

Thursday: @ Charlotte, 7:05pm ET
Friday, game 1: vs. Columbus, 5:35pm ET
Friday, game 2: @ Columbus, 7:15pm ET
Saturday: @ Columbus, 7:15pm ET
Sunday: @ Columbus, 6:05pm ET

Next: Mississippi Braves Report

Carolina Mudcats (59-56)

Monday

Carolina had Monday off.

Tuesday

Wilmington and Carolina took a 1-1 game all the way to the bottom of the 12th inning when Wilmington’s Jack Lopez singled in Humberto Arteaga for the game’s winning run as Carolina lost 2-1. Seth Webster got the start for the Mudcats, and he pitched well, going 7 innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits and a walk while striking out 4. Carlos Franco was on base 4 times on the day with a single and 3 walks. Keith Curcio, Connor Lien, and Jacob Schrader each had two singles. Joey Meneses had a single and a walk. The Mudcat offense left 12 men on base and went 1-7 with runners in scoring position in the loss.

Wednesday

Carolina got a shutout from their pitching staff on Tuesday to defeat Wilmington 4-0. Andrew Waszak picked up his 6th win with 7 shutout innings, allowing only 2 hits and 2 walks, striking out 5. Johan Camargo had a big day for the Mudcats with a triple and 2 singles. Connor Lien had a single and a walk and stole two bases to bring his season total to 30. Carlos Franco and Joseph Odom each had doubles.

Weekend Matchups

Thursday: @ Wilmington, 6:35pm ET
Friday: @ Frederick, 7pm ET
Saturday: @ Frederick, 6pm ET
Sunday: @ Frederick, 2pm ET

Next: Rome Braves Report

Rome Braves (47-67)

Monday

Rome had Monday off.

Tuesday

Savannah got an impressive pitching performance from Corey Oswalt as they shut out the Braves 3-0. Oswalt went 5 scoreless innings, allowing only 2 hits while striking out 6. Braves starter Oriel L. Caicedo had a solid start, going 5 innings, allowing 3 runs on 9 hits, striking out 4. The Braves offense only had two hits, and no Brave reached base multiple times. Heck, Tanner Murphy got one of the two hits and then was picked off of first base.

Wednesday

Rome scored first and last, but in between Savannah’s bats went crazy, leading to a 12-3 victory over Rome on Wednesday. Touki Toussaint completed 4 innings, allowing 5 runs (4 earned) on 4 hits and 2 walks with 2 strikeouts. Tanner Murphy had 3 hits, including a home run. Matt Tellor had three singles. Joseph Daris had a single and a double. Bryan De La Rosa had a single and a walk.

Weekend Matchups

Thursday: @ Savannah, 7:05pm ET
Friday: vs. Lexington, 7pm ET
Saturday, game 1: vs. Lexington, 5pm ET
Saturday, game 2: vs. Lexington
Sunday: vs. Lexington, 2pm ET

Next: Danville Braves Report

Danville Braves (23-25)

Monday

Danville made a huge come back in the bottom of the 9th inning, scoring 3 runs to send the game into extra innings. Then, Princeton watched Justin Ellison launch his first home run of the season in the bottom of the 11th to win the game for Danville, 5-3. The Braves offense had 11 hits and 4 walks. Ellison’s home run was the only extra base hit. Trey Keegan had three singles. Jose Morel had two singles and a walk. Ray-Patrick Didder had two singles. Austin Riley had two walks. Ryan Clark started for the Braves, throwing 4 2/3 innings, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits while striking out 5.

Tuesday

Danville and Princeton split a double-header on Tuesday. In the first game, Danville took the victory 5-3. Patrick Weigel started for the Braves, going 4 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and a walk, striking out 1. Matthew Custred got the win in relief, throwing 3 innings, allowing 1 unearned run on a hit and 2 walks, striking out 5. Austin Riley and Kurt Hoekstra each had a home run and a walk. Jose Morel had a double and a single. Justin Ellison had a double.

Princeton picked up a run in 4 consecutive innings to defeat the Braves 4-1 in the second game. Daniel Cordero went 4 1/3 innings, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 5 hits and a walk, striking out 3. Kurt Hoekstra had two singles and a pair of stolen bases.

Wednesday

Danville scored in the top of the 9th inning to pull out a win 5-4 over Princeton on Wednesday. Mike Soroka had a solid start, going 4 innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits, striking out 2. Jose Morel had 4 hits, including a double. Kurt Hoekstra had 3 hits, including his 2nd home run of the season. Austin Riley had two singles and a walk.

Weekend Matchups

Thursday: vs. Princeton, 7pm ET
Friday: vs. Pulaski, 7pm ET
Saturday: vs. Pulaski, 7pm ET
Sunday: vs. Pulaski, 4pm ET

Next: GCL Braves Report

GCL Braves (18-25)

Monday

The Braves and Yankees2 squad played a double-header on Monday, with the results exactly the same for each game, the Yankees2 team winning 3-2. In the first game, Kolby Allard made his first appearance for the Braves, and he threw one perfect inning, striking out three. You simply cannot do better than that! Alejandro Salazar was the only Braves hitter on base twice, and he stole two bases. Bradley Keller hit his third home run of the year in the 4th inning.

Gabino Avalos got the start for the Braves in the 2nd game. He had an excellent start, going 4 innings, allowing 1 unearned run on 4 hits and 5 walks, striking out 1. Ronald Acuna was the only Braves hitter on base twice with a single and a walk. Bradley Keller stole his sixth base.

Tuesday

The Braves defeated Yankees2 8-4 on Tuesday. Jhon Martinez got the start and threw 4 innings, allowing one unearned run on 3 hits, striking out 4. Kevin Josephina had four hits, including a triple. Jose Pina had a double, two singles, and two stolen bases. Bradley Keller had two singles and a stolen base. Alejandro Salazar had two walks. Jonathan Morales and Ruben Perez each had a single and a walk.

Wednesday

The Tigers defeated the Braves Wednesday night 11-5. Gilber Suarez started the game, going 4 2/3 innings, allowing 5 runs on 6 hits and a walk, striking out 3. Jose Pina had a single and a double. Bradley Keller had two singles. Ruben Perez, Kevin Josephina, and Alejandro Salazar each had a single and a walk. Isranel Wilson had two walks.

Weekend Matchups

Thursday: @ Tigers, 12pm ET
Friday: vs. Blue Jays, 12pm ET
Saturday: @ Blue Jays, 10am ET
Sunday: Off

Next: DSL Braves Report

DSL Braves (31-31)

Monday

The Braves made a huge effort in the 8th inning, scoring 5 runs late, but they couldn’t quite get the Cubs, losing 6-5. Jhonny Diaz got the start and threw 2 innings, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits, striking out 1. Danyer Salazar had a pinch-hit 3-run home run. Jeremy Fernandez, Luis Olmos, and Anthony Concepcion each had a single and a walk. Randy Ventura stole his 47th base.

Tuesday

The Cubs defeated the Braves on Tuesday 7-4. Frank Gil started for the Braves, allowing 3 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks, striking out 4. Filyer Sanchez threw two innings of relief, allowing an unearned run on 3 hits, striking out 3. Raysheandall Michel was the only Brave hitter to reach base twice with a single and a walk. Grendis Ferrer had a double and Alex Aquino had a triple. Luis Mejia and Danyer Salazar each had a stolen base. Randy Ventura stole two bases to reach 49 for the season.

Wednesday

Results from Wednesday’s game against Pirates1 were not available at press time.

Weekend Matchups

Thursday: @ Pirates1, 10:30am ET
Friday: @ Yankees2, 10:30am ET
Saturday: vs. Yankees2, 10:30am ET
Sunday: No game

Next: Swisher discusses his chop