Atlanta Braves Minor League Ag Report, August 20th

Atlanta Braves Minor League Ag Report

This weekend marks the first “end of season” as part of the twice weekly reports. The Braves of the Dominican Summer League end their season after Sunday’s game. While the team will likely finish within a few games of .500, this has been a very successful season for many players, especially Randy Ventura, William Contreras, and Anthony Concepcion.

Ventura was a 2015 international signing from Manny Mota, Jr.’s baseball camp, one of those later signings that had the Braves making some trades to pick up additional international slot money. He’s done nothing short of impress, showing surprising power in his slight 5’9, 165-pound frame, but the big story in Ventura’s game wasn’t his switch hitting or even that he walked more than he struck out. It was that he stole a Braves system-leading 52 bases in only 56 games. To put that into perspective, Mallex Smith has a chance to pass Ventura by the end of the season as he sits with 48 steals this year and plenty of time left in the year. The big difference is that Smith has stolen his 48 bases in 107 games, nearly twice the amount Ventura played. It will be fun to see how hard the Braves push the young outfielder to the U.S. and up the minor league ladder.

Anthony Concepcion is what you could call an “old” signee for the international ranks, signing this offseason at 19 years old (he turned 20 before the season began) from Venezuela, typically a well-scouted country. Listed as a catcher at his signing, Concepcion played exactly 0 innings at catcher this year, spending his time nearly evenly between first base and left field. Though his .298/.405/.433 line doesn’t suggest it, Concepcion showed the kind of power to suggest he could continue forward as a corner infielder or corner outfielder, leading the DSL team with 5 home runs. Due to his age, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him pushed to GCL or even Danville in 2016.

William Contreras was also signed as a catcher this offseason, a 17 year-old from Venezuela. He put up a respectable .305/.364/.389 line with a 15/21 bb/k rate, but the real story of this young man was his glove. Outsiders may see 6 errors, 9 passed balls, and a sub-30% caught stealing rate and think the Braves may be forcing the issue with Contreras behind the plate. However, what is tough to know without some scouting (and I only have one person I’ve networked that had eyes on the club, so this is limited eye-on opinion, but I respect it) is that Contreras is extremely raw as a catcher, having caught just in the last year before signing. That said, he had 2 double plays this season and from all accounts, his lateral movement to the ball behind the plate was incredible. He has a very good catcher’s build at 6′ and 180 pounds, so it will be interesting to see how the Braves develop him, whether they’ll have him play another season to work on his receiving skills in the DSL or have him move stateside.

We’ll review some of the DSL Braves pitching standouts on Monday.

Pull up a bale of hay, and enjoy this week’s report!

Next: Gwinnett Braves Report

Gwinnett Braves (66-58)

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Monday

In the top of the 10th inning, Gwinnett scored 2 runs to take the win over Toledo 8-6. Greg Smith went 5 innings to start for the Braves, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits and a walk, striking out 5. Freddie Freeman worked his rehab with a double, single, and 2 walks. Mallex Smith had two triples and a single. Christian Bethancourt had two doubles and a walk. Eric Young, Jr. had two walks and stole two bases. Todd Cunningham had two singles and a walk. Cedric Hunter had two singles.

Tuesday

Gwinnett ran into a rough start from normally reliable Victor Mateo and lost 8-1 on Tuesday. Mateo only completed 2/3 of an inning, allowing 6 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks. Mallex Smith had two singles and a walk. Daniel Castro had a double and a walk. Jordan Lennerton had a single and a walk.

Wednesday

Gwinnett was off on Wednesday.

Weekend Matchups

Thursday: vs. Louisville, 6:35pm ET
Friday: vs. Louisville, 7:05pm ET
Saturday: vs. Louisville, 7:05pm ET
Sunday: vs. Louisville, 2:05pm ET

Next: Mississippi Braves Report

Mississippi Braves (61-58)

Monday

Mississippi had Monday off.

Tuesday

Mississippi won a huge pitcher’s duel over Birmingham on Tuesday, 1-0. It was huge not just for the victory itself, but for the performance of Lucas Sims. While he once again walked too many people, Sims sparkled with 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing only 1 hit and walking 4 while striking out 5. The Braves were really slap hitting on Tuesday, picking up 8 hits, none of which went for extra bases. Matt Kennelly, Emerson Landoni, and Levi Hyams each had two singles, and Hyams added a stolen base.

Wednesday

Armed with a 4-1 lead entering the 7th inning, Mississippi thought they likely had the game locked up, but no such luck as Birmingham scored 4 between the 7th and the 8th to win 5-4. Jon Gant got the start and continued his fine pitching, throwing 5 2/3 innings, allowing 1 unearned run on 3 hits and 2 walks, striking out 6. Matt Kennelly had two walks and a single. Rio Ruiz had two singles. Steve Rodriguez had a single and a double and drove in 4 runs on the day. Sean Godfrey had a double.

Weekend Matchups

Thursday: vs. Birmingham, 7pm CT
Friday: vs. Birmingham, 7pm CT
Saturday: vs. Birmingham 6pm CT
Sunday: @ Pensacola 4:05pm CT

Next: Carolina Mudcats Report

Rome Braves (51-71)

Monday

Rome was shut out on Monday 3-0 by Charleston. Touki Toussaint got the start and had an excellent start, throwing 6 innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits and 2 walks, striking out 5. The Braves had only 2 hits and 2 walks, with no hitter getting on base twice. One note on this game – Braxton Davidson from right field had an assist on second base with a HUGE throw on a play that kept a rally from getting out of hand in the 7th inning. Davidson threw a perfect one-hop strike to the plate on a bases-loaded single, and catcher Tanner Murphy whipped the ball back to first to end the inning with no further damage.

Tuesday

Rome was rained out on Tuesday in Charleston.

Wednesday

Rome dropped a twin bill on Wednesday to Charleston. In the first game, they lost 1-0. Sean Furney went the distance for the Braves, allowing 1 run over 6 innings on 5 hits and 2 walks, striking out 1. Luke Dykstra was the only Rome hitter on base twice with a single and a walk.

Charleston won 5-1 over Rome in the second game. Alec Grosser started the bullpen-led game and had a rough go of it, allowing 3 runs over 2 innings on 2 hits and a walk, striking out 2. Stephen Gaylor had two singles as the only Rome hitter on base twice against a dominant start from Charleston hurler Matt Wotherspoon.

Weekend Matchups

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

Next: Danville Braves Report

Danville Braves (26-29)

Monday

Danville was shut out on Monday 6-0 in Mike Soroka‘s first real struggle of the season. Soroka went 4 innings, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits and 5 strikeouts. One positive was the lack of walks on the day for Soroka in spite of his troubles. Juan Yepez was really the only bat who produced on Monday for the Braves with a double, a single, and a walk. Ray-Patrick Didder had a walk and a single.

Tuesday

The Elizabethton Twins were rude hosts on Tuesday, defeating Danville 6-2. Ian Stiffler got the start, but he only went 1 2/3 innings, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks, striking out only 1. The Braves struck out 12 times on the day and only got on base 6 times throughout their lineup. Jose Morel had a double on the day as no Brave reached base twice.

Wednesday

Danville had Wednesday off.

Weekend Matchups

Thursday: vs. Greeneville, 7pm ET
Friday: vs. Greeneville, 7pm ET
Saturday: vs. Greeneville, 7pm ET
Sunday: vs. Johnson City, 4pm ET

Next: GCL Braves Report

GCL Braves (22-29)

Monday

The Braves swept a pair with Yankees1 on Monday. The opener was a win for the Braves 5-1. Gabino Avalos started the game and went 5 innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits and 4 walks, striking out 2. Jonathan Morales had a big day with a home run, double, and driving in 2. Isranel Wilson added a home run as well.

In the second game the Yankees1 squad fell to the Braves 4-2. Alan Rangel got the start and threw 3 innings, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 2 hits and a walk, striking out one. Elias Arias was the only Brave hitter to get on base twice, collecting a single and a walk. Collin Yelich and Isranel Wilson each had a double.

Tuesday

The Braves played another twin bill on Tuesday, and after the Monday sweep, the Yankees1 team returned the favor and swept the Braves. In the first game, the Yankees1 team got a run in the bottom of the 8th to walk off with a 4-3 victory. Gilbert Suarez started for the Braves and went 4 2/3 innings, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits and a walk, striking out 4. Collin Yelich and Jonathan Morales each had a single and a walk as the only two Braves to get on base twice.

In the second game, the Yankees1 team scored 2 runs in their final at bat in the 7th to push the game to an extra inning, where they scored again in the bottom of the 8th to walk off with a 3-2 win. Odalvi Javier threw 3 scoreless innings for the Braves, allowing 5 hits and a walk. Angel Perez was the only Brave on base twice, with a single and a walk. Ronny Guillermo had a stolen base.

Wednesday

The Braves scored 3 in the first inning against the Phillies on Wednesday and held on for a 3-2 victory. Jaret Hellinger got the start and went 5 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks, striking out 1. Isranel Wilson and Alejandro Salazar had two singles. Jonathan Morales had a single and a walk.

Weekend Matchups

Thursday: @ Phillies, 12pm ET
Friday: @ Astros, 12pm ET
Saturday: vs. Astros, 10am ET
Sunday: Off

Next: DSL Braves Report

DSL Braves (34-35)

Monday

The Mets2 squad picked up 4 runs in the top of the 9th inning to break a 1-1 tie and defeat the Braves 5-1 on Monday. Javier Sanchez got the start and threw 4 scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits and striking out 1. Anthony Concepcion had two walks to be the only Brave who was on base twice. Randy Ventura and Luis Mejia each had a stolen base.

Tuesday

The Mets2 squad came out strong and defeated the Braves on Tuesday 6-1. Luis Mora started for the Braves and threw 4 innings, allowing 3 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits and 3 walks, striking out 2. Luis Mejia had 3 singles.

Wednesday

The Red Sox2 team came back on the Braves, scoring 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th to win 5-3 on Wednesday. Braves starter Gabriel Henry and the first reliever into the game, Bredio Vega, had excellent performances. Henry went 4 innings, allowing 1 run on 2 hits and 2 walks, striking out 2. Vega was brilliant, throwing 3 innings of relief, allowing only a single hit and striking out 3. Anthony Concepcion had a triple and a single. Jeremy Fernandez had a double, a walk, and a stolen base. Randy Ventura had two singles.

Weekend Matchups

Thursday: vs. Red Sox2, 10:30am ET
Friday: vs. Rangers2, 10:30am ET
Saturday: @ Rangers2, 10:30am ET
Sunday: Season Complete!

Next: Alex Gordon = Ideal Brave?