Atlanta Braves Minor League Ag Report, August 27

Oct. 14, 2014; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Houston Astros third baseman

(30) plays for the Salt River Rafters during an Arizona Fall League game against the Surprise Saguaros at Salt River Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta Braves Minor League Ag Report

Last week we highlighted the hitters of the DSL Braves team, coming into their last weekend of the season. This week, we’ll highlight the GCL Braves team for the same reason, and as we did last week, we’ll highlight the hitters:

The first guy I’ll highlight could be one of the biggest jumpers in the Braves system this year, Isranel Wilson. Wilson played center field for the GCL squad this year, but as of February, he was a 16 year-old shortstop from Saint Martin, a tiny island just northeast of Puerto Rico. The Braves didn’t assign Wilson to the Dominican League, and instead immediately moved him stateside, showing a ton of belief in his ability. Wilson has shown very good skills in center field, though he’s still very obviously raw. The stat line shows that raw ability, with a .230/.358/.504 line with 10 home runs and a 25/52 bb/k ratio over 135 at bats. Wilson batted leadoff for much of the last month of the season for the GCL team. Wilson has been compared to Preston Wilson, though the speed hasn’t translated to stolen bases yet. Wilson was 17 for the entire season this year, and I would be surprised if he doesn’t stay in short-season ball next year, but he might have earned the very rare move to advanced rookie Danville as an 18-year-old. He’s absolutely a guy who’s moved into the top 20 of Braves prospects, and he could draw plenty of national attention in the next year.

While Wilson will get a lot of attention over the offseason, a guy who has flown very under the radar until a recent explosion of power has caught the eye of a few Braves beat guys was catcher Jonathan Morales. Morales was drafted in the 25th round this summer from Miami Dade Community College (the same school where the Braves drafted catcher Victor Caratini, one of my former personal favorites, from in 2013). Morales didn’t have Caratini’s build or pedigree, but at 5’11, 180, he’s built like a true catcher. His 2015 season led to a .274/.353/.492 line with 7 home runs and a 13/14 bb/k ratio over 124 at bats. Morales was born in Puerto Rico, and he’s only 20. This could be an under-the-radar catcher for the future. Reports on his defensive abilities highlight a tremendous arm, as evidenced by his 43% caught-stealing rate this year, and good vertical movement up and down with pitches, especially in blocking, but he struggles some in his horizontal movement. If that defense continues to prove passable and his bat can keep up, Morales could be a huge late-round find for the Braves.

There are a number of other players to highlight who played for the GCL team, but many of them were bumped up to Danville for additional playing time in the last few weeks, so we’ll review them when it comes time to looking at Danville’s squad.

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

Next: Gwinnett Braves Report

Gwinnett Braves (70-61)

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Monday

Charlotte used a 3-run 3rd inning to defeat the Braves 3-2 on Monday. Jake Brigham got the start and went 5 innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and a walk, striking out 3. Sean Kazmar was the only Brave with multiple hits on the day, banging out a double and a single. Daniel Castro had a single and a walk.

Tuesday

The Braves couldn’t get the offense going on Tuesday, and Charlotte defeated Gwinnett 7-2. Ryan Weber showed his versatility as a swing man, starting the game and going 5 innings. He allowed 3 runs on 5 hits and striking out 3. Cedric Hunter had a double and a single. Eury Perez, Hector Olivera, Sean Kazmar, and Daniel Castro each had two singles.

Wednesday

Charlotte continued beating up on Gwinnett, taking the Wednesday game 3-1. Kanekoa Texeira went 5 1/3 innings, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks, striking out 3. David Carpenter pitched a perfect inning of relief with 3 strikeouts. Mallex Smith and Joey Terdoslavich had a single and a walk. Cedric Hunter had a double.

Weekend Matchups

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

Next: Mississippi Braves Report

Carolina Mudcats (66-62)

Monday

Carolina blanked Wilmington on Monday, 7-0. Yean Carlos Gil got the win, going 7 innings, allowing only 1 hit and striking out 6. Dustin Peterson had two doubles and two singles and drove in two runs. Jose Briceno had a home run and a single. Joey Meneses added a triple.

Tuesday

Carolina jumped out to a 6-0 lead after 4 innings, and held on to defeat Wilmington 7-4. Matt Bywater got the start and threw 5 2/3 innings, allowing 3 runs on 9 hits and a walk, striking out 3. Connor Lien had a great day with a double, two singles, and stole his 31st base. Keith Curcio had 3 singles and stole his 18th base. Dustin Peterson had a double and a single and drove in 3 runs. Tanner Krietemeier had a single and a double. Carlos Franco had two singles. Reed Harper had a single and a walk.

Wednesday

Carolina had their winning streak snapped, losing 5-0 to Wilmington on Wednesday. Blair Walters got the start, going 5 2/3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks, striking out 2. Jacob Schrader had a single and a double. Dustin Peterson had two singles. Connor Lien had a double.

Weekend Matchups

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

Next: Rome Braves Report

Rome Braves (51-71)

Monday

Rome had Monday off.

Tuesday

Lexington blanked Rome on Tuesday, 3-0. Sean Furney threw 6 innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits and 3 walks, striking out 3. Joseph Daris had two singles and stole his 22nd base. Wigberto Nevarez had a single and a walk.

Wednesday

Rome scored 6 runs in the top of the 9th inning to pull off the improbable win 13-9 over Lexington on Wednesday. Trevor Belicek got hit around in the start on the night, throwing 4 innings, allowing 4 runs on 8 hits and a walk. Rome pitching altogether allowed 4 home runs, a pretty rare occurrence. Luke Dukstra had 4 hits, including a double. Omar Obregon collected 4 singles and 2 stolen bases to bring his season total to 30. Stephen Gaylor had a single and two walks, adding in his 11th stolen base. Braxton Davidson had a solid game in surprising ways with 2 singles and a walk, but the surprising part being his first stolen base of the year and an excellent strike throw to second base for an outfield assist. Matt Tellor had a home run and a double. Ryan Gebhardt had a single and a walk. Tanner Murphy hit a home run and a single. Joseph Daris also had a double.

Weekend Matchups

Thursday: @ Lexington, 7:05pm ET
Friday: @ Lexington, 7:05pm ET
Saturday: vs. Greenville, 6pm ET
Sunday: vs. Greenville, 2pm ET

Next: Danville Braves Report

Danville Braves (30-32)

Monday

Danville scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning to defeat Johnson City 4-3. Daniel Cordero got the start for the Braves, throwing 5 innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits and striking out 3. Austin Riley had two singles and a walk. Ronald Acuna had a single and two walks. Ray-Patrick Didder and Juan Yepez each had a single and a walk. Trey Keegan added a double.

Tuesday

Danville jumped out to a 7-0 lead after 4 innings and held on to win 8-4 on Tuesday. Matt Withrow had a tremendous start, allowing 2 unearned runs over 4 2/3 innings on 2 hits, striking out 8. Austin Riley had two doubles and a single, driving in 3 runs. Jose Morel had a triple and two singles. Jeff Campbell had two singles and a walk. Ray-Patrick Didder had a single and a double. Ronald Acuna had two singles.

Wednesday

Burlington piled onto Alec Grosser and held on to defeat Danville 4-3. Ryan Clark got the start and went 4 innings, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits. Grosser, in his first appearance since being demoted to Danville, threw one inning, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on a hit and a walk, while striking out 2 hitters. Juan Yepez had a big day with 3 hits, including 2 doubles. Austin Riley added a double, and Justin Ellison stole his first base of the season.

Weekend Matchups

Thursday: vs. Bluefield, 7pm ET
Friday: vs. Bluefield, 7pm ET
Saturday: vs. Bluefield, 7pm ET
Sunday: @ Kingsport, 4pm ET

Next: GCL Braves Report

GCL Braves (25-32)

Monday

The Braves defeated the Yankees2 team 10-6 on Monday. Gilbert Suarez went 4 1/3 innings, allowing only a solo home run among 4 hits, striking out 5. Jonathan Morales had three hits, including 2 home runs. Isranel Wilson had a double, a walk, and a single. Alejandro Salazar had two singles and stole his 9th base of the year. Kelvin Estevez had a single and a double. Robert Nesovic had a single and a walk. Collin Yelich had two walks. Kevin Josephina added a stolen base.

Tuesday

Yankees2 defeated the Braves on Tuesday, 3-1. Jaret Hellinger had an excellent start, going 6 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and a walk, striking out 6. Jonathan Morales continued his powerful streak with two doubles. Isranel Wilson had a single and a walk.

Wednesday

The Braves defeated the Tigers in extra innings on Wednesday, 10-9 in 11 innings. Felix Falcon got the start and threw 3 innings, allowing 4 runs (1 earned) on 6 hits and 2 walks, striking out 2. Kelvin Estevez had four hits, including a home run. Jonathan Morales had another big day with a home run and a double along with 2 walks. Ruben Perez had two singles and a double. Angel Perez had two singles. Robert Nesovic had a single and a walk and stole his sixth base.

Weekend Matchups

Thursday: @ Tigers, 12pm ET
Friday: vs. Astros, 12pm ET
Saturday: @ Astros, 10am ET
Sunday: Season over!

Next: Adonis Garcia apologizes to Braves fans