Atlanta Braves Minor League Review: Rome Braves
Atlanta Braves Minor League Review: Rome Braves
While plenty of hitters had tremendous seasons, the Rome pitching staff had a few standouts as well:
Caleb Beech was a 13th round selection in 2014 out of Shelton State Community College. His 2015 line is quite impressive: 5-2, 2.87 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 62 2/3 IP in 11 appearances (10 starts), 43/17 K/BB. Beech was a reliever in college, but the Braves moved him to the rotation in 2015, and the results could not have been much better. He made his last start on June 19th due to an injury, so he’ll likely return to Rome, but continued performance like 2015 will have him in Carolina quickly.
Trevor Belicek was a 16th round selection in June’s draft out of Texas A&M/Corpus Christi. The 22 year-old lefty was sent to Danville to start, and he pitched very well, earning a promotion to Rome. His peripheral stats say he was on the lucky side, but the end of season line was certainly eye-catching: 5-0, 2.53 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 57 IP over 14 appearances (9 starts), 41/12 K/BB ratio. Belicek doesn’t have major velocity, topping out around 90 MPH in the starts I saw, and his breaking pitches aren’t “plus” pitches, but he locates everything well, and if he can do that and work to tick up some of his off speed stuff to plus offerings, he could be a steal of the draft. Most likely, he’ll start 2015 in Rome’s rotation, but a repeat performance of 2015 could get him bumped up quickly.
Evan Phillips was the 17th round selection in June from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He’s a reliever by trade, and his first showing in Danville was nothing short of dominant. He struggled some with Rome, but his season numbers looked solid: 2.73 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 29 2/3 innings over 18 appearances, 37/12 K/BB ratio. Phillips had good peripherals in Rome, but seemed to have some bad luck. He may start back at Rome again in 2016, but he could advance quickly if he shows as well as he did in 2015.
Zach Quintana was the return in the trade of Kyle Wren to the Brewers over the offseason. He pitched very well as a swingman all summer for Rome, throwing 113 2/3 innings over 32 appearances (17 starts). He posted a 3.25 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, and a 68/36 K/BB ratio. Quintana’s stuff is heavy and hangs low in the zone, so he’s struggled with results due to the mediocre defense of A-level baseball. He may not be a tremendous starter down the road, but he could find a niche as a ground ball specialist in the bullpen or a rubber-armed swing guy at the back of a bullpen.
We’ll look at the Carolina hitters on Thursday!