Atlanta Braves Minor League Midweek Wrap Up, April 14
Atlanta Braves Minor League Midweek Wrap Up
Baseball. You have to love it. Two of the most loaded teams in recent Braves minor league history, Mississippi and Rome, go 0-6 combined on the week, and Carolina and Gwinnett, neither of which are bad teams by any means, but certainly not to that level have a combined record of 9-5. Go figure!
Transactions (since opening day last Thursday):
4/7 Braeden Schlehuber placed on minor league DL
4/7 Kanekoa Texeira placed on minor league DL
4/7 Rob Wooten placed on minor league DL
4/7 Matt Kennelly placed on minor league DL
4/7 Dian Toscano placed on minor league DL
4/7 Victor Mateo placed on minor league DL
4/7 Steve Kent placed on minor league DL
4/7 Britt Robertshaw placed on minor league DL
4/7 Sal Giardina placed on minor league DL
4/7 Tyler Brosius placed on minor league DL
4/7 Chris Diaz placed on minor league DL
4/7 Leudys Baez placed on minor league DL
4/7 Brady Feigl assigned to Gwinnett from extended spring
4/7 Luis Valenzuela assigned to Carolina from extended spring
4/7 AJ Minter assigned to Rome from extended spring
4/7 Kurt Hoekstra assigned to Rome from extended spring
4/7 Josh Graham assigned to Rome from extended spring
4/9 Connor Lien placed on minor league DL
4/9 Sean Godfrey promoted from Carolina to Mississippi
4/9 Stephen Gaylor promoted from Rome to Carolina
4/9 Bradley Keller assigned to Rome from extended spring
4/10 John Gant optioned from Atlanta to Gwinnett
4/10 Chris Withrow called up from Gwinnett to Atlanta
4/10 Chad Sobotka placed on minor league DL
4/10 Oriel Caicedo assigned to Rome from extended spring
4/11 Mallex Smith called up from Gwinnett to Atlanta
4/11 Emilio Bonifacio signed to Gwinnett
4/11 Hunter Cervenka called up from Mississippi to Atlanta
4/11 Joel De La Cruz called up from Gwinnett to Atlanta
4/12 Trevor Belicek promoted from Rome to Mississippi
4/12 Joel De La Cruz optioned from Atlanta to Gwinnett
4/12 Jhoulys Chacin called up from Gwinnett to Atlanta
4/13 Daniel Castro called up from Gwinnett to Atlanta
Next: Gwinnett Braves
AAA Gwinnett Braves (5-2)
Monday
Gwinnett came back from being down 4-0 early in the game to tie the game and take it to extras, and in the 11th inning, they got a big home run to take the lead, but the bullpen handed the game right back in the bottom of the 11th as the team lost 6-5. Casey Kelly wasn’t sharp on the day, going 5 innings, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks, striking out 5. Ryan Weber came in and pitched an amazing relief appearance, going 4 innings, and allowing nothing but two hits. Matt Tuiasosopo had a big day with 3 extra base hits, one double and two home runs, including that 11th inning home run. Rio Ruiz reached base 3 times on two singles and a walk. Chase d’Arnaud had a single and a double. Tyler Moore, Ryan Lavarnway, and Brandon Snyder each had 2 singles.
Tuesday
The Braves tried to hand the game back again on Tuesday, blowing a 2-run lead in the bottom of the 9th inning to send the game into extra innings, but this time when they scored a run in the 10th, the bullpen shut the door in the bottom of the inning for the win. John Gant got the start, and he was getting stretched back out after working in the bullpen most of the spring and the first week of the season in the majors. He went 3 2/3 innings and allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks, striking out 5. The offense did an excellent job of working up the pitch count on elite prospect Blake Snell of Durham, causing him to have to leave the game after 4 2/3 innings, and they feasted on the bullpen. Daniel Castro reached base three times with a single, double, and walk. Tyler Moore had two doubles. Reid Brignac and Ronnier Mustelier each had two singles, and Mustelier added a stolen base. Emilio Bonifacio had a double, a walk, and a stolen base. Brandon Snyder had a single and a walk. Chase d’Arnaud added a double.
Wednesday
Gwinnett grabbed the lead early and held it through, winning the game over Durham 6-2 today behind a dominating performance from Mike Foltynewicz. Folty went 6 scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits and a walk, striking out 7. Rio Ruiz had a double, a single, and a walk. Brandon Snyder had three hits. Reid Brignac had two singles, a walk, and two steals. Emilio Bonifacio had two singles and a stolen base. Sean Kazmar had a first inning home run.
Weekend Probables
Thursday, 7:05PM ET: Aaron Blair vs. Norfolk
Friday, 7:05PM ET: Tyrell Jenkins vs. Norfolk
Saturday, 7:05PM ET: TBD vs. Norfolk
Sunday, 2:05PM ET: TBD vs. Norfolk
Video Highlights
None posted
Next: Mississippi Braves
AA Mississippi Braves (1-6)
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Monday
The M-Braves got a great start from Brandon Barker, but the bullpen simply couldn’t hold up, and the offense couldn’t push any runs across as the Braves lost 5-1. Barker went 5 innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits, striking out 4. Jason Hursh finally got himself on the right track, hurling his first scoreless inning, striking out two, and having his sinker looking dominating out of the bullpen. Only Dustin Peterson reached base multiple times in the game for Mississippi with a single and a walk on the day. Ozzie Albies had a double.
Tuesday
Lucas Sims took the hill and came out of the gate strong, but when his defense let him down, he really seemed to struggle to regain his focus and never could get back into the game. Montgomery defeated Mississippi 7-2. Sims went 4 innings, allowing 6 runs, but only 2 of them earned, on 4 hits and 4 walks. He also struck out 7. Dustin Peterson had a double, single, and walk. Willians Astudillo had two singles. Jacob Schrader had a single and a walk. Ozzie Albies stole his first base of the season.
Wednesday
The Braves lost on a literal walk-off as Mauricio Cabrera fell off of his early success and found his old command-challenged ways and walked in the winning run in the bottom of the 9th as Montgomery beat Mississippi 3-2. Chris Ellis didn’t look as hot in this start as he did in his first one, going 5 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks, striking out 3. Cabrera walked 3 in his 1 1/3 innings of work. Jordy Lara hit a home run and took a walk. Matt Lipka had a single and a walk. Jacob Schrader hit a double.
Weekend Probables
Thursday, 7:05PM CT – Sean Newcomb @ Montgomery
Friday, 7:05PM CT – Rob Whalen @ Montgomery
Saturday, 6:35PM CT – Brandon Barker @ Montgomery
Sunday, 5:00PM CT – Lucas Sims vs. Chattanooga
Video Highlights
No posted highlights
Next: Carolina Mudcats
Carolina Mudcats (4-3)
Monday
Zach Quintana drew the start Monday for Carolina against Wilmington, and he was quite hittable in his appearance, and the Mudcats ended up losing the game 6-4. Quintana went 4 1/3 innings, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 8 hits, striking out 1. Dansby Swanson had a very good game, knocking two doubles on the day. Joey Meneses was the only other Mudcat with multiple hits. Stephen Gaylor and Keith Curcio each had doubles. Omar Obregon had a triple.
Tuesday
The Mudcats busted out the bats on Tuesday, defeating Wilmington 15-4. Oddly enough, entering the 5th inning, Carolina was trailing 3-0. Starter Enderson Franco left the game after 4 1/3 innings, having allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks, striking out 5. Zachary Bird and Sean McLaughlin combined for 4 2/3 innings of relief, allowing one run on a single hit, 2 walks, and striking out 4. Dansby Swanson reached base 5 times on the day, collecting two singles, a double, and two walks. He also stole his second base of the season. Keith Curcio hit 2 doubles and a single as well as stealing a base. Jordan Edgerton had three hits, including a double. Omar Obregon had a single, a double, and a walk. Both Joey Meneses and Stephen Gaylor walked 3 times apiece, and Gaylor added a stolen base. Reed Harper had two singles. Braxton Davidson and Joseph Odom had a single and a walk.
Wednesday
Carolina was not efficient with its 13 hits, but the 3 runs it did get were enough to win 3-1. Ryan Lawlor was nothing short of dominating. He threw 5 innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits and a walk, striking out 7. The bullpen of Raymar Navarro and Chase Johnson-Mullins combined for 4 scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits and a walk, striking out 2. Ryan Gebhardt had 3 hits, including a double. Joseph Daris had two hits, including a double. Braxton Davidson and Omar Obregon each had two singles. Reed Harper had a single and a walk. Jordan Edgerton added a double.
Weekend Probables
Thursday, 7:00PM ET – Matt Withrow vs. Myrtle Beach
Friday, 7:00PM ET – Max Povse vs. Myrtle Beach
Saturday, 5:00PM ET – Ryan Clark vs. Myrtle Beach
Sunday, 2:00PM ET – TBD vs. Myrtle Beach
Video Highlights
None Available
Next: Rome Braves
Rome Braves (2-5)
Monday
Monday’s game was postponed due to rain.
Tuesday
Rome dropped a double header Tuesday. In the first game, Touki Toussaint took the hill for the first time, and he struggled with his control in this start, going 4 innings, allowing 3 runs with 5 hits and 3 walks, striking out 3. Caleb Beech came in and gave 3 innings of scoreless relief allowing only 1 hit and striking out 1. Lucas Herbert had a single and a double. Austin Riley had a double. Erison Mendez had a triple. Rome dropped the first game 3-1.
In the second game, the Braves got a brilliant start from Mike Soroka, who handed off a 2-0 lead to the bullpen before the bullpen lost the game, the final score being 3-2 Columbia on top. Soroka went 6 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and one walk, striking out 5. Jonathan Morales had two singles, but the big story offensively was the big home run from Austin Riley, his first on the season.
Wednesday
Once again, the Rome bullpen was handed a lead, and once again, they struggled to hold it, as a 2-1 lead turned into a 3-2 loss on Wednesday. Patrick Weigel went 4 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and 3 walks, striking out 6. Justin Ellison had a single and a double. Luke Dykstra had two singles. Ray-Patrick Didder stole his first base of the year, and Ronald Acuna stole his first two bases of the year.
Weekend Probables
Thursday, 7:05PM ET – Max Fried @ Asheville
Friday, 7:05PM ET – Ricardo Sanchez @ Asheville
Saturday, 6:05PM ET – Touki Toussaint @ Asheville
Sunday, 2:05PM ET – Mike Soroka @ Asheville
Next: Should the Braves Fire Fredi?