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Atlanta Braves Minor League Season Review: Carolina Mudcats

By Benjamin Chase |
Mar 15, 2015; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves catcher Tanner Murphy (80) throws a pitch during a spring training baseball game at Champion Stadium. The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Atlanta Braves 10-5. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 15, 2015; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves catcher Tanner Murphy (80) throws a pitch during a spring training baseball game at Champion Stadium. The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Atlanta Braves 10-5. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta Braves Minor League Season Review: Carolina Mudcats

Carolina finished with the worst winning percentage of any Atlanta Braves affiliate this season. With the contract with Carolina up after the 2016 season, this is likely the last season that the Braves will be affiliated with the Mudcats as the big club would like to own all of its affiliates, and the high-A level is the only level that they do not currently own. On the season, Carolina finished 52-87.

Stat Leaders (no AB/IP limits on rate categories)

Ben’s Award Winners

More from Tomahawk Take

Player of the Year

– There were perhaps better short-term performances than Keith Curcio, but none can match the steady leadership of Curcio in the lineup every day and in the field. Curcio brings above-average defense into the outfield every day, and he was the leadoff guy atop the lineup until the acquisition of Travis Demeritte, when he slid very well into the #2 slot in the lineup. He’s been promoted to Mississippi for their playoff run, and he’s showing up well for that promotion as well, but that means we’ll look at him further in the Mississippi review. One of the more underrated and underappreciated players in the organization.

Pitcher of the Year – Not really even close. I really believe that if the Carolina League wasn’t in such a hurry to be the first to announce their awards, they would have adjusted their pitcher of the year award to Matt Withrow of Carolina. On a better team, the hard-throwing righty would have put up 12-14 wins instead of the 9 that he posted, and that alone would have drawn plenty of attention in the vote, especially when he finished 3-1 in August with a 1.64 ERA and an 18/44 BB/K ratio over 33 innings, simply blowing guys away to finish the season strong. His stuff could still end up in the bullpen, but he’s shown enough that he will get every opportunity in the rotation before they move him.

Guys To Watch


Caleb Beech, RHP, 13 G, 68 2/3 IP, 4.98 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 13/41 BB/K – Sinkerballer threw well out of the bullpen for Rome, but was pushed into service in the Carolina rotation due to injury, and he struggled initially due to not being stretched out and then due to being injured. May be a better fit in the bullpen long term, but does give the team an option if needed for spot starting to eat up innings (he went 6 innings or more in all but his last start before heading to the DL in his last half-dozen starts).

Ryan Clark, RHP, 26 G, 134 2/3 IP, 5.75 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 46/95 BB/K – While guys like Matt Withrow and Patrick Weigel succeeded as starters and A.J. Minter and Josh Graham succeeded in the bullpen, Clark experienced struggles in the rotation for Carolina in 2016 after being part of the high-velocity group of college arms drafted in the single-digit rounds of the 2015 draft. He could be making the move to the bullpen soon, but he has three workable pitches, but his issues with command in the zone doomed him in 2016.

Braxton Davidson, OF, .224/.344/.360, 10 HR, 4 SB, 71/184 BB/K, 428 AB – Davidson came into the season looking as if he’d done nothing but arm workouts all winter, and it showed badly in his defense, something he’d worked hard to get to the point of average to above-average last season. It was poor in 2016. Offensively, his swing was ridiculously messed up, with a hitch and a bump in his swing path. He never did recover his swing all season, and even solid velocity was beyond his ability to handle. He’ll have time this offseason to work on things as he’s still only 20 years old.

Travis Demeritte, 2B, .250/.384/.476, 17 XBH, 4 SB, 26/50 BB/K 124 AB – The Braves acquired Demeritte from the Rangers in the trade that sent Lucas Harrell and Dario Alvarez to Texas. I recently put out a scouting report on Demeritte, so you can read more there about him. He has incredible talent, and he’ll be a guy to watch in the Arizona Fall League.

Jordan Edgerton, 3B, .215/.248/.317, 27 doubles, 20/131 BB/K, 451 AB – Really does not show in his season numbers how good his end of season was as he closed out extremely well. Already 23, so likely to be org filler, but at a very weak position in the system, so he has a chance to stay in the system for a while as long as he can play a passable 3B.

Enderson Franco, RHP, 26 G, 144 IP, 4.69 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 46/97 BB/K – Hard-throwing minor league free agent out of Venezuela was the inning-eater for the Carolina rotation. Not sure if the Braves will bring him back in 2017, but I would really like to see him tried in the bullpen as I think he has stuff that would play up significantly in the bullpen.

Ryan Lawlor, LHP, 14 G, 43 2/3 IP, 4.95 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 29/41 BB/K – Tough season with injuries, but really flashed well out of the bullpen. 2015 pick out of Georgia could move quickly as a reliever if he stays in that role heading into 2017 with a big fastball and good movement on his breaking stuff.

Sean McLaughlin, RHP, 41 G, 61 1/3 IP, 3.08 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 23/41 BB/K – Georgia product from the 2015 draft showed good ability to generate ground balls out of the bullpen. Could have a role as a double play specialist going forward.

J.B. Moss, OF, .195/.264/.247, 4 doubles, 8/18 BB/K, 77 AB – Moss was drafted in the 7th round out of Texas A&M this June and sent to Danville. He did tremendously well in Danville and was skipped right over Rome. Between both levels, he hit .271/.326/.353.

Tanner Murphy, C, .214/.320/.310, 6 HR, 42/55 BB/K, 281 AB – Murphy’s elite defense behind the plate and big swing caught my eye last year, then he struggled out of the gate, and many wrote him off. However, his second half of the season was .278/.399/.382, so he showed that his bat can be much more than the overall season numbers said. Probably my favorite catching prospect in the entire system.

Raymar Navarro, RHP, 28 G, 67 IP, 5.78 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 31/52 – Cuban signee missed some time due to suspension this season, but he really threw very well in the time he was with Carolina. He was bounced a bit between the rotation and bullpen, which didn’t really allow him to settle into either role. I really think he has a chance to contribute in the back end of the bullpen if he’s placed there permanently.

Omar Obregon, IF, .247/.298/.311, 4 triples, 12 SB, 24/53 BB/K, 312 AB – If anyone could compare Ozzie Albies and Dansby Swanson, it’d be Obregon. He’s played 2B next to both. He’s shown himself to be an incredibly elite defender, and while he won’t ever be a power guy, he’s got some exceptional speed as well that could play very well moving forward.

Wes Parsons, RHP, 16 G, 56 IP, 3.86 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 18/44 BB/K – Undrafted pitcher that has just a ton of raw talent and has struggled with injury while in the system. He showed very well this season once he got healthy, especially once he was plugged into the starting rotation in August to end the season. Parsons has a very enticing pitch combination, whether he continues in the rotation or moves to the bullpen eventually.

Carlos Salazar, RHP, 39 G, 51 IP, 4.06 ERA, 1.84 WHIP, 58/74 BB/K – Salazar is a guy that the team has been working to make a starter for quite some time, but in 2016, they made him a permanent reliever, and his ridiculous fastball and slider were incredibly tough to hit, though he did struggle at times to keep the ball in the zone. He’s still only 21, so don’t be surprised if he jumps up in a hurry.

Luis Valenzuela, IF, .270/.289/.376, 3 triples, 5/23 BB/K, 189 AB – Valenzuela was acquired last August for Jonny Gomes, but he missed a ton of the season this year due to injury. When he came back, he was very rusty, especially in his batting eye at the plate, as he showed better pitch judgement in 2015. Best future possibility is likely a utility guy with a decent contact bat and maxing out as a guy with 10-15 homers and stolen bases at his absolute peak. He is already 23, however.

Next: Braves Minor League Database

Matt Withrow, RHP, 25 G, 120 2/3 IP, 3.80 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 68/131 BB/K – See the Pitcher of the Year write-up.

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