Atlanta Braves Minor League Season Review: Rome Braves

Low-A Rome was one of three Atlanta Braves affiliates in the championship of their respective leagues, but they’re the one team that came home with the victory, winning the South Atlantic League championship!

Rome finished the season 70-69, but they were 43-27 to win the Southern division by 2 1/2 games in the second half. Let’s take a look at the players who made it all happen…

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

BA: Ronald Acuna .311, Luke Dykstra .304, Jared James .302, Alejandro Salazar .279, Ray-Patrick Didder .274
OBP: Stephen Gaylor 1.000, Ronald Acuna .387, Ray-Patrick Didder .387, Jared James .380, Luke Dykstra .332
SLG: Carlos Castro .508, Jared James .500, Austin Riley .479, Ronald Acuna, Kevin Josephina .382
2B: Austin Riley 39, Jonathan Morales and Justin Ellison 25, Luke Dykstra 17, Ray-Patrick Didder and Carlos Castro 15
3B: Ray-Patrick Didder 9, Justin Ellison 8, Carlos Castro 4, Austin Riley, Ronald Acuna, and Jared James 2
HR: Austin Riley 20, Carlos Castro 17, Ray-Patrick Didder and Lucas Herbert 6, Three with 4
R: Ray-Patrick Didder 95, Austin Riley 68, Justin Ellison and Jonathan Morales 49, Carlos Castro 43
RBI: Austin Riley 80, Carlos Castro 57, Jonathan Morales 55, Justin Ellison 54, Luke Dykstra 41
SB: Ray-Patrick Didder 37, Justin Ellison 18, Ronald Acuna 14, Luke Dykstra 7, Three with 6

G: Matt Custred and Grayson Jones 40, Josh Graham 35, Oriel Caicedo 32, Dalton Geekie 31
IP: Mike Soroka 143, Touki Toussaint 132.1, Patrick Weigel 129, Ricardo Sanchez 119.1, Max Fried 103
W: Patrick Weigel 10, Mike Soroka 9, Max Fried 8, Ricardo Sanchez 7, Matt Custred and Kolby Allard 5
SV: Devan Watts 8, Josh Graham 6, Corbin Clouse 4, Oriel Caicedo 3, Five with 2
K: Patrick Weigel 135, Touki Toussaint 128, Mike Soroka 125, Max Fried 112, Ricardo Sanchez 103
ERA: Luis Gamez, A.J. Minter, Eric O’Flaherty, Jim Johnson, Shae Simmons, Chris Withrow, and John Gant 0.00
WHIP: A.J. Minter 0.45, John Gant 0.67, Trevor Belicek 0.79, Devan Watts 0.86, Shae Simmons 0.90
K/BB: Jim Johnson, Chris Withrow, Eric O’Flaherty, and Arodys Vizcaino Infinity (dividing by zero), Trevor Belicek 29.00
K/9: Chris Withrow 27.00, Jim Johnson and Manny Banuelos 18.00, Jacob Webb 16.20, Corbin Clouse 14.07

Ben’s Award Winners

More from Tomahawk Take

Player of the Year

– While Austin Riley grabbed the headlines, Ray-Patrick Didder was the most steady player in Rome all season. He worked from the leadoff position and in center field after Ronald Acuna was injured. His 20 assists from the outfield were absolutely ridiculously amazing (yes, double adverbs, kick me out of grammar school!), but he also brought a near-.400 on base percentage to the top of the Rome lineup all season long, and with streaky hitters behind him, that consistent guy on base gave the team always someone to drive in for whomever was the hot hand at the time. Didder was featured in a recent scouting report that you can read

here

, and while my report is quite positive, it’s really hard not to be when you watch him on the field.

Pitcher of the Year – While he earned a promotion to finish the season with Mississippi, Patrick Weigel was absolutely the star of the Rome rotation throughout the season, and with a rotation loaded with first-round draft picks, that’s saying something! Weigel was the Braves’ 7th round selection in 2015, and while many saw his high velocity and limited innings in college pointing to a future reliever, the Braves saw more, and they reaped the benefits in 2016 as Weigel led the Rome rotation throughout the season, leading the team in strikeouts and innings before his promotion. I’ll review Weigel deeper on the Mississippi review.

Guys To Watch

Ronald Acuna, OF, .311/.387/.432, 4 HR, 14 SB, 18/28 BB/K, 148 AB – While Riley or Didder was the guy who was recognized as the player of the year for Rome, the position player for Rome who will be ranked highest in prospect ranking lists certainly should be Acuna. The Braves signed Acuna out of Venezuela, and he won’t even be 19 until mid-December, yet he may possess one of the most loaded tool sets in the entire Braves system. An injury stifled his season this year as he was really taking off. His exceptional play already has turned heads, so he could rocket up the system in a similar way that Ozzie Albies did in 2015-2016.

Kolby Allard, LHP, 11 G, 60 1/3 IP, 3.73 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 20/62 BB/K – Allard only threw 6 innings in 2015 before he spent time in fall instructs working with the team. However, the team planned to have him start in extended spring and make the jump to Rome, and that didn’t work as well as hoped. He returned to extended spring and instead started with Danville when their season opened, and by the time he got promoted from Danville, he was dominant every outing out, and he threw better when he got to Rome. By the end of the season, Allard was throwing like he had with Danville before his promotion. There is a load of talent with Allard, and his combined numbers of 2.98 ERA and 1.11 WHIP over 87 2/3 innings and a 25/95 BB/K ratio could end up earning Allard a promotion to high-A to start 2017. He is 19, and I could see the team starting him in Rome again if there was a rotation crunch.

Oriel Caicedo, LHP, 32 G, 88 2/3 IP, 4.26 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 13/67 BB/K – The Panama native has been used as a swingman for two seasons now with the Rome Braves, so it was too bad that he didn’t get a move up in the system, but he is a very valuable guy in that role. Caicedo may not be a guy who could be a major leaguer, but he’s not terribly far off, and it’s interesting to realize how narrow the margin is between that guy who will and won’t make it in the end.

Carlos Castro, 1B, .266/.301/.508, 17 home runs, 36 XBH, 5 SB, 13/76 BB/K, 305 AB – Castro was delayed in the start to his season, but he debuted a redesigned swing this season, and he used that new swing to absolutely launch balls this year. I won’t claim to have seen every one of his 17 home runs this year, but I did not see a single one of his that was a wall-scraper. Castro is a guy who hit for exceptional average before this season, so his .266 average this year was actually a let-down. He is a better athlete than just a pure 1B slugger type, though, as evidenced by his 4 triples and 5 stolen bases (without once being caught stealing).

Corbin Clouse, LHP, 15 G, 23 2/3 IP, 1.52 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 13/37 BB/K – Clouse was drafted in the 27th round out of Davenport, and the strong-built lefty was ridiculous for Danville and Rome this year. One could argue Clouse as the most dominant reliever in the entire system in 2016. He has the stuff to become a guy who keeps this up, but we also need to remember that a lot of guys come off of college and pitch very well moving to a relief role until they hit the upper level minor leagues. He’ll likely start at high-A next year and get a chance to show himself at that upper minor test quickly if he performs!

Matt Custred, RHP, 40 G, 56 2/3 IP, 3.18 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 36/64 BB/K – Custred came out of Texas Tech as a 31st round selection last year and completely dominated GCL and Danville. He kept up the strikeout rate with Rome this season, and the 6’6, 240-pound righty still strikes an imposing figure on the mound coming out of the bullpen. However, he struggled with his control this season and that could be his undoing at the upper levels if he does not get it figured out for 2017.

Ray-Patrick Didder, OF, .274/.387/.381, 9 3B, 6 HR, 37 SB, 50/100 BB/K – See Player of the Year Write Up

Luke Dykstra, 2B, .304/.332/.363, 17 doubles, 7 SB, 6/31 BB/K, 322 AB – Many know how much a fan of Dykstra I was last offseason, ranking him in my top 20 prospects in the entire system. Dykstra did struggle a bit this season with some aspects of his game, specifically his walk to strikeout rate. While he’ll never walk much, one of the skills of his high-contact approach has been low strikeout numbers, but that rate spiked in 2016. Dykstra was still very steady at second base and in the #2 spot in the batting order for Rome until he was injured in early August. He’s still someone to keep an eye on that could prove to be quite valuable down the line to the team.

Justin Ellison, OF, .247/.304/.370, 37 XBH, 18 SB, 37/88 BB/K, 433 AB – Ellison was drafted in the 12th round in 2015 out of Western Oklahoma State College, one of the best junior college programs in the country, and a program that the Braves have a history with. He is a Georgia native and has ridiculous natural talent in the outfield, flashing power and speed and high-end defense. His biggest issue truly is consistency. If he could make consistent contact, we’d be talking about Ellison as a future big league starter rather than a wild card. He is 21, so there is still time for him to make that adjustment.

Max Fried, LHP, 21 G, 103 IP, 3.93 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 47/112 BB/K – Fried was in his first season back from Tommy John surgery, and as Adam Wainwright has stated, your first year back brings back the velocity, the second year back brings the command. While his command still wasn’t 100% there, Fried’s control made giant leaps throughout the season. He also hurled two incredible starts in the playoffs for Rome, closing out both playoff series. In his last four starts of the season, he recorded double-digit strikeouts in each start. He’ll be 23 on opening day, so it’s likely the team pushes him past high-A to AA to push forward his time line to the big leagues.

Josh Graham, RHP, 35 G, 42 1/3 IP, 3.40 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 12/50 BB/K – Coming into the season, many were viewing Graham as a possible big time starting prospect, as he was drafted in the same realm as guys like Matt Withrow and Patrick Weigel, who were high-velocity college guys with not a ton of wear on their arms that the team moved into the rotation. Graham, however, made the transition to the bullpen, and he was incredibly dynamic in the role on the season, allowing a .217 average to hitters, and showing much better control than most guys with his kind of raw velocity and “stuff” at the back of the bullpen. He should move fast through the system.

Lucas Herbert, C, .185/.234/.278, 6 HR, 18/96 BB/K, 335 AB – Herbert was drafted as an elite defensive catcher, but his initial exposure to pro ball produced a flash of offensive potential before he was injured after only 4 at bats in 2015, so many dreamed heavy on Herbert in the offseason. 2016 showed us that perhaps we jumped the gun on how quickly that potential would turn into results. While Herbert certainly has power and the defense was very, very good, his offensive skills overall are lagging severely behind, and likely will do such until he gets to the major leagues, but that is common with many catchers.

Jared James, OF, .302/.380/.500, 9 XBH, 5 SB, 8/11 BB/K, 86 AB – This was the second time that the Braves have drafted James, drafting him first in 2014 out of community college in California. Grabbing him in the 34th round this season, the Braves couldn’t have imagined how well he’d play in his first exposure to pro ball, earning a promotion to Rome and then taking the starting outfield job next to Didder and Acuna for the playoff run. Overall on the season, he hit .300/.379/.420 with 4 HR and 11 SB in 207 AB between Danville and Rome.

Chase Johnson-Mullins, LHP, 14 G, 21 IP, 1.29 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 6/19 BB/K – While he pitched more for Carolina this season, CJM finished the season with Rome this year, and he’ll likely be slowed in his ascent up the system to some degree after some off-field happenings this season, including a disciplinary suspension in the middle of the season. At a listed 6’8 and 270 pounds (likely even a touch shorter and definitely 20-30 pounds lighter than truth), he presents an incredibly intimidating bullpen arm, and he has the sort of high-velocity, wicked-breaking ball stuff to match. It will be interesting to see how the team works with his off-field stuff to push his obvious high-end pitch skills toward the big leagues.

Kevin Josephina, 2B, .267/.259/.382, 10 XBH, 6 SB, 0/26 BB/K, 131 AB – Another player found in Curacao for the Braves system, Josephina has never played much in his time with the Braves, playing only 9 games in 2014 and 22 games in 2015, which means this year’s 50 games between Danville and Rome represents 60% of his entire career games. Josephina has a solid contact ability, but he’s known not to take a ton of pitches, which has led to a career 9/61 BB/K ratio. He does play a solid defensive middle infield and has the arm to play third base as well, so he could work as a contact-first utility guy. He doesn’t turn 20 until October, so he still has time to grow for sure.

Jonathan Morales, C, .269/.313/.356, 25 doubles, 25/55 BB/K, 424 AB – A 25th round selection out of Miami Dade College, Morales got a lot of attention last season when he showed big time power with GCL, hitting 7 home runs in only 135 at bats. He showed with Rome this season how the rigors of a full season of catching can sap some of that power as he came out like gang busters offensively, but he fell back hard as the season wore on. He doesn’t strike out a ton nor walk a ton, but what Morales displayed this season that will catch a lot of attention is a 50% caught stealing rate, along with a drastically improved defensive reputation behind the plate. If he’s not a bat-first only type of player at catcher, he can suddenly become much more valuable.

Tyler Neslony, OF, .257/.311/.331, 8 XBH, 10/29 BB/K, 148 AB – Neslony was seen as a senior sign out of Texas Tech, drafted in the 9th round this season, and he signed late, so not a lot was expected, but after hitting .500 for Danville in 5 games, the team promoted him to the Rome Braves, and he held his own in his first pro season. Overall, he hit .280/.341/.384 with 12 XBH over 164 AB.

Austin Riley, 3B, .271/.324/.479, 39 doubles, 20 HR, 39/147 BB/K, 495 AB – Riley’s 2016 really depends on when you saw him. Someone watching him in August may wonder how he’s not a top 20 prospect in the entire game. Someone watching him in May would wonder how he’s a top 50 prospect just in the Braves system! Riley did make some big adjustments at the plate to be able to handle better velocity and breaking stuff, and those adjustments allowed him to tap into his power. He still strikes out plenty, and his defense is absolutely putrid at third base, but Riley is a legit right handed power source, leading the Braves minor league organization in home runs, and he will barely turn 20 just before opening day next season, so he’s plenty young to work on other shortcomings still in his game.

Alejandro Salazar, SS, .279/.305/.311, 6 SB, 12/62 BB/K, 312 AB – Salazar was signed out of Venezuela, and the defensive wizard moved from the GCL to Rome this season, and his bat did struggle, as is to be expected with skipping a level for a teenager. His biggest difference was a much higher strikeout rate than he’d experienced before, but Salazar showed the same contact skills that impressed scouts before this year, and he’ll be a guy to watch with high defensive value along the way.

Ricardo Sanchez, LHP, 24 G, 119 1/3 IP, 4.75 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 54/103 BB/K – So many great performances from Rome starters ended up overshadowing the big steps forward that Sanchez took this season. He is a guy who will still be 19 when the 2017 season begins, yet he showed plenty to give confidence that he could end up making the jump to high-A in 2017, likely making the type of performance jump in 2017 that Touki Toussaint made in 2016. Sanchez has been volatile to say the least since being acquired from the Angels before the 2015 season, and injuries held him back in 2015, so health alone is notable, but his progress in working in the low zone was notable to me this year, showing a chance for that 2017 jump.

Anfernee Seymour, IF, .266/.298/.278, 6 SB, 4/22 BB/K, 79 AB – Seymour was acquired for Hunter Cervenka in August, so he didn’t get a ton of time with Rome, but certainly his speed was obvious in that short time. Seymour is quite raw in all aspects of the game for a 21 year-old, so he certainly is a wild card sort of player, but he has legit 80-grade speed that could be used in many ways. His overall 2016, combining his time with the Marlins organization, was .257/.296/.303 with 43 SB and a 26/118 BB/K over 491 AB.

Mike Soroka, RHP, 25 G, 143 IP, 3.02 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 32/125 BB/K – Soroka certainly has shown himself to be a control artist that can go deep into games for Rome. At just barely 19 years old, Soroka’s performance is even the more impressive. Soroka’s upside is likely that of a low-end #2 or high-end #3 starter that eats up innings without letting on a lot of unneeded base runners, but his raw stuff isn’t the same as many of his Rome rotation mates. Soroka will likely have similar success in high-A in 2017, but where I think we’ll see a big test for him will be how he handles the upper minors in 2018 and beyond.

Touki Toussaint, RHP, 27 G, 132 1/3 IP, 3.88 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 71/128 BB/K – Touki had a rough handful of starts to begin 2016 as he worked with the team to use his fastball and change up to lead hitters, working low in the zone, making his incredible curve ball an “out” pitch rather than one of his primary pitches. By the end of the season, he was at ease and making things look easy. In the second half of the season, he struck out 86 batters in 69 1/3 innings. He’s still building his command within the zone, but the steps he’s taken forward have shown Touki’s ability in the future to be the dominant ace-level starter that his raw stuff would suggest that he could be.

Devan Watts, RHP, 16 G, 19 2/3 IP, 0.92 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 6/23 BB/K – Watts was drafted in the 17th round this June out of a small college in Tennessee, and the Braves have a reputation for scouting small schools, especially in the Southeast, extremely well. Watts could be yet another gem found at a small school. Watts has excellent raw stuff, but his ability to keep needless runners off base was incredibly important as he moved into the closer role at the end of the season for the Rome Braves as they made their playoff run. His overall line between Danville and Rome this season was 23 2/3 IP in 20 games with a 0.76 ERA and 0.72 WHIP, posting a 6/26 BB/K ratio.

Next: Braves Minor League Database

Juan Yepez, 1B, – The team’s biggest signing in the 2014 market started off his pro career in 2015 very well, hitting .299/.364/.458 across two rookie levels. Many were very excited to see how he would do in Rome when he was announced on the roster. However, an injury kept Yepez out of the Rome lineup for three months. Yepez has excellent natural power along with solid contact skills. I also was very impressed with his athleticism around the 1B bag this season, and with his background at 3B, I wonder if the team may swap Yepez and Austin Riley in the near future due to Riley’s struggles at third and their progression together. Yepez will just be 19 as spring training starts in 2017, so he’s plenty young even to be at high-A, and with the time he missed this year, it wouldn’t surprise me if he started the year back at Rome and was allowed to earn his way up to high-A.

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