May 14, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of a Atlanta Braves cap and glove on the field prior to a game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
May 14, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of a Atlanta Braves cap and glove on the field prior to a game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports /
Atlanta Braves Minor League Weekend Wrap Up
Transactions
5/18 – 3B Rio Ruiz recalled by Atlanta Braves from Gwinnett Braves 5/18 – IF Kurt Hoekstra assigned to Danville Braves from Rome Braves 5/18 – LHP Tucker Davidson assigned to Rome Braves from Danville Braves 5/19 – OF Dustin Peterson activated from 7-day DL by Gwinnett Braves 5/19 – 2B Emerson Landoni placed on 7-day DL by Gwinnett Braves 5/19 – 1B James Loney assigned to Gwinnett Braves 5/19 – IF Carlos Franco assigned to Gwinnett Braves from Mississippi Braves 5/19 – C Blake Lalli released by Gwinnett Braves 5/19 – RHP Danny Reynolds placed on 7-day DL by Mississippi Braves 5/19 – IF Reed Harper activated from 7-day DL by Mississippi Braves 5/19 – C Carlos Martinez assigned to Florida Fire Frogs from Danville Braves 5/19 – C Alex Jackson placed on 7-day DL by Florida Fire Frogs 5/20 – C Braeden Schlehuber activated from 7-day DL by Gwinnett Braves 5/20 – LHP Rex Brother assigned to Mississippi Braves from Gwinnett Braves 5/20 – RHP Luke Jackson recalled to Atlanta Braves from Gwinnett Braves 5/20 – LHP Joe Rogers assigned to Rome Braves from Mississippi Braves 5/20 – RHP Andres Santiago assigned to Danville Braves from Florida Fire Frogs 5/20 – RHP Kris Medlen assigned to Florida Fire Frogs from Braves extended spring training 5/20 – RHP Raymar Navarro assigned to Rome Braves from Danville Braves 5/20 – LHP Joey Wentz placed on 7-day DL by Rome Braves 5/20 – IF Yeudi Grullon assigned to Danville Braves from Rome Braves 5/20 – LHP Adam McCreery assigned to Danville Braves from Rome Braves 5/20 – IF Kurt Hoekstra assigned to Rome Braves from Danville Braves 5/20 – IF Juan Yepez traded to St. Louis Cardinals from Rome Braves 5/21 – IF Johan Camargo optioned to Gwinnett Braves from Atlanta Braves 5/21 – IF Yeudi Grullon assigned to Rome Braves from Danville Braves
Hitter of the week: Carlos Franco was promoted to Gwinnett due to how well he’s been hitting, and he put up an excellent week combined between his two assignments, posting a line of .348/.444/.696/1.140 with 3 home runs, 6 RBI, and a 4/11 BB/K ratio.
Franco is playing 1B primarily with Gwinnett, but he has some definite skills at 3B as well, albeit not an elite defender at the position. He is a guy that I have been a fan of since he was competing with guys like Edward Salcedo for the top 3B prospect in the system due to his steady play over any elite particular tool.
Franco’s power has been notably growing the last two seasons, and he has implemented more loft into his swing this year with very obvious results, leading the entire Atlanta Braves system in home runs with 11.
Honorable mention:Joey Meneses took off on a tear in late April/early May in 2016 in Carolina that carried through until mid-June when he was promoted to Mississippi. He struggled with his promotion to Mississippi, though that was part in parcel due to his transition to the outfield at the same time.
Playing primarily first base again in 2017, Meneses has begun to hit again with Mississippi recently. After hitting for a good average with poor zone rates in his walk and strikeout rates in April, Meneses struggled early in May. He put up a .400/.455/.600 line over the last week, driving the ball well, and most importantly, he’s controlling the strike zone, with a 2/3 BB/K rate over the week.
Pitcher of the week: Twice receiving honorable mention on a week, Tyler Pike finally receives the first billing this week. While some of that is due to a down week of performances from the starters in the system, Pike’s numbers were certainly worthy.
On the week, Pike made two starts, going 12 innings, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 10 hits and 5 walks, striking out 9 on the week. Pike has been throwing well and working with Florida pitching coach (and long-time Braves minor league pitching coach Dennis Lewalyn) to re-capture the excellence that made him a highly desired draft pick.
Pike is having an incredible May so far as well and could be the ace of next week’s May All Stars post if he keeps this up for one more week!
Honorable mention: The Braves promoted two teenagers to Mississippi and then backed them up with a couple of very solid starters in the bullpen in Michael Mader and Wes Parsons. Mader had a solid week as well, but the guy of note here is Parsons.
Parsons has been receiving spot starts throughout the season, being a true swing man, starting one day, then relieving twice over the next 7-10 days before making another start. This past week was a good example of that. After making a start on Saturday, May 13th, where he went 4 solid innings, Parsons threw 1 1/3 innings of relief for Mississippi on the 17th and then started on Sunday against Jacksonville.
All tallied, his work this week was 7 innings, 1 run allowed on 2 hits and 2 walks, striking out 6. His ability to continue to be effective between roles will be a huge asset throughout the season.
Next: Gwinnett Braves
AAA Gwinnett Braves ()
Thursday
Durham jumped all over Gwinnett starter Patrick Weigel and held on as Gwinnett’s offense mounted a comeback, defeating the Braves 8-5. Weigel only went one inning, allowing 8 runs on 7 hits and no walks, striking out one.
Durham scored 5 in the 4th inning to defeat the G-Braves 6-1. Lucas Sims went 3 1/3 innings, allowing 6 runs (5 earned) on 7 hits and 2 walks, striking out 5.
Lane Adams had two doubles and a walk. Dustin Peterson had a double and two walks. Sean Kazmar had three singles and a stolen base.
Saturday
Durham shut out Gwinnett on Saturday 6-0. Matt Wisler went 5 1/3 innings, allowing 6 runs on 12 hits and no walks, striking out 6.
Sean Kazmar had a double.
Sunday
Durham defeated Gwinnett 5-3 on Sunday. Aaron Blair had the start and went 4 innings, allowing 5 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks, striking out 1.
None of the Braves hitters reached base twice. Sean Kazmar and David Freitas each had a double. Xavier Avery had a stolen base.
Leaders
BA: David Freitas .333 OBP: David Freitas .440 HR: Lane Adams, Mel Rojas, Jr., Sean Kazmar 5 SB: Ozzie Albies 13 W: Lucas Sims 4 SV: David Peterson 5 SO: Sean Newcomb 52 ERA: Sean Newcomb 2.74
After Jacksonville jumped out to a 4-0 lead, Mississippi came back with 5 in the 5th before winning 6-4. Mike Soroka went 5 innings, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits and 4 walks, striking out 5.
Carlos Franco had a home run and two singles. Luis Valenzuela had two doubles. Dylan Moore had a home run.
Friday
Jacksonville walked off with a 5-4 win over Mississippi on Friday. Kolby Allard went 5 innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and a walk, striking out 6.
Joey Meneses had a double and two singles. Luis Valenzuela had a double and a single. Travis Demeritte had a home run and a walk. Ronald Acuna had a single, walk, and a stolen base. Dylan Moore had a double. Connor Lien had a stolen base.
Saturday
Jacksonville defeated Mississippi on Saturday 4-3, again in walk off fashion. Wes Parsons went 5 2/3 innings, allowing 1 run on 2 hits and a walk, striking out 5.
Connor Lien had a home run and two singles. Sal Giardina had two singles. Luis Valenzuela had a double.
Sunday
Jacksonville put up 7 runs in the 3rd inning en route to a 10-3 win over the M-Braves on Sunday. Matt Withrow had his second rough start in a row, going just 2 2/3 innings, allowing 8 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks, striking out 3.
Keith Curcio had a home run and a single. Luis Valenzuela had two singles.
Leaders
BA: Ronald Acuna .354 OBP: Ronald Acuna .456 HR: Carlos Franco 11 SB: Connor Lien 11 W: Kolby Allard and Mike Soroka 4 SV: Akeel Morris 4 SO: Mike Soroka and Kolby Allard 41 ERA: Kolby Allard 1.65
Video Highlights
Next: Florida Fire Frogs
Florida Fire Frogs (19-25)
Thursday
Florida ended up on the wrong end of a pitcher’s duel, losing 1-0 to Tampa. Touki Toussaint went 6 innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits and a walk, striking out 8.
Palm Beach shut out Florida 8-0. Enderson Franco went 6 innings, allowing 3 runs on 9 hits and a walk, striking out 1.
Anfernee Seymour had three singles. Braxton Davidson had a double, single, and a walk. J.B. Moss had two singles. Austin Riley had a double and hit by pitch.
Saturday
Florida’s offense finally got underway, defeating Palm Beach 5-0. Kris Medlen made his first start, going 6 innings of shutout baseball, allowing one hit and three walks, striking out 3. Chase Johnson-Mullins closed out the game with 3 innings of relief, allowing just one hit, striking out 5.
Florida dropped Sunday’s game to Palm Beach 2-1. Tyler Pike had a solid start in the loss, going 6 innings, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 7 hits and a walk, striking out 3.
Anfernee Seymour had a single, was hit by a pitch, and stole two bases. Omar Obregon and Ray-Patrick Didder each had a double and a walk. Tyler Neslony and Alay Lago each had a single and a walk. Carlos Martinez had a double.
Leaders
BA: Anfernee Seymour .354 OBP: Anfernee Seymour .392 HR: Alex Jackson 10 SB: Ronald Acuna 14 W: Drew Harrington 4 SV: Devan Watts 3 SO: Tyler Pike 54 ERA: Chase Johnson-Mullins 1.74
Video Highlights
No Video Available
Next: Rome Braves
Rome Braves (22-20)
Thursday
Rome came back strong to score a walk-off win Thursday over Lexington 7-6. Jeremy Walker made the start for Rome, going 5 innings, allowing 6 runs (5 earned runs) on 7 hits and 2 walks, striking out 3.
Rome scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 7th inning to force the game into extra innings, where the game would be for some time, finally going to Lexington in 18 innings, 7-6. Joey Wentz got the original start, but he went just 1 2/3 innings before he left with an injury after allowing no runs on 3 hits, no walks, and 2 strikeouts. Wentz took a ball off of his leg in the 2nd inning and left the game.
Justin Ellison had a big game, with a double, triple, and two singles, along with a stolen base. Cristian Pache had three singles and a stolen base. Lucas Herbert had two singles and a hit by pitch along with a stolen base. Matt Gonzalez had a single and two walks while also stealing a base. Brett Cumberland had a single and two walks. Yeudi Grullon had a triple and two walks. Kevin Josephina had a triple and a walk.
Saturday
Rome and Lexington had a shoot out, with Lexington coming out on top 12-10. Ian Anderson went 4 innings, allowing 5 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks, striking out 7.
Brett Cumberland had a home run, double, a single, and a walk. Cristian Pache had three singles. Marcus Mooney had a single, walk, and a hit by pitch. Matt Gonzalez had two singles. Justin Ellison had a triple and a walk. Tanner Murphy had a single and a walk. Anthony Concepcion had a double.
Sunday
Rome scored a walk off win Sunday with an 8-7 victory over Lexington. Ryan Lawlor made the start, going 5 innings, allowing 5 runs (4 earned) on 8 hits and a walk, striking out 8.
Randy Ventura had three singles with a stolen base. Kurt Hoekstra had a double, single, and a walk. Lucas Herbert had a double and a single. Kevin Josephina had two walks. Cristian Pache had a single and a walk.
Leaders
BA: Randy Ventura .329 OBP: Brett Cumberland .436 HR: Lucas Herbert 5 SB: Randy Ventura 15 W: Oriel Caicedo 5 SV: Brandon White 4 SO: Ryan Lawlor 50 ERA: Brandon White 1.71
