Atlanta Braves minor league season review. Part 1: the lower minors

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View from Clingman’s Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee, circa 1960. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) /

Advanced Rookies – Danville Braves

TYPE: Short-season rookie league, APPY (Appalachian) League
TEAMS: 10, across 2 divisions
DIVISION: East (Blue Jays, Yankees, Braves, Rays, Royals)
FINISH: 3rd place, 36-32 record, 10 games behind Jays (46-22). Won 8 of last 10.
LEAGUE STANDOUTS (qualifiers only):
- William Contreras (C). .290/.379/.432/.811 (14th in avg); 15th in OPS.
- Drew Lugbauer. Tie 3rd in homers (10), 1 short of league lead
- Derian Cruz. Tie 6th in steals (11). Leader had 20.
- Bradley Keller. Tie 10th in doubles (14). Leader had 25.
- Odalvi Javier. 3rd in ERA (3.14) in 63 innings.
- Dilmer Mejia. Tie 11th in K’s (52) in 47 innings. 10 Walks!

TEAM STATS – Pitching

Best in league with 3.71 ERA. Next was 3.81; worst was 5.53.
Best in fewest homers allowed (32). Next was 41; worst was 70.
3rd in walks allowed (222). Range was 197 to 271.
Mid-pack in strikeouts (570). (471… 654)
WHIP of 1.31 was 3rd best (1.29 to 1.54)

TEAM STATS – Hitting

Middle of pack in average (.260). League range from .242 to .288.
Homers: 4th with 53 (range: 31… 69)
Doubles: 4th with 124 (range: 83… 134)
Triples: middle of pack with 16 (6… 25)
Walks: 6th with 225 (203… 268)
Strikeouts: 2nd worst with 631 (515… 644). Oddly, the team with the most walks also had the most Ks.
Steals: Tie 5th with 51 (35… 74).
OPS: 5th at .729 (.677-.808)

Best team in league: Bluefield Blue Jays (46-22). Worst: Bristol Pirates (17-49

Best team overall: a 36-22 record posted for the Phillies. Nationals (34-22) and Twins (35-23) were close behind.

ROSTER

Manager: Nestor Perez.

Notables… Pitching first

LHP Bruce Zimmermann, 2017 draftee. 3.09 ERA, 23 innings, 28/9 K/BB.
Huascar Ynoa, obtained in Jamie Garcia trade, 5.26 ERA, 51.1 innings, 50/29.
Kyle Muller, 4.15 ERA, 47.2 innings, 49/18.
Dilmer Mejia, 3.91 ERA, 50.2 innings, 52/10.
Odalvi Javier, 3.14 ERA, 63.0 innings, 50/22.
Zach Rice, 2.97 ERA, 30.1 innings, 38/12.
Taylor Hyssong, 2.77 ERA, 26.0 innings, 23/11.
Cutter Dyals, 2.05 ERA, 22 innings, 21/9.
John Curtis, 2.13 ERA, 25.1 innings, 27/9.
Jacob Belinda, 3.64 ERA, 29.2 innings, 22/14.

Hitters

C William Contreras – 45 games/169 AB. Slash line above.
C Drew Lugbauer – 29 games/105 AB, .243 and 10 HR… easily leading team. 30K, .939 OPS.
2B Derian Cruz – .235/.281/.315/.596. 61K in 213 AB. Led team in steals (11) when he got on base. 20 errors at 2B to lead the team by a mile.
3B Jean Carlos Encarnacion – .290/.316/.355/.671. 21K in 93 AB
SS Kevin Maitan – .220 in 33 games/127 AB. 39K, 9BB. 10 errors.
CF Drew Waters – .255/.331/.383/.714 in 36G/149AB. 59K.
LF Leudys Baez – .340 in 25 games/94 AB, 1.000 OPS.
OF Isranel Wilson – 17G/68AB and .882 OPS.
RF Garrison Schwartz – 31G/96AB, .930 OPS (with .281 avg).
LF Bradley Keller – 33G/124AB, .957 OPS with .306 avg.

2017 draftees will suffer from Small Sample Size issues in evaluating them strictly from stats. As a result, Danville tended to lean on 2016 draftees and International players for the majority of pitched innings, given that the newcomers have already gone through an entire season – mostly in the college ranks.

Kevin Maitan was clearly struggling in his first season of pro ball – and his first season in the United States. The Braves were treating his carefully anyway – giving him extra instructional league time before he even went to the GCL.

But then there’s Huascar Ynoa… stumbling through the Summer. What about him?

It will 100% be about getting his delivery all in line. He's a guy with arms and legs like he's 6'7 in a 6'2-6'3 frame.
— Benjamin Chase (@biggentleben) September 10, 2017

That is pretty well evident in his K-to-Walk numbers shown above. Ben’s assessment almost sounds like he’s a guy that suddenly grew 3-4″ in the past year… but there’s no way that’s the case. Thus it’s a bit concerning that after multiple seasons, Ynoa hasn’t gotten things together yet.

On the upside: there’s the Catchers. William Contreras in particular, but Drew Lugbauer as well. Both had excellent seasons, and it will be very interesting to follow both at Rome next season.

That’s enough for now… will continue the series as time permits, but 2 at a time seems to be quite enough volume.

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