Atlanta Braves: 2018 Rome Braves Season Review

The Atlanta Braves are seeing their minor league clubs finish out their 2018 seasons. We’ll review each one as they finish!

The 2018 minor league regular season has come to a close for the Atlanta Braves, and while the won-loss record at some levels may not be what they’d like, the development of players for the future of the organization is what is the goal of the Braves. Let’s see how each team has done with that, focusing on the Rome Braves today.

Rome was the only Atlanta Braves affiliate to participate in the postseason this year, eliminated on Friday night in the semifinals with a loss to the Lexington team. Rome won the first half Southern division championship in the South Atlantic League with a 40-29 record, though with promotions and such, they slipped to a 31-36 record in the second half, giving them an overall season record of 71-65, tied for 4th best in the league on the year.

These were some of the most raw players in the organization that were in full-season ball, and that can be both a positive and a negative, as many pitchers would struggle with control issues while many hitters may struggle with prolonged slumps due to a lack of strike zone control.

One thing that was unique this year was that players did not spend the entire year at Rome. Traditionally, Rome has been a spot that young players will spend a full season and then could move quickly the next season, but almost always a player stayed at the level all season. With the new administration, that could be changing, especially if this season is evidence.

Team ranks:
Batting average (.258) – 4/14
On-Base percentage (.313) – 9/14
Slugging percentage (.386) – 4/14
Home Runs (89) – 6/14
Stolen Bases (78) – 11/14
Earned Run Average (3.73) – 9/14
WHIP (1.29) – 10/14
Strikeouts (1,143) – 7/14

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Players in league top 10:
Hayden Deal – #5 in wins (9)
Odalvi Javier – #4 in starts (25), #6 in strikeouts (133), #7 in IP (126)
Jefrey Ramos – #7 in RBI (69), #9 in total bases (199)
Alan Rangel – #9 in IP (125 1/3), #9 in WHIP (1.21)
Kelvin Rodriguez – #7 in games (38)
Drew Waters – #4 in doubles (32)

Team leaders (min. 50 AB, 10 IP):
BA – Greyson Jenista .333
OBP – Riley Delgado .382
SLG – Drew Waters .513
R – Drew Waters 58
H – Jefrey Ramos 115
2B – Drew Waters 32
3B – Drew Waters, Jefrey Ramos 6
HR – Jefrey Ramos 16
RBI – Jefrey Ramos 69
SB – Drew Waters 20
W – Hayden Deal 9
G – Kelvin Rodriguez 38
GS – Odalvi Javier 25
SV – Kelvin Rodriguez 13
IP – Odalvi Javier 126
K – Odalvi Javier 133
ERA – Brandon White 1.23
WHIP – Brandon White 0.85

With a possible change now from a point of year-long development to a first stop on the development for the future of the Atlanta Braves, Rome will be a spot to keep an eye on throughout the year going forward!