Atlanta Braves Farm Report: A Preview of the 2019 Gwinnett Stripers

The Major League season is finally underway, but don’t forget about the players of the future still developing down on the Farm for the Atlanta Braves.

If any post was ever in need of an introduction — this is it. Many of you long timers that have been visiting Tomahawk Take for awhile have frankly been spoiled when it comes to Atlanta Braves minor league research and analysis, and this includes me as a reader also.

Former T.T. writer and editor, Benjamin Chase, routinely provided all of us with such eloquent and detailed information in regards to all of the many particulars that come with the Braves Minor League teams.

However, unfortunately for us, we’re no longer blessed with his knowledgeable presence at this site as he has gone on to do other things in his writing career. We have all have wished him well in his future endeavors, and if you’ve missed his fairwell letter to the Tomahawk Take family — here’s his goodbye.

Although his skills will surely be missed, this fast-growing site must continue its operation.

I am very pleased and excited to inform you all that I’ll be taking over the Braves Minor League department and will be providing you with all of the Braves prospect updates, as well as weekly Minor League recaps throughout the season.

I’ve only been a member of the Tomahawk Take team for a short time (started in the beginning of February this year), but thankfully, site editors Alan and Jake have given me this opportunity to share my passion and knowledge in regards to the Braves Minor League teams.

Over the past few years I have started to really dive into the prospects of this organization, and as we’ve all seen — it’s an exciting group of young players.

But I want to make sure everyone knows this upfront: I am in no way attempting to replace Benjamin.

There may be certain things that I do differently, as every writer and person is different. But the end goal for me is to always provide solid and accurate information to all readers, and I think I speak for everyone here at Tomahawk Take.

So with the intro taken care of, it’s time to get to the task at hand: Atlanta Braves Minor League baseball.

If you’re unaware, the MiLB season will begin on Thursday, April 4. The Braves Triple-A team, the Gwinnett Stripers, will begin their season that day at 7:05 p.m. (EST) at home against the Norfolk Tides, an affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles.

Additionally, all full-season Minor League levels will begin their seasons on that date. So for the Braves, April 4 is Opening Day for these four Minor League teams:

• Gwinnett Stripers (AAA)
• Mississippi Braves (AA)
• Florida Fire Frogs (A+)
• Rome Braves (A)

Up until that inaugural day, I will be providing previews of each team and their upcoming season, starting today with the Gwinnett Stripers. I will also provide one piece that will preview the Braves Instructional teams:

• Danville Braves (Gulf Coast League)
• DSL Braves (Dominicon Summer League)

The DSL and GCL leagues will begin in June, as the Dominican Summer league runs for 72 games and the Gulf Coast League goes for 56 games. I will cover those last.

As the title states, today is about the Braves Triple-A team, the Gwinnett Stripers and the players that we should all be checking the box scores for during the season.

Or if you’re like me and ponied up for the MiLB package on MLB.tv — I’ll show you the players you need to be watching throughout the season.

Gwinnett Stripers (AAA)

Manager: Damon Berryhill

2018 record: 70-69 (.504%), 2nd in INT South

Opening Day: Thursday, April 4 at 7:05 p.m. (EST)

NOTE: FV (Future Value) is a rating system created by Fangraphs. The max, or best, value is an 80. This is just another standardized component that is a great tool to use for better understanding the true skill level of a prospect.

Pitchers:

(LHP) Kolby Allard — 45 FV — #12 prospect

(LHP) Corbin Clouse

(RHP) Jason Creasy

(RHP) Jose Rafael De Paula

(RHP) Caleb Dikes

(LHP) Luiz Gohara — 50 FV — #9 prospect

(LHP) Philip Pfeifer

(RHP) Andres Santiago

(RHP) Mike Soroka — 55 FV — #3 prospect

(RHP) Touki Toussaint — 50 FV — #8 prospect

(RHP) Jeremy Walker

(RHP) Jacob Webb — 40 FV — #17 prospect

(RHP) Patrick Weigel — 40 FV — #21 prospect

(RHP) Dan Winkler

(RHP) Huascar Ynoa — 40 FV — #18 prospect

Catchers:

Sal Giardina (S)

Alex Jackson (RHB) — 40+ FV — #16 prospect

Raffy Lopez (LHB)

Third base:

Andres Blanco (S)

Austin Riley (RHB) — 55 FV — #2 prospect

Middle infielder:

Pedro Florimon (S)

Sean Kazmar Jr. (RHB)

Luis Marte (RHB)

Riley Unroe (S)

Outfield:

Adam Duvall (RHB)

Rafael Ortega (LHB)

Ryan LaMarre (RHB)

The Rundown

The Gwinnett Striper roster looks like it should be a good one, especially the starting rotation. Several of the starting pitchers for Gwinnett are practically Major League ready, but for whatever reason have struggled in a certain way.

I would predict this squad will win a lot of games in the International League, at least until the top talent on the team gets promoted to the big leagues.

To help supplement these promotions, remember guys like Christian Pache and several others are in Double-A right now, and will no doubt spend some time in Gwinnett at some point this season.

There are several key prospects on this team, but also guys like Jeremy Walker that are talented pitchers, but maybe don’t have the recognition as some. Also, reliever Dan Winkler needs to make sure his stint in Triple-A is quick. He needs to be in the Majors helping the Braves.

Basically, just about every player on this roster is worth keeping an eye on. Every single one of them will not be Major League players, but lots of them are capable.

Let’s look at 5 players that we all need to keep an eye on, as these are guys that could potentially contribute to the Major League team’s success in 2019, or relatively soon.

NOTE: On each player-page of this report I have provided a VIDEO and PLAYER PAGE link below each player’s name. Clicking on these links will direct you to that specific player’s prospect-video and player-page put together by Fangraphs, with YouTube. This is a great tool to familiarize yourself with these Braves prospects.

(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

#5. (SP) Kolby Allard

#12 prospect — 45 FV — ETA: 2019

VIDEO — PLAYER PAGE

2017: (AA)

• 27 starts
• 3.18 ERA
• 7.7 K/9 — 2.7 BB/9
• 8-11 record
• 150.1 IP
• 11 HR
• 129 K / 45 BB

2018: (MLB) / (AAA)

(AAA)

• 19 starts
• 2.72 ERA
• 7.1 K/9 — 2.7 BB/9
• 6-4 record
• 112.1 IP
• 6 HR
• 3 K / 4 BB

(MLB)

• 1 start / 3 appearances
• 12.38 ERA
• 3.4 K/9 — 4.5 BB/9
• 1-1 record
• 8.0 IP
• 3 HR
• 3 K / 4 BB

2019 Spring Training:

• 4 appearances
• 6.75 ERA
• 1.4 K/9 — 8.1 BB/9
• 0-2 record
• 6.2 IP
• 2 HR
• 1 K / 6 BB

WHAT HE NEEDS TO DO: As we all see by the differential in success from Kolby Allard’s numbers in the Minors to his stats in the Majors — he’s just not quite there yet.

Never known as a power pitcher or a guy that’ll blow it by hitters, Allard depends on a steady ability to command and control his pitches. Super-precise and efficient are the adjectives that Kolby Allard should strive for during the 2019 season, as those are attributes that will expedite his promotion to Atlanta.

WHAT TO EXPECT: Allard has held an ETA (estimated time of arrival to the Majors) of 2019 for a while now, dating back to last season. I’m not so sure that’s a very realistic expectation moving forward.

Just going by the one start (2 appearances) he made with the big league club in 2018, I don’t see him making the Major League rotation by skill or performance alone.

Allard will have to have some luck either coming from an injury to a current rotation holder, or just a need for a spot start during the dog days of summer.

Barring a massive setback, though, Kolby Allard will almost definitely be with the Braves come September of this year — either as starter depth or a piece to deepen the bullpen, so I guess a 2019 Major League arrival is accurate after all.

(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

#4. (SP) Luiz Gohara

#9 prospect — 50 FV — ETA: 2019

VIDEO — PLAYER PAGE

2017: (MLB) / (AAA) / (AA) / (A+)

(AAA / AA / A+)

• 25 starts / 1 appearance
• 2.62 ERA
• 10.7 K/9 — 3.2 BB/9
• 7-4 record
• 6 HR
• 123.2 IP
• 147 K / 44 BB

(MLB)

• 5 starts
• 4.91 ERA
• 9.5 K/9 — 2.5 BB/9
• 1-3 record
• 2 HR
• 29.1 IP
• 31 K / 8 BB

2018: (MLB) / (AAA) / (AA)

(AAA / AA)

• 13 starts
• 4.81 ERA
• 9.2 K/9 — 2.8 BB/9
• 3-5 record
• 58.0 IP
• 9 HR
• 59 K / 18 BB

(MLB)

• 1 start / 8 appearances
• 5.95 ERA
• 8.2 K/9 — 3.7 BB/9
• 0-1 record
• 3 HR
• 19.2 IP
• 18 K / 8 BB

2019 Spring Training:

N/A

INJURY REPORT: Luiz Gohara is currently rehabbing from shoulder soreness. He has been actively throwing since his first side session on February 12. There hasn’t been a timetable released in terms of when Gohara will be officially ready for games.

WHAT HE NEEDS TO DO: Stay healthy! If there’s a player in the entire organization that could use a full season of participation — it’s Luiz Gohara. Thankfully, reports have indicated that he’s been working hard during the offseason, losing 35-40 pounds and improving his diet and sleep. Also, the shoulder ailment is presumably nothing to be concerned over, so that’s a relief.

But yes, stay healthy. I’m not even going to get technical or talk about what he needs to do performance-wise. Luiz Gohara needs to simply pitch an entire season, whether it’s in the Majors, Triple-A, or anywhere for that matter.

This is a player that came to Atlanta pitching for a Major League rotation spot, but since then has had so many roadblocks that now he should just aim all of his attention towards staying on the field. The performance and the numbers will come afterward.

WHAT TO EXPECT: If all is truly well with the shoulder — and given how Gohara is in much better shape — the expectations should be high. But as I mentioned above, they should focus also more around durability and staying on the baseball field.

We need to remember this isn’t just some organization filler or AAAA pitcher. This is a legit top-10 pitching prospect in the Atlanta Braves organization. With health on Luiz Gohara’s side, the idea should be that he contributes at the Major League level this season.

I think it would be fair to expect a season much like his 2017 campaign — dominant in the Minors, while extremely effective in the Majors. Braves fans should be tickled to death if he makes it through the entire season without any health issues; because for Luiz Gohara, consistently staying on the field is more important for him than anything right now.

(Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

#2. (SP) Mike Soroka

#3 prospect — 55 FV — ETA: 2019

VIDEO — PLAYER PAGE

2017: (AA)

• 26 starts
• 2.75 ERA
• 7.3 K/9 — 2.0 BB/9
• 11-8 record
• 153.2 IP
• 10 HR
• 125 K / 34 BB

2018: (MLB) / (AAA) / (A)

(AAA / A)

• 6 starts
• 1.76 ERA
• 10.0 K/9 — 1.8 BB/9
• 2-1 record
• 30.2 IP
• 0 HR
• 34 K / 6 BB

(MLB)

• 5 starts
• 3.51 ERA
• 7.4 K/9 — 2.5 BB/9
• 2-1 record
• 25.2 IP
• 1 HR
• 21 K / 7 BB

2019 Spring Training:

N/A

INJURY REPORT: Mike Soroka has sat out all Spring from shoulder soreness. As reported by fellow Tomahawk Take writer, Steven Teal, the righty began throwing-activities again on February 28 and should be able to pitch for Gwinnett around Opening Day for the Triple-A team. It’s been inferred recently that Soroka will make a few starts for the Stripers before returning to the Braves towards the end of April or beginning of May.

WHAT HE NEEDS TO DO: Like Luiz Gohara, the 21-year-old Soroka needs to get right and make sure he’s healthy for the long haul. Mike Soroka is another young stud-prospect that has hit some recent roadblocks.

As you can see, Soroka’s last two seasons have featured some outstanding pitching by the Canadian. The Minors just aren’t a challenge anymore for him.

Soraka has already established a pretty sturdy base regarding his Major League rotation candidacy, as now everything is simply dependent on his complete recovery and performance once he’s back on the field.

Once he’s back and pitching in Triple-A games, if he can resemble the pitcher he has grown to be these past couple of seasons — he’ll be starting every fifth day for the Atlanta Braves in no time.

WHAT TO EXPECT: Soroka’s 1.9 BB/9 overall through his last two seasons in the Minors isn’t just dumb luck, as that’s 32 starts worth of data. His roughly 185 Minor League innings in 2017-2018 have consisted of a total of 159 strikeouts and just 40 walks.

Mike Soroka isn’t a Minor League pitcher and he belongs up with the Braves. At this very moment, the big league rotation has three rookies currently taking turns, and one or even two of them is bound to get hurt (not that I’m wishing for that) or will just not pitch well enough.

The first open spot will undoubtedly go to Soroka, as he’s been there and done it. So the assumption should be no different than it was going into the 2018 season: Mike Soroka is expected to end up in the Braves starting rotation this season.

#1. (3B) Austin Riley

#2 prospect — 55 FV — ETA: 2019

VIDEO — PLAYER PAGE

2017: (AA) / (A+)

• 129 games
• 484 AB
• .275 BA
• .786 OPS
• 20 HR
• 74 RBI
• 124 K (25.6 K%)
• 43 BB (8.8 BB%)

2018: (AAA) / (AA) / (RK)

• 108 games
• 408 AB
• .294 BA
• .882 OPS
• 19 HR
• 70 RBI
• 129 K (31.6 K%)
• 37 BB (9.0 BB%)

2019 Spring Training:

• 21 games
• 50 AB
• .280 BA
• .797 OPS
• 2 HR
• 3 RBI
• 12 K (24.0 K%)
• 5 BB (10.0 BB%)

WHAT HE NEEDS TO DO: As we’re all aware by now, strikeouts have been on the rise in Major League Baseball for several years now — it’s just part of the norm now. Well, prospect Austin Riley is included in that trend as well.

Site writer, and co-editor, Jake Mastroianni voiced his concern just this Spring in regards to Riley’s issues with strikeouts.

He’s never going to completely rid himself of this, and that’s OK, but striking out in 30 percent of your at-bats is just too much.

Sure he’s maintaining basically a .300 batting average while he’s punching out 3 out of 10 times, but just think of how great his numbers would be if he struck out around 15 percent of the time?

It’s not a matter of changing who he is, as he’s a fantastic hitter. But there needs to be a realistic goal for him to cut down on his K’s at least some.

WHAT TO EXPECT: As long as third baseman Josh Donaldson is earning $23 million of the Braves 2019 payroll there’s not really a viable path for Austin Riley at his current position. Now granted there could be an injury to JD (I hope not), and if there were, then Riley has a shot.

Expectations for Austin Riley’s 2019 season feel like they should be much grander than just another great Minor League season. He’s already done that, and several times over.

Unfortunately, he’s just simply blocked at the Major League level. So if I’m Austin Riley than I would truly work on bringing down some of those strikeouts, keep working hard on defense, and hope that an opportunity arises.

Also, no Braves fan wants to admit it, but Riley could be a valuable trade chip that would bring in some reinforcements in other areas. There hasn’t been any news or even any insinuations of that very thing, but who knows what the front office has planned.

As boring as it may seem, a realistic expectation for Austin Riley is: an improvement towards his strikeout-rate and another solid season in Triple-A. I know, I’m ready to see him in Atlanta too!

(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

A Few Honorable Mentions

(C) Alex Jackson

The 23-year-old catcher showed out this Spring now that he’s focusing on his hitting more:

• 13 G
• .250 BA
• .875 OPS
• 2 HR

Two aging backstops on the big league roster should keep Alex Jackson on his toes, as a call-up, even if short-lived, could come anytime for the California native.

(SP) Patrick Weigel

A former seventh-round pick in the 2015 MLB Draft, Weigel missed basically all of 2018 due to Tommy John surgery. A change in his arm action and some tinkering to his mechanics should now allow Weigel to put his name back on the long waiting list of future rotation members for the Atlanta Braves. Keep your eye out for this guy.

More from Tomahawk Take

• Atlanta Braves Acquire Lewin Diaz from the Orioles
• Atlanta Braves 2023 Preseason Top 30 Prospects List: 6-10
• Braves News: Giving the bullpen some love, Trevor Bauer reinstated, more
• Atlanta Braves: Which offseason moves have other NL East teams made?
• Show the bullpen some love

(RP) Jacob Webb

We will most likely see Webb with the Braves at some point in 2019, as the volatile nature of relievers always creates revisions to the big league bullpen. Jacob Webb pitched to a 6+ ERA in five games this Spring with the Braves, but he’s coming off of a cool 3.15 ERA in 50+ games last season across two levels of the organization (Mississippi Braves and Gwinnett Stripers).

(INF) Pedro Florimòn

Another 2019 Spring Training overachiever, Florimòn is a 32-year-old Swiss Army Knife in the infield. His .808 OPS in Florida this Spring didn’t go unnoticed, and neither did his 3 home runs in those 20 games. Florimòn has never really hit much in the Majors, but you never know when an older player is going to have a resurgence.

(SP) Huascar Ynoa

A 20-year-old from the Dominican Republic, Huascar Ynoa is a little like Touki Toussaint in that he can be all-or-nothing sometimes. The righty struck out 131 batters (10.1 K/9) in 116.1 innings-pitched last season across two levels of the organization (Single-A and Advanced-A).

However, his run-prevention and control was mediocre, as he ran a 4.56 ERA and walked 4.2 per nine. If he gets it figured out this season, then watch out.

Be sure to check the site daily, as lots of great content is routinely being published. Also, the next column of this 2019 Braves Minor League Preview will be up in the coming days, as we look at the Braves Double-A team — the Mississippi Braves.

Let us know your thoughts and expectations for the Gwinnett Stripers players below in the comments section!