Atlanta Braves Farm Report Week 2: Rafael Ortega Has Himself a Week in Gwinnett
By Clint Manry
(Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
(5-6) Florida Fire Frogs (A+)
WEEK 2 RECORD: 3-4
Monday, April 8
Won: 7-6 (F/10)
Jupiter Hammerheads @ Florida Fire Frogs
- (P) Keith Weisenberg: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, BB, K
- (DH) Rusber Estrada: 1-5, HR, 2 RBI, 3 K
- (1B) Kevin Josephina: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R, BB
The Fire Frogs walked it off in the 10th from an RBI single off the bat of catcher Zack Soria on Monday night. The Fire Frogs and Hammerheads traded blows all game, as Florida picked up 7 hits to Jupiter’s 9.
Right fielder, and 2018 draft pick, Greyson Jenista went 1-for-4 with a run-scored and a walk.
Keith Weisenberg got the start and was decent, but Florida’s best pitcher on Monday was reliever Jon Kennedy, who struck out 4 in two innings.
Tuesday, April 9
Lost: 2-5
Jupiter Hammerheads @ Florida Fire Frogs
- (P) Huascar Ynoa: 3.1 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB, 4 K
- (C) W. Contreras: 2-3, HR, RBI, R, BB, K
- (LF) Jefrey Ramos: 2-4, HR, RBI, R , 2 K
Florida’s starter Huascar Ynoa had to throw 75 pitches just to get through 3.2 innings on Tuesday, and the Hammerheads scored two eighth-inning runs to extend their lead and win Game 2.
William Contreras bashed his first homer of the season, while outfielder Jefrey Ramos also got his first home run, belting a seventh-inning drive to straight center.
Outfielder Izzy Wilson was initially given the game off, but he ended up pinch-hitting for Rusber Estrada in the ninth — resulting in a strikeout. Jupiter’s starter, Braxton Garrett, lasted 4 innings and struck out six, only giving up 2 hits.
Wednesday, April 10
Won: 6-5
Jupiter Hammerheads @ Florida Fire Frogs
- (LF) Jefrey Ramos: 2-5, 3B, 2 RBI
- (C) William Contreras: 2-4, RBI, R, BB
- (2B) Riley Delgado: 3-4, RBI, 2 R
- (P) T. Beck: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
The Fire Frogs won on Wednesday night from a go-ahead run scored by Riley Delgado after Jupiter’s third baseman made a fielding error in the eighth inning, giving Florida their fourth win of the season.
A game in which the Frogs struggled to move base runners (3-for-15 with RISP), the team hit well as they notched 11 hits overall. The entire lineup, except for Greyson Jenista and catcher Rusber Estrada, got in on the hitting action; but the Frogs only managed one XBH from Jefrey Ramos’s triple in the first.
Starter Tristen Beck maybe threw too many strikes (72 pitches and only 12 balls), as he got knocked around a bit over his 5 innings of work. Reliever Daysbel Hernandez picked up his second win of 2019 when he appeared in the eighth inning to finish the game. Hernandez struck out three, walked none, and gave up zero hits in his two frames.
Thursday, April 11
Lost: 0-2
Jupiter Hammerheads @ Florida Fire Frogs
- (P) Freddy Tarnok: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
- (1B) Drew Lugbauer: 1-2, 2B, BB, K
- (C) William Contreras: 1-4, 2B, 2 K
Thursday’s day game was all about Jupiter’s pitcher, Edward Cabrera (Marlins #13 prospect), as he shut down the Fire Frogs to the tune of:
6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K
The Frogs really couldn’t muster anything together, and the doubles hit by Lugbauer and Contreras were the only hits for the team (yeah, Jupiter’s relievers shut Florida down as well).
There really wasn’t much exciting about Thursday’s loss. Freddy Tarnok pitched efficiently (67 pitches / 47 strikes), but reliever Jon Kennedy got handed the loss when he allowed a run to score in the seventh from a force-out, followed by an RBI-single in the same frame.
Friday, April 12
Won: 10-7
Florida Fire Frogs @ St. Lucie Mets
- (P) Hayden Deal: 5 IP, 3 R, ER, 3 BB, 4 K
- (2B) B. Langhorne: 1-3, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB
- (SS) Riley Unroe: 3-4, 2B, 3 RBI, BB
Starting-pitcher, Hayden Deal, picked up his first win of 2019, as he kept the St. Lucie Mets from hitting anything out of the dirt (8 groundouts / 1 flyout). Reliever Justin Kelly appeared in the seventh and worked two strong innings, striking out four, and not allowing a hit, while converting his first hold.
The Fire Frogs offense broke out for 15 hits (4 doubles and a homer) and was super efficient with runners on the basepaths (7-for-12 with RISP). Riley Unroe’s three RBI Friday were his first three of 2019.
Greyson Jenista hit a double and went 2-for-5 with an RBI and two strikeouts. He also got caught stealing second in the third inning. The Fire Frogs jumped all over St. Lucie’s starter on Friday night (Kyle Wilson), as Florida knocked him around for 7 earned-runs from a home run and 9 hits in just 3.1 innings.
Saturday, April 13
Lost: 1-11
Florida Fire Frogs @ St. Lucie Mets
- (P) K. Weisenberg: 3 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, K
- (RF) G. Jenista: 1-4, 2B, K
- (SS) Riley Unroe: 2-4, 2B, K
The NY Mets sixth-round pick from last year’s draft, starting-pitcher Tyler Wilson, gave the Fire Frogs fits on Saturday; striking out six and allowing 5 hits.
The Frogs couldn’t do much at all, only managing 5 hits as a team and going 0-for-7 with RISP. Keith Weisenberg just didn’t have it on Saturday, as he only threw 38 strikes out of 68 total pitches in 3 innings.
There’s not much to say about the Florida offense or the pitching in this game, but reliever Daysbel Hernandez pitched rather well. Hernandez worked 1.1 innings and struck out three, while walking one. Every other Fire Frogs pitcher had at least one earned-run on the day, except Hernandez.
Sunday, April 14
Lost: 2-4
Florida Fire Frogs @ St. Lucie Mets
- (P) H. Ynoa: 3.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, BB, 6 K
- (1B) D. Lugbauer: 1-4, HR, RBI, 2 K
- (DH) W. Contreras: 1-4: R
Six out of the nine hitters in the Florida lineup recorded a hit, but none of them resulted in any RBI (except for Lugbauer’s HR), as the Fire Frogs only hit two XBHs on Sunday.
William Contreras scored on a wild pitch in the ninth, but with 2 outs no one else could muster up any more runs.
Huascar Ynoa pitched good enough to get the win but was still rather wild in this one. Even with his early-season control issues, Ynoa is still sporting a 3.27 ERA in 2019.
The Florida offense has been struggling a bit this week, with only one hitter in the lineup running an OPS over .800 (Riley Unore has a .811 OPS). William Contreras is hanging in there with a .273 batting average and .775 OPS, but several Fire Frogs hitters are hitting with sub-600 rates:
- (C) Rusber Estrada: .508 OPS (.176 BA)
- (2B) Brett Langhorne: .536 OPS (.126 BA)
- (LF) Sean Michel: .499 OPS (.190 BA)
Hopefully they’ll have a better week next week.