Atlanta Braves farm report week 4: Austin Riley and the Stripers are heating up

(10-12) Mississippi Braves (AA)

WEEK 4 RECORD: 2-5

WEEKLY AWARDS: Mississippi Braves outfielder, Conner Lien, won the Southern Player of the Week and the Farm Bureau M-Braves Player of the Week for his performance last week (Week 3). Lien, the Braves 12th round pick in 2012, hit 3 home runs last week, including a 2-homer game.

M-Braves’ relief pitcher, Conner Johnstone, also received some hardware: winning the Farm Bureau M-Braves Pitcher of the Week. Johnstone, a 21st round pick by the Braves in 2017, started and struggled in Triple-A earlier this season; but he’s been excellent of late, with just one earned-run and 5 hits over 8.1 innings last week.

(4/22) Monday: Won 2-1 (F/10) vs. Montgomery Biscuits – FULL RECAP 

• (P) T. Davidson: 5 IP, H, 5 BB, 3 K
• (1B) R. Casteel: 1-4, HR, RBI, 2 K
• (SS) R. Didder: 1-4, RBI, 2 K

While the M-Braves’ bats have been the difference maker in recent weeks, the start of Week 4 featured some shutdown pitching by Mississippi on Monday.

As a team, the Braves only surrendered 2 hits in 10 innings, while walking six and striking out four. Starter Tucker Davidson (#20 prospect) threw 86 pitches and was a bit wild, but benefited from some strong defense as he had plenty of baserunners to deal with.

Davidson ended up having to square off against Biscuits starter, and Tampa Bay’s #2 prospect, Brendan McKay on Monday.

Christian Pache (#1 prospect) had two singles, while Drew Waters went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. Ray Patrick-Didder won it in the 10th with a perfect bunt down the third base line, scoring Luis Valenzuala.

(4/23) Tuesday: Lost 3-7 vs. Montgomery Biscuits – FULL RECAP

• (P) I. Anderson: 4 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 5 BB, 3 K
• (CF) C. Lien: 1-4, HR, 3 RBI, K
• (C) J. Morales: 2-4, R

The beginning of the 2019 season hasn’t been a very characteristic start for Braves # 4 prospect, Ian Anderson. The 20-year-old righty now has 13 walks in 17 innings-pitched and as demonstrated by his below-average outings thus far, he has a 4.76 ERA.

Conner Lien and catcher Jonathan Morales each scored a run Tuesday, while Lien continues to provide power for the Mississippi offense. Shortstop Ray Patrick-Didder went 1-for-3 and Daniel Lockhart finished 1-for-4 with a strikeout.

Twenty-seven-year-old Andy Wilkins went hitless Tuesday, bringing his season average and OPS to .150 and .525, respectively.

(4/24) Wednesday: Lost 4-6 vs. Mississippi Biscuits – FULL RECAP

• (P) K. Muller: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
• (C) J. Morales: 1-4, RBI
• (3B) L. Valenzuala: 2-4, RBI, K

Similar to Gwinnett’s Wednesday night game, the M-Braves received a refreshing performance from their starter, #13 prospect, Kyle Muller. The 2016 2nd round selection labored through his longest start of the young season, pitching into the 6th inning.

The two most prominent Mississippi players, #6 prospect Drew Waters and organization leader Christian Pache, went 1-for-4 and 2-for-4, respectively. Waters hit his first triple of 2019 and scored a run, while Pache had two base-hits with an RBI and a run scored.

(4/25) Thursday: PPD (rain)

(4/26) Friday: Lost 3-5 vs. Mobile BayBears – FULL RECAP

• (P) P. Weigel: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
• (P) J. Walker: 6.1 IP, 5 H, ER, 0 BB, 5 K
• (DH) R. Casteel: 1-3, RBI, BB, K

As usual, #19 prospect Patrick Weigel didn’t work very long as the Braves continue to ease him back into the rotation after his Tommy John surgery from last season. Jeremy Walker came in and pitched well enough for the win, but instead went home with the loss after making the longest outing of any M-Braves’ pitcher this season.

Offensively, the Braves didn’t do much, unable to manage an XBH. Drew Waters stole a base and went 0-for-4, and Christian Pache went hitless. Conner Lien had a base-hit, while walking three times. Friday night’s catcher, Carlos Martinez, went 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout

(4/27) Saturday: GM 1 Lost 3-8 vs. Mobile BayBears – FULL RECAP

(4/27) Saturday: GM 2 Lost 3-4 vs. Mobile BayBears – FULL RECAP

GAME 1

• (P) J. Wentz: 3 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
• (RF) D. Waters: 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, K
• (CF) C. Pache: 2-3, 2B, RBI, BB

A rough 4th inning by M-Braves’ starter Joey Wentz (4 ER in that inning), ruined a strong first three innings on the mound and resulted in a Braves loss.

Drew Waters and Christian Pache did their usual thing, with both prospects contributing with XBHs and RBI. Left fielder Conner Lien continues his excellent play, as he went hitless in Game 1, but drew a walk and stole second base.

Reliever Philip Pfeifer came in to relieve Wentz in the 4th (Wentz was unable to get an out) and worked 3 total innings, surrendering a run and two hits. Pfeifer struck out one and walked two.

GAME 2 (7 inn.)

• (P) T. Davidson: 5 IP, H, ER, 3 BB, 3 K
• (RF) D. Waters: 2-4, R, K
• (1B) R. Casteel: 3-4, 2 2B, RBI, 2 R, K

Drew Waters opened up the scoring for the M-Braves again in Game 2, hitting a single in the 1st and scoring soon after from an RBI single by Ryan Casteel (who had a heck of a game).

Starter Tucker Davidson pitched a gem in terms of limiting the damage, but all of that went to waste when Huascar Ynoa allowed 3 runs (including a HR). Ynoa only pitched 1.2 innings, but the damage was done.

Christian Pache finished 0-for-3 with two strikeouts but moved Drew Waters to second base in the 1st inning on a perfect sac-bunt.

We haven’t seen much production out of the big man, Andy Wilkins, but in Game 2 he finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and a strikeout. Also, Daniel Lockhart contributed with two hits and an RBI.

(4/28) Sunday: Won 6-0 vs. Mobile BayBears – FULL RECAP

• (P) I. Anderson: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
• (SS) R. Didder: 2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, K
• (1B) R. Casteel: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R, 2 K

Drew Waters once again led off the game with a hit (his third time doing so) and the M-Braves received a quality start from their starting pitcher for the first time this season.

Ian Anderson’s gem on Sunday improves the #3 prospect’s 2019 numbers to a 1-1 record and 3.52 ERA.

Ray Patrick-Didder went off on Sunday, hitting 2 homers in a game for the first time in his career and raising his average to .153 for the time being.

Christian Pache finished with a single and a double, as he’s been locked in from day one. Pache is hitting at a .313 clip thus far, with 7 doubles.

The 20-year-old phenom, Drew Waters, is now batting a nice and even .300 with an .840 OPS. It’s been a fantastic four weeks for Waters and Pache in Mississippi.

Players of the Week

(1B) Ryan Casteel

• 2019: 8 G, .357 BA, 1.169 OPS, 2 HR
• Week 4: 5 G, .421 BA, 2 HR, 3 2B, 6 RBI

Casteel hadn’t played much until recently, but he’s been on fire since his first game. Until Casteel slows down, we won’t be seeing much of the 27-year-old Andy Wilkins at first base.

(RP) Jeremy Walker

• 2019: 4 app., 22 IP, 19 H, 6 ER, BB, 16 K
• Week 4: 1 app., 6.1 IP, 5 H, ER, 0 BB, 5 K

Walker doesn’t make starts, but as a reliever, he’s been extremely reliable, especially when it comes to limiting walks (only 1 BB in 22 innings). Ian Anderson would’ve won it this week if not for his poor start on Tuesday.

(8-16) Florida Fire Frogs (A+)

WEEK 4 RECORD: 2-5 

(4/22) Monday: Won 7-1 vs. Clearwater Threshers – FULL RECAP

• (P) F. Tarnok: 4.2 IP, 2 H, ER, 3 BB, 4 K
• (CF) I. Wilson: 1-3, HR, RBI, BB, K
• (LF) J. Ramos: 1-5, HR, 3 RBI, K

Keeping with the solid hitting on Monday, the Fire Frogs hit well too with 12 team hits. Greyson Jenista (#14 prospect) had two hits, with one being a double.

Monday’s DH, Rusbar Estrada, went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run-scored. The hot-hitting kept coming from shortstop Riley Unroe, as he went 2-for-5 with a run-scored and stole a base.

The organization’s #7 prospect, catcher William Contreras, had a single and two strikeouts in five at-bats.

(4/23) Tuesday: Lost 0-1 vs. Clearwater Threshers – FULL RECAP

• (P) H. Deal: 7 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 6 K
• (SS) R. Unroe: 2-3, 2B
• (C) W. Contreras: 1-4, K

The Fire Frogs and Threshers tangled up in a pitcher’s duel on Tuesday, as both starters combined for 18 strikeouts. Spencer Howard (Phillies’ #3 prospect) pitched a 4-hitter and struck out 11 Fire Frog hitters.

Hayden Deal also pitched well, forcing 11 ground balls out of the 12 that were put in play during his outing (90 pitches).

Left fielder Jefrey Ramos picked up a base-hit and struck out twice, while Drew Lugbauer went 1-for-4 also, striking out twice.

(4/24) Wednesday: Lost 1-13 vs. Clearwater Threshers – FULL RECAP

• (P) K. Weisenberg: 4 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 4 K
• (DH) W. Contreras: 1-3, 2B, R, BB, K
• (2B) R. Delgado: 1-4

Florida’s pitching did well up until the 4th inning (gave up 10 ER total in 4th and 5th innings) and reliever Cutter Dials received the brunt of the damage, giving up 6 runs and only managing to punch out one Thresher hitter.

Third baseman Kevin Josephina picked up one of Florida’s four hits on Wednesday, going 1-for-4 with an RBI (his 8th in 2019).

Greyson Jenista (#14 prospect) was hitless in his 4 tries and struck out twice.

(4/25) Thursday: Lost 9-10 vs. St. Lucie Mets – FULL RECAP

• (P) N. Kingham: 5.2 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
• (CF) G. Jenista: 1-2, HR, 2 RBI, 3 BB
• (SS) R. Unroe: 3-5, HR, 2 RBI, BB, K

The Fire Frogs offense generated 15 hits on Thursday in a game that wasn’t too great for either starting pitcher. Greyson Jenista went deep in the 4th inning for his first homer this season and Izzy Wilson and Riley Delgado both finished with doubles.

Catcher William Contreras had himself a nice game as well, with a 3-for-5 evening, scoring two runs for the Fire Frogs.

Left fielder Jefrey Ramos finished with 2 hits and an RBI and Brett Langhorne also had multiple hits in his 5 at-bats, drawing a walk and striking out once. All in all, a nice game for an offense that has yet to really start clicking in 2019.

(4/26) Friday: Lost 3-7 vs. St. Lucie Mets – FULL RECAP

• (P) T. Beck: 1.1 IP, 0 H, ER, 2 BB, 0 K
• (RF) G. Jenista: 1-4, HR, RBI, K
• (SS) R. Unroe: 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB, K

Friday night ended on an extremely sour note, and not just because the Fire Frogs lost. Starter Tristan Beck was removed from his start in the second inning of Friday’s contest due to a mystery injury. That’s a bad sign for Florida’s future, as Beck is considered one of the top arms in a relatively shallow starting rotation.

(UPDATE: As of April 28, Tristan Beck is on the 7-day IL.)

The 22-year-old Greyson Jenista continues to hit well of late, hitting his second homer in as many games, giving him 2 for the season.

Shortstop Riley Unroe, a 23-year-old former 2017 Rule 5 pick, is nearing article-worthy as he has been playing extremely well in 2019. Unroe is now batting .300 and has went 4-for-8 over his last two games.

Brooks Wilson came in the game in the 2nd and pitched 2.2 innings, followed by three more relievers to get through the game for Florida.

(4/27) Saturday: Lost 9-10 (F/10) vs. St. Lucie Mets – FULL RECAP

• (P) F. Tarnok: 2 IP, 7 H, 8 ER, 2 BB
• (1B) D. Lugbauer: 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, BB
• (C) W. Contreras: 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB

The Fire Frogs found themselves down 3-8 after three rough innings from starter Freddy Tarnok, but over the course of the game, the Florida bats almost got the win.

As they chipped away, Greyson Jenista picked up 2 hits and two RBI with a walk and two strikeouts; Left fielder Jefrey Ramos went 4-for-5 with a double (his 4th) and an RBI, also drawing a walk.

Every batter in the lineup contributed with a hit except DH Rusber Estrada, who went 0-for-3 but did hit a sac-fly in the 2nd.

Speedster Sean Michel went 1-for-3 with two walks, a base hit and a stolen base (his 3rd). Reliever Matt Hartman came in in the 3rd inning and pitched fantastic, allowing Florida to come back. Hartman worked 5 innings and struck out 2, walking two and only allowing one hit and no runs.

(4/28) Sunday: Won 3-2 vs. St. Lucie Mets – FULL RECAP

• (P) Del La Cruz: 6 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 6 K
• (RF) I. Wilson: 1-3, HR, RBI, BB, K
• (C) W. Contreras: 4-4, 2 2B, BB

The Fire Frogs capped off Week 4 with a strong outing from Jasseel Del La Cruz, improving to 1-0 this season and sporting an excellent 1.50 ERA to boot.

William Contreras (#7 prospect) had an impressive week and finished Sunday 4-for-4. Contreras is leading the team with a .333 batting average and .857 OPS.

Greyson Jenista had a rough one Sunday, going hitless and dropping his average to .213 thus far. Hopefully he can pick things back up this upcoming week.

Shortstop Riley Unroe, who’s second on the team in offense, picked up a hit in 5 at-bats. Unroe is now hitting .284 at the completion of Week 4 and has been an outstanding leadoff hitter for Florida.

Players of the Week

(C) William Contreras

• 2019: 22 G, .333 BA, .857 OPS, HR, 7 2B, 7 RBI
• Week 4: 7 G, .448 BA, 4 2B, 2 RBI, 4 BB / 6 K

It was a bit of a toss-up between Contreras and shortstop Riley Unroe, but Contreras’ average was 148 points higher and he struck out less.

(SP) Jasseel De La Cruz

• 2019: 1 start, win, 6 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 6 K
• Week 4: 1 start, win, 6 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 6 K

De La Cruz has only made one start since being moved up to Advanced-A from Rome, and he barely edged out Hayden Deal for Pitcher of the Week, as Deal was unable to notch the win in his start (even though pitcher wins are… well you know). Regardless, the pitching in Florida this past week was just plain bad.

(9-14) Rome Braves (A)

WEEK 4 RECORD: 3-4 

(4/22) Monday: Lost 5-10 vs. Lakewood BlueClaws – FULL RECAP

• (P) Del La Cruz: 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, BB, 4 K
• (DH) B. Venter: 2-4, 2 2B, RBI, BB, K, BB
• (LF) A. Moritz: 3-5, RBI

The Rome Braves got a strong outing from starter Jasseel De La Cruz on Monday (before he was promoted to Florida), but an uncharacteristically bad showing from reliever Victor Vodnik spoiled his excellent start. Vodnik gave up a homer, three earned runs, and 4 hits in his 1.2 innings of middle-relief work.

Trey Harris kept up the good work, reaching on a base hit, walking, and scoring a run. Third baseman Darling Florentino also finished with a single and a run scored on Monday.

Rounding out the offense, shortstop Carlos Paraguate went 1-for-2 with an RBI and a walk.

(4/23) Tuesday: Lost 2-3 vs. Lakewood BlueClaws – FULL RECAP

• (P) J. Olague: 3 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 0 K
• (SS) C. Paraguate: 1-4, 2B, R, 2 K
• (2B) G. Cullen: 1-3, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K

Right fielder Trey Harris picked up a hit for the 4th-straight game as he went 2-for-4 in Rome’s loss Tuesday. Griffin Benson struck out twice, but got a much-needed base-hit, keeping his average at .169 for the season.

With the team just picking up 6 hits, Jose Olague‘s struggles were magnified on the mound, as he suffered his third loss this season (now 1-3).

Jake Higginbotham relieved Olague in the 4th inning and pitched 3 frames himself, surrendering a hit while striking out two and walking two.

(4/24) Wednesday: Won 1-0 vs. Lakewood BlueClaws – FULL RECAP

• (P) T. Riley: 6 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, BB, 2 K
• (2B) G. Cullen: 1-3, 2B, K
• (3B) D. Florentino: 2-3, 2B, R

Rome won a snoozefest on Wednesday, as not only was it a low scoring affair, but neither starting pitcher really dominated or struck many guys out. The Braves sole run came in the 8th inning and ironically Lakewood outhit the Braves 9-4, but all Rome needed was one run in the end.

Trey Harris — the only real bright spot in this Rome lineup at the moment, other than catcher Logan Brown — went 0-for-2 as the team’s designated hitter.

Rome’s one run in the 8th came from shortstop Carlos Paraguate. He finished 1-for-3 with his go-ahead RBI and a strikeout.

(4/25) Thursday: Won 3-2 vs. Kannapolis Intimidators – FULL RECAP

• (P) O. Javier: 5 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, BB, 6 K
• (LF) T. Harris: 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB
• (C) L. Brown: 1-4, RBI

The Braves continue to finish games as the loser when it comes to overall hits as a team, but on Thursday they hit well enough to win the game. Trey Harris and Logan Brown both picked up hits, and third baseman Braulio Vasquez finished 1-for-3 with a strikeout.

Other than that, no other Rome hitter picked up a hit, which has been the trend lately in 2019. Reliever Dilmer Mejia came into the game in the 6th and pitched 3 innings of one-hit ball to pick up his second win of the season.

Lukas Young held down the ninth to convert his second save of 2019, striking out 2 and walking one.

(4/26) Friday: Won 6-4 vs. Kannapolis Intimidators – FULL RECAP

• (P) A. Rangel: 4 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
• (1B) G. Benson: 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB
• (DH) L. Brown: 3-4, 2 R, K

In a very rare occurrence, the Rome Braves played a complete game with both the hitting and pitching performing well on Friday. Starter Alan Rangel surrendered 4 runs, but was efficient in not walking anyone and showed some stints of dominance with his six strikeouts.

The usual starting catcher, Logan Brown, DHed on Friday and had yet another great game with the bat, picking up 3 hits. Right fielder Trey Harris had a base-hit, scored a run, and drew a walk. Last year’s 17th round pick, Justin Dean, finished 2-for-5 with a strikeout on Friday.

The Rome bullpen pitched excellent, with the usually-stingy Victor Vodnik picking up the win with his 3 dominant innings of work.

(4/27) Saturday: Lost 5-12 vs. Kannapolis Intimidators – FULL RECAP

• (P) G. Noguerra: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
• (LF) A. Moritz: 2-5, 3B, RBI, K
• (RF) T. Harris: 3-4, RBI, 2 R

Rome’s Gabriel Noguerra made his first start of 2019 and pitched relatively well, walking none and striking out 4 on Saturday. The Braves offense ran into some strong pitching from Kannapolis’ starter, Jonathan Stiever, as he went 6 innings and struck out seven with no walks.

Logan Brown keeps hitting, going 2-for-4, and the hot Trey Harris had himself a 3-hit game with two runs and an RBI.

Second baseman Greg Cullen finished with a hit and Justin Dean scored a run and notched a base-hit, also stealing a base. Rome’s shortstop, Carlos Paraguate, has been struggling of late, but he picked himself up a hit and a walk on Saturday night.

(4/28) Sunday: Lost 6-7 vs. Kannapolis Intimidators – FULL RECAP

• (P) J. Olague: 1.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• (DH) G. Benson: 2-5, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, 3 K
• (LF) A. Moritz: 2-5, RBI, R

The starting pitching was shaky once again as Rome lost another one on Sunday.

Trey Harris went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a walk, giving him a .370 average in 2019. Logan Brown was 0-for-4 in the last game of Week 4, but he’s still hitting at a .354 clip (second behind Harris).

Left fielder Andrew Moritz is still trying to get things going in 2019, and he made an improvement Sunday with his 2 hits. Moritz is currently batting .263 at the end of play on Sunday.

Sunday’s starter, Jose Olague, now has a 5.12 ERA and is 1-3. He has 11 strikeouts and 4 walks in 19.1 innings in 2019.

Players of the Week

(OF) Trey Harris

• 2019: 23 G, .370 BA, .977 OPS, HR, 6 2B, 9 RBI
• Week 4: 7 G, .375 BA, 2B, 4 RBI

Trey Harris is the top performer for Rome in back-to-back weeks, showing more so how weak the Rome offense is than anything. There aren’t many contributors helping out at the moment in Rome. After guys like Harris, Logan Brown and Andrew Moritz — it’s slim pickings throughout the lineup.

(SP) Trey Riley

• 2019: 4 starts, 0-3, 18.2 IP, 5.30 ERA, 13 K
• Week 4: 1 start, 5 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, BB, 6 K

Rome didn’t have very much quality pitching this past week, but starter Trey Riley did make some strides as he made a solid start on Wednesday. He had been struggling in his previous three starts, so Wednesday’s outing will hopefully get him going in the right direction.

Thus ends the fourth Atlanta Braves farm report… and it essentially puts a wrap on the month of April as well.