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

By Clint Manry

CUDHAM, ENGLAND - AUGUST 15: A tractor works in a field on August 15, 2018 in Cudham, England. The National Farmers' Union has warned that Britain would 'run out of food' next year if it cannot continue to easily import from the European Union after Brexit negotiations have ended and in the event of a 'no-deal Brexit'. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
CUDHAM, ENGLAND - AUGUST 15: A tractor works in a field on August 15, 2018 in Cudham, England. The National Farmers' Union has warned that Britain would 'run out of food' next year if it cannot continue to easily import from the European Union after Brexit negotiations have ended and in the event of a 'no-deal Brexit'. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) /
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(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.

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