Atlanta Braves Week 6 Farm Report: Takeaways from each level

Check out the Atlanta Braves Minor League action from Week 6 in this week’s Farm Report.

The Atlanta Braves are still getting some great performances from some of their top prospects, though, there’s still a few that haven’t quite lived up to their ranking — just yet.

Need a refresher?

• Week1 
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4
• Week 5

(21-16) Gwinnett Stripers (AAA)

Week 6 Record: 4-3

The Week At A Glance

It was another solid week for Gwinnett, winners of three-straight as they closed out the week.

After finishing up their series on Monday with a win versus the Durham Bulls, the Stripers played a 3-game set with the Buffalo Bisons — the team that Vlad Jr. (MLB’s #1 prospect) played out a short stint with this season and currently rosters Cavan Biggio (Blue Jays #12 prospect).

The Bisons took two of three from Gwinnett, then next on the docket for the Stripers was the Pawtucket Red Sox — where Michael Chavis (Red Sox #3 prospect) played earlier this season before his big league call-up.

Gwinnett swept the weekend series with Pawtucket, ending Week 6 on a high note as the Stripers won by a score of 4-1 on Sunday from eight team hits and a strong 6-inning start from pitcher Andres Santiago (now 2-2).

Here’s a clip of a few long balls that the Stripers hit on Friday:

And on Saturday, Gwinnett’s unique walk-off win from an RBI-foul ball from Austin Riley, scoring Ryan LaMarre to win the game:

Week 6 Takeaways

1. Austin Riley has reached new heights:

If there was ever any doubt whatsoever whether or not third baseman Austin Riley was the future hot corner for the Atlanta Braves, I believe he’s destroyed those concerns through the first 36 games of 2019.

Folks, he’s coming.

He has been playing in the outfield for Gwinnett (mostly left field) since Friday, an obvious demand from the Atlanta Braves front office as they look to find some way to implement him into the big league lineup.

His numbers are ridiculous at the moment, and so far he’s already hit 14 home runs, more than he hit last season in 75 games, and six less than he did in 129 games back in 2016 with Rome.

Riley has figured it out it seems. He’s running a K-rate almost 10% below his career mark and walking around 3% more than last season. This isn’t luck either, his current BABIP is one of the lowest figures of his career.

There will be more on Riley in the coming days, as an article almost has to be written about his gains this year, so I don’t want to spoil too much.

I’m still hoping Donaldson breaks out and enjoys a great season (he’s been fine), but I think Austin Riley has done all he can do and deserves a shot at third base in 2020, or a spot somewhere this season.

Here’s that pretty swing from the right side…

https://twitter.com/MiLB/status/1127370981276823552?s=19

2.  It’s time do something with Adam Duvall:

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a piece on Adam Duvall, reporting on his fantastic start to the 2019 campaign. I also noted that he could potentially be worth something as a trade piece.

Our newest member of the writing team, Andrew, dove deeper into that topic with his piece Friday.

My particular piece stemmed from comments made by several ‘regulars’  of our site a couple of weeks ago, and I thought it was an interesting topic. It seems that the opinions are basically split down the middle in terms of what to do with Duvall.

Some want to trade him and some want to keep him and call him up. I honestly don’t feel strongly either way, but I do feel like a decision needs to be made very soon.

My article went out on May 1, and at that time, Duvall was tearing it up to the tune of a .312 batting average, 7 doubles, and 8 home runs. Oh yeah … he only had five more strikeouts than walks (12 BB / 17 K) during that 25-game span.

Well, from May 2 to May 12 (10 games), Duvall hit just .222 (8-for-36) with 2 homers and 2 doubles. In that span, he has 12 strikeouts and six walks. That stretch of performance isn’t terrible, but it’s apparent he’s trending downward.

With the way Duvall has approached hitting in the past, it won’t take long for him to be in a bad place performance-wise. The Atlanta Braves need to do something with him before that happens.

*Note: That second homer he hit in the past 10 games came in the last game of Week 6, on Sunday.

3. Bryse Wilson is not impressing:

As the #10 prospect in the Atlanta Braves organization, Bryse Wilson has yet to get things going consistently on the mound. I wrote about Wilson last month regarding my concern of his poor start to the season, and he hasn’t really done anything to make those concerns go away.

Wilson is currently running a 5.74 ERA through six starts (though his FIP is 4.94) and even though his 30 strikeouts and 7 walks are fine, his six home runs given up are a tad concerning since he’s never really had a problem with the long ball.

Bryse has only made one big league start and it wasn’t great (3.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 3 K, HR). He made a relief appearance four days before that start, though it was just one inning of work. I was hoping for more from him.

*Note: Bryse Wilson’s last start was Friday. His line: 6 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 5 K, 2 HR.

Players of the Week

(3B) A. Riley: .296 BA, 4 HR, 2B, 8 RBI

(SP) K. Allard: 2 W, 12 IP, 5 ER, 10 K, 3 BB

As you’ve read above, Austin Riley is really a no-brainer for this week. He’s turned it up a notch even after a strong start earlier in the season.

Here’s a fun fact, Riley already has four 2-homer games in just 36 games played. He’s got hits in 6 of his last 10 with five of those six being of the multi-hit variety. There’s your 2020 big league third baseman … or maybe 2019 outfielder?

One start doesn’t make a season, but Kolby Allard‘s most recent outing on Saturday was a big improvement compared to previous starts 6 IP, 2 H, 2 R, BB, 7 K). However, the pitching in Gwinnett was rather weak in Week 6.

Allard was less effective on Monday (his first start of the week) with 3 earned runs and three strikeouts. Hopefully the most recent start is the beginnings of something positive from here on out.

(17-18) Mississippi Braves (AA)

Week 6 Record: 2-5

The Week At A Glance

The M-Braves took a step back as a team in Week 6, capping off a 2-5 week with a rough loss on Mother’s Day against the Montgomery Biscuits, 9-3. Joey Wentz (#11 prospect) couldn’t even get an out as he surrendered 6 runs before being yanked.

In Thursday’s loss to Pensacola, there was a huge scare regarding starter Ian Anderson (#4 prospect). Anderson was struck in the neck by a comebacker in the 3rd inning and had to leave the game for “precautionary reasons”.

I’ve seen reports on Twitter that the ball actually hit the top of his hand before hitting his neck, so maybe the ball slowed enough to avoid any serious injuries.

He remains ‘active’ on MiLB.com, and I haven’t seen any updates, so I’d say he’s good to go after the near-miss.

Week 6 Takeaways

1. Christian Pache and Drew Waters feed off one another:

I don’t know what kind of relationship Pache (#1 prospect) and Waters (#6 prospect) have in terms of their friendship, but it has been amazing to see how similar both players are performing in Mississippi as the M-Braves’ 1-2 punch at the top of the batting order.

It seems like all this season that when one has a big game, the other does. And when one doesn’t, the other doesn’t. Just this past week, Pache only played five games compared to Waters’ seven, but their game logs are very similar. Here are a few that were comparable (remember these are just from Week 6);

• Monday (5/6)

Pache:1-for-5, 2 K  — Waters: 0-for-5, 4 K

• Tuesday (5/7)

Pache: 2-for-4, HR — Waters: 3-for-5, HR

• Thursday (5/9)

Pache: 0-for-4, 3 K — Waters: 0-for-4, K

If you look at their season closely and game-by-game, you’ll see a lot of very similar finishes.

Their season stats are pretty close: Christian Pache with a .306 average and 3 home runs, and Drew Waters with a .336 average with 3 homers. Waters has 41 strikeouts and 7 walks, while Pache has 36 strikeouts with 10 walks.

I think it’s safe to say that these two young players imitate each other rather well and I think that’s really cool.

2. The starting rotation has been outstanding at preventing runs.

This M-Braves rotation is like a prospect All-Star staff, with literally every pitcher being a top-21 prospect in the Atlanta Braves organization.

Other than Joey Wentz’s (#11 prospect) 5.70 ERA — and that got propped up from Sunday’s awful start — the rest of the Mississippi hurlers are all under 3.60 (prospect ranking in parentheses):

• (#4) I. Anderson (3.58 ERA / 7 starts)
• (#13) K. Muller (2.45 ERA / 7 starts)
• (#21) P. Weigel (1.72 ERA / 7 starts)
• (#20) T. Davidson (1.52 ERA/ 6 starts)

Wentz made two starts in Week 6, with his first one being decent as he gave up three runs and struck out two; but his start on Sunday was as bad as it gets (0.0 IP, 3 H, 6 R, 3 BB).

Tucker Davidson pitched 5 innings and punched out seven in his start Wednesday, while only surrendering one run; and Ian Anderson did give up 4 runs in his shortened start on Thursday, but before that he’d been doing well.

Patrick Weigel, if you’re not aware, is still being gently worked in this season. Here’s a short clip from his start Saturday:

Weigel had Tommy John surgery last year, so he hasn’t pitched 4 innings yet in a single start. But the results have been great for him so far as he has struck out 16 batters in 15.2 innings, with only 3 earned runs.

Players of the Week

(OF) D. Waters:  .312 BA, HR, 3B, 2 2B, 3 SB

(SP) K. Muller: W, 7 IP, 5 H, ER, 2 BB, 6 K

It’s no longer a surprise with Drew Waters as he’s maintained a plus-.300 average in 34 games so far in 2019. Double-A baseball is obviously not too much for him.

Here’s the league-leader in doubles, hits, and XBHs taking batting practice Saturday:

Waters had a rough game to start Week 6, going 0-for-5 with 4 strikeouts, but he made up for it on Tuesday, hitting a walk-off 2-run home run to beat Pensacola 5-3.

He followed that up with a 3-for-5 performance on Wednesday, hitting a single and two doubles. Then on Friday and Saturday combined, he went 4-for-9 with two doubles and two stolen bases.

Get ready, he’s going to be in the outfield grass at Sun Trust Park before you know it.

Kyle Muller has been a highly anticipated prospect for a couple of seasons now. After a strong 2017, he’s building off of last year’s solid run-prevention (3.10 ERA in Double-A and 3.24 in A+) by once again featuring a low rate of 2.45 so far this season.

While he’s been effective this season, Friday was his first quality-start of 2019 and also his first win. Muller got the victory against Pensacola after working through 99 pitches (63 strikes).

So far he’s keeping the ball on the ground (45.7 GB%) and striking out 9.27 per nine. Muller just needs to work on his 7.09 BB/9, and more starts like Friday’s will help.

(14-22) Florida Fire Frogs (A+)

Week 6 Record: 3-4

The Week At A Glance

Florida has been up-and-down all season, suffering from inconsistency both with hitting and pitching. In Week 6, the Fire Frogs started off with a doubleheader on Monday, losing both by a combined score of 12-2 to the Lakeland Flying Tigers.

Tuesday and Wednesday the two teams split, with Florida shutting out Lakeland 4-0 on Tuesday, thanks to some stingy pitching by Florida starter Nolan Kingham (6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, BB, 2 K).

Thursday was another win for the Frogs, with starter Freddy Tarnok (#15 prospect) tossing 5 innings of four-hit ball and striking out four. Tarnok picked up the win, his first of 2019.

In Thursday’s win, first baseman Drew Lugbauer and catcher William Contreras (#7 prospect) led the team, with Lugbauer slugging a 3-run homer and Contreras hitting a double and scoring a run.

On Friday, in Game 1 of their series with the Jupiter Hammerheads, the Fire Frogs jumped out to an 8-run lead in the first inning, with shortstop Riley Unroe hitting a grand slam.

Jasseel De La Cruz pitched a fantastic game, going seven innings and striking out seven. He gave up 3 runs, but Friday’s outing gave him at least 6 innings pitched and six strikeouts in three straight starts.

Saturday capped off the week for Florida. The Frogs went to extra innings with Jupiter, losing 3-2 in 11 innings. Hunter Deal got the start and finished with 7 strikeouts and 4 walks, working 6.2 innings and surrendering a run on 4 hits.

Week 6 Takeaways

1. Another rough week for Greyson Jenista:

Since being selected in the 2nd round of last year’s draft, Jenista (#14 prospect) had performed just as you would want a top-15 prospect to perform. Last season he flew through both Rookie ball teams, but once he got to Florida things slowed down a bit.

In 19 games with the Fire Frogs in 2018, Jenista hit .152 with a 34 wRC+. It wasn’t pretty, but a lot of us looked at it just being 19 games, so no big deal. But now it’s been 53 games, total, between 2018 and this season.

For 2019, Jenista is batting .222 in 34 games. He has 2 home runs and has struck out 38 times compared to 16 walks. That’s not too bad, hovering around a 20-25% K-rate, but his .647 OPS is well below average.

I know every prospect doesn’t hit the ground hitting like crazy — and the guy was literally just drafted last year — but I thought he’d be doing better by now. In Week 6 Jenista batted .206 with one XBH.

2. Who’s this De La Cruz fella?

Pegged a 35+ FV by Fangraphs, Jasseel De La Cruz is obviously not projected to do much as a big league pitcher (he’s ranked #28 on the Braves prospect list).

Signed out of the D.R. in 2015, De La Cruz has a minor league career ERA of 3.71 with 8.4 K/9 — not too shabby. De La Cruz started 2019 in Rome, where he made 4 starts before being promoted to Florida. In Rome he ran a 2.50 ERA in 18 innings with 22 strikeouts.

Well, in Week 6 he was at it again, striking out seven in seven innings (his game, in detail, is above).

Del La Cruz has now accrued 19 innings in Florida this season and is 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA. He’s yet to give up a homer and he has only allowed 7 line drives out of 55 batted-balls (12.7 LD%).

This may be an under-the-radar type player that we could possibly see in the big leagues in the future. If he can keep it up in 2019, look for him to get a better projection and prospect ranking for 2020.

Players of the Week

(SS) R. Unroe:  .360 BA, HR (GS), 3B, 7 RBI

(SP) J. De La Cruz: W, 7 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K

Speaking of under-the-radar guys, Riley Unroe is a player that wasn’t projected to do much. In fact, he’s not even ranked or rated as a prospect, so technically he’s not a prospect (he was selected in the 1st round of the 2017 Rule-5 Draft).

Regardless, he’s been one of the leaders on this Fire Frogs team, along with several other non-prospects.

The grand slam on Friday was awesome because, of course, it plated 4 runs, but even better, it was Unroe’s second at-bat of that inning. Unroe bats leadoff for the Fire Frogs and in the first inning seven-straight batters reached base. So that gave Unroe another at-bat in the 1st and he took advantage of it, blasting his 4-run homer.

Other notable games include: Game 1 of Monday’s doubleheader he finished 1-for-3 with a triple; Tuesday be had a base-hit and 3 walks; and Thursday he picked up 3 hits and an RBI.

De La Cruz has already been mentioned in the Week 6 Takeaways, but he wins Pitcher of the Week due to some pretty average pitching for Florida in Week 6, not to take anything away from De La Cruz’s start.

Florida starter, Hunter Deal, made two starts (GM 1 on Monday and a start on Saturday), but he wasn’t as efficient as De La Cruz.

De La Cruz benefitted from 8 first-inning runs in his start, but you still have to get the other team out, and he did that Friday in Florida’s 9-3 win.