Atlanta Braves Week 11 Farm Report: Drew Waters, Christian Pache form dangerous duo
(6-7) DSL Braves (RK)
Week 11 Record: 2-4
2019 DSL Northwest Standings
*As of Monday, June 17th
| Team | Record | GB |
|---|---|---|
| DSL Red Sox 1 | 8-5 | — |
| DSL Astros | 7-5 | 0.5 |
| DSL Marlins | 7-5 | 0.5 |
| DSL Dodgers | 7-6 | 1.0 |
| DSL Royals 1 | 7-6 | 1.0 |
| DSL Braves | 6-7 | 2.0 |
| DSL Rays 1 | 5-8 | 3.0 |
| DSL Athletics | 4-9 | 4 |
Week at a Glance
*June 10 – June 17
Day
Opponent
Result
Monday
DSL Astros
L, 6-5
Tuesday
DSL Royals 1
L, 4-2
Wednesday
DSL Royals 1
L, 5-3
Thursday
DSL Red Sox 1
L, 5-3
Friday
DSL Red Sox 1
W, 10-3
Saturday
DSL Rays 1
W, 9-0
Sunday
Off Day
Off Day
Week 11 Notes
The DSL Braves lack starting pitching… It’s perhaps a little unfair to expect a bunch of teenage pitchers — some in their first pro season — to come out the gate throwing well, but so far this season, no one has stepped up for the Braves in the Dominican.
Currently, there are three pitchers who’ve made three starts and two with two starts. Only two have respectable ERAs — Osiris Sierra‘s 3.12 and Roddery Munez’s 0.00. Other than those two, everyone has a 4.50 ERA or higher.
The bullpen, on the other hand, has been lights out. There are four Braves pitchers who have made at least four relief appearances, averaging a 2.77 ERA:
- (RHP) Oscar Nunez: 3.86 ERA
- (RHP) Carlos De La Cruz: 2.35 ERA
- (RHP) Kevin Solano: 1.29 ERA
- (RHP) Frankelvin Vidal: 3.60 ERA
This has been the Braves’ biggest problem this season. The starting pitching can’t keep the team in games long enough, especially with it still being early in the summer and starters still being worked in slowly.
I can already tell that this year’s DSL Braves is not going to be a powerful lineup, as most aren’t at this stage of professional baseball. As a team, the Braves have four total home runs this season, with two coming from outfielder Jeremy Celedonio.
This team likes to steal bases, shown by their 26 stolen bases in just 13 games this summer.
In order for the DSL Braves to win this season (which is far from the goal of this team), the starting pitching will be crucial, as the offense isn’t likely to score a ton of runs on a given night; though, the Braves scored 19 runs on Friday and Saturday combined, but none of those runs came by way of home run.
As we get to know this team better throughout the summer, it will be interesting to see how their game plan plays out and whether or not any of their starting pitchers separates from the pack.
Also, will this team continue to score runs by hitting singles and stealing bases? Just a few things to look for this season in the DSL.
Player of the Week
(SS) Geraldo Quintero
5 games, 5-for-16 (.312), 2B, 2 RBI, 4 SB
The Braves leadoff hitter, Quintero has been the most consistent bat in the lineup thus far. Through 12 games this season, he’s sporting a .294/.455/.412 slash line, with a double and a home run.
Like several of his lineup mates, Quintero likes to run, as he’s up to five stolen bases this season with four of them coming in Week 11 alone.
As a 5’8″, 155-pound switch-hitter, I can imagine him as more of a slap-hitter type who will lay down the occasional base-hit bunt, using his legs to keep his average around .300 most of the season.
It would be great if Quintero, in fact, were to turn into a solid player, as there’s not much in the Braves system as far as middle-infielders.
Still, just 17-years-old (he was born in 2001!), Quintero has at least 2-3 years left of the most basic types of development; simple plate discipline, working on a plan at the plate, batting stance, and not to mention all kinds of defensive techniques.
But you never know, we may be looking at an average to above-average player in the future,
More from Tomahawk Take
- Atlanta Braves sign free agent outfielder Jordan Luplow
- Atlanta Braves 2023 Preseason Top 30 Prospects List: 16-20
- Braves News: Reacting to Dansby’s departure, Michael Brantley, more
- Atlanta Braves: Best Option at Shortstop Now That Dansby Swanson is Gone
- Atlanta Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos’ views on the offseason so far
(P) Raulin Celedonio
The Braves still have yet to deploy a starting pitcher for more than 4.1 innings, so there’s really no one that stood out in Week 11, in terms of a dominant start.
However, Celedonio (not the Celedonio that’s the DH for the team), has been excellent this season. He’s currently second on the team in strikeouts with 10; and he also has the fewest walks, with zero.
Celedonio is a 19-year-old lefty in his second year with the Dominican team. He had a horrible 2018 season, posting a 12.15 ERA in 18 relief appearances last year. But, this season looks better thus far, as he’s managed a nice and neat 2.16 ERA in his first three games (8.1 innings pitched).
Hopefully within the next few weeks, the DSL Braves starters will begin to stretch out a bit and we can start seeing some 5-6 inning outings.
Until than, unless one of them just downright dominants his 3-4 inning start, I’ll touch on a different pitcher each week so we can get better acquainted with these young players.
Week 11 Roster Moves/ Injured List
None this week.
Next. Unusual draft signings. dark
Writer’s Note
About the new format: Now that the Dominican Summer League is at full steam, and the Gulf Coast League is ramping up this week (Wednesday, June 19), these recaps must be tinkered a bit.
With five teams already covered, these reports recap upwards of 30-35 games each and every week; not to mention roster moves or any general team news.
To avoid lengthening this column more than it already has been, I’ve decided to change things up. This new style doesn’t have to be the end-all format, but it’s at least a decent starting point.
As always, my number one priority is to inform you, the readers; but I also have to keep these reports at an appropriate length. Continuing to write these reports in a game-by-game manner, while also keeping them from being a novel, is just no longer feasible.
Feel free to share your thoughts, as well as any suggestions as to what you would like to see included in these reports.