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Week 13 Atlanta Braves Farm Report, Part 2: Rome is rising

By Clint Manry

WEST PALM BEACH, FL - MARCH 13: A baseball sits on the field before a spring training baseball game between the the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals at Fitteam Ballpark of the Palm Beaches on March 13, 2019 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
WEST PALM BEACH, FL - MARCH 13: A baseball sits on the field before a spring training baseball game between the the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals at Fitteam Ballpark of the Palm Beaches on March 13, 2019 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)
(Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images) /

(7-5) Danville Braves (RK+)

Danville went 4-2 last week to keep the trend going of Atlanta Braves teams having a good week.

Week 13 Notes

Mitch Stallings suffocates the Blue Jays on Wednesday:  Bluefield hitters didn’t have a chance Wednesday night as Stallings shut down the Jays with six scoreless innings, only allowing two hits in Danville’s 4-2 win.

The 23-year-old lefty and former Duke pitcher, faced 20 batters, striking out more than half of them, finishing with 11 strikeouts. The eight batted-ball outs against Stallings consisted of five groundouts and one flyout; and out of the 89 pitches (59 strikes) Stallings hurled on Wednesday — none resulted in a free pass, as he finished with zero walks.

This latest start was Stallings second this season, with his first outing of 2019 also being productive: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, BB, 5 K

The two starts combined compute to a dominant first 11.2 innings-pitched for Stallings, as he’s yet to allow a single earned run and has struck out 16 batters already, compared to just one walk. The early signs point to a very short stay in Rookie ball for the 30th round pick in the 2018 Draft.

Other notable news in Wednesday’s game involved the Atlanta Braves third pick in June’s draft, second rounder Beau Philip.

The shortstop finally picked up his first professional hit, going 1-for-4 with an RBI single in the 5th inning.

Philip has had a bit of a rough start to his Atlanta Braves career, going hitless in his first 10 at-bats. The base-knock lifts his average to .071 for the season.

Another 2019 draftee, first baseman Bryce Ball, failed to get a hit Wednesday, but did score a run after he walked in the 4th inning. Going into the game, Ball led Danville in hitting with a .500 average and 11 hits in his first 22 attempts. His 0-for-3 finish didn’t spoil his pace, as he’s still batting over .400 for the season.

Outfielders Willie Carter and Michael Mateja both had two hits apiece, with Mateja also scoring a run.

Infielder Cody Birdsong finished with three RBI, leading the D-Braves with his three-run double in the 4th. Those of you that don’t remember, Birdsong was selected in the 32nd round this past month by the Braves out of Quincy University, in Illinois.

The Danville bullpen was a bit shaky. After Stallings’ gem of a start, Alger Hodgson came in and coughed up a run due to a balk. Hodgson was able to get out of there without further damage, though, and even pitched another inning. He struck out three and walked one, allowing three hits.

Javier Ciriaco picked up the save, but his appearance also didn’t lack drama, with Bluefield plating a run from a bases-loaded forceout. Ciriaco did his job and got out of the inning, finishing the game by forcing a flyout to left field.

Looks like the Atlanta Braves may have another exciting pitcher starting pitcher to keep up with this season, in Mitch Stallings! Good stuff.

Danville pushes across go-ahead run from a wild pitch on Friday:  In a game where just one small mistake could ruin either team’s chances at a win, Danville outlasted the Pulaski Yankees, winning 3-2 on Friday.

With Danville’s second baseman Juan Morales on 3rd and one out in the top of the eighth inning, the Yankees got together with a mound visit, with hopes of calming pitcher, Elvis Peguero.

Apparently it didn’t work.

In the ensuing at-bat, Peguero threw an errant throw that got past his catcher, allowing Morales to score the go-ahead run and ultimately seal the deal for the Danville Braves.

It was a day where star first baseman, Bryce Ball, had the game off, so the D-Braves certainly missed his bat in the lineup, only managing four total hits as a team.

Only Nicholas Vizcaino (Ball’s replacement at first) and Charles Reyes achieved XBHs, with both batters hitting doubles (Reyes’ being an RBI double).

Other than Morales’ single in the 8th — in which he eventually scored from — leadoff hitter Jose Palma was the only other Danville player to contribute, besides Vizcaino and Reyes above.

Alec Barger started on the mound for the Braves, lasting just three innings, though only allowing one hit. Barger struck out four in the outing.

Third baseman and 32nd round pick in June’s draft, Cody Birdsong, went hitless in four tries, striking out three times. The Quincy University product has struggled a bit thus far, batting under .180 going into the weekend.

Players of the Week

(1B) Bryce Ball

5 G, 4-for-17, .235 BA, 3 HR, 6 RBI

With three homers in Week 13 and two in Week 12, Ball already has five home runs this season, in just 10 games.

The big first baseman is slashing .389/.476/.861 and is already a key bat in this Danville lineup.

(SP) Mitch Stallings

6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 11 K

I detailed his start from Wednesday above. The lefty from Atlanta has started off his 2019 season strong.

Roster Notes

The following players were added to Danville’s roster on Saturday, from the GCL Braves:

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