Week 14 Braves Farm Report: Strong pitching for Gwinnett and Mississippi

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The top half of the Atlanta Braves minor league organization featured several excellent pitching performances.

The potential has always been there for several Atlanta Braves pitching prospects. But in Week 14, it seemed like all of them had a great week on the mound.

(51-38) Gwinnett Stripers

The Stripers finished off the week 5-3, winning their 5-game series with Durham, 3-2. The offense kept it rolling, scoring 44 runs (5.5 runs per game) and slugging 12 homers in an 8-game span.

Their 5 wins in Week 14 slot them in second place in the INT South standings — 1.5 GB from the Durham Bulls.

Gwinnett also showcased some impressive starting pitching in Week 14, as several starters turned in solid outings. As a starting rotation, the Stripers finished with a 2.63 ERA with rates of 9.43 K/9 and 1.75 BB/9.

Patrick Weigel made two starts (Monday, Saturday), combining for 9.1 innings pitched and 13 strikeouts. He only allowed 4 hits all week, while walking 2 and surrendering a solo-homer as his only earned run.

Kyle Wright posted another quality-start, pitching 6 scoreless frames on Wednesday and striking out 8 batters. He allowed just 5 hits.

Mike Foltynewicz made his second Triple-A start in as many weeks, going 5 innings and striking out 7. He allowed 2 runs from 8 hits.

The offense was led by the usual hitters — outfielders Travis Demeritte, Adam Duvall, and Rafael Ortega.

Demeritte finished with 3 homers, 3 doubles, and 7 RBI, hitting .296 as he played in every game in Week 14. His big game on Sunday consisted of a 2-for-4 finish, with 2 home runs and 4 RBI.

Ortega knocked in 6 runs himself, batting .266 in 8 games. He also hit a homer and 2 doubles. Duvall picked up 7 hits, four of them XBH, finishing with 2 homers and 2 doubles — good for 7 RBI.

Notable Roster Moves:

(P) Thomas Burrows assigned to Stripers from Mississippi (7/3/19)

(P) Jeremy Walker assigned to Stripers from Mississippi (7/5/19)

(7-11) Mississippi Braves

The Mississippi Braves finished 1-6 this past week, losing all 6 games by three runs or less. As a team, the M-Braves scored 27 runs and allowed 27 as well.

Mississippi’s first 18 games of the second half haven’t gone quite well, standings-wise. The M-Braves go into Week 15 as the last-place team in the South division — 3 GB from 1st place Jacksonville.

First baseman Ryan Casteel was by far the most locked-in M-Braves hitter this past week. Casteel slugged 3 homers on Wednesday (I mentioned his game on the 4th), in a game where the Braves tallied 15 hits (13 XBHs).

Drew Waters continued his epic 2019 campaign, hitting. 480 in Week 14, slapping a triple and 3 doubles, as well as 2 RBI. He finished with a 4-hit night on Sunday.

Pitching-wise, Week 14 was probably one of Mississippi’s best weeks, as the starting rotation combined for a 1.98 ERA with 12.43 K/9 and 2.98 BB/9.

On Monday, Joey Wentz struck out 9 and allowed just 4 hits in 5.2 innings pitched, as the M-Braves ran into a pitcher’s dual (Mississippi ended up losing 1-0).

Tucker Davidson pitched a gem on Friday when he tossed 7 innings and struck out 9 Biloxi hitters. Davidson allowed 2 runs from 7 hits and walked none.

Then on Saturday, Wentz was back at it again, throwing 7 innings of 3-hit ball. The Braves No. 10 prospect struck out 10 in his second outing, combining for 19 strikeouts in 12.2 innings-pitched in Week 14.

Jasseel De La Cruz pitched 6 scoreless innings on Sunday, striking out 10 and walking two. Cruz allowed just 4 hits in the M-Braves only win, 10-1 over Biloxi.

Futures Game: Ian Anderson started the 2019 Futures Game on Sunday, pitching one inning and striking out one for the National League team.

Christian Pache led off the National League lineup, going 0-for-4 with a strikeout. Pache also played center field and right field on defense.

Notable Transactions

7/3/19: (P) Jeremy Walker promoted to Gwinnett from Mississippi
7/3/19: (P) Thomas Burrows promoted to Gwinnett from Mississippi
7/3/19: (P) Andres Santiago assigned to Mississippi from Danville
7/6/19: (P) Kurt Hoekstra assigned to Gwinnett from Florida.

(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Two very different seasons

After a fifth-place finish at the end of the first half (30-39 record), Rome has started the second half off strong. Meanwhile, the Fire Frogs are currently winning at a lower clip than their first half finish (.263% now, compared to .379%).

(5-14) Florida Fire Frogs

It was a rough week for Florida, as they finished 1-5 and were outscored 38-21 in Week 14 (Sunday’s game was rained out).

The poor week puts them 9.5 GB from first-place Dunedin, as they sit in last place in the FSL North division — 1.5 GB from fifth place Daytona.

The Fire Frogs’ starting pitching was decent with Brooks Wilson and Tristan Beck leading the staff.

Wilson pitched 6 strong innings on July 4th, striking out 9 and walking one, as he surrendered 1 run from 5 hits. Beck struck out five on Saturday, picking up the win and quality-start with 6 scoreless innings of 3-hit ball.

Kevin Gausman made a rehab start on Friday, working around 5 hits and 3 runs, as he struck out 6 and walked just one, also allowing a homer.

Despite his poor batting average, first baseman Drew Lugbauer continues to hit for power, leading Florida with 3 homers and 9 RBI in Week 14. He also hit a double during his 2-for-4 night on Wednesday, when he knocked in 5 runs.

Ender Inciarte started his rehab assignment in Florida on Tuesday. Inciarte had a rough week, playing in five games and going 1-for-13 (.077 BA). He walked once and struck out twice.

(10-8) Rome Braves

Rome has enjoyed the second half of the season, now tied with Augusta for the lead in the SAL Southern division. Week 14 wasn’t so great, though, as Rome went 2-5 for the week, after losing 4-of-5 games by two runs or less.

The offense has been better of late, thanks to the addition of shortstop Braden Shewmake, who assisted the team in scoring over 3.5 runs per game. Shewmake played in all seven games, batting .428 with 6 XBHs (triple and 5 doubles) and 6 RBI.

Outfielder and leadoff hitter, Justin Dean, also played well, hitting a healthy .347 and adding 6 stolen bases.

Rome’s pitching was rather bland in Week 14. Gabriel Noguera tossed a solid 1-hitter on Thursday, striking out 9 and walking 3 in 6.2 scoreless frames.

The very next night, Jose Olague pitched a complete-game shutout, allowing just 2 hits while punching out 6 batters. Olague didn’t walk a single batter.

Notable Transactions

7/5/19: (3B) CJ Alexander assigned to Florida

Rookie teams scoring runs in bunches

With the exception of Danville, the Rookie-level Braves have struggled to score runs so far in 2019. However, Week 14 featured more runs from the GCL team and homers from the DSL squad.

(9-10) Danville Braves

The Danville Braves had a strong week on offense (averaged just under 6.5 runs per game), but didn’t quite get the results they were after as they went 2-5 in Week 14.

A lot of the offense came in Saturday’s shootout when Danville unleashed 17 hits and 3 home runs.

First baseman Bryce Ball just keeps hitting, knocking in 5 runs and hitting 4 doubles this past week. Ball was 6-for-20 (.300 BA) in the six games he played in.

Outfielder and10th round pick in June’s draft, Brandon Parker, hit .318 with a home run and 4 RBI. Parker also stole a base and hit 3 doubles.

Mitch Stallings has been the top arm for Danville this season and continued to be in Week 14. Stallings made two starts, totaling 10 innings and 8 strikeouts. He allowed 2 runs in his first start (Monday) and one run in his second outing (Saturday).

(3-7) GCL Braves

The GCL Braves finished 2-3 in Week 14. Saturday’s game was suspended in the fourth inning and Sunday the Braves were off. The young team, despite not much power, was able to score 5.6 runs per game last week.

The Braves suffered a heartbreaker on Tuesday, as the GCL Pirates walked it off in the ninth, right after the Braves came back and tied it up in the eighth inning, 5-5. Rehabbing starter, Freddy Tarnok, pitched the first inning of that game, allowing a run and walking one.

Outfielder Michael Harris provided the contact for the Braves’ offense last week, while third baseman Darling Florentino contributed with the power.

Harris finished Week 14 with a .375 average, knocking in 4 runs with a triple and a double. Florentino only played in four games and picked up 3 hits, but two of those knocks were home runs, as the former Rome infielder plated 4 runs.

Before being transferred to Florida, Tristan Beck, another rehabbing starter, pitched a strikeout-filled game on Monday for the Braves, punching out 11 batters in just 4.1 innings pitched. He allowed 4 runs from 7 hits, while also walking two.

(13-18) DSL Braves

Two off days gave the DSL Braves just a 5-game slate, and they ended up going 2-3, while scoring 5 runs per game as the team has started producing some power.

The Braves hit 5 home runs in Week 14, with 3 of them coming from Tuesday’s 15-hit affair against the DSL Rays, which the Braves won, 10-4.

Before going hitless in his last three games, outfielder Deivi Estrada went 4-for-4 during Tuesday’s bashing, hitting a home run and plating 2 runs.

The lineup overall was led by catcher Kelvin Pena, who hit 2 homers last week and knocked in 5 runs while batting .250.

The pitching as a whole wasn’t too great last week, but starters Jorge Bautista and Roddery Munoz pitched well, both combining for a 3.75 ERA with 14 strikeouts and 7 walks in 12 innings pitched.

Batter of the Week

SS, Braden Shewmake (Rome)

7 games, .428 BA, 3B, 5 2B, 6 RBI

It was extremely close this week, as Drew Waters finished another week with a plus-.400 batting average (he’s on a whole ‘nother level right now).

But Shewmake deserves some run (as MLB Network’s Mark DeRosa would say), as he’s now slashing .437/.474/.648 through his first 17 games as a professional. He already has 10 doubles and has struck out just 11 times in 71 at-bats, though, he could walk a little more (only 3 walks).

As a shortstop, Shewmake won’t be expected to put up gaudy numbers on offense, but if he can continue to make contact at this rate than he’ll be an elite player for sure.

Pitcher of the Week

More from Tomahawk Take

SP, Joey Wentz (Mississippi)

2 starts, 12.2 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 19 K

Tasked with two starts in Week 14, Wentz was locked in on the mound and put up a couple of stellar pitching lines.

In both starts, Wentz was dominant, striking out 9 in his first outing and mowing down 10 in his second one.

After a rough late-May and early-June, the Braves No.10 prospect has been lights out in last 3 starts. Wentz will carry a 3.88 ERA into this week, with 58 strikeouts (9.45 K/9) and 23 walks (3.75 BB/9) in 55.2 total innings pitched this season.

That Mississippi Braves starting rotation is about as good as it gets.

Next. Diving into 1st half stats. dark

That’s all for this week. We hope you like the new, condensed format of the farm report. Let us know what you think in the comment section below, and thanks for your support of Tomahawk Take.

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Week 14 Braves Farm Report: A strong week of pitching for Gwinnett and Mississippi