Atlanta Braves minors: End of season recap for 2019 Mississippi Braves

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An end-of-season recap covering all seven Atlanta Braves minor league teams from the 2019 season: Mississippi Braves.

In this series, I’m covering each of the seven Atlanta Braves minor league levels, evaluating each club and its top performers.

If you’re interested in jumping to previous recaps:

We’ve now crossed into the high-minors territory, where some of the most talented Atlanta Braves prospects reside. Today’s recap will cover the organization’s Double-A club, the 2019 Mississippi Braves, who completed their regular season on September 2.

The team

The Mississippi Braves were an exciting team in 2019, though the team’s position in the South division of Double-A’s Southern League didn’t exactly demonstrate that. Blessed with a loaded roster for most of the first half of the season, the M-Braves still finished just 33-36.

Prospect breakthroughs and promotions were exciting for us Braves’ fans, but such positive changes resulted in a tough second-half for Mississippi.

When it was all said and done, the M-Braves were understandably worse by the end of the 2019 campaign, illustrated by a 31-39 second-half record and a 64-75 overall mark — good for 4th place in a five-team division and 10.5 games behind the leader.

But thankfully the success of a major league organization isn’t measured by the winning percentage of its various minor league teams.

Don’t let Mississippi’s poor win/loss record full you. This team had some very talented players… at least for half of the year.

While the Triple-A class was busy enjoying its new homer-friendly baseball, Double-A (at least the Southern League) was not so fortunate. As a league, runs and home runs fell from 2018 to 2019, to the tune of 0.26 runs per game and 122 total home runs.

Mississippi’s yearly drop in runs-per-game fell by almost half a run (0.45) while its home run total dropped by a count of 13. I don’t know if anyone knows why yet, but I think it’s interesting that every minor league level has seen a drop in its run environment in 2019.

Well, every level except for Triple-A… and we already know why that is.

Mississippi finished as an average to below-average offensive club amongst its Southern League foes (10 teams). The M-Braves didn’t really excel in any particular facet of the game, yet they also weren’t the very worst.

At 3.47 runs per game, Mississippi was the second-worst team when it came to scoring runs in the league, but their 87 home runs were good for just 5th-worst.

Mississippi finished below the league-average in OPS while also striking out the most, ending their season with a .661 OPS (4th-worst) and 1,274 strikeouts. Their 399 walks weren’t quite enough either (2nd-fewest), as Mississippi wrapped up the year with a .305 OBP — a mark also better than just one other team in the league.

Mississippi’s ability to avoid the double-play ball and hit triples were two things the team shined at. The M-Braves grounded into 86 double-plays (4th-fewest) and tallied 38 three-baggers (2nd-most), two very random stats to excel in.

If you followed Mississippi any in 2019, you probably would have guessed that they had a strong pitching group… and they did.

Mississippi finished the year with the league’s best ERA (3.22). Surprisingly, the M-Braves were average in strikeouts (1,146 total / 8.7 K/9), finishing with the sixth-best strikeout total and 5th-best K-rate.

Preventing home runs was another strength for Mississippi, as they allowed 78 all season — the 3rd-fewest in the league. Also, only one other team finished the season with more complete-games, as the M-Braves achieved four 9-inning starts.

Overall, besides the offense finishing the year worse than I anticipated, Mississippi’s end-of-season numbers lined up pretty well with what was expected.

The problem was that promotions and call-ups basically tore apart most of the team’s key players. But this is a good thing!

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

The top hitters

When it came to Mississippi’s lineup, we’re talking about a lot of different players in 2019. The M-Braves had 15 different batters play in 40 or more games, and 19 play in 20 or more.

The no-duhs in the lineup were of course outfielders and best friends (well, I don’t know about the second part, but I feel like they should be!) Cristian Pache and Drew Waters — the Atlanta Braves Nos. 1 and 2 prospects, respectively (according to FanGraphs THE BOARD).

Both played over 100 games for Mississippi (Pache: 104 / Waters: 108) and both were promoted to Gwinnett in early August. But Waters was just a hair better while with the M-Braves, enough so that he was literally the best hitter in the Southern League and won the MVP award.

Pache flirted with .300 for a lot of the season, but settled at .278 for the year. He hit 11 home runs and 28 doubles for Mississippi, while tallying eight triples (which wasn’t even a team-high. His best friend had nine).

Waters did manage to stay over .300 while with Mississippi, and it wasn’t as if he just racked up a bunch of singles either. Batting mostly lead-off, Waters was an extra bases machine.

Here’s a quick list of stats Waters finished in the top-3 in, in the Southern League:

134 hits (1st)
35 doubles (1st)
9 triples (1st)
202 total bases (3rd)
.481 SLG% (2nd)
.319 batting average (1st)
.847 OPS (2nd)

I said quick list… that’s basically every standard offensive stat.

First baseman Ryan Casteel was another offensive leader for Mississippi in 2019.

If you can remember, Casteel was a player I wrote about on Independence Day when he belted three home runs in the game versus Pensacola. It was the first 3-homer game in Mississippi Braves history, earning Casteel some national recognition.

For the season, Casteel did pretty well for himself, slashing .263/.334/.477 (.811 OPS), with his SLG% and OPS ranking as the third and 8th-best in the league, respectively.

The 28-year-old from Tennessee hit 21 home runs and knocked in 73 runs (both team-highs), to go along with 21 doubles.

Infielder Riley Unroe was another potent bat, and like Pache and Waters, a Gwinnett player by the end of the 2019 season. Unroe actually started the year in Florida, but after just 38 games wound up in Mississippi for a 77-game stretch.

While in Mississippi, the 24-year-old and former 2nd round pick by the Tampa Bay Rays, hit a healthy .304 while getting on base at a .401 clip.

Unroe wasn’t much of a power hitter (5 HR and 12 doubles), but his bat-to-ball skills were crazy-good — only 9.6-percent of that .401 OBP came from walks.

Then there’s that Trey Harris guy, you know… the player that has been included in almost every one of these recaps. Harris played just 41 games in Mississippi, his final level on 2019.

I’ve covered him enough in this series but for good reason. On September 8, Harris was recognized by the Atlanta Braves as the 2019 Minor League Batter of the Year.

The top pitchers

Speaking of minor league players of the year, Atlanta Braves No. 3 prospect, righty Ian Anderson, stood next to Harris as he was honored as the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

As you may already know, Anderson eventually made it up to Gwinnett, but it was in Mississippi where he thrived as one of the best starting pitchers in Double-A.

In 21 AA starts, Anderson finished third in the Southern League with 147 total strikeouts (11.9 K/9), after leading the league for most of the season. His 2.68 ERA in Mississippi also was worth a top-5 ranking.

Anderson’s rotation mates, Southern League ERA leader and No. 14 prospect Tucker Davidson (2.03 ERA), and No. 7 prospect Kyle Muller (3.14 ERA), were also leaders in Mississippi’s rotation.

Not only was Davidson stingy with runs, he also finished second on the team in strikeouts and 7th in the league with 122 (9.9 K/9).

Muller struggled with walks a bit (5.5 BB/9), but ended the season right behind Davidson on the league strikeout leaderboard, finishing with the 8th-most punchouts (120 K).

In 22 starts, the 2nd round pick in the 2016 draft finished with only 5 home runs allowed in 111.2 innings-pitched in Mississippi.

Others like Philip Pfeifer, Jeremy Walker (No. 22), Claudio Custodio and Jordan Harrison all were great in 2019, so much that Pfeifer and Walker became key arms for Gwinnett (with Walker currently in the Atlanta Braves bullpen).

I’ve mentioned Pfeifer earlier in this series, but Walker’s 2019 in Mississippi was almost just as impressive: 22 G, 2.45 ERA, 8.7 K/9, 0.8 BB/9.

The 24-year-old Walker also made 11 relief appearances for Gwinnett, holding a 3.97 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and just 2.4 BB/9.

Custodio, a righty from the Dominican Republic, came out of nowhere, registering a 2.48 ERA with 72 strikeouts and just 23 walks in 83.1 innings for Rome (2 G) and Mississippi (31 G) in 2019. He’s had a decent 3-year career before this past season, but not anywhere near his 2019 performance.

Harrison, 28-years-old, was a beast out of the bullpen for Mississippi, making 35 appearances while maintaining a cool 2.92 ERA (8.8 K/9, 3.3 BB/9). He was later promoted to Gwinnett, where he made three relief appearances for the Stripers.

The verdict

More from Tomahawk Take

I went a little longer than usual with this team, but I think there’s some serious talent coming out of Mississippi, both from this past minor league season and in 2020.

It appears that all the work the organization has done to ensure above-average pitching depth is starting to pay off in huge dividends. From top to bottom, there’s a lot to like about what’s going on at the Double-A level.

Of course the hype is real for guys like Cristian Pache and Drew Waters, those two are no-brainers.

But, the system goes deeper than that.

The fact that Trey Harris was able to never miss a beat once in Mississippi really speaks volumes as to how serious his talent is. You can bet he’ll start 2020 with the M-Braves, and don’t be surprised if he’s in Gwinnett by May (Harris can play several infield positions as well).
Riley Unroe’s mini breakout 2019 season deserves some attention as well. I’m not predicting the next Ozzie Albies, but the Atlanta Braves organization needs some middle-infield depth, and if Unroe can carry over his .281 batting average from this past season, he’ll make a solid candidate.
Ryan Casteel has a solid case to be Gwinnett’s starting first baseman next season. Not only did he bring the power in 2019, but he maintained his contact skills with his .263 average. At 28-years-old, Casteel is a bit old to be a potential prospect, but he could become the organization’s next Andy Wilkins (or better).

There’s several players that need to show more consistency. Guys like William Contreras, Greyson Jenista and Daniel Lockhart. Also, CJ Alexander just needs a healthy 2020 season, as he basically had a lost season this year.

I suspect Mississippi’s starting rotation and bullpen will continue to produce just as it did in 2019. This is a deep group of pitchers, and I’m afraid we haven’t even seen half of what’s to come.

Jasseel De La Cruz needs to repeat his 2019 performance in Mississippi. At 22-years-old, that 3.83 ERA in 17 games at the Double-A level looks promising.
27-year-old Bradley Roney was solid in his 20 appearances for the M-Braves. I don’t care how old he is for a Double-A pitcher… 13.8 strikeouts per nine with a 2.96 ERA is the real deal.

There are just so many players at this level that are trending up. Granted, there’s only so many slots in Triple-A and in the big leagues, but I assure you that the Atlanta Braves aren’t hurting when it comes to potential talent.

The organization’s future when it comes to the catcher position may play out in Mississippi as well, as I expect No. 1 pick Shea Langeliers to be in Double-A at some point next season. Contreras will most definitely have a competition on his hands.

Next. Where is the 40-40 hype?. dark

If I had to narrow the takeaways down, regarding Mississippi in 2020, I would say look for several more pitching prospects to pop up and garner attention, as well as a few holdovers from the 2019.

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