Atlanta Braves minors: End of season recap for 2019 Mississippi Braves
By Clint Manry
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.