Atlanta Braves minors: End of season recap of 2019 Gwinnett Stripers
By Clint Manry
The top pitchers
The International League leader in ERA (3.42), Gwinnett’s Bryse Wilson had another solid year on the mound. The 21-year-old finished the season with the team-high in strikeouts (118) — good for the 7th-most punchouts in the INT League.
Wilson started the 2019 campaign with the Atlanta Braves, making a start on March 30 for the big league team. However, he got roughed up and needed 73 pitches to get through 3.1 innings (4 ER).
The former fourth-round pick made a one-inning appearance at the end of April versus the Rockies before going down to Gwinnett for over a month. Wilson made a start for the Atlanta Braves once in June, twice in July, and once in September.
Altogether, Wilson accrued 20 innings pitched in the majors, allowing 20 hits and 5 home runs — good for a 7.20 ERA.
With Gwinnett, Wilson went 10-7 in 21 starts, striking out 8.8 batters per nine while walking less than two per nine (1.9 BB/9). He’s currently in the Atlanta Braves bullpen.
Second on the team in strikeouts (116) was 23-year-old Kyle Wright, who made 21 starts for Gwinnett and finished with a 4.17 ERA with the Stripers. Wright also made four starts and three relief appearances for the Atlanta Braves.
Like Wilson, Wright is currently in the major league bullpen trying to make a case to be on the postseason roster (8.69 ERA in the majors this season).
Wright’s 2019 season didn’t go exactly as we all expected, but overall it was still a nice year for the Huntsville, Ala. native. His run prevention could’ve been better, but Wright was just fine when it came to strikeouts and limiting walks (9.3 K/9, 2.8 BB/9).
Home runs were a bit of a problem, as Wright surrendered 13 long balls in his 112.1 innings-pitched in Triple-A (he gave up 4 homers in just 19.2 IP with the Braves).
Kolby Allard finished with an identical ERA as Wright, making 20 starts for Gwinnett before being traded in July as part of a deal with the Texas Rangers, bringing reliever Chris Martin to the Atlanta Braves (Allard has been terrific with the Rangers since then, by the way).
Allard was still a bit underwhelming when it came to strikeouts in 2019 (8.0 K/9), and he also had a home run problem, allowing 15 homers while with Gwinnett, but he maintained a strong walk-rate (2.9 BB/9) and ultimately pitched rather well being in such an offensive environment.
Twenty-four-year-old Patrick Weigel (#20 on THE BOARD), who was coming back from Tommy John surgery, made a huge statement this season. Weigel was strong, throwing 63.1 innings for the Stripers (15.2 innings for Mississippi) and maintaining a 2.98 ERA in his 21 games (11 starts / 10 relief appearances) in Triple-A.
The only quibble with Weigel was his poor walk rates. In Mississippi, the righty finished with 5.5 BB/9 in 7 starts, while in Gwinnett Weigel ended the season with 4.5 per nine.
Thomas Burrows and Wes Parsons were the most effective Gwinnett relievers of the regulars. Burrows made 27 appearances and held a 4.75 ERA while Parsons also pitched in 27 games, but was better at preventing runs (2.86 ERA).
In fact, Parsons surrendered just one home run in the 56.2 innings he pitched while with the Stripers. The 27-year-old also accrued 15.1 innings with the Atlanta Braves (17 relief appearances), pitching to a strong 3.52 ERA.
Parson’s walk-rate jumped substantially when he moved up to the big leagues in 2019, going from 3.3 BB/9 to 7.6 BB/9.
When the Stripers needed a reliever to come in and shut things down or hold a lead, 31-year-old Grant Dayton was the man. Dayton also made 12 appearances in the majors in 2019 (2.61 ERA).
But in Gwinnett, boy was Dayton dominant. Over 26.2 innings pitched, he struck out 41 batters and walked just one — good for gaudy K/BB rates of 13.8 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9. He maintained those high rates while with the Atlanta Braves as well (12.2 / 2.6).
Jose Rafael De Paula and Ben Rowen finished Nos. 1 and 2 in appearances for the Stripers, with each pitching in 33 and 31 games, respectively. Paula struggled a bit, walking 5.7 batters per nine, but he was still able to maintain a decent 4.35 ERA in his 39.1 innings pitched.
Rowen, more of a pitch-to-contact type, did well with Gwinnett, as he held a 3.48 ERA in 77.2 innings pitched. In his age-30 season, Rowen allowed just 4 homers and 11 walks (1.3 BB/9) while striking out 58 batters (6.7 K/9).