Atlanta Braves minors: Week 6 AFL report and fall season wrap up
By Clint Manry
2019 Atlanta Braves AFL Batter and Pitcher of the Year
Of course, there have to be MVPs! Here were the top two Atlanta Braves players in the Arizona Fall League this year.
Hitter of the Year
OF, Trey Harris: It’s rather obvious who amongst the Atlanta Braves minor league hitters was the best this year, in the AFL. Outfielder Trey Harris was head and shoulders better than his three Braves position-player teammates, and in the end wound up finishing within the top-five on the team in OPS (between batters that played in at least 5 games).
I know I’ve harped on and on about Harris ALL season, but this is a player that could potentially shake things up in 2020.
Cristian Pache and Drew Waters are clearly still the outfielders of the future, but Harris could work his way up to Gwinnett next season.
Could you imagine a Stripers outfield of Harris, Pache AND Waters, in 2020? Wow.
We should probably wait and make sure Harris can maintain his success, but at the very least we should be aware of how special of a player he truly is.
Pitcher of the Year
RHP, Bradley Roney: Among Scottsdale relievers that appeared in at least 5 games, Roney finished the Fall with the 5th best ERA and second best WHIP (0.88).
It’s a good sign that he was able to keep up the good work from his 28-game campaign in 2019, a sign that hopefully he’s ready to give Triple-A another try — Roney last pitched in Gwinnett in 2016 (3.57 ERA / 27 games).
I’m currently working on a piece detailing how incredibly deep the Atlanta Braves’ minor league organization is with relief pitching, and Roney has definitely worked himself into that column.
If Roney’s 2019 regular season and AFL performance are any indication of his future… the Braves could have yet another viable option for its bullpen in the next season or two.
The 2019 AFL Champion
Led this Fall by third baseman Royce Lewis (Minnesota Twins top prospect) and first baseman Seth Beer (Arizona Diamondbacks No. 13 prospect), the Salt River Rafters defeated the Surprise Saguaros 5-1 on Saturday, winning the 2019 Arizona Fall League Championship game.
Surprise jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 3rd inning, thanks to an RBI ground ball single by Luis Garcia (Washington Nationals No. 2 prospect). However, Salt River recovered quickly, pushing across 5 runs in the 4th, a lead the Rafters wouldn’t relinquish.
Four of those runs came from a grand slam by Jerar Encarnacian (Miami Marlins No. 28 prospect) and one came from an RBI single off the bat of 21-year-old catcher Ronaldo Hernandez (Tampa Bay Rays No. 6 prospect).
Overall, along with the 2019 title, Salt River finishes 18-11 this year. Since 2010, this is the Rafters third AFL championship, as they’ve become a bit of a Fall League powerhouse. The team has now made it to the end-of-season Championship game four times in that span.
Next. Be very afraid of these 5 players. dark
That’s it for Arizona Fall League action this year. Be sure to check back for more Atlanta Braves minor league updates throughout the offseason, including my upcoming 2020 Atlanta Braves Prospect Rankings as well as more minor league player spotlights and eventually my way-too-early minor league roster predictions.
*All prospect ranks used in this piece were retrieved from FanGraphs.