Braves Week 2 Farm Report: Waters Rising in Gwinnett

We take a look at who had the biggest week down on the farm for the Atlanta Braves and check in on some of the top prospects in the system. 

Again, it’s so nice to finally have Minor League Baseball games again and to see some of these rising prospects in the Atlanta Braves system.

I was able to attend my first Minor League Baseball game of the season this past week and hope to attend several more.

But let’s dive right into the prospects who had the biggest week for each Braves affiliate.

Braves AAA — Gwinnett Stripers

Drew Waters — After a slow start, the top prospect got it going and has raised his average up to .300 with a .935 OPS. He has 3 home runs and 5 stolen bases. On Wednesday he went 4-5 with a double and a home run, and the day before that he went 3-5 with 2 home runs.

Abraham Almonte — Not a prospect, but someone who could be needed with all the injuries in the Braves outfield. Almonte is off to a good start hitting .375 with 12 walks and just 10 strikeouts in 12 games.

Thomas Burrows — He’s struck out 12 batters in 8.1 innings while only allowing 5 hits and 4 walks. Could he get a chance in the big league bullpen soon?

Braves AA — Mississippi Braves

Justin Dean — The centerfielder had a good week hitting .267 with a .421 OBP and a home run. On the season he’s now hitting .262 with a .878 OPS.

Brooks Wilson — The righty made 2 appearances this week striking out seven batters over 4.1 innings only allowing 2 hits and 1 walk. He’s yet to allow a run over 7.2 innings this year with 12 strikeouts.

Braves High-A — Rome Braves

Michael Harris — It wouldn’t be a Minor League update without mentioning MH2 (yea, I just made that up). He posted an OPS of 1.563 this past week! and hit .625 with a home run over 4 games. For the year he’s hitting .368 with a .944 OPS and 2 home runs. Enjoy him now, Rome.

Andrew Moritz — Another outfielder, Moritz was 6-15 this past week with a double and a couple of stolen bases. This did wonders for his numbers as he’s still just slashing .262/.311/.286 on the year.

Alan Rangel and Ricky DeVito — Both had similar starts this week. They combined to give up 1 earned run over 8.1 innings on 10 hits and 2 walks with 13 strikeouts.

Indigo Diaz — In 2 appearances this past week he didn’t allow a hit or a walk over 3 innings with 6 strikeouts and a save. On the year he has allowed just 1 earned run on 1 hit and 2 walks over 8.1 innings with 17 strikeouts.

Braves Single-A — Augusta GreenJackets

Willie Carter — The 24-year-old outfielder continues to impress in Augusta. This past week he hit .313 with a double, a home run, and a stolen base. On the year he leads Augusta with a .997 OPS and a .460 OBP.

Spencer Strider — The Braves fourth-round pick from 2020 had an impressive outing this week striking out 10 batters in just 3.2 innings without allowing a hit. He’s now gone 6.2 innings this year without giving up a hit and has 17 strikeouts.

Joey Estes — A 16th round pick in 2019, Estes has been lights out to start. This past week alone he gave up just 1 earned run on 5 hits and no walks in 9.1 innings (two starts) with 11 strikeouts. In three starts this year he has a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings with 17 punchouts.

That will do it for this week’s farm report. A lot of exciting players getting it done — who are you most excited about (other than MH2) through the first two weeks of the MiLB season?