Braves Minor League Report: Top Prospect Bats Leading the Charge
We take a break from the Atlanta Braves to catch up with all that’s going on at the minor league levels and who has performed the best lately.
After the Atlanta Braves blew another game on Thursday to the Philadelphia Phillies, I decided to turn my attention to the Minor League ranks.
Watching most of the Mississippi Braves and Biloxi Shuckers, I was really impressed with what I saw from top prospect Shea Langeliers.
The talented catcher threw out Brice Turang, the Milwaukee Brewers’ top prospect, trying to steal. Later in the game, he also back-picked a runner and they ended up getting him out.
And while we know he’s great defensively, he also smacked an RBI double in Mississippi’s 6-4 win.
But I didn’t cover the Minor Leagues last week, so I’ll get the standout performers of the last two weeks.
Braves AAA — Gwinnett Stripers
Christian Pache: Since returning from the injured list, Pache has performed well at the plate with 8 hits, including 2 home runs, in 23 at-bats. However, he hasn’t walked and has 7 strikeouts. His approach at the plate still needs improvement, but good to see him hitting the ball hard.
Drew Waters: The other talented outfield prospect has picked it up as of late hitting .326 over his last 43 at-bats with 6 walks and 15 strikeouts, showing that improved plate discipline. Only two of his hits over that time have gone for extra bases, though. Would love to see his power numbers tick up.
Kyle Muller: The 6-foot-7 lefty has given up just 2 earned runs on 5 hits and 4 walks with 12 strikeouts in 11 innings over his preview two starts.
Braves AA — Mississippi Braves
Shea Langeliers: I mentioned him at the top, he’s been the best hitter for Mississippi over the last two weeks with 12 hits in 39 at-bats, including 4 home runs.
Odalvi Javier: A 24-year-old righty out of the Dominican Republic, Javier has a 1.17 ERA in his last three starts with 16 strikeouts in 15.1 innings and a WHIP of 0.72.
Chris Nunn: I have to mention that Nunn has struck out 11 batters in the last 5.1 innings he’s pitched — that’s pretty dominant.
Braves High-A — Rome Braves
Kevin Josephina: Finally an offensive standout from Rome not named Michael Harris (although he was also really good the past two weeks hitting .333). But Josephina was better hitting .364 with a couple of home runs.
Jesse Franklin: The 2020 draft pick has had his struggles to begin his pro ball career, but had a good couple of weeks hitting .281 with 4 home runs.
Indigo Diaz: A 27th round pick by the Braves in 2019, Diaz has been lights out this year. Over the past two weeks, he has a 1.13 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 8 innings and a save. He’s allowed just 5 hits and 1 walk over those 4 appearances.
Bryce Elder: Another 2020 pick, Elder has a 1.26 ERA in his last three starts with 18 strikeouts in 14 innings. It would not be surprising to see him move up to Double-A soon being a 22-year-old who played at a big-time collegiate program in Texas.
Braves A — Augusta GreenJackets
Willie Carter: The 24-year-old outfielder and former 34th round pick has been great all year. But in the past two weeks, he’s hitting .417. There’s not much power there with just one extra base hit over that stretch.
Joey Estes: This one was easy to pick as Estes hasn’t given up a run in his last two starts and has 18 strikeouts over his last 9.2 innings. On the season, the 19-year-old and former 16th round pick out of high school, has a 1.01 ERA in 26.2 innings with 39 strikeouts and a WHIP of 0.79.
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That will do it for this week’s minor league report. Make sure you check back next to find out who the top performers are. And please go out and support your local minor league clubs.