Arizona Fall League Update

Seven players in the Braves organization have spent the past month playing for the Phoenix Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League.  With a few games left, the Desert Dogs have been eliminated from the postseason, with the Braves players not helping the cause much.

For the position players, the Braves sent Nick Ahmed, Edward Salcedo, and Cory Brownstein to showcase their skills.  Ahmed is putting together a .275/.346/.391 line, very similar to his rates in Lynchburg this past season.  The shortstop’s plate discipline has been good with a 8:10 BB/K ratio, but his baserunning has been iffy, only stealing 5 out of 8 attempts.

June 4, 2011; Clemson, SC, USA; Connecticut Huskies short stop Nick Ahmed (7) throws the ball to first base during the Clemson regional of the 2011 NCAA baseball tournament against the Clemson Tigers at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-US PRESSWIRE

Salcedo is really starting to make people wonder if he will ever put it together.  He’s hitting .143/.195/.247 with a 5:20 BB/K ratio, also making 6 errors at third base in 20 games.  He’s only 21, but he’s playing his way to a corner outfield spot, and his bat is not supporting such a move.  At this point, I don’t see him playing in Atlanta at any time.  Brownstein has been the #3 catcher, getting 7 hits in 21 AB without an extra-base hit.

On the mound, Ryan Buchter has recovered from his control problems in Gwinnett to post a 1.84 ERA in 14 innings.  The 25-year-old lefty still has an iffy 9:14 BB/K ratio, so he hasn’t exactly dominated.  On the other end of the spectrum, Cory Rasmus has a 7.53 ERA in his 14 innings.  He has the best BB/K ratio of the four Braves guys, but he’s allowed four homers, which never helps the ERA.  Zeke Spruill and Chris Jones have put together identical 7:11 BB/K ratios in their 16-17 innings, producing ERA’s of 3.63 and 4.60 respectively.

This is another sign of how poor the minor league system is, especially in the hitter department.  Ahmed and Salcedo were probably two of the top position player prospects remaining, with Salcedo fading away fairly quickly.  On the pitching side, Julio Teheran, Sean Gilmartin, and this year’s Lynchburg staff remain as prospects, but with the rate pitching prospects derail, there aren’t many reinforcements coming too soon.  Thankfully, the major league team is quite young, so this can be fixed before the current group gets old.