Atlanta Braves Minor League Weekend Report

Mar 7, 2015; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher

(64) throws against the New York Mets during the spring training baseball game at Tradition Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports

Braves Minor League Weekend Report

The weekend brought out some very exciting things for Braves fans to look forward to, but we’ll highlight two. First, we’ll start with the man pictured in the article header, and that’s Manny Banuelos.

Banuelos continues to look more and more like the guy who was an elite prospect before surgery took him down in 2012. He’s got his velocity back slowly but surely, and he’s showing excellent break on his pitches again. His control comes and goes at times, but he doesn’t often miss the location, just the plate, which is actually a very good sign for a post-surgery rehab.

The Braves may be looking at a mid-season call up to the bullpen for Banuelos, but personally, I would like to see him continue his starting in Gwinnett until he’s hit his innings limit because his future is absolutely as a starter, and with the injuries to Mike Minor, that future may be coming as soon as next season, so I’d rather see him continue to be used as a starter in preparation for stepping into the rotation possibly next season.

The second big thing to come from the weekend was the return to form for Dustin Peterson. Dustin has arguably been the Braves most surprising and impressive offensive performer in the minor leagues this season. The Braves took a long swing from Dustin when he arrived, and when you see his swing now, he rarely gets a pitch that he doesn’t get the bat head on, something guys with long arms like Dustin’s often struggle to do. He took some significant time to return to the lineup after the bus crash, but this weekend had him knocking out his first home run since returning and even taking 4 walks. He’s very possibly the Braves best power bat in the system, and he’s been no slouch in the outfield either.

Dustin is likely going to see a late push up to AA, but at 20 years old, he’d not be hurt at all by a full season in A+ ball. He’s adjusted very well to the move off of third base to left field, and he’s got a chance to jump up to the majors by 2017, which very few would have predicted when he was acquired in the Justin Upton deal.

There are lots more things to read as you page through each affiliate’s roundup for the weekend…

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