Atlanta Braves Minor League Monday, Labor Day Edition

Jul 9, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Jake Brigham (63) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta Braves Minor League Monday

I delayed the post today in order to get the last games of each level. In the last week Carolina, Mississippi, and Gwinnett were all eliminated from the playoffs, meaning that Labor Day Monday would be the final game for the minor league season.

In the coming weeks, I will review the full season teams on Mondays and Thursdays. In October, look forward to a top prospect list from yours truly. This will be a list of my own device, not the entire TT staff, as that list will come later in the offseason. In November, I’ll have a review of every position on the field and how the depth at that position looks within the Braves organization ahead of the winter meetings.

This has been a very exciting season to be covering the minor leagues for the Braves. Thanks for reading this season!

Highlight Player(s) of the Week:

We highlighted the Danville’s hitters of note from the now-completed season on Thursday’s Ag Report. Today, we’ll explore the Danville pitchers who pitched well in 2015:

Matt Custred may go down as one of the Braves’ big finds in the 2015 draft, as he was selected in the 31st round out of Texas Tech, but the 6’5 righty did nothing short of blow hitters away out of the bullpen. Custred threw 31 2/3 innings in 18 appearances for Danville, throwing a total of 32 2/3 innings over 19 appearances over two starts. Custred picked up 4 saves and had a dynamic 46/9 K/BB over those innings. Interestingly, Custred was a reliever with Texas Tech who never closed and struggled with his control, but has a big fastball and a wicked curveball. He will likely start 2016 in the Rome bullpen, and it will be fun to see how he progresses.

Ryan Lawlor was an 8th round pick this June out of Georgia. While small in stature at 6′ and 170 pounds, Lawlor put together a very solid junior campaign for Georgia, striking out 84 hitters in 73 2/3 innings. Lawlor is a command and control lefty, but he does run his fastball up to 93. The thing to watch with Lawlor is how he can develop his secondary offerings. He has below-average movement on his secondary stuff, but he’s done well this year due to his excellent control. He threw 27 1/3 innings over 8 appearances (7 starts), sporting a 2.30 ERA and 1.28 WHIP, with a 25/12 K/BB ratio. Lawlor will likely start in Danville again next season, but a repeat of 2015 could have him in Rome quickly.

Josh Graham was the Braves’ 4th round selection this year out of the University of Oregon. Many viewed him as a catcher rather than a pitcher, but the Braves not only put him on the mound, they started this year. He’s been projected with a late-inning arm, having just recently taken to pitching on a more frequent basis, but he features a 95 MPH fastball and a slider that can be absolutely filthy. Mix in a change up that has reports of being plus at times (I saw him once, and it was average in action, but solid in deception), and you have the makings of an under-the-radar guy who could pan out big for the Braves. Graham is a 6’1 21 year-old righty, and he sported a 2.60 ERA in 17 1/3 innings over 6 appearances (5 starts) for the Braves, tallying a 1.15 WHIP with a sparkling 21/3 K/BB ratio. He’ll most likely start in Danville again next season, unless he really shows well on the back fields in the spring.

Ryan Clark was another Braves college pick in the 4-10 rounds of this year’s draft, and he is yet another arm that fared well in Danville this year. The 6’5, 220-pound righty was selected in the 5th round out of UNC-Greensboro. He led the Danville staff in wins with 6, but he also put up some very solid counting stats with a 3.08 ERA and 1.01 WHIP over 52 2/3 innings spread across 13 appearances (7 starts). He did not allow a single home run as he put up a solid 40/10 BB/K ratio. Clark isn’t a guy who runs the ball up there in the high-90s, but he has some deception in the way he holds the ball just before releasing that allows him success. He’s a pitch-to-contact type with a heavy fastball and a slider that he likes low in the zone. He’d move quite fast as a reliever, but with a fast-developing change up and what looked like a cutter that he toyed with a little in his time in Danville, Clark could be kept in the rotation and bumped to Rome in 2016.

Matt Withrow was the Braves 6th round selection in 2015 out of Texas Tech, and while he threw a solid season in Danville, he had the distinction of not picking up a single win on the season. Withrow is build similar to his brother Chris, who the Braves acquired earlier this season. With Danville, the 21 year-old Withrow threw 48 innings over 13 starts, sporting a 3.56 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. His 35/16 K/BB ratio left some unimpressed, however, and he did have a tendency to have his fastball straighten out on him. Withrow’s command will really determine where he ends up. With 4 hit by pitches and 5 wild pitches on his resume this season, Withrow will need to hone his command to remain a starter. Effective wildness could mean a move to the pen in 2016, however.

Lastly, and most impressively, we have Mike Soroka. Soroka was the Braves’ second pick of the 1st round in June out of high school in Canada. The 6’4 righty did nothing but impress this season at both GCL and with Danville. On the season total, he threw 34 innings over 10 appearances (9 starts), never tossing more than 4 innings in a start. His season ERA was 3.18, and he sported a 1.12 WHIP. His 37/5 K/BB ratio was strikingly good as well. Soroka will be making his stamp on many top prospect lists for the Braves this offseason, but I would imagine that he would return to Danville to start 2016, likely with a quick promotion to Rome if he pitches again with the results of 2015.

Let’s look at the weekend’s games!

Next: Gwinnett Braves Report