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Three Possible Championships in the Balance for Atlanta Braves’ Farm Teams

By Alan Carpenter

Apr 11, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; A detailed view of St. Louis Cardinals world series trophies before the game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 11, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; A detailed view of St. Louis Cardinals world series trophies before the game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 11, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; A detailed view of St. Louis Cardinals world series trophies before the game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 11, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; A detailed view of St. Louis Cardinals world series trophies before the game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /

Whether they’re doing it with heart, soul, hitting, or pitching, Braves’ teams are vying for League titles this week in A, AA, and AAA levels. Let’s see how this might go down.

For sure, we’d like to see the Atlanta Braves in a playoff hunt at this time of the year, but the next best thing is to have a whole tribe of up-and-coming minor league teams all doing that together.

Saturday night was incredible as Rome, Mississippi, and Gwinnett all clinched first-round victories over Charleston, Pensacola, and Columbus respectively.  Now each team is playing for a championship.

Rome vs. Lakewood

BEST OF 5 SERIES:

  • MON:  At Rome, 7:05pm
  • TUE:    At Rome, 7:05pm
  • THR:   At Lakewood Township, NJ, 7:05pm
  • FRI:     At Lakewood, 7:05pm
  • SAT:    At Lakewood, 7:05pm

The Lakewood BlueClaws are the the Phillies A-ball affiliate in the SALLY League and they are in the championship series as a result of defeating Hagerstown (Nationals) by 5-2 and 6-1 scores.

That was the wrap on a fantastic second half for Lakewood, having been 11 games under .500 for the first half, but 20 over (45-25) in the second half.  Rome followed a similar path this year:  15 below water to start followed by a 43-27 finish.

So these are the hottest clubs in the Sally league and it’s fitting to have them face one another.

Lakewood is lead by theses top Phils’ prospects:

Perhaps surprisingly – that’s it… only 4 in the MLB Pipeline’s Top 30.

Despite those ranks, watch out for 23-year-old CF Mark Laird, who hit .353 this year with more walks (18) than strikeouts.  He’s the biggest offensive threat remaining, as 2 other past threats have moved on and aren’t with the BlueClaws any longer.  3B Jan Hernandez is the power threat (10 HR), but a .255 avg. is something the Rome pitching can probably manage.

Right-hander Jose Taveras leads the Lakewood club, which does have some pitching talent.  Taveras, 22+, struck out 154 in 137 innings with a 6:1 K/BB ratio and 1.03 WHIP.  He’s been going deep into games (6-7 innings) and hasn’t given up more than 2 earned runs since the beginning of August.

Rome is loaded with hitting and (especially) pitching, so there’s a good chance of getting a jump of these guys and perhaps bringing a trophy home.  As we say, however, both teams are riding a hot streak, so it will come down to whichever club can sustain that momentum.

Next: Southern League Nail-biter

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