Atlanta Braves Scouting Report on LHP Luiz Gohara

The Atlanta Braves acquired top prospect Luiz Gohara as the key piece in their trade that sent Mallex Smith to the Seattle Mariners. What sort of pitcher did they get?

Who Is He?

The Atlanta Braves received plenty of praise for picking up an elite arm like Gohara along with lefty relief prospect Thomas Burrows (more to come on him tomorrow!) when they moved outfielder Mallex Smith and reliever Shae Simmons roughly a week ago.

The Mariners signed Gohara out of Brazil in 2012 for $880K, by far the largest bonus ever for a Brazilian player.

The Mariners started him in the Appalachian League in 2013, an aggressive opening assignment for a 16 year-old pitcher. He still showed fairly well, all things considered, pitching 21 2/3 innings, with a 4.15 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, and a 9/27 BB/K ratio.

The Mariners sent him to their Arizona Rookie League affiliate to open 2014, but he quickly showed himself ready for more of a challenge, so he was promoted to the short-season A-ball team in the Northwest League, where he did struggle significantly with his control and serving up meatballs to opposing hitters.

Overall, his 2014 numbers were 49 2/3 innings with a 6.70 ERA and 1.67 WHIP. He also posted a 26/53 BB/K, but that was after opening the season with a 2/16 BB/K over 12 1/3 innings in the ARL.

In 2015, Gohara repeated the Northwest League and struggled again, but he shined in two spot starts with the low-A club in the Midwest League, one in May and one in July. Overall, he made 16 starts, throwing 63 1/3 inning with a 5.54 ERA, 1.82 WHIP, and 38/67 BB/K ratio.

After an offseason where he dropped 30-40 offseason pounds (and 20-30 more during the season), he opened with Everett in the Northwest League again, but he was quickly promoted to Clinton in the Midwest League where he dominated. His combined numbers were 13 starts, 69 2/3 innings, a 1.81 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and 23/81 BB/K.

After the season, the Mariners sent Gohara to the Arizona Fall League, and he was one of the youngest overall players at the AFL. He threw 11 2/3 innings against some of the best prospects in the game, posting a 3.86 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, but impressed with a 3/19 BB/K ratio.

Next: Gohara's scouting report