Atlanta Braves Prospect Brett Cumberland On Fire at Single-A Rome
Early in the 2017 season the Rome Braves made their money with speed and lacked the power bat they relied upon so heavily during their South Atlantic League title run last season. That is no longer the case.
Atlanta Braves top-30 prospect Brett Cumberland was named South Atlanta League Player of the Week, and to MLBPipeline.com‘s Team of the Week to close out May, and the honors shouldn’t surprise anyone.
In a 9-day (10 game) stretch from May 22 through May 30 Cumberland hit .432 for the Rome Braves, racking up 11 runs on 16 hits. He hit five of his eight total homers, and drove in 20 runs during that same period, also walking four times.
Cumberland seems to given the Rome Braves that power bat that Austin Riley provided during the team’s SAL Championship run last season.
#Braves' Brett Cumberland (@TheRomeBraves) makes Team of the Week after tying for @MiLB lead in XBH (7), RBI (15): https://t.co/17k12mim0C pic.twitter.com/OSZlXQDSzl
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 29, 2017
Like Riley, Cumberland’s homers tend to travel. His May 24 home run at Asheville landed an estimated 477 feet from home plate at historic McCormick Field.
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Cumberland was the 76th overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft by the Braves out of the UC-Berkeley. In his final collegiate season the catching prospect was named Pac-12 Player of the Year after hitting .344 with 16 homers, 51 RBI and 46 runs for the Bears.
In his first professional (short) season with the rookie Danville Braves in 2016, Cumberland didn’t have staggering numbers, but the power and potential has always been evident in his hitting game.
Behind the plate as a catcher, Cumberland has been rather solid as well. In 113 inning of receiving, Cumberland hasn’t allowed a passed ball and has only one error on the season.
Don’t be surprised if Cumberland’s bat gets him serious looks by the Braves front office in the area of promotions, and also don’t be surprised if he gets the chance to learn a new defensive position or two during his development.
Next: 8 Braves Prospects Make Baseball America’s Top 100 List
The Rome Braves (30-22) are currently 1.5 games behind the Greenville Drive in the South Atlantic League Southern Division first half.