Checking In On Atlanta Braves In Winter Leagues
By Jeff Schafer
The 2013 Winter Leagues are off and running as players try to get extra cuts in during the winter break. The Arizona Fall League, which saw many Atlanta Braves players, has already ended. The Scottsdale Scorpions, the team the Braves players play for in Arizona finished dead last with a 10-21 record. Not to hot but two names came out of that league on the bright side for the Braves, Tommy La Stella and Kyle Kubitza. La Stella had a batting average of .290 and Kubitza had a .305 batting average.
Now players still on the field…Joey Terdoslavich announced on Twitter that he’d be traveling down to the Dominican to play some ball and over the weekend we found out that Jose Constanza will be playing down south. Constanza will join with Terdo on Toros del Este in the Caribbean League.
Below is a breakdown of how our Braves players are handling themselves so far.
The Caribbean Leagues are made up of four separate leagues, the Dominican Winter League, Mexican Pacific League, Puerto Rican League and Venezuelan Winter League.
Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Christian Bethancourt (Catcher – Tigres del Licey) – Bethancourt has 31 plate appearances, but only six hits and two came in Sunday’s game. Other than his one RBI and two Runs, his only stat line that’s not a 0 is his strikeout count and that’s six. Hopefully Christian picks things up.
Omar Luna (2B – Aquilas Cibaenas) – Luna came in as a pinch runner with Aquilas on Sunday but didn’t get an at bat. He has six at bats with zero hits and three strikeouts.
Joey Terdoslavich (OF – Toros del Este) – Batting .308 with a double, triple and two RBIs. Joey got his first hit Sunday since going 3-4 in his first game with Toros last Wednesday.
Jose Constanza (OF – Toros del Este) – 1-6 in his brief stint so far with Toros. His first game was Saturday and played in Sunday’s loss.
Edward Salcedo (3B – Leones del Escogido) – Salcedo has appeared in seven games so far going 4-23 with a double and two RBIs and two Runs scored. He has also added a stolen base to his stat line. Salcedo got the night off on Sunday.
Wirfin Obispo (Pitcher – Estrellas de Oriente) – Wirfin has shown his face in 10 games this season and has a 3.97 ERA. He has a record of 1-1 in 11.1 innings pitched. He’s picked up 11 strikeouts and also a save.
Ronan Pacheco (Pitcher – Leones del Escogido) – Ronan pitched on November 15th in a relief role throwing one complete inning, giving up one hit and no runs. That was his only appearance so far.
The Atlanta Braves has six organizational players playing this off-season in the Mexican Pacific League, as listed below with their respective off-season club:
Daniel Castro (SS – Yaquis de Obregon) – Castro has been playing regularly for Obregon, he’s played in 25 games batting .208 with five RBIs, seven Runs, one double, one triple and a home run.
Ryan Buchter (Pitcher – Tomateros de Culiacan) – Buchter has pitched well so far for Culiacan. He’s pitched in 12 games with a 0.69 ERA with a win and four saves. In 11.1 innings pitched, he has 22 strikeouts.
Ryan Hinson (Pitcher – Venados de Mazatlan) – Ryan’s started eight games so far going 3-4 in 41.1 innings pitched. He holds a 3.92 ERA with 26 strikeouts compared to 21 walks. The former Clemson star is one of Mazatlan’s main starters.
Mark Lamm (Pitcher – Yaquis de Obregon) – Lamm appeared in four games before getting injured and now sits on the DL.
Daniel Rodriguez (Pitcher – Tomateros de Culiacan) – Rodgriquez pitched well on Sunday going 3.2 innings while only giving up three hits, no runs, and had four strikeouts. Before Sunday’s game he had thrown 6 innings in three games giving up one home run. That was his only run given up and has seven strikeouts.
Andrew Russell (Pitcher – Mayos de Navojoa) – Appearing in nine games, Andrew has pitched 7.2 innings with a 7.04 ERA. Four strikeouts compared to five walks, Russell is not having the best winter season.
Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Atlanta Braves have just two organizational players playing this off-season in the Venezuelan Winter League, as listed below with their respective off-season club:
Emerson Landoni (2B – Caribes de Anzoategui) – Emerson has only played in two games and went 1-3 with a run scored. With many MLB talented players on Caribes, he’s finding it tough to find playing time.
Ernesto Mejia (1B – Aguilas de Zulia) – Mejia is batting 4th for Aguilas and went 3-6 on Sunday afternoon with a double, two RBIs and a run scored. For the season he’s batting .256 with eight home runs and 20 RBIs. Also, he’s added three stolen bases!
Australian Baseball League
The Australian Baseball League features players from around the globe, including many with ties to Major League organizations. The ABL includes six teams located in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
The Atlanta Braves have just one organizational player playing this off-season in the Australian Baseball League, listed below:
Matt Kennelly (C – Perth Heat) – Kennelly went 1-4 on Sunday with a solo home run. For the season he’s batting .217 in seven games with two home runs, five RBIs, four Runs and three walks.