Atlanta Braves Minor League Monday, August 24

Jun 9, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves catcher Christian Bethancourt (27) tags out San Diego Padres Melvin Upton, Jr., (2) in the eighth inning at Turner Field. The Braves won 6-5. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta Braves Minor League Monday

To start the week, we’ll review the transactions of the last week:
Promoted to Gwinnett: 3B Hector Olivera
Demoted to Gwinnett: IF/OF Joey Terdoslavich
Assigned to Gwinnett: P Danny Burawa
Demoted to Mississippi: IF Barrett Kleinknecht, P Hunter Cervenka
Assigned to Rome: OF Ryan Gebhardt
Promoted to Danville: P Fernando Miranda, P Chad Sobotka, P Dalton Geekie
Placed on DL: P Zack Bird, P Greg Ross, P Tyrell Jenkins

Highlight Player of the Week:

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

Gabriel Henry threw 44 innings for the DSL Braves with a 3.07 ERA, 1.18 ERA, and a 18/31 BB/K ratio. He had the second most starts for the DSL team this year. Henry was one of few guys in the DSL to be given 5-inning starts this year as the Braves rarely allow any pitcher to go more than 3-4 innings. Henry’s signed in 2013 from Panama, who is 19 and has a great body to fill out at 6’3, 180. He’s moved to the rotation gradually and likely will end up in the USA in 2016

Filyer Sanchez was signed this year from Venezuela. The 6’1, 175-pound lefty was signed at 18. While he only started 4 games, he threw 41 2/3 innings, ranking 4th on the DSL staff. In those innings, Sanchez had a 2.59 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and had a 10/26 BB/K ratio. His low strikeout rate is notable, but without much of a scouting report on Sanchez at this point, we’ll have to hope to see more from him in 2016, possibly in another season with the DSL.

Ramon Tavares was the DSL closer, though he wasn’t your usual high-strikeout closer. The 6’1 right-hander was signed from the Dominican Republic in 2014. He exhibited excellent control this season, totaling a 3.15 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and 6/20 BB/K over 34 1/3 innings of relief. At 19 years old, I would assume he’ll get a shot state-side in 2016 to see if there’s something there for the Braves.

Jason Laguna is another reliever only in 2015 that made some big strides in his second year in DSL this year. He was signed in 2014 from Nicaragua. The right-hander is under 6′ and very lean. In his 33 innings this year, he tallied a 2.73 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and 7/29 BB/K ratio. Turning 20 in January will likely put Laguna on the fast track to the US to get a chance to prove himself.

Luis Mora led the DSL Braves in starts with 14 on the season. His 45 innings pitched also led the team. While he didn’t collect a victory on the season, he did show some solid possible future value. Mora had a 3.80 ERA, but a 1.18 WHIP and a 21/42 BB/K ratio. He allowed only one home run on the season. Mora has a very solid frame for long-term success at 6’4 with wide shoulders, though he’s only 160 lean pounds right now. He is 20 already after signing from the Dominican Republic in 2014, so he will likely be pushed to the states in 2016.

Let’s look at the weekend’s games!

Next: Gwinnett Braves Report