Atlanta Braves Minor League Review: Gwinnett Braves

Mar 12, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Tyrell Jenkins (63) throws a pitch during the seventh inning against the New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta Braves Minor League Review: Gwinnett Braves

Like the hitters, Gwinnett had just a handful of pitchers who came through Gwinnett and didn’t make their way up to Atlanta, but there are more legitimate prospects here than the hitters list.

Starters

In a season that saw highly regarded prospects like Manny Banuelos, Mike Foltynewicz, and Matt Wisler come through Gwinnett, it sounds hyperbolic to say that Tyrell Jenkins was the best prospect to pitch in Gwinnett, but with his performance in 2015, he very well may have shown himself at least worthy of that discussion. The tall righty was on his first full season after shoulder surgery ended his 2013 season and cut into his 2014 as well. Acquired in the Jason Heyward trade with St. Louis, Jenkins has front line stuff as a starter, but he has some work to do with consistency in his high-kick delivery. Overall between Mississippi and Gwinnett, he posted a 3.19 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, and a 51/88 BB/K ratio over 138 1/3 innings. His strikeout numbers were not high, but he profiles with a heavy fastball and slider that should induce a lot of weak contact when he’s on the top of his game. Jenkins could surprise everyone and come out of spring training in 2016 with a starting slot in the Atlanta rotation, but most likely the 22 year-old will return to Gwinnett and be ready upon any struggles from the guys ahead of him like the three mentioned earlier and Williams Perez.

After 7 years of slowly working up the Rays system, Victor Mateo signed with the Braves before the 2015 season. Mateo had a very good season in Mississippi before being promoted to Gwinnett to finish the season. His overall line on the season was 3.41 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and 54/78 BB/K ratio over 147 2/3 innings. Mateo is definitely not an elite starter, but he’s the type of guy who could keep the bullpen fresh by giving 6 innings every night. He’s a great ground ball pitcher, and he would likely do much better with the elite defense that Atlanta has behind him, but he’s also a guy who could see an uptick in his stuff in the bullpen if he ever moves to the bullpen.

Greg Smith is a perfect example of an organizational guy. The 31 year-old lefty was signed for depth in Gwinnett, and he more than proved adequate in that role. He put up a 2.71 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 25/67 BB/K rate spanning 119 2/3 innings over 31 appearances (19 starts). While Smith may not ever be a major league starter, he’s the type of control lefty that can be a great asset for a AAA club and, if he wants, he could have a number more years of doing that if he’d like.

Kanekoa Texeira bounced around for a number of years before the Braves signed him out of independent ball in 2014. In 2015, he returned to the Braves, and he was excellent in a swing role for Gwinnett. Similar to Smith, Texeira is a 29 year-old who’s an org guy. He put up a 3.55 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, and a 49/71 BB/K ratio spanning 101 1/3 innings over 26 appearances (14 starts). Texeira very well may be back in Gwinnett soon, and he’s a solid guy to keep innings from the bullpen at AAA.

Next: Gwinnett Relievers