Atlanta Braves Minor League Weekend Wrap Up: August 8th
Atlanta Braves Minor League Weekend Wrap Up
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8/4 – RHP Rob Wooten placed on DL by Gwinnett
8/4 – RHP Aaron Blair placed on DL by Gwinnett
8/4 – RHP Madison Younginer promoted from Mississippi to Gwinnett
8/4 – LHP Manny Banuelos placed on DL by Mississippi
8/4 – OF Leudys Baez placed on DL by Rome
8/4 – LHP Jon Kennedy promoted from Danville to Rome
8/5 – RHP Chad Rogers assigned to Gwinnett
8/5 – RHP Taylor Lewis promoted from Carolina to Mississippi
8/5 – RHP Carlos Portuondo promoted from Carolina to Mississippi
8/5 – LHP Ryan Lawlor activated from DL to Carolina
8/5 – C Enmanuel Guitian assigned to DSL
8/5 – LHP Gabriel Noguera assigned to DSL
8/5 – OF Emmanuel Isea assigned to DSL
8/6 – RHP John Gant sent on rehab assignment to Gwinnett
8/6 – RHP Roberto Hernandez promoted from Gwinnett to Atlanta
8/6 – RHP Jordy Lara promoted from Danville to Mississippi
8/6 – OF Jared James promoted from Danville to Rome
8/6 – LHP Adam McCreery demoted from Rome to Danville
8/7 – RHP Madison Younginer promoted from Gwinnett to Atlanta
8/7 – RHP Carlos Portuondo promoted from Mississippi to Gwinnett
8/7 – RHP Wes Parsons promoted from Carolina to Mississippi
8/7 – 2B Luke Dykstra placed on DL by Rome
8/7 – SS Anfernee Seymour assigned to Rome
Hitter of the week: The Braves brass tends to fall in love with a guy and pursue him multiple times if they don’t get him the first time. In 2014, the Braves drafted Jared James in the 30th round. This year, the Braves nabbed James in the 34th round and got him signed this time, and he’s already pushed his way up to Rome. This week is a great example of why. With a raw, athletic frame at 6’1 and a listed 180 pounds, James generates a good amount of force on the ball, and he has very good pitch recognition. He could end up being a late-round diamond in the rough for the Braves, who are getting a reputation for finding such guys out in the California area. This week James put on a show in Danville before his promotion to Rome and really caught fire in his two games with Rome. Overall, his line was .500/.500/1.214 with 5 runs scored, a double, 3 home runs, 7 runs batted in, an 0/2 BB/K ratio, and even a stolen base for good measure.
Honorable mention: While third base in the future is an open idea right now, one guy I’ve followed for many years with interest has been Carlos Franco. He was a minor league free agent due to being in the system that long last offseason, and when he came back to the Braves, I felt it was more due to a lack of depth at the position rather than a desire to bring him back for his talent. He’s definitely had an up and down season with Mississippi, but he’s not had an “up” or “down” that competes with the high he found this last week. Franco anchored himself in the #5 spot in the M-Braves order with a week’s line of .500/.643/.800, 5 runs scored, 3 doubles, a home run, 7 RBI, an 8/4 BB/K ratio, and for a good measure, a stolen base.
Pitcher of the week: His first go-round in Rome this year didn’t go so well, but after dominating Danville, Kolby Allard returned to Rome with a few mixed results in his starts. He would flash at times, but then he would blow up at other times. This week, he had arguably the most dominating start of his young career. He came out simply dealing, and Braves Twitter was fun to watch as the updates rolled in on his start. In the end, his line was 6 1/3 innings pitched, 1 run allowed on 3 hits and one walk with 11 strikeouts. The crazy part is that in the seventh, he put himself in a rough situation for the manager, but he still had top-end velocity and break to his pitches, but the game was tight and he put a pair of runners on base and in a low-scoring game, he had to be pulled with 92 pitches thrown and seemingly gas left in the tank.
Honorable mention: The Braves acquired Jed Bradley from the Brewers in one of their shrewd trades this summer, and he has gone from failed former top prospect with Milwaukee to first a versatile member of the Mississippi bullpen, and now he’s a key member of the rotation. This week, Bradley made two starts, and while neither individually was as good as some of the other options from the week, when you look at his total numbers, you will see why I chose to mention him here in this space. Over the two starts this week, Bradley racked up 12 2/3 innings, allowing 3 runs on 11 hits and 3 walks, striking out 17 opposing batters on the week. Bradley may not be a guy who is going to be a future ace for the Braves, but he’s showing that perhaps the full-time move to the bullpen was premature, and he could re-establish some of his former top-prospect value.
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