Atlanta Braves Minor League Weekend Wrap, June 12th
Atlanta Braves Minor League Weekend Wrap Up
Transactions
6/8 – RHP Andres Santiago assigned to Mississippi Braves from Florida Fire Frogs
6/8 – SS Yunior Severino assigned to DSL Braves
6/8 – SS Yenci Pena assigned to DSL Braves
6/9 – OF Mel Rojas, Jr. released by Gwinnett Braves
6/9 – RHP Caleb Dirks placed on temporarily inactive list by Gwinnett Braves
6/9 – C Braeden Schlehuber activated from 7-day DL by Gwinnett Braves
6/9 – RHP Wes Parsons assigned to Gwinnett Braves from Danville Braves
6/9 – RHP Kris Medlen assigned to Gwinnett Braves from Mississippi Braves
6/10 – RHP Jason Hursh optioned from Atlanta Braves to Gwinnett Braves
6/10 – LHP Sean Newcomb contract purchased by Atlanta Braves from Gwinnett Braves
6/10 – RHP Matt Wisler recalled to Atlanta Braves from Gwinnett Braves
6/10 – OF Stephen Gaylor assigned to Gwinnett Braves from Mississippi Braves
6/11 – RHP Matt Wisler optioned to Gwinnett Braves from Atlanta Braves
6/11 – RHP Jason Hursh recalled to Atlanta Braves from Gwinnett Braves
6/11 – LHP Tyler Pike assigned to Mississippi Braves from Florida Fire Frogs
6/11 – RHP Andres Santiago assigned to Florida Fire Frogs from Mississippi Braves
Hitter of the week: Of the veterans on the Gwinnett squad, the guy who has been seemingly overlooked the most is Matt Tuiasosopo. Once a legit prospect, Tuiasosopo played well enough just last season with Gwinnett to earn a call to the big league club, yet when he was re-signed, many wrote him off as someone who would not provide any value.
Over the first few weeks, that assumption looked right on. Other than an odd propensity to walks this season, Tuiasosopo looked awful early, but he’s been turning it on as of late.
This past week, he hit .348/.483/.739 with 9 runs scored, 3 doubles, 2 home runs, and 6 RBI while posting a 5/6 BB/K ratio.
Honorable mention: Another guy who struggled in the early going was defensive wizard Ray-Patrick Didder. Mature in his approach with Rome last season, many thought he might skip right over high-A this year, but instead, he’s struggled plenty at the level early until recent corrections have sparked Didder, and in turn the Florida lineup.
Didder hit .308/.550/.308 with 3 runs and 2 RBI over the last week, but the reason he’s getting the mention is two-fold. First, he had a 6/5 BB/K ratio, an issue that he’s struggled with for the majority of the season, and on top of that, he stole 5 bases on the week without getting caught. With his speed, if he can get pitchers worrying about him whenever he’s on base, that’s a huge bonus.
Pitcher of the week: This really isn’t even a challenge. Mike Soroka put up a line this week that would be tough to beat in any week. Soroka made two starts on the week, totaling 15 innings without giving up a single run, granting only 7 hits and not a single walk in either start. He also struck out 13 over the two starts.
Honorable mention: While Bryse Wilson had an excellent two-start week and Andrew Albers had an excellent single start, I wanted to use the elite performance from one of the Braves relievers to highlight the work he’s done this season.
Many questioned the move of the Braves when they picked up Jesse Biddle last season. The lefty had struggled with injury issues before hit Tommy John, and whether he’d be able to get to quality again was anyone’s guess.
Biddle’s gotten there and then some. This past week, he threw 5 innings in relief, allowing 6 hits and a run, walking none and striking out 10 batters – that’s right, 2 per inning. On the season, Biddle has been excellent, making 19 appearances, throwing 34 innings, with a 2.65 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and a 12/38 BB/K ratio.
Next: Gwinnett Braves