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Atlanta Braves minor league season review: Part 3, the upper-minors

By Alan Carpenter

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN: SPC Alfredo Vigil II (L) from Woodlake, California and SPC Patrick Carter from Lawrenceville, Georgia with the U.S. Army's 4th squadron 2d Cavalry Regiment patrol through a village on March 3, 2014 near Kandahar. It's ain't baseball, but we appreciate our troops. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN: SPC Alfredo Vigil II (L) from Woodlake, California and SPC Patrick Carter from Lawrenceville, Georgia with the U.S. Army's 4th squadron 2d Cavalry Regiment patrol through a village on March 3, 2014 near Kandahar. It's ain't baseball, but we appreciate our troops. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) /
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JACKSON, MS – OCTOBER 28: Early morning fog is seen on the course as volunteers make their way to their positions during the Second Round of the Sanderson Farms Championship at the Country Club of Jackson on October 28, 2016 in Jackson, Mississippi. (Photo by Marianna Massey/Getty Images)

The third in a series of posts to review the seasons of the statesite Braves affiliates.

Today we review the seasons in the upper reaches of the Atlanta Braves‘ minor league teams:  the AA and AAA clubs of Mississippi and Gwinnett.

Prior installments:

MISSISSIPPI BRAVES

  • TYPE:  AA, Southern League
  • HISTORY:  In Pearl, MS (adjacent to Jackson) since 2005.  Were in Greenville, SC from 1984-2004, Savannah before that (from 1971).
  • FUN FACT:  The Braves AA affiliate was located in Atlanta for 10 seasons during the days of the Milwaukee Braves (1950-1959).
  • STADIUM:  Trustmark Stadium, capacity 8,480.
  • TEAMS:  10 teams across 2 divisions.
  • DIVISION:  Southern (CIN/MIL/MIA/LAA/ATL)
  • FINISH (1ST Half):  34-36, 3rd place, 6.0 GB Pensacola (Reds)
  • FINISH (2ND Half):  24-44, 5th place, 14 GB Jacksonville (Marlins)
    • Overall:  58-80, last in division; 9th in the league.
  • LEAGUE STANDOUTS:
    • Hitting:  Joey Meneses (1B, .292, 7th in league), Jared James (LF, .279, 13th).  Travis Demeritte: 15 HR, 9th.  Ronald Acuna: 19 steals (8th, despite being there for only  57 games (about 40% of the season).  Keith Curcio and Demeritte both tied 3rd in triples (6).
    • Pitching:  Mike Soroka, 2nd in league in ERA (2.75).  Logged nearly 154 innings, 1.09 WHIP, 125K/34BB.  Kolby Allard 8th with 3.18.  150 innings, 129K/45BB, 1.27 WHIP.

TEAM STATS – Pitching

  • 4th in team ERA (3.56).  3.09 was best in the league (Twins), 4.13 the worst (White Sox).
  • Homers:  2nd fewest (77).  Best was 75, worst was 129.
  • 562 walks allowed (worst in league by far).  Next worst was 518, best was 375.
  • 2nd in strikeouts (1196 in 1216 innings).  Missed #1 by 2K.  Fewest was 974.
  • WHIP of 1.34 was near the bottom.  Best 1.23; worst 1.40.

TEAM STATS – Hitting

This wasn’t very good.

  • Average:  .233 (8th worst: ranged from .229 to .265)
  • Homers:  3rd in league (98).  Best was 118.  That’s actually not bad, considering their stadium.
  • Doubles:  2nd fewest in league (191).  188 was worst; 280 best.
  • Triples:  4th with 27.  The spread went from 20 to 43.
  • Walks:  2nd fewest (405).  Ranged from 391 to 610.
  • Strikeouts:  2nd most by 1 (1170).  Fewest was 1009.
  • Steals:  2nd best in league with 157.  Best was 229; worst 46.
  • OPS:  2nd worst (.653).  Lowest was .651; best .748.

Best team overall:  91-49 for the Chattanooga Lookouts (Twins).  The Pensacola Blue Wahoos were 74-66 to lead the Southern division (Reds), but were 3rd overall to the Montgomery Biscuits (76-64).

The worst team was the Birmingham Barons (53-85), who the Braves beat up in 4 of the last 5 games of the year to make sure.

ROSTER

There was quite a turnover in this roster during the season.  Many movers through multiple levels, including Max Fried, Luis Gohara, Ronald Acuna, Jason Hursh, A.J. Minter, even Kris Medlen.

Manager:  Luis Salazar, along with pitching coach Derrick Lewis and hitting coach Ivan Cruz.

Notables:

  • Mauricio Cabrera.  Remember Juan Jaime?  100mph stuff and no idea where it was going?  Same thing here.  2016 turns out to have been a banner year for him, as 2017 saw him drop multiple levels. All you need to know:  13.2 innings, 15K, 18 walks, 5.27 ERA.
  • Wes Parsons:  103 IP, 2.71 ERA, 89K/33BB. 1.13 WHIP
  • Corbin Clouse:  22IP, 2.86, 26/13, 1.55 WHIP, though.
  • Jesse Biddle:  almost 50 innings, 2.90, 53/16, 1.29, but ended the year on the DL.
  • Patrick Weigel – Tommy John surgery.
  • Touki Toussaint got 7 starts, though his walk rate was back up (22 in 39.2 innings, though 44K).
  • C Cade Scivicque – .269 in 68G before a promotion.
  • 3B Austin Riley like Southern League ball:  .315 in 48G/178 AB.  .900 OPS with 8 jacks.
  • Ronald Acuna… .326 in 57 games, .895 OPS.  Yawn.
  • C Alex Jackson hit .255 here, with 5 HR, but was only around for 30 games.
  • Several underperforming hitters:  Keith Curcio (.219), Tyler Neslony (.194 in 43G), Connor Lien (.187 with a horrible K ratio near 40%), and most notably:  Travis Demeritte (.231 and .708 OPS – down 200 points from 2016).
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