Week 14 Braves Farm Report: A strong week of pitching for Gwinnett and Mississippi
By Clint Manry
The top half of the Atlanta Braves minor league organization featured several excellent pitching performances.
The potential has always been there for several Atlanta Braves pitching prospects. But in Week 14, it seemed like all of them had a great week on the mound.
(51-38) Gwinnett Stripers
The Stripers finished off the week 5-3, winning their 5-game series with Durham, 3-2. The offense kept it rolling, scoring 44 runs (5.5 runs per game) and slugging 12 homers in an 8-game span.
Their 5 wins in Week 14 slot them in second place in the INT South standings — 1.5 GB from the Durham Bulls.
Gwinnett also showcased some impressive starting pitching in Week 14, as several starters turned in solid outings. As a starting rotation, the Stripers finished with a 2.63 ERA with rates of 9.43 K/9 and 1.75 BB/9.
Patrick Weigel made two starts (Monday, Saturday), combining for 9.1 innings pitched and 13 strikeouts. He only allowed 4 hits all week, while walking 2 and surrendering a solo-homer as his only earned run.
Kyle Wright posted another quality-start, pitching 6 scoreless frames on Wednesday and striking out 8 batters. He allowed just 5 hits.
Mike Foltynewicz made his second Triple-A start in as many weeks, going 5 innings and striking out 7. He allowed 2 runs from 8 hits.
The offense was led by the usual hitters — outfielders Travis Demeritte, Adam Duvall, and Rafael Ortega.
Demeritte finished with 3 homers, 3 doubles, and 7 RBI, hitting .296 as he played in every game in Week 14. His big game on Sunday consisted of a 2-for-4 finish, with 2 home runs and 4 RBI.
Ortega knocked in 6 runs himself, batting .266 in 8 games. He also hit a homer and 2 doubles. Duvall picked up 7 hits, four of them XBH, finishing with 2 homers and 2 doubles — good for 7 RBI.
Notable Roster Moves:
(P) Thomas Burrows assigned to Stripers from Mississippi (7/3/19)
(P) Jeremy Walker assigned to Stripers from Mississippi (7/5/19)
(7-11) Mississippi Braves
The Mississippi Braves finished 1-6 this past week, losing all 6 games by three runs or less. As a team, the M-Braves scored 27 runs and allowed 27 as well.
Mississippi’s first 18 games of the second half haven’t gone quite well, standings-wise. The M-Braves go into Week 15 as the last-place team in the South division — 3 GB from 1st place Jacksonville.
First baseman Ryan Casteel was by far the most locked-in M-Braves hitter this past week. Casteel slugged 3 homers on Wednesday (I mentioned his game on the 4th), in a game where the Braves tallied 15 hits (13 XBHs).
Drew Waters continued his epic 2019 campaign, hitting. 480 in Week 14, slapping a triple and 3 doubles, as well as 2 RBI. He finished with a 4-hit night on Sunday.
Pitching-wise, Week 14 was probably one of Mississippi’s best weeks, as the starting rotation combined for a 1.98 ERA with 12.43 K/9 and 2.98 BB/9.
On Monday, Joey Wentz struck out 9 and allowed just 4 hits in 5.2 innings pitched, as the M-Braves ran into a pitcher’s dual (Mississippi ended up losing 1-0).
Tucker Davidson pitched a gem on Friday when he tossed 7 innings and struck out 9 Biloxi hitters. Davidson allowed 2 runs from 7 hits and walked none.
Then on Saturday, Wentz was back at it again, throwing 7 innings of 3-hit ball. The Braves No. 10 prospect struck out 10 in his second outing, combining for 19 strikeouts in 12.2 innings-pitched in Week 14.
Jasseel De La Cruz pitched 6 scoreless innings on Sunday, striking out 10 and walking two. Cruz allowed just 4 hits in the M-Braves only win, 10-1 over Biloxi.
Futures Game: Ian Anderson started the 2019 Futures Game on Sunday, pitching one inning and striking out one for the National League team.
Christian Pache led off the National League lineup, going 0-for-4 with a strikeout. Pache also played center field and right field on defense.
Notable Transactions
- 7/3/19: (P) Jeremy Walker promoted to Gwinnett from Mississippi
- 7/3/19: (P) Thomas Burrows promoted to Gwinnett from Mississippi
- 7/3/19: (P) Andres Santiago assigned to Mississippi from Danville
- 7/6/19: (P) Kurt Hoekstra assigned to Gwinnett from Florida.