Atlanta Braves AFL Week 1 Report: Trey Harris just keeps hitting

Several Atlanta Braves prospects began play in the Arizona Fall League last week. Here’s a report on their performances.

Last Wednesday the Arizona Fall League kicked off its 2019 season, as nine Atlanta Braves minor leaguers suited up for the Scottsdale Scorpions.

A little background first: The AFL is a 6-team league (two three-team divisions) with each team consisting of players from five different major league affiliates.

The Scorpions include minor league players from the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, and Toronto Blue Jays.

Typically, AFL teams are made up of players from the lower levels of the minors (High-A, Single-A, Lower-A…etc.). However, there are a few from higher divisions, such as the Atlanta Braves’ Trey Harris (Double-A Mississippi).

The AFL schedule covers the entire month of September and spans through most of October, ending with a championship game on October 26. There’s also an AFL All-Star game on Saturday, October 12, pitting the two divisions (East vs. West) against each other.

Teams play essentially everyday, with just seven scheduled off days during the 30-game season.

Week 1 Recap

The Scottsdale Scorpions started off the season on a roll, winning its first three games and averaging over five runs per game in the process.

However, Scottsdale dropped the final two games of the week, including an 11-4 loss on Sunday, giving the team a 3-2 finish. Still, the hot start has the Scorpions pacing the East division by one game in Week 1.

Atlanta Braves Players

1B, Greyson Jenista

3 G, .250 BA, 2B, 2 R, 0 BB, 6 K

On Thursday, Jenista helped lead the Scorpions to victory when he led off the 8th inning with an RBI double. Scottsdale would go on to score three more runs and beat Surprise, 8-6.

OF, Trey Harris

3 G, .400 BA, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB, 2 K, 1 CS

Harris had a nice AFL Opening Day, as he went 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI in Scottsdale’s win on Wednesday. After an 0-for-4 performance on Friday, the 23-year-old knocked in two more runs and finished 2-for-2 on Sunday. Yep, get ready for some more daily raking by the Atlanta Braves 2019 Minor League Hitter of the Year.

OF, Justin Dean

2 G, .286 BA, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K

Dean only got in on the action on Thursday and Sunday, knocking in two runs in the first game and scoring two in the second. The speedy outfielder led off both games and should have plenty of opportunities to show off his legs (remember, Dean stole 47 bags during the 2019 season).

OF, Garrison Schwartz

1 G, .333 BA, 0 BB, 1 K

Schwartz only played in Saturday’s contest, finishing 1-for-3 at the plate. He hit 8th in the lineup and played left field.

SP, Connor Johnstone

1 start, 0-1, 2 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, HR, 2 K

Tasked with Sunday’s start, it appears Johnstone hung around the strike zone a bit too much during his first AFL outing (38 pitches / 31 strikes). It wasn’t just him that got roughed up, though, as Scottsdale’s opponent (Salt River) tallied 11 runs from 13 hits in the game.

SP, Tristan Beck

1 start, 0-0, 2 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB, 2 K

Beck started on Opening Day, but was overshadowed by Scottsdale’s catcher, Joey Bart, who slugged two home runs in the Scorpions win over Mesa, 5-4.

RP, Dasybel Hernandez

2 app., 2.1 IP, 2 H, 4 ER, 3 BB

Hernandez converted the save in Game 1 on Wednesday, pitching a clean inning that featured zero hits, runs, walks, or strikeouts. Then on Sunday he struggled to control his stuff, only throwing 14 of 34 pitches for strikes as he allowed four runs and walked three, in 1.1 innings of relief.

RP, Bradley Roney

1 app., BS, 1-0, 1.2 IP, 2 BB, 2 K

The offense had Roney’s back on Thursday, as Jenista and the Scottsdale bats put up a big 8th inning after he blew his save opportunity. The Alabama native came back and ended up getting the win while also striking out a couple of batters.

RP, Brandon S. White

1 app., 2 IP, 3 H, 2 K

White pitched on Friday and threw 37 pitches (24 strikes), posting probably the best line by an Atlanta Braves pitcher in Week 1. Even better, later in the game Scottsdale’s infielder Nick Maton belted a walk-off homer to give the Scorpions the 3-2 win over Glendale.

Check back at the beginning of each week, as I will post recaps throughout the AFL season.