This week Gwinnett was 1-3 (13.5 GB, last), Mississippi was 1-3 (1.5 GB, second), Myrtle Beach was 4-2 (2.5 GB, third), Rome was 2-4 (4 GB, fifth), Danville was 3-2 (1 GB, second), GCL was 6-0 (2 games ahead, first), and DSL was 3-1(1 game ahead, first).
Who's Hot?
Matt Lipka - 10-17, 2 2B, 3B, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 3 SB - Atlanta's first selection in this year's draft, the 18 year old Lipka had a fantastic week as well, hitting a robust.588 with a .632 on base percentage and a .941 slugging percentage good for an unheard of 1.573 OPS. He's been everything the Braves could have hoped for, wreaking havoc at the top of the GCL order.
David Rohm - 13-25, 3 2B, 3B, HR, 9 RBI, 2 BB, SB - This year's 9th round selection had one of the best weeks of any Braves prospect all season, so good that the 20 year old earned a mid-week promotion from the GCL to Danville. The 20 year old hit .520 with a .556 on base percentage and a .840 slugging percentage good for an amazing 1.396 OPS.
Brandon Beachy - 5 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 13 K - After striking out a career high 11 in his last start, with a scoreless relief appearance and a scoreless appearance in the All-Star game between, Beachy topped that by fanning 13 in his lone start this week. The Braves seem to have unearthed a diamond in the rough, as the undrafted Beachy has been spectacular this year and has only improved since moving into the rotation.
Phil Gosselin and Joe Leonard - 17-47, 4 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 10 RBI - This year's 3rd and 5th round selections respectively, Leonard and Gosselin were dominant for Rome this week. Leonard, the 21 year old third baseman, played 1 game for Danville before his promotion to Rome; for the week he hit .333 with a 1.333 OPS. Gosselin, the 21 year old second baseman, hit .385 with a 1.000 OPS, giving the pair a combined .362 average and 1.107 OPS.
Honorable Mention: Freddie Freeman, Diory Hernandez, Mitch Jones, Matt Young, Cory Gearrin, Lee Hyde, Steve Marek, Gwinnett; Jesus Sucre, Tyler Pastornicky, Tim Collins, Erik Cordier, Richard Sullivan, Mississippi; Myke Jones, Jordan Kreke, Cory Harrilchak, LV Ware, Luis Avilan, Matt Crim, JJ Hoover, Angelo Paulino, Chad Rodgers, Myrtle Beach; David Hale, Steve Kent, Christian Bethancourt, Jace Whitmer, Matt Weaver, Rome; Ryan Delgado, Barrett Kleinknecht, Elmer Reyes, Bobby Rauh, Joey Terdoslavich, Tyler Stovall, Aaron Northcraft, Carlos Perez, Willie Kempf, Danville
Who's Not?
Brandon Hicks - 1-13, HR, 2 RBI, 7 K - Hicks' lone hit this week was a homer, but he also struck out in 54% of his at bats. For the year he's striking out in 25% of his at bats, which is double his career rate of 12%.Spending large chunks of the year on Atlanta's bench rarely getting an at bat hasn't allowed him the opportunity to get into a groove this year, but he's also only hit .227 with a .656 OPS in the Minors since the start of last season.
Robinson Lopez - 0-1, 2.2 IP, 6 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 2 K - Lopez is one of the most promising arms in the organization, but he was rocked this week, allowing a 20.22 ERA and a 3.37 WHIP in his shortest outing of the year. The summer hasn't been kind to him, as he's put up a 5.74 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in 42.1 June and July innings.
Jake Hanson - 2-20, 3B, 10 K, SB - Many had high hopes for Hanson after he hit .279 with a .842 OPS in the GCL last year, but he hasn't been able to repeat that success this year, hitting only .243 with a .654 OPS in 52 games for Rome. This week things hit a new low, as he hit just .100 and struck out in half of his at bats. He's striking out in 34% of his at bats on the year, which isn't that surprising since he struck out 30% of the time last year.
Riaan Spanjer-Furstenburg - 4-23, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K - After dominating the Appy League last year, RSF's season hasn't gone as hope, mostly due to missing several months with a broken hand, but overall he's been solid, hitting .294 with a .753 OPS in the 29 games he's played for Rome. But this week he laid an egg, hitting just .174 with a woeful .501 OPS.
Dishonorable Mention: Jordan Schafer, Craig Kimbrel, Gwinnett; Willie Cabrera, Tim Gustafson, Mississippi; Juan Abreu, Tommy Palica, Sammy Sime, Cole Miles, Luis Sumoza, Myrtle Beach; Todd Cunningham, Ramon Flores, Caleb Brewer, Brett DeVall, Rome; Ryan Weber, Danville