Simmons, La Stella, And Gattis Hit Their Way To The Top Of The Atlanta Braves Minor League Hot Sheet

Andrelton Simmons rapped out a bunch of hits, Tommy La Stella and Evan Gattis continued to clobber the ball, and Aaron Northcraft had a fine start, while Rome pitchers AJ Holland and Ernesto Silva struggled.

Who's Hot?

Andrelton Simmons SS, Mississippi Braves -12-26, 4 2B, 6 RBI, 5 BB, 3 SB - Simmons capped off his fine week by reaching base all 5 times he came to the plate Sunday, with 4 singles and a walk. For the week he hit .462 with a .548 OBP and a 1.163 OPS, an even more impressive feat considering he went 0-7 in consecutive games in the middle of the week. He also walked 5 times and only struck out twice.

Tommy La Stella 2B, Lynchburg Hillcats -9-23, 3 2B, HR, 7 RBI, 6 BB, 4 SB - After a back injury forced him to miss 3 games last week, La Stella returned with a vengeance this week, putting up a .391/.517/.652/1.169 slash line. He was great over the weekend, going 6-13 with 2 doubles, a homer, and 5 RBI Friday through Sunday. He also stole 4 bases during the week, after only stealing 2 all last season.

Evan Gattis C, Lynchburg Hillcats -8-27, 3 2B, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 5 BB, SB - Gattis's week, which included a 2 homer, 5 RBI day on Tuesday, was impressive because of his .296/.406/.741/1.153 slash line, but it was also important, as he played 3 games in left field, his first time ever playing the position. After Sunday's game, a 2 hit, 2 walk, 2 RBI performance, Gattis was promoted to AA Mississippi.

Aaron Northcraft RHP, Lynchburg Hillcats - 1-0, 1 GS, 6.2 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 3 BB, 7 K - Northcraft only made one start this week, but it was a good one, as he struck out 7 over 6.2 scoreless innings, picking up his third win of the year. For the season, he's struck out 25 in 23 innings, posting a 2.74 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.

Honorable Mention: Luis Durango, Jaye Chapman, Dusty Hughes, Jordan Parraz, Gwinnett Braves; Christian Bethancourt, Ryan Buchter, Jose Lugo, Mississippi Braves; Matt Chaffee, Andrew Wilson, Chris Garcia, Matt Weaver, Lynchburg Hillcats; Rafael Briceno, David Filak, Wilson Rivera, Fernando de los Santos, Jakob Dalfonso, Rome Braves

Who's Not?

AJ Holland, RHP, Rome Braves - 0-2, 2 GS, 8 IP, 13 ER, 18 H, 5 BB, 3 K - On Tuesday, in his first start of the week, Holland pitched poorly, walking 4 and allowing 5 runs over 4 innings, but in his second one on Sunday things got worse, as he allowed 11 hits and 8 runs in 4 innings. He put up a 14.63 ERA and a 2.88 WHIP this week, ballooning his season ERA from 1.37 to 5.20 and his season WHIP from 1.17 to 1.66.

Brandon Drury 1B, Rome Braves - 4-24, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 1 K - Drury's slash line for the week, .167/.259/.208/.467, isn't that different from his slash line for the season, .170/.227/.216/.443. There were some positives this week, as he walked 3 times, giving him 6 walks in 22 games, the same amount he had in 63 games last season, and only struck out once.

Ernesto Silva, RHP, Rome Braves - 1 G, 3 IP, 7 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 3 K - Silva only made one appearance this week, but it was a poor one, as he allowed 7 runs in just 3 innings of work. After tossing 4 shutout innings in his first appearance of the year, he's allowed 11 runs in 10.1 innings in his last 3 appearances, posting a 6.91 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP on the season.

Robby Hefflinger OF, Lynchburg Hillcats - 4-22, 4 BB, 8 K - After getting off to a hot start, Hefflinger has cooled considerably, hitting just .182 with a weak .490 OPS while striking out in 36% of his at bats. The 22 year old has still been productive for the season, hitting .275 with a .800 OPS, 2 homers, and 7 RBI, and he did finish the week by going 3-9 with 2 walks in his last 3 games.

Dishonorable Mention: Julio Teheran, Ernesto Mejia, Gwinnett Braves; Matt Kennelly, Myke Jones, Cory Harrilchak, Mississippi Braves; Juan Jaime, Ronan Pacheco, Edward Salcedo, LV Ware, Lynchburg Hillcats; Cole Rohrbough, Cory Brownsten, Nick DeSantiago, Kurt Fleming, Jean Carlos Gil, Joe Lucas, Carlos Perez, Clint Wright, Kyle Kubitza, Rome Braves