Atlanta Braves Minor League Recap -7/9

(43-44) Gwinnett Braves 1 vs. (49-36) Norfolk Tides 0

Box Score

• Joey Terdoslavich, 1B: 2-3, 1 3B, 1 run, .273/.395/.409
• Adonis Garcia, DH: 1-3, 1 RBI, .282/.307/.375
• Tyrell Jenkins, SP: 7 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 2.79 ERA (2 levels)

Tyrell Jenkins' debut went about as well as can be expected as Gwinnett shut out the Tides 1-0. Starting his first game in AAA since being promoted very recently, Jenkins was unfazed as he threw 7 shutout innings while striking out 6 and only walking a single batter. For those who worried (and rightly so) about some of his peripheral stats (low K rate, high walk rate), this was a very encouraging AAA debut for Tyrell. There was not much in the way of offense in this game for either team, with Joey Terdoslavich being the main source of offense for Gwinnett and the only player for either team to get an extra-base hit. Adonis Garcia had the lone RBI of the game and Mallex Smith continued to scuffle a bit, although his 0-3 line is a little misleading as he did reach base on a force out and promptly stole 2nd before getting caught trying to steal 3rd. It may very well take him a while to adjust to AAA pitching as well as the fact that infielders at this level aren't as easy to victimize with his speed, but given his track record throughout the minors he will eventually be just fine.

(40-42) Mississippi Braves 6 vs. (46-35) Chattanooga Lookouts 5

Box Score

• KD Kang, LF: 3-5, HR, 3 RBI, 2 runs, .255/.329/.359
• Matt Kennelly, 1B: 3-4, 1 2B, 1 run, .219/.314/.267
• Emerson Landoni, SS: 3-5, 1 2B, 1 run, .246/.288/.295
• Jorge Reyes, SP: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 2.44 ERA

After having a healthy lead throughout most of the game, Mississippi held off a 9th inning rally and beat Chattanooga 6-5. Offense certainly wasn't a problem for Mississippi in this game as they scored 6 runs on 13 hits. 4 players had 2 or more hits with Emerson Landoni and KD Kang setting the table and causing havoc (6-10 combined) for most of the evening. Kang also connected for a solo shot in the first inning for his second home run of the year. David Rohm chipped in 2 RBIs on a couple of hits, putting Mississippi in a strong position until the 9th. Jorge Reyes pitched an excellent game, going 6 innings and allowing 2 earned runs after allowing 8 runs in his previous outing. However, Francisco Rondon and David Peterson combined to give up 3 earned runs in the 9th as Lookouts seemed to get on base at will before Peterson got the game ending strikeout.

(42-42) Carolina Mudcats 9 vs. (43-41) Salem Red Sox 4

Box Score

• Connor Lien, RF:  4-5, HR(5), 3 RBI, 2 runs, 3 SB (19), .291/.337/.429
• Dustin Peterson, LF: 2-5, 2 RBI, 1 run, .274/.344/.389
• Carlos Franco, 3B: 1-4, HR(8), 3 RBI, .254/.332/.424
• Max Povse, SP: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 K, 10.45 ERA (in Carolina, 3.73 total)

Offense ruled the day here as Carolina jumped all over Salem's pitchers and Carolina wins 9-4. Connor Lien just was not going to be denied on this day as he went 4 for 5 with his 5th home run and 3 stolen bases which look more like video game numbers than a real stat line. Connor has pretty quietly had an excellent season thus far and although we wish he would show some more discipline at the plate, he is well on his way to heading to AA next season if not sooner. Dustin Peterson had a good game with a couple of RBI while Carlos Franco hit his team-leading 8th home run to continued his recent solid run of hitting. As for the pitching, Max Povse got off the mat after a rough first 2 two starts in high-A and pitched 6 innings of 1 run ball. Jorge Zavala had a poor appearance at the end of the game, giving up 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks. He has given up earned runs in his last three appearances, but he is also a relative newcomer to high-A, so hopefully he gets back on track soon.

(38-46) Rome Braves 8 vs. (41-43) Augusta GreenJackets 6

Box Score

• Stephen Gaylor, CF: 4-5, 1 2B, 1 3B, 4 runs, 1 RBI, .304/.377/.362
• Jordan Edgerton, 3B: 3-5, 2 RBI, .286/.339/.376
• Tanner Murphy, C: 2-5, HR, 2 RBI, 1 run, .190/.291/..281
• Touki Toussaint, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 2.51 ERA

Despite Dave Stewart swearing that Touki Toussaint  never threw 95-96 mph while in the DBacks organization, Touki had no trouble accomplishing that feat and had another good outing as Rome won 8-6. Touki's first three batters went walk, walk, 3 run homer, but after that he really settled down and did not give up another walk and only 2 other hits the rest of his outing. Stephen Gaylor had an excellent day at the leadoff spot filling in for Ozhaino Albies (who had the day off), getting 4 hits and scoring 4 runs. Jordan Edgerton got 3 hits to help break out of a little bit of a funk at the plate and Tanner Murphy has now hit safely in 6 of his past 7 as he had 2 hits including a home run. Braxton Davidson reached base twice to keep his on-base percentage near .400 despite struggling of late at the plate (1-15 in his past 5 games, but with 5 BB). Augusta did score 3 runs off of the Rome bullpen, but the Rome offense kept pace as they held on to win.

(8-7) GCL Yankees2 5 vs. (4-11) GCL Braves 7

Box Score

• Justin Ellison, RF: 2-4, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 2 runs, 1 SB (4), .283/.320/.391
• Austin Riley, DH: 1-2, HR(1), 3 RBI, 1 BB, .191
• Evertz Orozco, RP:  2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 K, 2.70 ERA

The GCL Braves managed to buck the trend and get a win as they beat the GCL Yankees2, 7-5. The Braves pulled away late starting in the 6th when 2015 draft pick Austin Riley hit a 2-run homer. Justin Ellison had another excellent day at the plate as he had 2 doubles, scored a couple of runs, and stole a base for good measure. While the Braves pitchers had a bit of a tough time the first 5 innings, Ben Libuda and Evertz Orozco combined to throw 4 scoreless innings while only giving up 3 hits and zero walks between the two of them. Their performance allowed the offense to continue to get a run here and there and pull out the win.

(7-10) Bluefield Blue Jays 6 vs. (7-9) Danville Braves 7

Box Score

• Luke Dykstra, 2B: 3-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 runs, .308/.357/.442
• Leudys Baez, LF: 2-5, HR(2), .262/.273/.400
• Jake Lanning, 3B: 2-4, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 run, .188/.229/.219
• Evan Phillips, RP: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 0.96 ERA

Danville walked off against Bluefield on a Leudys Baez solo home run as Danville wins 7-6. Baez is the hero in this one as he continued his good work in Danville with a shot in to the right field stands to get the win. Danville tied the game in the 6th on an RBI groundout and the game as a whole was a very back and forth affair. Luke Dykstra has been excellent this season and didn't disappoint with 3 hits with an RBI while scoring 2 runs. Jake Lanning tried to get his season going with a couple of hits and Carlos Castro brought his average at Danville above .400 with a couple of hits as well including a RBI double. Carlos currently has a 9 game hitting streak, has multi-hit games in 4 of his past five, and sports a slugging percentage of .511 despite not having a home run this year. While a little older than one would want for a prospect in rookie ball (21), he is certainly off to a good start and has seemed to improve at the plate each year (although admittedly DSL stats don't reliably translate to success in the minors).