Atlanta Braves Minor League Recap - 7/23/15

(48-50) Gwinnett Braves 0 vs. (53-46) Rochester Red Wings 4

Box Score

• Mallex Smith, CF: 1-4, .204/.231/.282
• Jose Peraza, 2B: 1-4, E(17), .292/.315/.371
• Daniel Castro, SS: 1-4, .264/.313/.291
• Mike Foltynewicz, SP: 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 6 K. 3.49 ERA

The offense did not come to play in this one as the Braves were shut out 4-0. Gwinnett scattered 5 singles during the game, including hits by Jose Peraza and Mallex Smith. Peraza,, however, make his 17th error in the field this season while Mallex did manage to get his 7th outfield assist of the year by gunning a guy out at 3rd. Overall, a dismal performance by the offense who had no answer opposing starter Jose Berrios. Mike Foltynewicz had a decent start for Gwinnett, going 6 innings and giving up 3 runs for the second straight start. In between short stint call-ups, Folty has given up 3 runs or less in his last 5 games at Gwinnett. Vin Mazzaro came in and finished the game for Gwinnett with 2 scoreless innings, but unfortunately their good efforts were futile as the offense would provide them with zero run support.

(50-45) Mobile BayBears 7 vs. (49-46) Mississippi Braves 0

Box Score

• Eric Garcia, SS: 3-4, 1 2B, .231/.286/.329
• KD Kang, 1B: 2-4, 1 3B, .292/.360/.404
• Rio Ruiz, 3B: 0-4, .215/.326/.269
• Victor Mateo, SP: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 2.84 ERA
• Mauricio Cabrera, RP: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 10.13 ERA

Eww....not a good game at all for Mississippi as they got shut out by Mobile 7-0. Despite getting 11 hits including 2 extra-base hits, the Braves failed to plate a single run in the game. Eric Garcia had a good game with 3 hits including a double, but was also caught stealing for just the second time this year. KD Kang now has a 14 game hitting streak with his latest multi-hit game while also quietly assembling a strong slash line this season. Rio Ruiz's struggles this year continued with another 0-4 day at the plate. Whats worse is that his one area of strength (walks) is slipping as well as he failed to get a free pass in his last 5 games while striking out 8 times in the same span. Victor Mateo continued his strong season while going 6 innings and giving up 3 runs (this would turn out to be a pattern for the Braves minors tonight). The bad version of Mauricio Cabrera would turn up in this game as he gave up 3 runs, 2 BB, and 2 H in less than an inning of work. With his struggles throughout this year, its very questionable as to why the Braves promoted Cabrera in the first place as his 5.52 ERA in Carolina didn't exactly scream "I need stronger competition".

(48-49) Carolina Mudcats 2 vs. (46-51) Winston-Salem Dash 3

Box Score

• Connor Lien, RF: 0-3, 2 BB, .297/.351/.440
• Jose Briceno, C: 2-3, 1 2B, 1BB, .189/.230/.278
• Dustin Peterson, LF: 0-3, 2 BB, .254/.328/.364
• Andrew Thurman, SP:  4 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 3.39 ERA

The offense again come up short despite being gifted 7 walks in the game as the Mudcats fall to the Dash 3-2. Reed Harper would have the only RBI in the game while Jose Briceno (who has had one of the unluckiest streaks with BABIP this year) would have the only multi-hit game. The top 3 spots in the order would end up getting on base 6 times with the help of the aforementioned walks, but only managed one hit and scored only a single run. Dustin Peterson continued his second half struggles with an 0-3 day, although he did walk twice. Andrew pitched 4 innings of one run ball in this game despite having been listed YESTERDAY as playing 2 innings in the GCL. Whether there was a computer error remains to be seen,  but pitching 4 innings after also pitching yesterday does make a certain amount of sense...although the question then would be why did he pitch yesterday at all. The difference in this game would be Jorge Zavala coming in to a bases loaded situation and walking two guys in which would prove to be the game winning runs.

(42-54) Rome Braves 3 vs. (43-51) Lexington Legends 4

Box Score

• Ozhaino Albies, SS: 0-4, 1 BB, .322/.379/.419
• Jordan Edgerton, 3B: 1-4, 1 R, .268/.318/.346
• Bryan De La Rosa, C: 1-3, HR (5), 2 runs, 2 RBI, .191/.260/.319
• Braxton Davidson, RF: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K, .247/.390/.373
• Yean Carlos Gil, SP: 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R (3 ER), 3 BB, 4 K, 4.05 ERA

Rome loses a close one as Lexington plates what would be the winning run in the 5th inning and go on to beat the Braves, 4-3. Tough night for the big time prospects as Albies AGAIN went hitless (his 4th game in a row) while Braxton Davidson reached base just once on a walk. This is both of these young players first full season of pro ball so its possible there is a certain amount of fatigue setting in. Don't be surprised if they both start getting some rest days here and there. The offense for Rome was primarily from Bryan De La Rosa with his second inning 2-run home run. Bryan has had to cede playing time to Tanner Murphy as he has struggled in the field and at the plate for most of the season, but he definitely has some pop in his bat. The pitching, again, was serviceable as YCG gave up 3 ER in, yep...you guessed it, 6 innings of work. The unearned run in the game would prove to be critical as Rome would go on to lose by one.

(14-15) Danville Braves 7 vs. (12-15) Johnson City Cardinals 3

Box Score

• Leudys Baez, LF: 2-5, 1 2B, .299
• Jake Lanning, 3B: 2-3, 2 RBI, 1 run, .1 BB, 211
• Ian Hagenmiller, 1B: 2-4, HR(1), 1 2B, 4 RBI, .127
• Matt Withrow, SP: 4 IP, 6 H, 2 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 2 K, 4.43 ERA
• Ryan Clark, RP: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 3.15 ERA

The Danville Braves finally up the minors system on the board as they defeated Johnson City 7-3. Ian Hagenmiller, who has struggled for much of the season, came up big for the Braves with a double, home run, and 4 RBIs to help carry the offense in this one. Jake Lanning also had a strong game with a couple of hits as well as RBI. Matt Withrow and Ryan Clark gave up a total of 2 earned runs in eight innings of work while striking out 7.

(11-16) GCL Braves 4 vs. (9-19) GCL Astros 2 - F/10

Box Score

• Alejandro Salazar, SS: 1-5, 2 RBI, .297
• Austin Riley, 3B: 1-5, .228
• Jhon Martinez, SP: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1.64 ERA
• Evertz Orozco, RP: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 2.92 ERA

The GCL Braves won in extras on Alejandro Salazar's 2-run single in the top of the 10th as they beat the Astros 4-2. Austin Riley continued his good work of late with a single and a stolen base while manning the hot corner ably. JHon Martinez is very quietly putting up some strong numbers in the GCL with a 1.64 ERA in 5 games in the GCL. The 20 year old out of Venezuela has only walked 1 batter all year compared to 19 Ks, so he is certainly a player to watch going forward.