The Rome Braves had a very uncharacteristic losing week, but all the other Atlanta Braves minor-league affiliates fared fairly well.
Here’s your look at what to watch for in the week ahead.
Gwinnett Stripers (15-15)
Last week: 4-2
Last week’s rotation: Touki Toussaint, Tucker Davidson, Bryce Elder, Huascar Ynoa, Kyle Muller and Connor Johnstone
This week: at Durham, May 10-15
Gwinnett pulled off a nice week, going 4-2. This week they travel to North Carolina to take on the Durham Bulls. The Tampa Bay Rays Triple-A squad is struggling to start 2022, sitting at 12-18.
The six-man rotation kept rolling in Gwinnett, but the starting pitching was less than stellar this past week. That said, Bryce Elder looked solid in his return to Gwinnett. He went seven strong, striking out seven and walking one. That’s exactly the kind of stuff that will earn him trips to Atlanta throughout the season. Kyle Muller was also strong in his start, going six innings and allowing just one run.
Drew Waters only played in three games this week but one was a four-hit game and another was a three-hit game, including the walk-off hit in Sunday’s series clinching win. He’s slashing a cool .458/.480/.750 since returning from injury. Braden Shewmake finished the week strong with four hits over the weekend, so look for him to stay hot this week.
Mississippi Braves (11-16)
Last week: 3-3
Last week’s rotation: Darius Vines, Tanner Gordon, Jared Shuster, Alan Rangel and Freddy Tarnok
This week: at Chattanooga, May 10-15
The M-Braves won a few and lost a few last week to Pensacola so they are still trying to get out of the basement of the Southern League South. This week they head to the 14-13 Chattanooga Lookouts, a team which can arguably beat its parent team right now (the Cincinnati Reds).
Jared Shuster is certainly adapting to Double-A life much better than last year. After a solid season in Rome, he struggled in three games in Mississippi to end the season. Now he is the true ace of the staff, pitching 5.1 innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts and no walks. Alan Rangel finally looked like the pitcher who broke out last year, striking out 11 and walking one in four innings pitched (that means only one out came other than strikeout for those keeping score at home). Darius Vines is on a rollercoaster ride this year. He opened the week walking four and striking out four in five innings, and closed the week striking out 11 and walking none in 6.1 vintage Vines’ innings.
So, this Michael Harris II fella is on a remarkable run. On Sunday, he went 2-for-4, extending his hitting streak to 14 games and has now reached base in all 27 games he’s played this season. He also has a double in four-straight games, so the extra-base power is flowing. Want to know what to watch this week? Michael Harris... every at bat.
Rome Braves (14-13)
Last week: 1-5
Last week’s rotation: Andrew Hoffmann, Jake McSteen, Luis De Avila, Roddery Munoz, Royber Salinas and Dylan Dodd
This week: vs. Winston-Salem, May 10-15
Rome had its first tough week of the season, not faring well at all in Greenville and dropping its first series of the season. This week, the R-Braves host the Winston-Salem Dash. The Chicago White Sox High-A club is 15-10.
Any time Andrew Hoffmann has a bad start is a rarity, so watching what he does this week will be interesting as he hasn’t had to bounce back from a bad start this season. He simply couldn’t find the strike zone this past week, which doesn’t happen often. Strike out machine Royber Salinas did not fare well in his High-A debut. He lasted just 0.2 innings allowing four runs and walking three.
As a 1-5 week may indicate, this lineup that was producing so many runs in April went quiet this week. Justyn-Henry Malloy had a very nice week, hitting in every game and going 7-for-23 with a double and two home runs. Here’s hoping the rest of the lineup bounces back this week.
Augusta GreenJackets (15-12)
Last week: 3-3
Last week’s rotation: Luis Vargas, AJ Smith-Shawver, Landon Leach, Jordano Perez and Kris Anglin
This week: vs. Columbia, May 10-15
The GreenJackets keep chugging along (splitting/losing) its series this past week to Carolina, but still remain in contention for the Carolina League South title. This week, they welcome Columbia to town. Augusta opened the season against the Fireflies, taking the series from the 10-17 Kansas City Royals affiliate.
There aren’t really many highly rated prospects in the current Augusta rotation, but at the end of the day, this team is winning ballgames. AJ Smith-Shawver did have a nice start, allowing three run with seven strikeouts over five innings. That’s two seven-strikeout performances in a row and he’s starting to look settled in on the mound.
Brandol Mezquita had another monster week before seeing his torrid five-game hit streak come to an end on Saturday. Still, he had three multi-hit games this week, which included a pair of doubles and a home run, so we are starting to see some extra-base pop. Caleb Durbin’s bat has cooled off a little bit, but man is he smart on the base paths, now a perfect 14-for-14 on the season.
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