SB Nation - Brandon Jones

Talking Chop Round Table: Braves Right Fielders

gondeee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:36:15 -0000

As part of season reviews for major league players and top prospect ranking for minor league players, we here at Talking Chop thought it would be a fun idea to get all of our bloggers together with the help of Google Docs and debate the various aspects of each position in the Braves organization.

The participants are, yours truly (gondeee, indicated by MG), yondaime4 (indicated by MF), royhobbs (indicated by DH), and cbwilk (indicated by CBW).

The round table for center fielders in the Braves organization is after the jump.

MG: Should the Braves give the right field job to Jason Heyward before spring training, or should they take a wait and see approach and see how his spring training goes before giving him the job?
MG: I'm of two opinions on this. One, I really want to see Heyward make the jump to the bigs and become all he can be. I wanted to see it last year, and I sure as hell want to see it as soon as possible next year. On the other hand, with the lost time in the AFL he just might not be ready, and the last thing we need is to bring up our brightest young star since Chipper Jones before he's ready. I have this idea that assuming the Braves get a "good" left fielder, they should plan on starting Matt Diaz in right (despite the defensive drop), and let him play right until Heyward is ready. Diaz can then spell both corner outfield spots and pinch hit.
CBW: I don't think they should give him the job before Spring Training, or even after Spring Training. I think they should do exactly what they did with Tommy Hanson, let him play in AAA for two months, until he proves without a doubt that he's ready, and also happens to bypass the possibility of becoming a Super 2 in arbitration, before they call him up June 1st. This scenario certainly will make some folks upset, as it likely means you have to go with a lesser player in RF for a few months (though if that guy is Matty Diaz, that's not too bad) and of course you'll run into the problem that if he does finally come up and dominate there will be people coming out of the woodwork, maybe even teammates, saying that he should have been there from the outset. But, this isn't about what makes people happy, or even really about what makes the team better for the first few months of the year, this is about what's going to be best for Heyward and the Braves long-term. My argument with Tommy Hanson has been that without those two months of AAA at the start of the year, he wouldn't have been ready and able to play well from the outset of his Major League career, and I'm taking that same argument with Heyward. The kid is 20 years old and he can learn a ton from a couple of months in AAA, enough to make him an instant force when he does reach the bigs. And, because he'd be skipping out on being a Super 2, the team would have more money a few years down the line to put pieces around him. To me, this scenario is the one that makes the most sense, and I'm betting it's the one that actually happens.
DH: Jordan Schafer and Tommy Hanson—good example of both scenarios. People will complain about the necessity to breathe air if they could, so complaining about some baseball decisions should be a given, no matter the path taken with Jason Heyward. People were unhappy when the league and an injury caught up to Schafer. People were unhappy when Hanson came out of the gate strong and that he should have been called up sooner—seriously I'd never expected to see so many people upset at seeing a young stud being 5-0? I am 100% in the camp that Heyward starts in AAA, or I'm not even going to rule out AA, regardless of how absurd his numbers in Spring Training might be. I've often felt that ST is nowhere close to gouging talent as much as it is a bunch of guys getting their bodies in shape for the rigors of the season. Pitchers are still trying to regain full arm strength, and a lot of people are coping with the cold in the early parts of the regular season; Schafer, who is a notoriously hard-worker might've (obviously) been in much better conditioning shape in ST, and blew away Blanco and Anderson, and forced the org's hand, before his stumble. Gauge the talent in games that have meaning—start Heyward in the minors, let him prove himself, save the money, and call him up at a good point where the team could use the adrenaline shot. As CB mentions, if "being stuck" with Matt Diaz, is the result in RF, we could do, loads worse.
MF: A couple of weeks ago I might have said yes, just let him do it because it is the simplest solution to our OF problems and I don't think, even if he were to struggle that he would produce less than Frenchy did last year. That said, with his recent injuries, I'd like him to get some time in AAA just to get his bearings. The X-Factor in all of this is Bobby Cox, because Bobby loved the guy last ST, and if Heyward comes in and pounds the ball this year he may say he wants him in Atlanta.

MG: Does anyone think we'll keep Ryan Church around next year? I have a feeling the Braves will non-tender him. Should we keep him around? Is there any reason to? Doesn't Brandon Jones fill that role if Atlanta needs him to?
DH: The question I have is, are there any other teams who would want him? He can play all outfield positions, adequate with the bat, and has some patience. I'm not necessarily convinced that Brandon Jones could produce at the Major League level as Ryan Church could offensively, and I like Church defensively a lot more than Bjönes. I make no assurance to knowing exactly how the process works, but whether or not any other team really wants Church or not, I don't see any harm in floating him a minor-league deal, and see what happens.
CBW: Personally, I'm a huge fan of Ryan Church, and as inneffective as he seemed to be for the Braves, he was still a ridiculous upgrade over Jeff Francoeur. Seriously, check the stats again, Frenchy was that bad. But, I don't think I love him enough to see him make 3 millon dollars as a backup outfielder. He's a smooth outfielder with the ability to play all three positions and he's got enough double power to see him being useful off the bench, where the fact that he swings from the left side is a huge plus, but that's a lot of money when the Braves need to bring in a real slugger, and I just don't see being able to tie it up. Also, Church seems to be hitting a huge downswing, possibly caused by injuries. Now, I don't neccessarily think Brandon Jones is the answer either, cause I don't think he'd be effective as a bench player, but there are any number of guys that could be signed as a free agent, even a minor league free agent, to come in and be a worthwhile backup outfielder. If they can non-tender Church and re-sign him to a Minor League deal, one that has a much cheaper salary for him should he make the team, I'd love to see him back.
MF: I think if we don't plan on bringing up Heyward as our opening day RF then keeping Church makes a lot of sense. Last year the reason why we didn't have a winning record in the first half of the season is because our entire OF was putting up sub .700 OPS. If we get the same production from the guys we have now whether it be Heyward or Church in RF and Diaz and McLouth (or even Schafer) in the other spots, I don't think we will get any guys putting up sub .700 OPS. If that happens we could be battling with the Phillies for the division lead. The real question is whether we want to pay Church or not, and if we do pay him his Arb raise, will we be able to move him when Heyward is ready.

MG: After Heyward I don't have a lot of faith in any of the Braves right field options. I went with Daniel Falcon as my number-2 RF prospect because at this point he has the most upside.
CBW: But really, after Heyward, what else do you need? When you've got a guy who could be a once in a generation star it's hard to expect the team to have much else at the same position. The fact that we have Cody Johnson and Adam Milligan in left field (as well as Robby Hefflinger, who I think is goig to be right with those two this time next year) and lesser, but still interesting prospects like Cory Harrilchak and Kyle Rose in center field, makes me think Atlanta's minor league outfield situation is pretty great. I don't think much of Falcon, or Anthony Feliz. In doing the writeup, I had a hard time finding much positive to say about them. Even if they both went to Rome in 2010 and had outstanding seasons, they'd still be a little old for me to be too excited about it. Heck, Falcon is the same age as Luis Sumoza, and Felix is older, and even though he had a down year, at least he's dominated short season ball, something neither of them have done. Chris Shehan is a decent player, and he might be able to rebound, but he's older and at best I really see him as a platoon/backup player. All of this makes me wonder why you guys were so willing to discount Jon Mark Owings. He had a bad year, but that was pretty much entirely due to the partially torn rotator cuff he suffered last year in the Carolina League playoffs. Ernesto Mejia didn't have a great year and only played in 36 games, but we had him 3rd on our 1B list. If you look at their 08 seasons in Myrtle Beach, they're pretty close, and while JMO loses some for being a year older than Ernie, he also isn't a complete defensive liability, in fact, he's an excellent outfielder. JMO is probably a better prospect than Shehan, Falcon, or Feliz, and maybe even better than Sumoza.
MF: CB's point is valid, just like what I was saying in the last roundtable. So what if our depth isn't great if we have a RF for the next 6 years? I'm not saying you don't need depth, but its not nearly as important when you don't have many glaring holes in the majors for the next couple of years. Concepcion Rodriguez played this season as a 22 year old in AA which is fine by me if you are looking for a backup OF. Sure he was pretty bad for most of the season, but he wasn't fall off the map bad and he was playing in Mississippi which can kill hitters. I will say I am not a fan of anyone else on the list really. Sumoza still has a chance, but he really needs to start harnessing his tools.

MG: To me, Luis Sumoza has fallen out of prospect status.
CBW: I guess it all depends on your definition of prospect status. He certainly wasn't considered for the Top 25 anymore, that's for sure, but I don't think he's done as a player or anything. He's only going to be 21 going into next year, so there's plenty of time for him to get better and this is the first time since his first go-round in the US (as a 17 year old) that he's struggled. The fact that he had trouble taking a walk is a huge concern and the massive amount of outfiled errors make me wonder how bad he really is in the field, but there are things to like. Even with the poor season, 28 is a ton of doubles to hit, and he's got a little bit of speed. I don't think he's a big time prospect, but I didn't really think that when we got him, and he's going to have to repeat Rome and prove something, but I'm betting he has a much better 2010.
MF: He still needs to walk more and he needs to tap into his raw power. It is all there, but he is becoming more of a tease than a real prospect in my eyes. I give him one more year.

MG: You guys seem to think pretty highly of Concepcion Rodriguez... why?
CBW: Well, he's a pretty prototypical outfield athlete and he had a great 2008, so there was some good reason to be excited about him coming into the year. And, frankly, he's fun to watch play. He's a natural athlete and he just looks smooth. I'd never see him becoming a star outfielder, but he could become a pretty good one, something like a David DeJesus. Once you look at his splits, you see that the biggest problem he had this year was dealing with Mississippi's park. It victimized a number of guys and made their years' look terrible; he hit .229 with a .534 OPS at home, compared to . 295 and a .753 OPS on the road. That's just a sign that he's not as bad as his totals make him look. (For reference about just how good Jason Heyward is, Mississippi's park didn't affect him at all; on the road for Mississippi he hit .342 with a 1.062 OPS compared to a .360 average and 1.055 OPS at home. Wow.)
MF: Why not? When compared to everyone else on this list he is the most advanced guy we have not named Heyward and he posted an .800+ OPS in 2008 in a league with an average .712. Ok his 2009 was pretty bad, but he was still only about 50 pts below the league average OPS and it was his first run through AA. I'm not saying this guy will ever be an every day RF for anyone, but I think he has the best shot out of the guys we have. He probably needs to walk some more and he needs to find that power that Mississippi took from him this year. And I would also like to point out that his OPS on the road this season was .752 which is about the league AVG in the southern league. We aren't looking at a star here, but he will be just 23 next season which is far from the end of the road for a prospect in the upper minors.

Talking Chop Round Table: Braves Left Fielders

gondeee — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:25:43 -0000

The participants are, yours truly (gondeee, indicated by MG), yondaime4 (indicated by MF), royhobbs (indicated by DH), and cbwilk (indicated by CBW).

The round table for left fielders in the Braves organization is after the jump.

MG: No way that Garret Anderson even sniffs a Braves uniform next year, right?
DH: Nah, likely not. Even if the Braves relied solely on internal candidates to man the position, it's still a cheaper alternative with Diaz, McLouth, and Church, left to right. He didn't exactly win any fans over with his lackadaisical play, and I hardly think anyone's really going to miss him at all.
CBW: You'd hope not. A .705 OPS out of left field is pathetic enough, but what's worse is how bad he was toward the end. He started off like crap with OPSs of .551 and .681 in April and May, before actually being useful in June and July with .804 and .944 OPSs, and then went to crap again at the end of the year with OPSs of .658 and .533 in August and September. His statistical season was a pyramid and the only time he was worth having at all was for the 187 plate appearances in June and July. And yeah, nobody really liked him, cause he sucked in the field, and, however fair this assessment is, didn't seem like he cared. But, Bobby kept hitting him 5th, so who knows? Logic says he won't be around, but logic would have said hit LaRoche 5th and bench Anderson.
MF: HAHAHAHAHA. No. If for some reason we can't go out and get a LF I think with the way Brandon Jones closed out the season in AAA he would have to get a look and be considered a similar (if not better) option simply because he is cheaper, can probably put up a .700 OPS and play good defense in LF. No way does Anderson come back.

MG: I think the Braves would have done better with Ryan Ludwick in left field. I sort of wish we had pulled the trigger on that rumored deal.
CBW: While I will point out that I was absoultely right in my estimation that Ludwick wasn't as good as his numbers from 07 or 08, which he proved by coming back to earth in 09, there's no question the Braves would have been better with him in left field, if only because Anderson was so pathetic. I personally was against the trade at the time, because I thought Ludwick would come back to earth, which he did, and I thought Johnson was worth more than a hitter you couldn't really be sure of. Granted, with hindsight if you could have flipped Johnson for Ludwick that would have been a great deal, because Prado showed himself capable of being a starter and Johnson really floundered this season, but since you can't know the future, I still say it was better not to make that trade. And anyway, it was a rumor, who knows how much reality there was behind it.
MF: I wasn't believer in Prado at the time, but I still would have flipped Johnson for Ludwick. I think Ludwick will rebound next season and the Cards could be really good with three big bats (assuming holliday returns). But either way, Ludwick would have been an improvement over Anderson in almost every month of the year and would have been better than the almost nothing we got out of Anderson.

MG: Who do you want to see the Braves go out and get as a left fielder? I don't think we have any chance at Matt Holliday, nor do I really want him at the price we would have to pay.
CBW: I want a real hitter. Left field has been a black hole for years and it would be nice to actually get some production out of it for once. Frankly, it should be the easiest spot on the field to stash a slugger, even if he can't play the OF well, but the Braves have run out a series of weak hitters, capping things off in 09 by having a poor hitter and a poor fielder. Who should they get? I have no clue; obviously you'd love to have guys like Bay or Holliday, but you know the Yankees and Red Sox are going to shell out way too much money and keep those guys away from everyone else. After that, I don't know about the free agent crop. You don't want to give up a first round pick for guys like Damon or Abreu or Guerrero, and probably not even for Dye (if he becomes a free agent). And after that, you're looking at a bunch of guys who aren't that great, and you're left just like last year, scrapeing around for a guy to get you by. Ideally we could use some of our young Minor League pitching to trade for somebody, but I have no idea who'd be realistic. Frank Wren's the guy they pay to figure that out, so hopefully he can finally get us a real hitter for left field and the cleanup spot.
MF: I really don't know either. Bay will most certainly go back to Boston (remember when we could have had him) and I think Holliday will stay in the NL, but if we have any shot to pay him then we have to get rid of Derek Lowe. I actually think 16 mil a year could get Holliday, but like gondeee said, do we want to pay him that? I've always loved Vlad Guerrero but he is a butcher in the field these days and I don't know how he would take to a move to LF. It stinks that there really aren't a lot of options for us. We are going to have to be really creative.

MG: Does anyone think that Cody Johnson can develop enough plate discipline to be a major league starter? He's young, so we have some time, but it seems like he's got a long way to go.
CBW: It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Cody Johnson, and I really don't think anyone in the system consistently improves from one year to the next as he does. Does he strikeout a ton? Sure. But, he struck out in 34% of his plate appearances in 08 compare to 35% in 09, and in that same span he raised his OBP by .035 points, his slugging by .021 points, making his raise in OPS .056 points, all while moving up a level. That's improvement from one full season league to the next while keeping his biggest negative, the strikeouts, at a constant. It'd be nice if he could cut down on the strikeouts, but if he can keep them constant and keep the production up, that's something most teams can live with. Most of the guys who lead the home run lists, something Johnson looks poised to do, lead the strikeout lists. Frankly the Braves would have loved his kind of production out of left field this season, even with the strikeouts; he would have been a huge improvement over Garret Anderson. Granted, he's not likely to put up these kind of numbers immedately or even soon in the Majors, but you can't deny the power potential. AA is going to be a tough test for him, but he's only 21 years old and I personally believe in this kid's desire and ability.
MF: Mark my words now, Cody Johnson will spend two seasons in AA. I don't envision his 2010 campaign going well, but I do believe in his ability to improve. I don't really think his plate discipline is the problem as just his contact ratio kills him. He appears to be capable of not swinging at pitches outside the strike zone, he just can't hit half of what is thrown to him in the zone. CB is right though if Cody can put up a .350 OBP and a .450 SLG you are looking at a productive player at almost any position. I think to make a real judgment on him we are going to have to see what he does at Mississippi this year. I wouldn't be surprised to see him strike out 200 times and the only people in the pros I can think of that came close to that in the minors are Mark Reynolds and Ryan Howard and Cody has more extreme strike out totals and power than either one of those guys. Also, and I said this in the Top 5 list, Cody will have to learn to make 2 strike adjustments and start taking the ball the other way. That is something Ryan Howard is great at but Cody pulls nearly everything.

MG: I was ever-so-close to ranking Adam Milligan ahead of Cody Johnson for the top spot in left field. Johnson's homeruns are hard to ignore, but Milligan seems to have a better overall game.
CBW: I was really worried that when the lists were compiled that Milligan would come out ahead. Nothing against the kid, cause he looks like he's good, but he's 5 months older than Johnson and doesn't have the track record that he has, heck, he hasn't played a full season yet. I was very sceptical of Milligan when his season first started, but I definitely came around once he maintained his play. Yeah, he was maybe a little old for a true prospect in the Sally League, but it was also his first professional season, so that's a wash. The numbers he put up were outstanding. My question with him is, if he's really this good, why was nobody else aware of it? The Braves drafted him three times; nobody else took notice of this and they were able to get him in the 6th round? It just doesn't scream top prospect to me. I really want to see what he does next season, preferably at Myrtle Beach, because I want him to be this insanely good prospect, but I'm retaining some healthy doubt.
MF: Well I can actually speak to why Milligan wasn't taken by many people the first two times through. A lot of people thought he was committed to a football scholarship coming out HS so he didn't really show up on many radars and then the second time I believe there was talk of him going somewhere on a baseball scholarship from his Juco. Anyways he moved up from the 28th to the 27th and finally to the 6th RD so I think that by 2008 other teams were onto him and the Braves wanted to get it done. Two months ago I might have considered ranking Milligan higher because of Johnson's struggles and how hot Adam was but with the lukewarm reception Milligan has received from scouts in the post season I have reeled myself in a bit. I honestly think the only thing he needs to do is take a few more walks. If his K rate stays where it is now he will be fine, but he can't get by walking 30 times a season, but there isn't an excellent way to tell how much he will walk next season because most players walk less when they are in the middle of a hot streak and he was one for pretty much the whole season. We will see what kind of player he is next season when he starts at MB. If he tears it up I wouldn't be surprised to see him move fast. Hopefully one of these boom or bust LF prospects we have will pan out.

Gwinnett Braves Playoff Recap: Game 1

gondeee — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:08:26 -0000

There's at least one Braves team in the playoffs, unfortunately that minor league team -- the Gwinnett Braves -- has the same problem the major league club does -- it can't score any runs. Sporting a starting lineup that includes players with major league experience in 7 of the 9 spots, and baseball's top prospect batting third, the G-Braves only managed to get one runner past second base all night.

They were shut down by the evil minor league journey man, Romulo Sanchez. (That name is f-ing awesome!) Meanwhile, our journey man pitcher, John Halama, pitched well, but remember this is a Braves team, and you just can't give up any runs if you expect to win.

Our top prospect, and baseball's top prospect, Jason Heyward, went 1-for-3, was hit by a pitch, stole a base, and struck out once.

The G-Braves were the beneficiaries of some bad luck. Brandon Jones hit a ball up the middle that would have at least plated a run, but it hit the second base umpire and that's a do-over. For a full recap, see the Gwinnett Daily Post.

The G-Braves will now turn to Jo-Jo Reyes to try and win Game 2 tonight.

Atlanta Braves Minor League Recap: 9/5

yondaime4 — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 04:56:31 -0000

I am back after a week in Vegas and it looks like I missed some pretty big stuff in the minors. Lets get to it.

Gwinnett 4, Norfolk 3

B. Jones 2-4 2B, RBI, BB, K
M. Young 0-4 BB, CS(1)
B. Brownlie 6IP 8H 2R 1BB 5K

Brandon Jones appears to be picking up where he left off in August. I am sure once the playoff picture in the IL is cleared up Brandon will get a look in Atlanta. I am sad to see that I missed Matt Young's promotion to Gwinnett (5 months late mind you). Hopefully he can get his stuff in order and pick up where he left off in Mississippi. He was named Southern League's Best Hustler.

Mississippi 7, Carolina 8

B. Hicks 2-4 BB, 2K
J. Heyward 3-4 2B, BB, K
C. Johnson 1-4 3 RBI, BB, K

Wow, I can't believe I missed a Cody Johnson promotion too! This is definitely a reward for the season he has put up so far. I know we have all had things to say about him, but in the end he did post an .861 OPS in the Carolina League. Jason Heyward just keeps on hitting and taking walks. Baseball America will name their Minor League Player of the Year next Friday and I fully expect him to the man named.

Winston Salem 10, Myrtle Beach 7 - 10 Innings

D. Linares 2-5 RBI, K
J. Sucre 3-5 RBI
A. Milligan 1-5 HR(1), 3 RBI, 2K
J. Thompson 5IP 5H 1R 2BB 6K

Wow, an Adam Milligan promotion too! Milligan has struggled so far in Myrtle Beach, with 6K in 3 games. I love his bat though and I figure he will adjust before next season starts. Jake Thompson has been a man to watch in his past few starts. If not for one start where he allowed 8 runs he would have an ERA under 3.00 in his last 10 outings. He may not have a high ceiling but he definitely adds to our pitching depth.

Augusta 4, Rome 5

S. Moody 1-4 2B, RBI, K
M. Kennelly 2-4 RBI
JJ Hoover 6.1IP 6H 4R 1BB 4K

JJ Hoover has been one of the best pitchers in the organization this year. He has a nearly 6:1 K:BB rate and has struck out right at 10 K/9 so far. Very impressive stats for Hoover, even if he is a little old. Hopefully he will move quickly next season.

Atlanta Braves Minor League Recap: 9/3 (Danville Wins The Championship!)

cbwilk — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 07:04:20 -0000

Brandon Jones hit 2 doubles and drove in 2 runs for AAA Gwinnett.

View full size photo »

Norfolk 3, Gwinnett 2

B. Jones 2-4, 2 2B, RBI
B. Barton 2-4, SB
J. Halama 5.1 IP, 3 R, 2 K, 3 BB

A steady, soaking mist fell all night and so did the G-Braves. After getting rocked in the first inning, 912 year old John Halama actually pitched very well, no small feat given the conditions. Brian Barton and Brandon Jones continue their late season surges, with Jones continuing to show the extra base power that he lacked before the beginning of August. Gwinnett falls to 2 games behind Durham in the division, but maintain their 3.5 game lead in the Wild Card. If they win tomorrow against Norfolk, or if Syracuse loses their game, they will clinch a spot in the playoffs.

Carolina 6, Mississippi 5

B. Hicks 1-3, HR (9), 2 RBI
K. Kirkland 3-4
T. Gustafson 7 IP, 3 R, 3 K, BB

Brandon Hicks contininues his late season surge, and I think we're all hoping he can continue this into the AFL and restore some faith in his prospect status. Tim Gustafson is making up for lost time and successfully making the conversion from reliever to starter, as he throws his 4th straight quality start.

Myrtle Beach - Off

the Pelicans will begins their season-ending 4 game series against the Winston-Salem Dash (worst name ever!) tomorrow night.

Augusta 1, Rome 0

M. Minor 5 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 9 K, 0 BB
M. Mehlich 4 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 4 K, BB

This is getting pathetic. Maybe nobody told the Rome offense that the season doesn't end until Monday. With another dominant pitching performance wasted, Rome has now gone 41 innings without scoring a run. Wow. And Agusta's lone run was unearned, so they're not even playing defense well. Mike Minor hasn't really been tested in the Sally League, as he's now allowed just 1 run and struck out 17 in 14 innings. We'll see if he can continue that success in the AFL.

Danville 5, Elizabethton 0

O. Marval 2-3, 2 RBI
M. Crim 9 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 5 K, BB

Appy League Pitcher of the Year Matt Crim was dominant all season for the D-Braves, so why should the league championship be any different? Crim followed up Brett Oberholtzer's dominant performance in Game 1 with a gem of his own as the best team in the league made things official. Behind a pair of RBIs by DH Osman Marval, the Danville offense scored 5 runs, 4 more than they needed, and the Danville Braves are the 2009 Appalachian League Champions.

Atlanta Braves Minor League Recap: 8/23

yondaime4 — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 05:56:48 -0000

Sorry this is going up late, I just got back from Inglourious Basterds which was pretty good, though a little unexpected in some places.

Charlotte 5, Gwinnett 10

W. Timmons 2-4 2B, 2BB, K
B. Jones 3-5 2B, HR(6), 5 RBI, 2BB
T. Hudson 6IP 6H 3R 1BB 5K

Win, Win, Win for the G-Braves! I would say that Tim Hudson is getting close to ready. Everything looked good in this outing and he threw 89 pitches in his 6 innings, so he was efficient even. Also I just want to mention Brandon Jones putting up one of the best hitting lines for any Braves farmhand this season capping it with a 6th inning Grand Slam.

Mississippi 1, Chattanooga 2

B. Hicks 2-4
J. Heyward 0-1 3 BB
C. Kimbrel 0.2IP 1H 1R 1BB 0K

Craig Kimbrel finally gave up his first run in AA it cost the Braves the game. He is still going to have to get his walks under control before I am completely comfortable with him moving up. Also with as little as Jason Heyward has been hitting lately, you have got to love the fact he is maintaining his plate discipline and not pressing for hits.

Frederick 3, Myrtle Beach 4 - 10 Innings

D. Linares 2-5 HR(12), 2 RBI, K
E. Osuna 6IP 7H 2R 1BB 5K

Donell Linares continues his August dismantling of the Carolina League. He is hitting .457 over his last 10 games with 4 of his 12 homers for the season. Now don't get me wrong, Donell Linares is a 25 year old Cuban emigré, but maybe we will get something out of him if his power develops a little more.

Savannah 5, Rome 4

J. Campusano 2-3 2B, BB
A. Milligan 2-4 SB(4)
J. Teheran 5.1IP 6H 2R 3BB 3K

Maybe Julio is finding a happy median between his really good start and his two bad ones in Rome. Does anyone not have him as their #2 or 3 prospect right now? Speaking of prospects, Adam Milligan continues to hit baseballs with little regard for their immediate offspring (looking at you Mr. Met). I would also like to point out that his K rate has improved significantly as the season has gone by. He has been striking out about 18% of the time in August vs 22% in July. The problem is his BB rate has been sitting right at 6% since he was promoted. I shall keep a keen eye on these developments.

Johnson City 6, Danville 9

O. Marval 2-4 2B, RBI, BB
B. Rauh 2-3 3B, RBI, BB
B. Oberholtzer 5IP 2H 0R 0BB 3K

Brett Oberholtzer made a nice bounce back after a pretty bad start (especially for him) last time around. Osman Marval has been another catcher that has showed some devent ability at the plate this season. He is 22 years old already so he would need to move fast, but he does have a 9/10 BB/K split, so maybe we should keep an eye on him too.

GCL Braves - Off

Atlanta Braves Minor League Recap: 8/22

yondaime4 — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 05:34:34 -0000

Charlotte 2, Gwinnett 3

C. Burke 1-4 2B
B. Conrad 2-3
B. Jones 1-4 2B

Win, Win, WIn for the G-Braves! JoJo Reyes went 5 strong innings (only 86 pitches) though his K rate is still lower than it has been in the past. Brandon Jones is still OPSing close to .900 for the month and more than half his hits have gone for extra bases. Kind of amazing he hasn't been called up at all this season, though he has been pretty mediocre for most of the year.

Mississippi 7, Chattanooga 1

M. Young 2-3 2B, 2 BB, CS(15)
J. Heyward 1-5 3B, RBI, K
C. Rodriguez 2-5 2 2B, 2 RBI, K
T. Gustafson 7.2IP 5H 1R 2BB 6K

Mississippi has been pretty good recently too, but they really don't have a shot of making the playoffs. Jason Heyward looks like he might be leveling off a little bit, but he still hasn't come completely out of his funk. Concepcion Rodriguez has also been a bit better this month (and last month to a certain extent) as he has been hitting over .300 and OPSing over .800. The one thing though is his power has completely disappeared this season. Tim Gustafson has been pretty good as a starter in Mississippi. I wonder what his future is?

Frederick 6, Myrtle Beach 2

D. Linares 1-3 HR(11), 2 RBI, K
C. Johnson 0-4 4K
J Sucre 2-4
R. Sullivan 6IP 8H 0R 0BB 4K

Well that was a nice start by Richard Sullivan that was ruined by the bullpen. Also, I don't know if Cody Johnson has struck out 4 times in a game this season, and that is saying something. Also, Donell Linares continues to be the best hitter on the team for the month.

Savannah 7, Rome 4

Y. Campusano 3-5
A. Milligan 2-4 BB, 2K
L. Sumoza 1-3 2B, 3 RBI

Randall Delgado got H A M M E... ok, you know what? He gave up a lot of runs. 7 in just 2.1 innings pitched. Probably his worst start of the season. The bullpen was great, coming in and pitching 6 innings of 3 hit ball. Also, if anyone was wondering, Adam Milligan is still hitting like a man.

Greeneville 4, Danville 5 - 10 Innings

LV Ware 2-5 2B, K
RSF 2-5 2B, 3 RBI
C. Rasmus 2.2IP 5H 3R 4BB 3K

Win, Win, Win for the D-Braves! Danville is up on the division by 10 games right now and are sporting a .707 win pct. That is pretty solid. Cory Rasmus did allow his first hits in two games.Aslo, RSF has fallen off a little of late. He still has an OPS of .810 in August, but that has fallen pretty far from the .958 in July.

GCL Braves @ GCL Blue Jays - RAIN

Atlanta Braves Minor League Recap: 8/14

yondaime4 — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 04:57:59 -0000

Pawtucket 6, Gwinnett 7

B. Jones 1-3 2B, RBI, BB, K
B. Conrad 2-4 2 2B, 3 RBI, K
B. Carlyle 1.2IP 3H 2R 0BB 3K

The G-Braves are 9-4 so far in month of August and they are pushing hard towards a division win. I think I am starting to lean towards the Braves sending Heyward here in September now that it looks like Gwinnett has a good chance of making the playoffs. After that he could get a reward callup to Atlanta. If this Brandon Jones shows up every day instead of once every couple of weeks he could be a good LF for someone.

Mississippi 3, Montgomery 2

M. Young 1-4 3B, BB, K, 2 SB(31)
J. Heyward 1-3 BB, SB(3), CS(1)
C. Kimbrel 1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K

Craig Kimbrel keeps it real. He still has not allowed a run in 7 innings of work in AA. He has walked 4 men, but with 12K and only 2 hits allowed it evens out pretty well. The guy has been completely ridiculous except for at the start of the season. He has struck out at least 2 men in all but one of his outings for Mississippi.

Myrtle Beach 9, Lynchburg 6

C. Miles 2-5 2B, SB(16)
D. Linares 5-5 2 2B, 5 RBI, SB(5)
G. Rodriguez 1-5 HR(6), 3 RBI
C. Gearrin 1IP 1H 0R 0BB 2K

Cole Miles is hitting .452 in his last ten games and is probably the hottest player in the organization right now. Gerry Rodriguez is actually second in the organization in HR with 17 (10 behind Cody and 1 ahead of Jason). He played both 1B and RF tonight. Too bad for him both of those spots appear to be locked up in the immediate future. Cory Gearrin and Craig Kimbrel will most likely make up the back end of our bullpen in the near future. Gearrin has 13 saves for Myrtle Beach and has only allowed 2 runs in 18 appearances this season and he was holding his own in Mississippi until he was caught up in some organizational shuffling.

Rome 3, Lake County 5

A. Milligan 1-5
C. Culver 3-3
R. Barba 3-3 2B, BB
D. Delgado 6IP 8H 5R 2BB 2K

Randall Delgado was 4th on Baseball America's HotSheet this week after his two spectacular outings. Dimaster Delgado couldn't match Randall this time out, but that is ok.

Burlington 1, Danville 9

M. Jones 2-4 2 2B, 2K, SB(13)
C. Harrilchak 3-4 2B, 3 RBI, BB, SB(14)
T. Stovall 5IP 2H 1R 4BB 3K
D. Hale 3IP 0H 0R 0BB 4K

A great game across the board for Danville, save for maybe the 4 walks that Tyler Stovall surrendered. The guy is striking out 11 per 9 right now, but he is walkings 10 per 9. He must be like Houdini on the mound with the way he gets out of jams. Cory Harrilchak is probably going to be one of my favorite players as he goes through the levels even though he is really very similar to Matt Young from Mississippi, but I like him too. Also it appears David Hale settled down a bit after his last outing was a little rough. Also he is stretching out some as his innings are slowly increasing each time out.

GCL Braves 7, GCL Pirates 4

A. Odreman 1-5 HR(8), 2 RBI
J. Hanson 1-4 HR(3), 2 RBI, K
Z. Spruil 4IP 6H 4R 2BB 4K

WHY IS ZEKE SPRUILL IN FLORIDA!?!?!?

Atlanta Braves Minor League Recap: 8/12 (Cory Rasmus throws a No-Hitter)

yondaime4 — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 05:31:15 -0000

Update: Totally didn't see that other Danville game when I was looking at the scoreboards. Now get off my freaking case.

Wow, so my trip was definitely 3 hours longer than it should have been. I love that.

Durham 4, Gwinnett 5

R. Gorecki 4-5 2B, HR(9)
B. Jones 1-5 HR(5), K
B. Carlyle 2IP 0H 0R 0BB 5K

Please bring up Buddy Carlyle now and send Acosta down. Brandon Jones now has 3 homers in his last 6 games after going 0fer April-May-June. He also mainted that .765 SLG he is putting up this month. Is this a fluke or is he making up for lost time? Or has he been hanging out with Manny and Big Papi? Also, Gwinnett now has sole lead of the division.

Mississippi @ Huntsville = RAIN

Salem 3, Myrtle Beach 2 - Game 1 - 7 Innings

C. Johnson 1-3 HR(27), 2K

There really wasn't anything else worth mentioning here. Cody really needs to start hitting bombs again.

Salem 10, Myrtle Beach 1

G. Rodriguez 1-3 2B
J. Sucre 1-3 2B, K

Man, Edgar Osuna got beat like a guy who is pitching poorly and gives up a lot of hits (bad analogy?). And for anyone paying attention to this boxscore, the opposing pitcher is not the Jose Capellan that pitched for the Braves. Gerry Rodriguez is still maintaining an .800+ OPS for the Pelicans and has hit much more consistently since he was promoted.

Rome @ Hagerstown - RAIN

Danville 10, Princeton 2 - Game 1 - 7 Innings

LV Ware 1-4 2B, K
D. Hale 2IP 4H 2R 1BB 1K

Another rough game for the Braves affiliates. David Hale hasn't been all that spectacular since he signed but surprisingly tonight's walk was his first of the season. He is a guy who has been tabbed as having control issues and I wouldn't be surprised if the Braves are keeping him in Danville to work out some kinks in his delivery and decide how he is going to be used in the long term.

Danville 13, Princeton 0 - Game 2 - 7 Innings

C. Harilchak 3-4 2B, 2 RBI, SB(13)
RSF 4-5 2 2B, 4 RBI
C. Rasmus 7IP 0H 0R 1BB 9K

Cory Rasmus, longtime possessor of one of the most electric arms in the system, finally showed us tonight what he is all about. As you see from the line above and my revised title, Cory Rasmus tossed a no hitter tonight (albeit in a shortened game) the only blemish was a 5th inning walk. I am glad to see Cory get some returns on his new arm. Hopefully he can build on this, because he is going to need to move quickly if he wants to make up for lost time. Also this might have the most wasted offensive night ever.

GCL Blue Jays 10, GCL Braves 7

M. Kramer 1-2 HR(4), K
L. Hiller 1-5 HR(7), 2K
A. Odreman 3-4 HR(7), K

The Braves bats were flashing their power on this night, but the pitchers made sure the Blue Jays were doing the same thing. Layton Hiller has shown some real power so far this season (21 XBH in 139 AB) but his plate discipline is some of the worst I have seen (2 walks vs 46K). This guy is 21 years old and playing in the GCL, so he obviously has some stuff to work on. But he remains intriguing to me, if still a longshot.

Atlanta Braves Minor League Recap: 8/9

yondaime4 — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 01:52:46 -0000

Gwinnett 4, Toledo 8

C. Burke 3-5 2B
B. Jones 3-4 2 2B, 3B
B. Barton 2-3 2 RBI, CS(7)

John Halama got hammered for 7 runs in 5 innings in this game, definitely his worst start so far as a Brave. I wonder if Brandon Jones was pouting for most of the year for not making the big club and now he is over it, because he has apparently found his power stroke in the last few weeks. Just in his last 10 games he has 7 of his season total 24 XBHs. I am guessing he is going to get a chance at a September call up. (He probably was anyways, but he is cinching it I believe).

Mississippi 7, Huntsville 4

J. Heyward 1-5 HR(6)
C. Rodriguez 4-5 2 RBI
J. Ortegano 7IP 8H 2R 1BB 8K

Jose Ortegano has been dealing since he was promoted to Mississippi. He is 3-0 in 3 starts with 21 K in 20 IP vs only 3 BB. You really can't argue with that. He also just turned 22 years old. Can't complain about that either. I am very impressed with how much power Jason Heyward brought with him to Mississippi. He is actually homering slightly more often than he was in the Carolina League (HR/17.8AB - AA; HR/18.9AB - A).

Lynchburg 4, Myrtle Beach 2

J. Sucre 1-4 2B
C. Shehan 1-4 2B RBI, 2K
C. Rohrbough 5IP 3H 1R 4BB 4K

The Pelicans got beat by some hot shot in the Pirates organization by the name of Jeff Locke. This was the best start by Cole Rohrbough in over a month and even then I wouldn't call it a rousing success. But he only allowed 1 run on 3 hits so I hope it was a confidence booster for him.

Rome - Off

I am wondering if Mike Minor will start for Rome tomorrow since he has joined the team now. I guess we will see!

Pulaski 6, Danville 7

C. Harrilchak 4-4 2B, HR(2), 2 RBI, BB
RSF 1-4 2B, RBI, BB
J. Whitmer 2-4 2B, RBI, 2K
M. Crim 6IP 7H 2R 0BB 7K

Matt Crim continues an impressive start to his career. He is now 8-0 in 9 appearances. Like I said last time, his peripherals aren't mind blowing, but he has been pretty solid with a strong ground ball rate. Cory Harrilchak is now hitting .364 on the season. He isn't going to hit for a ton of power, but he will probably continue to hit for a good average (not .360, but still .300+) and get on base. Maybe a future 4th OF or a possible lead off candidate if he adds some doubles power.

GCL Braves - Off