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Atlanta Braves: Update Down on the Farm

By Matthew Brothers

Sep 25, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Major League baseballs sit on the field prior to the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Washington Nationals at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 25, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Major League baseballs sit on the field prior to the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Washington Nationals at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /
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Almost to May already, let’s take a look at the farm system for the Atlanta Braves so far.

Atlanta is off to a 6-10 start and losers of four straight as they take on Philadelphia tonight. As we all know, the Braves have a highly regarded farm system with multiple players looking to help contribute this year at the major league level for this Atlanta Braves team.

Gwinnett Braves: AAA

Record: 10-5

Mar 12, 2017; Tampa, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer (28) talks with shortstop Ozzie Albies (74) prior to their spring training game against the New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 12, 2017; Tampa, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer (28) talks with shortstop Ozzie Albies (74) prior to their spring training game against the New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Key Players: Ozzie Albies and Rio Ruiz have begun the year hitting .269 and .230 respectively. Rio has tallied four doubles but with 19 strikeouts added in as well. Ozzie has struck six doubles and added in two triples with seven steals. On the pitching side, Sean Newcomb is 1-1 with a 5.65 Era and 18 strikeouts. Lucas Sims is 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA and 18 K’s.

Reaction: With the small sample size this year, nothing is concerning. Rio is a little cold coming off his great spring training, and Lucas Sim’s great start is excellent considering his struggles in Triple A last year. I still expect Ozzie and Newcomb to make their major league debuts this year with it also being very likely Rio and Matt Wisler make their major league returns sooner rather then later. Ryan Howard makes his debut today and Jason Motte could be in an Atlanta Braves uniform this year as well.

Mississippi Braves: AA

Record: 7-8

Key Players: Travis Demeritte has hit .260 with six doubles, a homer, and nine RBIs. Travis has walked eight times as well. However, the pitching staff of Mississippi is really worth talking about boasting a staff of Kolby Allard, Max Fried, Mike Soroka, and Patrick Weigel. With ERAs of 1.69, 7.59, 1.62, and 1.84 for the most part this staff is on fire.

Reaction: The Atlanta Braves high very high hopes for these guys. I expect Max Fried to turn it around after a couple tough starts and am not worried. The Braves are being really aggressive with these young guys but I’m not sure any will make their major league debuts this year. In addition, Matt Withrow and Kade Scivicque are off to great starts for Mississippi.

Florida Fire Frogs: Advanced A

Record: 7-9

Key Players: Recently acquired Luiz Gohara has been lights out so far for the Fire Frogs. He’s thrown for 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA and 20 strikeouts. Touki Toussaint on the other hand has struggled early. He’s 1-2 with a 7.20 ERA with 17 strikeouts. Touki has only issued three walks though which is a bright spot. In addition, the hitting prospects in Florida are very highly regarded. Alex Jackson, acquired from Seattle, has swung a hot bat so far. He’s hitting .317 with five homers and three doubles. Austin Riley has started off hitting .250 with two homers. Ronald Acuna and Jonathon Morales are hitting .231 and .320 respectively. On the other hand, 2014 first round pick Braxton Davidson is really struggling hitting .120 with 26 strikeouts.

Reaction: With catching prospects slightly thinner in the Atlanta Braves system, the team is really looking for someone to distance themselves from the pack. Jonathon Morales could be that missing link. Also, the excellent pitching and hitting of Gohara and Jackson as two acquired prospects is a great sign.

Rome: A

Record: 11-5

Key Players: The top two draft picks from last years class headline the Rome pitching staff. Ian Anderson is 1-1 with a 1.98 ERA and Joey Wentz is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA. Fourth Rounder Bryse Wilson has starred so far as well going 1-0 with a 1.98. Hitting wise, two International signings from 2015, Derian Cruz and Cristian Pache are looking at .179 and .259 with Pache tallying 12 RBIs so far. Anfernee Seymour is swinging well hitting .321 with 17 hits already. The catching core in Rome of Lucas Herbert and Brett Cumberland are struggling out of the gate.

Reaction: Atlanta aggressively promoted Anderson, Wilson, and Wentz to Rome with the move paying dividends so far. In my opinion, these three have the potential to be young players putting on the Atlanta Braves uniform in the next few years.

All in all, this farm system has fantastic talent. Even with a few slow starts, these players have the talent to turn it around quickly. Some hot starts for others are very encouraging as these minor league rosters will shuffle considerably over the course of the year. We will see some guys early, perhaps in June or so, and a couple more when rosters expand in September. Overall, the future is bright for this Atlanta Braves team.

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