PDA

View Full Version : Whats going on down on the farm?


Preacher
05-04-2008, 11:08 PM
Whats going on down on the farm?
By: Preacher (http://www.braves-nation.com/forums/member.php?u=194) | Braves-Nation.com

I figured it was about time to take another look at whats going on in the minor leagues.

South Atlantic League Low A
Rome

Hitters
Jason Heyward OF
AB 112, AVG .313, 2B 5, HR 3, BB 9, SO 21
Adam Coe 3B
AB 82, AVG .305, 2B 9, HR 1, 3 BB, SO 13
Freddie Freeman 1B
AB 103, AVG .301, 2B 7, HR 1, BB 8, SO 13
Cody Johnson OF
AB 107, AVG .243, 2B 8, HR 5, BB 11, SO 46
Samuel Sime INF
AB 79, AVG .139, 2B 2, HR 2, BB 2, SO 15
Jon Gilmore 3B
Just brought up from extended spring training.

My thoughts;
1. Jason Heyward has hit from the start and has recently started to cut down on his strikeouts. A few people have mentioned that they expected a little more power out of him; but I'm fairly certain that will come. Hewyard is flat out lethal, and should only continue to get better.
2. Cody Johnson will probably never hit for a high average, but if he can increase his walk rate he could still become an impact player. He has serious, serious raw power; more so than anyone else in the system. I watched him play in a game last year; in his first at bat he flicked his wrists and hit a pitch that probably still hasn't landed. The Braves will have to be patient with him though, still very raw as a hitter.
3. Jon Gilmore and Freddie Freeman are two power bats that project very well. Freeman has a little more power but Gilmore is probably the better overall hitter.
4. Adam Coe is an interesting prospect; he was picked in the 7th round of the '06 draft. Very raw coming out of high school, but really impressive raw power. He hasn't flashed the power yet and time is running out; but someone to keep an eye on.

Pitching
Scott Diamond RHP SP/RP
IP 33.2, ERA 2.67, H 31, BB 7, SO 26, HR 1
Eric Barrett LHP SP
IP 31.2, ERA 1.71, H 22, BB 13, SO 33, HR 2
Jeff Locke LHP SP
IP 30, ERA 4.50, H 35, BB 5, SO 28, HR 0
Jose Ortegano LHP SP
IP 26, ERA 3.12, H 25, BB 6, SO 27, HR 0
Chad Rodgers LHP SP
IP 20, ERA 4.50, H 20, BB 9, SO 18, HR 1
Steve Evarts LHP SP
IP 18, ERA 1.50, H 15, BB 1, SO 14, HR 0
Edgar Osuna LHP SP
IP 17, ERA 3.18, H 17, BB 4, SO 20, HR 1
Cory Gearrin RHP RP
IP 4.1, ERA 6.23, H 5, BB 3, SO 8, HR 1

My thoughts;
1. Cory Gearrin reminds me somewhat of Joey Devine; throws from a similar arm angle and has a slider that is the "bringer of death" to right handed hitters. Fastball is a good pitch, despite average velocity.
2. Look at all the lefties! Double A will weed several out but it's rare to have this kind of lefthanded depth in the system. Keep in mind Cole Rohrbough hasn't pitched yet.
3. Edgar Osuna and Jose Ortegano are very similar pitchers; average velocity, great changeup and command.
4. Locke was lit up early in the season but has been very good lately; he recently made an appearance with Jason Heyward in the BA.com hotlist; which can be seen right here. http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2008/266012.html
5. Don't sleep on Eric Barrett; he was a draft and follow player that has gotten lost behind Hanson and Rohrbough. Strong stuff, his curveball is very good, his fastball sits in the low 90's and can touch 93-94. Better stuff than the typical lefty.
6. Steven Evarts has been very impressive so far; but he was recently shut down and sent to the DL for elbow soreness. Hopefully nothing serious.

Carolina League High A
Mrytle Beach

Hitters
Gorkys Hernandez OF
AB 81, AVG .309, 2B 5, 3B 5, HR 2, BB 6, SO 14, SB 5
Brandon Hicks SS
AB 64, AVG .281, 2B 7, HR 4, BB 5, SO 24, SB 3
Jon Mark Owings OF
AB 96, AVG .271, 2B 6, HR 4, BB 5, SO 18, SB 5
Tyler Flowers C
AB 100, AVG .250, 2B 8, HR 2, BB 22, SO 23
Phillip Britton C
AB 79, AVG .228, 2B 4, BB 0, SO 9

My thoughts;
1. Gorkys is having a fantastic year; and it wouldn't surprise me if the organization thinks Hernandez is the future in CF; especially after Jordan's incident.
2. Learn Brandon Hicks name; I'm absoulutely bullish on this young infielder. Good range and a cannon for an arm. Drives the ball and uses his speed; I think he could hit 15-20 homers a season eventually.
3. It'd be nice to see Flowers hit for a little more power; he's currently averaging 1 home run per 50 at bats. Could care less that he's batting .250; throw in his 22 walks and his OBP is around .500.
4. Jon Mark Owings has the ability to be a good 4th outfielder/average starter.

Pitchers
Deunte Heath RHP SP
IP 35, ERA 1.80, H 29, BB 20, SO 23, HR 0
Tommy Hanson RHP SP
IP 34, ERA 0.79, H 14, BB 10, SO 42, HR 0
Ryne Reynoso RHP SP/RP
IP 30, ERA 3.90, H 28, BB 7, SO 30, HR 1
Kyle Cofield RHP SP
IP 29, ERA 4.34, H 30, BB 21, SO 20, HR 0
Gonzalo Lopez RHP SP/RP
IP 22.2, ERA 5.16, H 23, BB 11, SO 24, HR 3
Jeff Lyman RHP SP/RP
IP 17.2, ERA 4.58, H 12, BB 10, SO 20, HR 3
Chris Vines RHP SP
IP 13, ERA 0.69, H 10, BB 2, SO 15, HR 0
Kevin Gunderson LHP RP
IP 12.2, ERA 0.71, H 10, BB 6, SO 14, HR 0
Nick Fellman RHP RP
IP 12.1, ERA 3.65, H 11, BB 4, SO 16, HR 3

My thoughts;
1. Everyone knows about Hanson, so I won't spend too much talking about him. People should remember that for all of his success; he still hasn't pitched above A ball.
2. Gonzalo Lopez is a blast from the past, a couple years ago he was one of our most highly touted pitchers; a guy with tremendous raw stuff. Now he's just trying to make it back from TJ surgery. The Braves will be patient with him; pitchers with his raw stuff don't come along very often.
3. The sun is setting on Lyman as a prospect; wasn't very long ago that he was quite highly thought of.
4. Fellman and Gunderson and both quality relief pitchers. Neither are overpowering; Fellman has a very good slider/changeup combo.

Southern League AA
Mississippi

Hitters
Matt Young OF
AB 92, AVG .293, 2B 3, 3B 2, HR 1, BB 13, SO 8, SB 7
Diory Hernandez INF
AB 77, AVG .286, 2B 3, 3B 1, HR 2, BB 6, SO 8
Van Pope 3B
AB 29, AVG .241, 2B 3, BB 1, SO 2
Kala Ka'aihue 1B
AB 86, AVG .186, 2B 4, 3B 1, HR 0, BB 15, SO 31

My thoughts;
1. Not one homerun for KK in 86 at bats? Troublesome indeed.
2. Diory Hernandez is tearing the cover off the ball in AAA right now; good solid toolsy hitter.
3. Matt Young is again putting up solid numbers; but he's also 26 years old.

Pitchers
Todd Redmond RHP SP/RP
IP 36, ERA 3.75, H 42, BB 3, SO 26, HR 3
James Parr RHP SP
IP 29, ERA 5.59, H 31, BB 15, SO 22
Dan Smith LHP SP/RP
IP 29, ERA 5.28, H 36, BB 14, SO 25, HR 3
Dustin Evans RHP SP/RP
IP 26, ERA 7.27, H 37, BB 8, SO 15, HR 2
Kris Medlan RHP RP
IP 17.2, ERA 3.06, H 20, BB 4, SO 17, HR 1

My thoughts,
1. Todd Redmond continues to pitch like he could be a back of the rotation starter; not a bad pick up for Yates.
2. Medlan has gotten hit a little bit lately; but he still has filthy stuff and should be able to become a very good reliever for the big club.
3. I never really thought Dan Smith's numbers were for real; and hitters now seem to agree with me. Hopefully he proves me wrong; but it doesn't look good.


International League AAA
Richmond

Hitters
Diory Hernandez SS
AB 30, AVG .433, 2B 3, HR 1, BB 3, SO 1
Clint Sammons C
AB 75, AVG .333, 2B 6, HR 1, BB 9, SO 14
Josh Anderson OF
AB 107, AVG .280, 2B 3, HR 1, BB 8, SO 15, SB 9
Brandon Jones OF
AB 100, AVG .270, 2B 7, HR 0, BB 13, SO 27
Scott Thorman 1B
AB 95, AVG .221, 2B 5, HR 0, BB 5, SO 23
J.C. Holt 2B
AB 79, AVG .215, 2B1, BB 14, SO 21, SB 7
Brent Lillibridge SS
AB 82, AVG .183, 2B 3, HR 1, BB 8, SO 21, SB 8

My thoughts;
1. Brandon Jones hasn't been hitting for much power at all; no homeruns yet on the season.
2. Josh Anderson does what he's always done; minimal power and lots of speed.
3. Thorman has started to dig himself out of that huge hole he was in when he started the season.
4. Diory Hernandez is IMO trade bait; he has big time attitude problems to go along with his considerable talent. Trade him while his value is high.
5. It's nice to see Clint Sammons swinging the bat so well. He's a great defensive catcher; if he becomes good offensively; he'll have a very good career.

Pitchers
Charlie Morton RHP SP
IP 33.2, ERA 2.14, H 20, BB 13, SO 26, HR 0
Jo-Jo Reyes LHP SP
IP 23, ERA 1.17, H 15, BB 8, SO 25, HR 0
Damian Moss LHP SP
IP 19.2, ERA 4.12, H 19, BB 8, SO 13, HR 1
Phil Stockman RHP RP
IP 17.1, ERA 1.07, H 8, BB 5, SO 17, HR 1
Francisley Bueno LHP SP
IP 24.1, ERA 4.44, H 25, BB 11, SO 17, HR 2

My thoughts;
1. If Phil Stockman continues to pitch as well as he has; he'll force himself into the Atlanta bullpen at some point and time.
2. Charlie Morton needs to cut down on the walks and hopefully the Braves will be able to leave him in Richmond for the year. Big time talent.

RockTheShow
05-04-2008, 11:32 PM
Good stuff.

Looks like we got some talent sitting at AAA pitching wise.

I'm also interested to see what Gorky can do at the higher levels.

GrandMasterB
05-05-2008, 12:36 AM
Good stuff, Preacher. It's nice to read a little bit about some of the prospects we don't hear as much about.

gobravez
05-05-2008, 01:10 AM
very nice article preacher...

is Cole Rohrbough still hurt?

Preacher
05-05-2008, 01:54 AM
very nice article preacher...

is Cole Rohrbough still hurt?

Last I heard he still had some shoulder soreness; and they certainly aren't going to rush anything with him.

Another bit of injury news; Erik Cordier has some swelling in his elbow. As of right now; the Braves hope rest will take care of the problem and he won't need further surgery.

For those that don't know; Erik Cordier is the pitcher we acquired from KC for Tony Pena; and he has some very nasty stuff. He throws mid to high 90's with a plus changeup; problem is he can never stay healthy.

McCarroll21
05-05-2008, 02:03 AM
Cordier probably has something in his arm due to not throwing in so long more than being hurt again. It's certainly something to pay attention to though. The good thing about that trade is that Cordier could turn out to be a total steal or the trade will be a wash. I don't see any way we can lose that deal, especially with the shortstops we have in the system.

Preacher
05-05-2008, 02:13 AM
Cordier probably has something in his arm due to not throwing in so long more than being hurt again. It's certainly something to pay attention to though. The good thing about that trade is that Cordier could turn out to be a total steal or the trade will be a wash. I don't see any way we can lose that deal, especially with the shortstops we have in the system.

I agree; I was surprised KC included a pitcher with his upside in the deal. Granted, his injury problems will probably preclude him from ever realizing his potential; but if he does we'd essentially get a front end of the rotation starter in exchange for Tony Pena JR.

JCStone7
05-05-2008, 09:40 AM
Good stuff Preacher! I'm with you on the Brandon Hicks train, his last HR was an absolute bomb where the LF didn't even move just turned and watched!

milbraves
05-05-2008, 12:35 PM
Morton's got a few walks, but as long as he keeps his ratio 2:1, he should be okay. His "unpredictability" (read:wildness) is a huge factor in why no one's been able to hit him lately. Some of the better strikeout artists in baseball have had high walk totals.

JCStone7
05-05-2008, 01:08 PM
Morton's got a few walks, but as long as he keeps his ratio 2:1, he should be okay. His "unpredictability" (read:wildness) is a huge factor in why no one's been able to hit him lately. Some of the better strikeout artists in baseball have had high walk totals.

Like that ol fireballin' Texan who beats up 20 year olds :beer:

SamtheBravesFan
05-05-2008, 01:45 PM
Like that ol fireballin' Texan who beats up 20 year olds :beer:
I think Ventura was like ... 25 or something. :confused:

JCStone7
05-05-2008, 01:52 PM
I think Ventura was like ... 25 or something. :confused:

It was more of a general statement, not exactly 20.

Chief Knockahoma
05-05-2008, 11:20 PM
i always enjoy when you give us updates on the minor leaguers. it helps me keep up with them. please continue!

McCarroll21
05-05-2008, 11:24 PM
i always enjoy when you give us updates on the minor leaguers. it helps me keep up with them. please continue!
Agreed. People like Preacher and milbraves are valuable to the site because they already enjoy keeping up with the minor leaguers instead of "trying to make a point" to keep up with them.

My favorite two minor leaguers right now are Tommy Hanson and Travis Jones. Why is that? Because they actually know about our site.

Travis Jones is the second baseman at Myrtle Beach, he's told the coaching staff at South Carolina (the school where he was drafted from) about that site and that's how carolinainsider found the site.

Tommy has chatted with us for a few hours during the off-season and the two of us have conversations (very rare) through myspace to this day.

Other than that, it's hard to have a favorite as it's not a habit for me to check up on them. That's where the help from Preacher and milbraves come in and help us with what we don't know.

GrandMasterB
05-05-2008, 11:28 PM
Don't forget about Brandon Jones! He's signed up here too. :D

McCarroll21
05-05-2008, 11:30 PM
Don't forget about Brandon Jones! He's signed up here too. :D
D'oh!

..and Brandon Jones.

vnodnarb
05-05-2008, 11:33 PM
31 strikeouts in 86 at bats for KK....that's brutal.

chip&smoltz95
05-06-2008, 10:33 AM
first off, great article.

second, I like the way reggie taylor has been doing at AAA also (taking alot of b.jones' playing time). Do you guys think that sammons with be the starting 1B next year in atl? I mean it just doesn't seem likely that the braves will be able to re-sign tex. I know thorman is NOT the answer. Or do you trade sammons away for a starting 1B?

I also like the crop of pitchers at AAA. I think rouwhenhourst good be okay too. I think he's older but he reminded me a little of randy johnson when he pitched.

JCStone7
05-06-2008, 10:35 AM
If we went that route forming a C into a 1B, I'd rather send McCann to 1B and let Sammons do his defensive wizardry at C.

chip&smoltz95
05-06-2008, 10:49 AM
If we went that route forming a C into a 1B, I'd rather send McCann to 1B and let Sammons do his defensive wizardry at C.


so then sammons would be out right? Cause mccann is locked up in a big contract. I guess this is a moot point if sammons stops hitting, but I have seen him play several times at richmond and really like his stuff.

JCStone7
05-06-2008, 10:51 AM
so then sammons would be out right? Cause mccann is locked up in a big contract. I guess this is a moot point if sammons stops hitting, but I have seen him play several times at richmond and really like his stuff.

A weak hitting catcher with good defensive skills is the norm. The Braves have a luxury of a good hitting catcher not to many teams have. So if it came down to moving a C to 1B it should be McCann or Pena.

chip&smoltz95
05-06-2008, 10:54 AM
oh okay. yea, i really like both of their games. I hope we can keep both of them (and tex!) I guess I am being a little greedy there:D

JCStone7
05-06-2008, 10:55 AM
oh okay. yea, i really like both of their games. I hope we can keep both of them (and tex!) I guess I am being a little greedy there:D

Nothing greedy when talking about keeping a Chipper-Teix-McCann heart of the order intact! :cool:

MSU Bulldog
05-06-2008, 11:00 AM
A move like that would be a good option instead of resigning Tex. I think that money would be better served on SP's. The Braves need to get back to their bread and butter.

jackmcmanus21
05-06-2008, 02:32 PM
anything on DeSalvo?

JCStone7
05-06-2008, 02:40 PM
anything on DeSalvo?

He still sucks.

chip&smoltz95
05-06-2008, 04:45 PM
Nothing greedy when talking about keeping a Chipper-Teix-McCann heart of the order intact! :cool:

you think mac is agile enough to play 1B? I know he legged out that triple, but I mean.. he's got a little belly.:D

Preacher
05-06-2008, 05:40 PM
Sammons is an excellent defensive catcher; moving him anywhere slashes his value.

There's a chance; if Sammons continues to improve with the bat, that he could become trade bait; but more likely he'll be the second catcher with Atlanta for quite awhile.

orangenation4
05-10-2008, 07:23 PM
I heard they might try and develop Heyward as a first baseman for the future in case Tex is too pricey to keep around.. Anybody know anything on this front?

chip&smoltz95
05-10-2008, 07:31 PM
I heard they might try and develop Heyward as a first baseman for the future in case Tex is too pricey to keep around.. Anybody know anything on this front?

Yea, I have heard that too, but I think he is more than a year away. If sammons keeps going strong this year he would have to be traded or playing for atl in 2009. I think heyward is more like 2010.

France Hotels | TurboTax | Loans | Computeach | Credit Cards