Welcome to another installment of the weekly report on the Atlanta Braves farm system from Last Word on Baseball! Results were mixed across the board. Gwinnett is named team of the week after posting a 4-1 record that included a four-game win streak. Alex Jackson is the player of the week after notching 11 hits and three home runs. Tyler Pike is named pitcher of the week after two solid outings. (Prospect ranking listed in parenthesis. All rankings taken from MLB.com’s Atlanta Braves Prospect Watch Top 30.)
Weekly Atlanta Braves Farm Report: Alex Jackson Leading Florida
Gwinnett Braves (Triple-A)
The Gwinnett Braves posted a strong week with a record of 4-1. They ended the week with a four-game win streak and have won nine of their past 10 games. Gwinnett holds a season record of 11-5 and is tied with the Durham Bulls for first place in the south division of the International League.
Pitching is the calling card for the Braves farm system this season, and this week at Gwinnett was no different. They ended the week with three straight games of two runs or less.
Starter Lucas Sims (18th) had the pitching performance of the week. Sims went seven shutout innings against the Rochester Red Wings to pick up his second win of the season. Sims’ total line for the night was seven innings, three hits, no runs, no walks, and five strikeouts. Atlanta’s rotation remains intact so far and is unlikely to change without an injury. With that being said, Sims will definitely receive strong consideration should a spot start be required.
Matt Wisler (unranked) was called up to Atlanta at the end of the week to provide an extra arm out of the bullpen. Wisler is coming off his strongest start of the season where he allowed two runs, no walks, and struck out five over seven innings.
Gwinnett’s offense remains inconsistent. The Braves managed to score more than two runs just twice this week.
Ozzie Albies (first) has leveled off his hot start to the season, but he continues to hit well. Albies had a hit in every game but one this week, but finished the week with just five hits, three runs, and two doubles.
Third baseman Rio Ruiz (22nd) continues to struggle in 2017. Ruiz went 4-for-19 with two runs this week and no extra-base hits. It is certainly an unenviable time for Ruiz to struggle. Atlanta’s starting third baseman Adonis Garcia and reserve utility player Jace Peterson are hitting .197 and .200 respectively. Ruiz would no doubt get serious consideration for playing time in Atlanta if he were producing anything respectable at all.
Mississippi Braves (Double-A)
The Mississippi Braves had a real struggle this week. Mississippi went 2-4 this week by posting just one run in each of those four losses.
Lefty Kolby Allard (third) received a no-decision despite a strong start against the Mobile BayBears. Allard went six innings with one earned run on four hits with a single strikeout. He has yet to notch a win at Double-A despite a fantastic 1.69 ERA over his first three starts.
Mike Soroka (fourth) took his first loss of the season despite another strong start. The young righty allowed two runs on one hit and one walk in five innings. Soroka is now 2-1 with a 1.62 ERA and 18 strikeouts to just one walk on the season.
Max Fried’s (eighth) struggles in Mississippi continued as he allowed six runs in three innings this week. Fried now has allowed nine earned runs with nine walks and two hit-batsmen on the season.
Mississippi’s offense posted one of the most lackluster performances in recent memory.
Infielder Travis Demeritte (ninth) went just 3-for-14 with a double and one run scored.
Outfielder Adam Brett Walker (unranked) provided the lone firework this week. Walker hit a three-run home run to break open a 13-inning game against the Montgomery Biscuits. The Braves would go on to win the mini-marathon by a score of 8-4.
Florida Fire Frogs (Advanced-A)
The Fire Frogs went .500 this week with a record of 3-3. Florida’s pitching had a solid week with just two games of more than four runs allowed.
Touki Toussaint (11th) and Ricardo Sanchez (19th) continue their struggles in Florida by combining for 12 earned runs in eight innings with just four strikeouts.
On the other hand, southpaw Luiz Gohara (10th) continues to dominate at the Advanced-A level. Gohara notched his second win by scattering four hits and a walk over seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts. He now holds a 1.29 ERA with 20 strikeouts, four walks, and no home runs allowed in his first four starts.
The man of the week however, was the lefty Pike (unranked). Pike received two no-decisions despite two fantastic starts. The highlight was Pike’s Saturday start where he struck out 11 over five-plus innings. His line for the week was 11.2 innings pitched, five hits, three walks, two earned runs, and 15 strikeouts to earn him pitcher of the week honors for the Braves farm system.
It is becoming a habit to talk about catching prospect Jackson (23rd). He posted a white-hot week for the Fire Frogs. Jackson went 11-for-27 with three home runs, two doubles, four runs scored, and seven RBI. He now has 10 extra-base hits and a .999 OPS on the season. Jackson’s 18 strikeouts are a bit of a concern, but he is definitely aiming for a midseason promotion.
Rome Braves (Single-A)
The Rome Braves went 3-3 on the week to bring their season record to 11-6. They hold a one-game lead in the South Atlanta League’s southern division ahead of the Columbia Fireflies and Greenville Drive.
Ian Anderson (sixth) took his first loss of the season despite a decent showing. Anderson allowed two runs in four innings despite striking out seven in a short outing.
Lefty Joey Wentz (13th) provided the outing of the week for Rome. He picked up his first win of the season with five strong innings of four-hit, one-run ball while also notching three strikeouts.
Anfernee Seymour (30th) continues his transition from infield to outfield, and he appears to keep growing. Seymour went 6-for-20 with four runs scored and two RBI. It will be interesting to watch his performance moving forward. Seymour has the kind of speed that can change a game in an instant.
18-year old shortstop Derian Cruz (20th) continues to struggle in Rome. He now has a .167 batting average and .465 OPS through the first 15 games. The potential is evident with Cruz, but he no doubt has some learning and growing to do before he takes the next step.
