Welcome to the latest installment of the weekly report on the Atlanta Braves farm system from Last Word on Baseball. Unfortunately, this week was an especially rough one for Atlanta. The injury bug claimed two top pitching prospects, Luiz Gohara and Joey Wentz, and put their immediate futures on hold. Braves fans also welcomed back one familiar face in Kris Medlen. Medlen is working his way back to the majors via a rehab assignment, and he began his assignment with the Florida Fire Frogs this week. Rio Ruiz is the player of the week after receiving a promotion to Atlanta! (Prospect ranking listed in parenthesis. All rankings taken from MLB.com’s Atlanta Braves Prospect Watch Top 30.)
Weekly Atlanta Braves Farm Report: Rio Ruiz Receives Promotion
Gwinnett Braves Announce Name Change
The Gwinnett Braves had one special, off-field announcement this week. The Gwinnett Daily Post tweeted that the team will be choosing a new name prior to the start of the 2018 season! It will be a total re-branding effort, and fans are asked to participate in selecting the new name.
The @GwinnettBraves will have a new name. Fans can make suggestions on the team's website beginning Monday. https://t.co/CqOKeVtq2q
— Gwinnett Daily Post (@GDPsports) May 21, 2017
Gwinnett Braves (Triple-A)
Gwinnett posted a 2-4 record this week, and the most exciting news for the team involved a player currently in Atlanta. Third baseman Ruiz (22nd) was called up to Atlanta following the injury to star first baseman Freddie Freeman. Ruiz has appeared in three games (two starts) and is off to a decent showing. The youngster went two-for-four on Saturday with a two-run home run off Washington ace Max Scherzer. Ruiz will likely get lots of playing time over the course of Freeman’s stay on the DL to improve on his strong start.
Sean Newcomb (fifth) posted the best start of the week for Gwinnett. Newcomb went five and a third innings with just a lone earned run against him. The lefty scatted three hits and two walks alongside six strikeouts. Newcomb received a no-decision for his efforts, and Gwinnett wound up losing the game in walk-off fashion.
The other big news for Gwinnett is the season debut of outfielder Dustin Peterson (17th). Peterson was competing for a spot on the big league roster in spring training before a broken hand sidelined him. He began his season Friday evening going one-for-two with a double and two walks. Peterson will hopefully hit his stride quickly and may debut in Atlanta at some point this season.
Mississippi Braves (Double-A)
The Mississippi Braves went 2-4 this week, but the bigger story is Gohara’s (10th) status. Gohara had completed two innings with a strikeout and a lone earned run when a biceps injury forced him to exit early. He has been placed on the DL, but the severity of his injury remains unknown. Braves fans will hold their breath and hope that it is a minor setback in Gohara’s development. Mississippi’s rotation as a whole pitched solid this week, but their numbers were slightly less impressive than the video game stats they have put up thus far. The pitching performance of the week came from Wes Parsons (unranked) who allowed two hits, one walk, and a lone earned run with five strikeouts over five solid innings.
Infielder Travis Demeritte (ninth) continues to display inconsistent results. Demeritte began the week with a multi-hit night that included two RBI and three runs scored. He followed that up by going 1-for-15 with eight strikeouts, a home run, and two runs scored over his final four games this week. Demeritte now has a .258 batting average, .790 OPS, and 44 strikeouts in 40 games this season. Demeritte continues to look like a talented player, but a rising strikeout rate is certainly cause for concern.
Florida Fire Frogs (Advanced-A)
The Fire Frogs struggled this week with a record of 1-5. The lone win of the week came after a seven-game losing streak that saw the Frogs score three total runs and get shut out four times. The pitching remained strong despite a stagnant offense. Touki Toussaint (11th) took a tough loss this week despite posting his best start of the season. Toussaint struck out eight with one walk and one earned run over six solid innings. Tyler Pike (unranked) continued his fantastic season with six strikeouts over six shutout innings in his start this week. He received a no-decision, but Pike now has a 3-1 record with a 1.99 ERA and 51 strikeouts in eight starts. Medlen is obviously no prospect, but his first rehab start went incredibly well. The veteran starter posted six shutout innings with one hit, three walks, and three strikeouts. Medlen will hopefully be able to help out in Atlanta at some point this season, either as a starter or reliever.
There is not much that can be said about Florida’s offense this week. Outfielder Anfernee Seymour (30th) did notch two multi-hit games, but he managed to score just one run this week. Third baseman Austin Riley (12th) provided the run support in Medlen’s start with two hits, two RBI, and a run scored. Catcher Alex Jackson (23rd) played in four games this week and recorded just three hits without an extra-base hit.
Rome Braves (Single-A)
The Rome Braves were the most successful in a rough week for the Braves farm system, but even Rome only managed a record of 2-3 this week. Rome’s pitching staff was up-and-down this week with 24 runs allowed in their three losses. Wentz (13th) was placed on the DL after leaving his start early due to taking a line drive off his leg. Ryan Lawlor (unranked) produced the best start of the week for Rome with nine strikeouts and three earned runs allowed over six innings. Lawlor’s performance was enough for him to pick up his third win of the season.
18-year old outfielder Cristian Pache (14th) is certainly in his groove for Rome right now. Pache went 10-25 with a triple, double, four RBI, and three runs scored for Rome this week. He is now hitting .413 with six runs scored and eight RBI over his last 10 games played. The other big news out of Rome this week was the trade of infielder Juan Yepez (unranked). Yepez was used as the trade piece to bring in first baseman Matt Adams from the St. Louis Cardinals. The 19-year old Yepez has some solid upside, but Atlanta needed to make a move in the wake of Freeman’s injury. Adams is a solid replacement piece, and Yepez was the price that had to be paid. Rome, and the entire Braves organization, may miss Yepez’s presence, but he will now move on to a career with the Cardinals.
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