M-Braves Release Roster

by gondeee on Apr 4, 2009 6:08 PM EDT in Braves Minor League News

Here is the Mississippi Braves roster to open the season (from the press release):

Mississippi's pitchers include Brett Butts, Kyle Cofield, Rafael Cruz, Rudy Darrow, Scott Diamond, Brian Dumesnil, Jerome Gamble, Deunte Heath, Jeff Lyman, Steve Marek, Ryne Reynoso and Johnny Venters. Dumesnil, Gamble, Heath, Lyman, Marek and Venters all pitched for the M-Braves in 2008.

Catcher's Phillip Britton and Jose Camarena will man the backstop for the M-Braves in 2009. Camarena spent the entire '08 season in Mississippi while Britton played in one game for the M-Braves.

Mississippi's infield will consist of Eric Campbell, Javier Guzman, Brandon Hicks, Travis Jones, Kala Ka'aihue and Kody Kirkland. Guzman, Hicks and Ka'aihue all spent significant time in Mississippi last season.

Willie Cabrera, Gorkys Hernandez, Concepcion Rodriguez and Matt Young will account for the Braves outfield in 2009. Cabrera moved up to Mississippi at the end of 2008 while Young was voted Mississippi's Player of the Year in 2008 by the Braves' organization.

Six players will start the season on the disabled list. Kevin Gunderson will join the M-Braves in Mississippi while Dustin Evans, Moises Hernandez, Greg Creek, Ernesto Mejia and Jon Mark Owings will all stay in Orlando until their rehab is complete.

Gwinnett and the other levels should announce their rosters soon. We'll try to get those and post them as well.

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Half the roster returns from last year? God.

SWAGGA LIKE BJONES, SWAGGA LIKE BJONES

by bigjoe on Apr 4, 2009 6:11 PM EDT reply actions

When Mejia comes off his rehab I want to see him starting at first base and Kala starting in AAA.

by KC Ryan on Apr 4, 2009 7:12 PM EDT reply actions

Mejia blew out his knee. I saw him a couple of days after and he said he’d probably be out until late July.

"At least he didn’t nail the bitchy fat girl from Hell's Kitchen."
www.dropoutproductions.com

by cbwilk on Apr 5, 2009 12:34 AM EDT up reply actions

No fun. I was really looking forward to seeing him put up 70+ extra base hits again this year.

by KC Ryan on Apr 5, 2009 2:40 AM EDT up reply actions

Right now he’d be happy to be able to run from home to first. He was very down about it, which is totally understandable. Ernie is a great guy, he really loves to play, so I hope he gets healthy quick.

"At least he didn’t nail the bitchy fat girl from Hell's Kitchen."
www.dropoutproductions.com

by cbwilk on Apr 5, 2009 12:42 PM EDT up reply actions

Life < AA is rough.

Oh, Bobby.

by sdp on Apr 4, 2009 8:10 PM EDT reply actions

Myrtle Beach Roster

PITCHERS: Rohrbough, Locke, Rodgers, Osuna, Ortegano, Rivas, Broadway, Hyde,
Gearin, Wilson, Palika, Kimbrell, Melich.
CATCHERS: Johnson, B, Kennelly
INFIELD: Freeman, Fisher, Gress, Linares, Shultz, Marcial.
OUTFIELD: Johnson, C, Miles, Heyward, Davis

by NWFla on Apr 4, 2009 10:30 PM EDT reply actions

Looks to be pretty stacked. I wonder how many will make the jump to AA this season.

by Bobby Cocks on Apr 4, 2009 11:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Odd that Quentin Davis goes to MB after spending all last year with Mississippi. sure, he sucked, but you think they’d just cut him.

And they list Miles as an OF instead of a 2B. I know he’s played out there before, but I wonder if they’re making a permanent switch like with Matt Young.

And now you’ve got me salivating for April 19th, when I get to see these guys play in Woodbridge.

"At least he didn’t nail the bitchy fat girl from Hell's Kitchen."
www.dropoutproductions.com

by cbwilk on Apr 5, 2009 12:38 AM EDT up reply actions

It seems to me that Matt Young profiles about ten times better as a second baseman. Corner outfielders that with no power to speak of don’t really have a chance to be major leaguers.

by KC Ryan on Apr 5, 2009 2:43 AM EDT up reply actions

He’d absolutely be better as a second baseman, there’s no doubt about it. He gets a lot of hits, he’s pretty fast, not blazing, but he’s smart about it. The thing is, he hasn’t played there in like four years, and wasn’t very good when he did. I wish they could do something to get him back on second, but it just doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen.

"At least he didn’t nail the bitchy fat girl from Hell's Kitchen."
www.dropoutproductions.com

by cbwilk on Apr 5, 2009 12:44 PM EDT up reply actions

Why is Pruneda being held back in Rome?

Any reason?

It seems like his performance last year more than qualifies a promotion. I know he’s only 20, but it doesn’t seem like there’s much more for him to prove at Rome.

Tommy Hanson 4 ROY

by timmy3 on Apr 5, 2009 11:43 AM EDT up reply actions

It’s an absolute crime that Matt Young is back in AA. That guy was by far the most productive hitter on their team last year.

"At least he didn’t nail the bitchy fat girl from Hell's Kitchen."
www.dropoutproductions.com

by cbwilk on Apr 5, 2009 12:38 AM EDT reply actions

And Kala K too, I was surprised to see that they’d be at AA again.

by MatM on Apr 5, 2009 12:50 AM EDT up reply actions

That one I wasn’t as surprised about. Now that I go and look at his numbers, I’m not sure why, cause he certainly deserved to move up, but there’s just something about him that strikes me as a guy the organization isn’t in love with.

"At least he didn’t nail the bitchy fat girl from Hell's Kitchen."
www.dropoutproductions.com

by cbwilk on Apr 5, 2009 12:56 AM EDT up reply actions

If Kala K was about a year and a half younger

He’d be considered among the organization’s top prospects. But he’s risen the ladder just a tad too slowly, even though he’s shown some excellent power at times.

The team clearly doesn’t view him as the firstbaseman of the future, with Freeman owning that title. He’s not even really a stopgap option because the Braves own Casey Kotchman’s rights for the next couple of years (arbitration after this season, I believe?).

He really had an incredible partial season at Myrtle beach, though, so his power is impresses me. He also strikes out a lot, but he balances that out somewhat with a high walk rate. If his power continues to develop, he definitely be an Adam-Dunn like player : Low avg, High OBP, indifferent defense (though some metrics have him as slightly above average last year) with 40 home run potential.

by Bronn on Apr 5, 2009 2:23 AM EDT up reply actions

His brother Kila is a much better prospect with the Royals and they don’t seem to like him much either.

by KC Ryan on Apr 5, 2009 2:44 AM EDT up reply actions

KK

Kala Ka’aihue is destined to become a secondary player in a trade later in 2009 if they can get anything for him in return. Casey Kotchman is their first baseman for the next two years. Freddie Freeman had an elite season at Rome last year and looked good in camp last month. Based on the way he handled himself in camp, Freeman is now their first baseman of the future, after the team’s relationship with Kotchman ends. They have other guys who can play 1b in a pinch, like Norton. Ka’aihue strikes out too often, and would be a much better fit in the AL where his defensive liabilities could be hidden at DH. I see Ka’aihue ending up in the AL through one of those secondary trades where teams exchange guys who need a change of scenery.

by Messenger on Apr 5, 2009 10:30 AM EDT up reply actions

I think Kala K will move up to AAA shortly, but the two current 1st basemen for Mississippi are on the DL to start the season. Mejia and Creek. It will be interesting to see who plays 1st base for Gwinnett starting out.

by BravesFan on Apr 5, 2009 9:07 AM EDT up reply actions

I can only assume it would be Canizares again.

SWAGGA LIKE BJONES, SWAGGA LIKE BJONES

by bigjoe on Apr 5, 2009 9:49 AM EDT up reply actions

Forgot about Barbaro.

by BravesFan on Apr 5, 2009 10:53 AM EDT up reply actions

It seems to me that Barbaro would be a good fit for some team in the Majors. The Braves don’t seem to believe he will ever play in Atlanta. Maybe we could get a Middle of the road younger prospect for him?

by KC Ryan on Apr 5, 2009 6:49 PM EDT up reply actions