Atlanta Braves Minor League Recap: 7/22

Norfolk 2, Gwinnett 8

• C. Burke 2-4 2 2B, 2 RBI, BB
• B. Canizares 3-5 2B
• C. Sammons 3-3 2B, HR(6), 2BB
• J. Reyes 4IP 5H 2R 1BB 1K

I would say it is hard to lose a game when your 2-5 guys go 8-17 with 5 XBH and one of those guys was 0-5 (Kelly Johnson, by the way). JoJo Reyes had his longest outing since coming off the DL and was just OK. He wasn't real special but he got the job done. I keep thinking Chris Burke is hitting better than he actually is. Tonight is probably the first night that his OPS creeped higher with the Braves than when he was in the PCL. Either way I think I would like to see him in Atlanta over Diory Hernandez.

Mississippi 8, Tennessee 5

• J. Heyward 2-4 2B, BB
• F. Freeman 2-4 2B, HR(2), 3 RBI, K
• T. Jones 2-4 2B, HR(5), 5 RBI

Jason Heyward and Frederick Freeman just keep on getting it done. Heyward is still hitting right below .400 with a lot of XBH and it looks like Freeman is starting to really get his swing going for Mississippi. Travis Jones keeps flashing this talent stuff, but his July has still been attrocious. All that said I still think he is one of our better middle INF prospects. He just isn't giving me much hope right now.

Wilmington 7, Myrtle Beach 0

• C. Johnson 1-3 2B, BB, 3K

This team can be seriously bad. The didn't pitch well, hit well or field well (5 errors) in this game. Just a disaster all the way around. Gerry Rodriguez played another game in LF tonight as well. I wonder how he is out there? Has anyone seen him roaming the OF for the Pelicans?

Rome 6, Hickory 2

• S. Moody 2-5
• Y. Campusano 2-5 3B, HR(4), 3 RBI
• A. Milligan 2-4 HR(1), 2K
• R. Delgado 7IP 5H 2R 0BB 5K

Shayne Moody and Yoel Campusano have both had multiple hits at the top of the order for 5 consectuvtive games (and 3 more combined before that game even). Not surprisingly the Braves are 6-2 in their last 8 games. Probably a coincidence. Randall Delgado has settled down a bit in July, his first month since April with a sub 6.00 ERA (actually sub 4.00 even!). A good sign from this game is he didn't walk anyone, which was only the second time in his last 10 starts that he did that.

Danville 6, Johnson City 5

• M. Jones 2-4 2B, 3B, RBI, BB
• C. Harrilchak 2-4 3B, 2 RBI, BB
• RSF 2-5 2B, 2 RBI
• D. Hale 1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K

Take note that this is the first game that our recently signed second round pick, David Hale, has pitched in. Hale steps in and instantly becomes one of the top two or three arms in our system (with regards to Craig Kimbrel and Paul Clemens). Here is a snippet from Baseball America's scouting report on Hale:

Hale helped himself considerably in his final outing of the season in front of a bevy of scouts, holding his 92-93 mph fastball velocity into the sixth inning and regularly reaching 95-96. He has topped out at 97 this year and pitches with minimal effort, but some scouts say his fastball is flat and easy to pick up. At times he'll flash a plus slider in the 84-86 range, reaching 88, but other times the pitch is sweeping and he struggled to command it. Hale still needs to learn to command his stuff in the strike zone, and questions about his ability to do so lead many scouts to project him as a reliever, though he'll show some feel for a changeup every once in a while.

I don't know how the Braves will use him, but I always like to see a guy start until he proves he can't. Also, the report states that he split time between pitching and CF in college and many believe that he will take off when he starts to concentrate on pitching. Also, keep an eye on Cory Harrilchak who is hitting .344 now for Danville. He is a gritty contact guy without tons of tools but just a little pop in his bat.

GCL Braves 1, GCL Pirates 2

• C. Perez 3IP 2H 1R 3BB 4K 2WP
  

Carlos Perez pitches like any good young pitcher with a great arm: wildly effective. This guy has the potential to be our next big international signing star. He and Teheran are the next wave (though Teheran is probably a cut above Perez, but it is early to tell yet).