Atlanta Braves Minor League Recap: 4/30 - Sweep Edition

by yondaime4 on Apr 30, 2010 10:58 PM EDT in Braves Minor League Recaps

Yes ladies and gentlemen the ultimate Slump-Buster is the rare Organizational Sweep. A phenomenon that occurs just a couple a times a season and very rarely after the all star break (when there are 6 minor league teams playing instead of just 4). Maybe with all 5 teams winning tonight it signals the beginning of something great. God I hope so.

Norfolk 1, Gwinnett 5

F. Freeman 2-3 BB, CS(1), .264
B. Canizares 2-4 HR(1), 3 RBI, .258
M. Jones 2-4 HR(3), 2 RBI, K, .253
T. Redmond 5IP 7H 1R 1BB 4K 3.26
C. Kimbrel 1IP 0H 0R 0BB 1.42

Freddie Freeman is now second on the team in OPS (behind Clevlen) and has found a groove here in the past couple of weeks and Gwinnett has won 6 of 9. Craig Kimbrel continues to dominate AAA as he threw just 9 pitches while earning his 5th save of the season in the wake of the news that Billy Wagner is retiring after this season.

Mississippi 5, Jacksonville 4

E. Duncan 2-5 2B, HR(2), 2 RBI, 2K, .343
M. Minor 5IP 5H 4R 2BB 11K 4.56
B. Butts 2IP 2H 0R 0BB 6K 0.71
S. Marek 1IP 0H 0R 0BB 1K 0.00

I have always wondered what guys like Eric Duncan think when they are dominating a level that they know they are too good for. Do they think "Man I wish I was in AAA!) or is more of the "Man I rock this league, I love putting up awesome numbers like this". Probably somewhere in between. I still don't know what to think of this Mike Minor 2.0 we have been seeing. For the year he has 25K in 20 innings but also 18 hits and 14 walks. I just don't think this increased velocity has led to him being a better pitcher yet. Key word there is yet. Brett Butts has 19K in 12.2 innings.

Frederick 4, Myrtle Beach 5

Y. Campusano 1-3 HR(3), BB, .222
G. Avila 3-4 RBI, .317
J. Sucre 2-4 2B, RBI, .278
B. Oberholtzer 5.1IP 8H 3R 0BB 4K 5.06

Brett Oberholtzer held his own in his first start in the Carolina League and the bullpen survived long enough to see him get the win as well. Gerardo Avila is hitting .429 in his last 8 games with 6 XBH. He strikes out a bunch but he also takes a few walks. He reminds me of Ernesto Mejia and Gerardo Rodriguez in his approach. He is old for the league but is a useful organizational bat and he makes this team better.

Rome 3, Greensboro 2

K. Rose 0-3 2BB, 2K, SB(8), .351
C. Bethancourt 2-4 2 2B, K, .275
M. Jones 1-4 HR(1), 2 RBI, .125
C. Rasmus 5IP 4H 1R 0BB 4K 1.15
R. Lopez 4IP 3H 1R 1BB 4K 2.16

Cory Rasmus and Robinson Lopez combined to shutdown the poorly named Greenboro Grasshoppers. Both guys have been very impressive this year. Rasmus has 20K in just 15+ innings while allowing just 8 hits so far. Mycal Jones has had a rough time so far and I hope his homer tonight can get him going. Kyle Rose is 4th in the Sally in batting and 2nd in OBP. He also leads the league in caught stealing.

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Minor stats are updated

25 I.P. 23 hits 17 walks 36 strike outs

by UMass12 on Apr 30, 2010 11:25 PM EDT reply actions

I’ll take a power lefty over a finesse lefty any day of the week. Unless you have Glavine-like control, it’s really hard for those soft tossing lefties to have long ML careers.

"(Jason Heyward) is like the Grim Reaper -- you know he's going to get you, you just don't know where or when."

by Scott Coleman on Apr 30, 2010 11:30 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Minor

It seems like he’s sacrificing his control for more velocity. Hopefully he’ll regain his control with his added velocity. Reports have him sitting 92-94 which is awesome but the walks not so much.

by Jay212033 on May 1, 2010 10:20 AM EDT up reply actions

I was in Gwinnett. The umpire behind home was terrible. Redmond’s pitched much better than his line. The one run he gave up shouldn’t have scored; Mitch Jones made a great throw from LF but for whatever reason JC Boscan backed off the contact and allowed the runner to score. Cory Gearrin also got victimized in his second inning when the strike zone went all over the place. Craig Kimbrel is crazy good. It’s scary. Freddie’s single was to the opposite field and it was a laser.

I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it: https://www.createspace.com/3407939
www.dropoutproductions.com

by cbwilk on Apr 30, 2010 11:29 PM EDT reply actions

I’ll see you tomorrow night in Gwinnett. Actually, anyone else who wants to stop by, CB, Danny, and I will be there. CB will be there for the minor league baseball glory, Danny and I will be there for the Jason Heyward bobble head giveaway.

by gondeee on May 1, 2010 12:00 AM EDT up reply actions

I’m looking forward to this.

I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it: https://www.createspace.com/3407939
www.dropoutproductions.com

by cbwilk on May 1, 2010 12:01 AM EDT up reply actions

oh those bobble heads….. lol. We may come, depends on the weather…..and if y’all think we can get any cheap seats at the last minute. (whaddya think??)

by rbravesfan on May 1, 2010 7:56 AM EDT up reply actions

There's always

The $6 bern seating that’s always available, and hey, if the weather stinks the place will be deserted anyway, and you could probably find a place to sit anyway

No wonder nobody likes you, Tuttle... everything's a (Pujols) damn debate.

by royhobbs on May 1, 2010 9:21 AM EDT up reply actions

Says you

Don’t be jealous, but cb and I are going to be doing double-duty going to both the Atlanta game and then hitting up Gwinnett, where I’ll probably not get my bobblehead given the timing. Hopefully the weather cooperates.

No wonder nobody likes you, Tuttle... everything's a (Pujols) damn debate.

by royhobbs on May 1, 2010 9:20 AM EDT up reply actions

CB – How did Kimbrel look to you?
I’m thinking if he continues to roll, he will get a call up sooner than later.
So far, in 12.2 innings (10 games), he’s given up only 5 hits and 2 runs; has 17 K, 5 BB, 1.42 ERA and 0.79 WHIP.
I mean, WOW!

by fandave on May 1, 2010 12:06 PM EDT up reply actions

Kimbrel is straight nasty. I’ve seen him three times in the last two weeks and he’s so filthy. His ball goes fast and just moves all over. And his off speed pitches are tight with deceptive movement. He’s a very exciting player.

I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it: https://www.createspace.com/3407939
www.dropoutproductions.com

by cbwilk on May 2, 2010 12:04 AM EDT up reply actions