I am going to try out a new feature tonight which I am calling the "Impressive Stat of the Night." Basically this is just my attempt to point out something interesting which may not be brought up in the normal write-ups.
Impressive Stat of the Night: Freddie Freeman has been on base in 25 straight games dating back to an 0-4 performance on June 9. During that span he has gone hitless just once on June 24 and has raised his average 33 points.
Gwinnett 0, Durham 11
- M. Young 1-3 BB, .307 Avg
- F. Freeman 2-4 K, .288 Avg
- M. Dunn 1IP 0H 0R 0BB 1K 0.67 ERA
Tonight was a rough one for the Gwinnett Braves. Durham is generally one of the best teams in the international league and tonight they were throwing Tampa Bay's top pitching prospect in Jeremy Hellickson and he did not disappoint. Hellickson is 11-2 on the season with a 2.21 ERA. He wasn't his best this evening but he was still good enough not to allow any runs. Jose Ortegano went 3 innings and gave up 9 runs.
West Tenn 0, Mississippi 3
- W. Cabrera 1-3 2B, BB, .319 Avg
- D. Nelson 2-4 HR(1), 2 RBI
- B. Beachy 7IP 4H 0R 0BB 11K 1.15 ERA
Brandon Beachy's performance tonight goes down as one of the best 5 or 6 by a Braves farmhand this season and he just keeps getting better and better as a starter. This sounds familiar doesn't it? The Braves appear to have a knack for finding guys who are career relievers and turning them into pretty fantastic starters. I hope Beachy has the same success that Kris Medlen has found. Dan Nelson made a big splash in his return to AA.
Salem 10, Myrtle Beach 6
- M. Jones 2-4 BB, .344 Avg
- C. Harrilchak 1-2 3 RBI, 2BB, .247 Avg
- L. Sumoza 3-5 .252 Avg
- C. Miles 2-2 4 Runs, 2 BB, SB(25), .259 Avg
The Pelicans' offense showed up to the game but that wasn't enough as Paul Clemens gave up 6 runs in under 4 innings of work. Cory Harrilchak is slowly but surely adjusting to the Carolina League and at the very least has retained his ability to get on base. Luis Sumoza has also been heating up lately going 13-30 with 4 XBH and 6 RBI in his last 8 games. He is still just 21 so there is time for him to mature.
Rome 6, Savannah 5
- T. Cunningham 2-3 2B, BB, .279 Avg
- E. Salcedo 1-4 2 K
- J. Hanson 2-3 2 RBI, BB, .257 Avg
- M. Weaver 2-4 2B, 2 RBI, .230 Avg
- B. DeVall 6IP 6H 3R 1BB 6K 3.97 ERA
I get more and more encouraged with each outing from Brett DeVall. He hasn't been blow-you-away good in any one game but he has been consistent and you can tell he is slowly putting together each facet of his game. What I am excited about is he has been raising is K rate recently. He is still a little too hittable at times but I have confidence his total game will return.
Danville 5, Johnson City 7
- J. Dalfonso 2-2 2 2B, RBI, .267 Avg
- J. Leonard 2-5 RBI, .462 Avg
- R. Delgado 2-4 2B, HR(2), 2 RBI, BB, K, .400 Avg
Danville started the season 5-0 and looked poised for a repeat title but since then they have struggled going 2-7 in that span. I am going on record now that I think Joe Leonard might be the best bat we have picked up out of this draft. No I'm not just going on his 3 game sample size but he had a monster season at Pitt and could be coming into his own as a player. 32nd Rd pick Ryan Delgado has been pretty awesome in the few games he has played so far this season. I don't know much about the guy but he could be up for a promotion pretty quick if he keeps this up.
GCL Braves @ GCL Blue Jays - Postponed
DSL Braves 4, DSL Rangers 1
- R. Luna 2-4 2B, .361 Avg
- F. Marte 2-4 2 HR(4), K, .245 Avg
- J. Saldeno 5IP 5H 1R 0BB 5K 2.70 ERA
17 year old Jesus Saldeno continues to get the job done in the Domnican. If he keeps this up we will most likely see him stateside next season. Felix Marte only believes in hitting homers in twos as he had his second 2 HR games of the season. His total of 4 leads the team now and is good for 5th in the league. Other than the HRs he hasn't been that impressive so far, but as I always say interpreting DSL stats is an exercise in futility.