Bethancourt Gets Homer Happy And Moore Debuts In This Week's Atlanta Braves Winter League Recap

Christian Bethancourt went on a tear this week for the Surprise Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League, homering in 3 straight contests. The 20 year old catcher went 6-11 with a double, 3 homers, and 6 RBI, good for a .545/.545/1.455/2.000 slash line. Despite being the second youngest player in the league, the Panama native is crushing the competition, hitting .367 overall, with a 1.053 OPS, 3 doubles, 4 homers, 11 RBI, and 3 stolen bases in 49 at bats. Joey Terdoslavich finally cooled off, going just 2-16 with a double and an RBI this week, dropping his overall numbers to a .364 average and a 1.035 OPS, with 4 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, and 8 RBI in 55 at bats. Terdo also struck out 7 times this week, and he's striking out in 29% of his AFL at bats, compared to fanning only 22% of the time during the regular season. Some of that can be attributed to facing more advanced pitching, but some can also be attributed to just being worn out at this point in the calendar year. Todd Cunningham was 3-12 with a double and a RBI this week, with all 3 of his hits coming in Saturday's game. Overall he's hitting .304 with a .766 OPS, 3 doubles, a triple, 11 RBI, and 2 stolen bases.

On the pitching side, Navery Moore, the Braves' 14th round pick in the draft this year out of Vanderbilt, made his professional debut, replacing an injured Erik Cordier and allowing 1 run over 2 innings in 2 appearances, striking out 2. Sean Gilmartin, this year's 1st round pick, had another solid start, allowing 2 runs over 5 innings while striking out 4. In 21 innings over 5 starts, he's 2-0 with a 3.43 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP, 7.7 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, and 3.6 K/BB. Billy Bullock's lone appearance was another poor one, as he allowed 3 runs in just 1 inning of work, walking 1 and striking out 2. In 6.2 innings he's allowed 5 walks while striking out 8, and given up a 13.50 ERA and a 2.25 WHIP. JJ Hoover also struggled this week, allowing 3 runs over 2 innings in 2 appearances. In 7.1 innings with surprise he's truck out 3 and walked 3, posting a 11.05 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP. Despite his struggles, Hoover was selected for the AFL Rising Stars game, along with Terdoslavich and Bethancourt. The game will take place Saturday November 5th and will be televised on the MLB Network.

We'll update you on the Latin leagues after the jump:

This week, Diory Hernandez went 4-17 with a homer and 3 RBI for Leones del Escogido in the Dominican Winter League. Overall the 27 year old infielder is hitting .311 with a .837 OPS, 2 doubles, 1 homer, and 7 RBI in 45 at bats. Teammate Wilkin Castillo went 2-7 with a walk, putting him at a .259 average and a .681 OPS in 27 at bats. Wilkin Ramirez was just 1-11 for Toros del Este, though his lone hit was a homer. He's hitting .200 with a .630 OPS in 25 total at bats. Mauro Gomez is also struggling for the Toros, going 1-13 with 5 strikeouts this week, dropping his overall numbers to a .135 average and a .439 OPS in 37 at bats. Teammate Jose Constanza was 3-11 with 2 stolen bases, giving him a .364 average, .417 OBP, and .780 OPS, along with 5 stolen bases, in 22 at bats. Jairo Asencio is pitching well for the Toros, picking up 3 saves this week while striking out 6 over 3 shutout innings. He has yet to allow a run over 7.1 innings in 7 appearances, picking up 4 saves while striking out 11. Jose Lugo has been similarly effective, striking out 3 over 3 shutout innings this week, giving him 4.1 shutout innings over 7 appearances for Este. Teammate Yohan Flande didn't allow a run in 0.2 innings in his lone appearance this week, giving him a 4.15 ERA and a 2.08 WHIP in 4.1 innings. Donell Linares was 1-4 with an RBI in 2 games for Estrellas de Oriente.

Pitching for Carenales de Lara in the Venezuelan Winter League, lefty Luis Avilan allowed 1 run over 2.2 innings, walking 4, in his lone start this week, giving him a 0.63 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP in 14.1 innings. Ernesto Mejia had a great week for Aguilas de Zulia, going 7-20 with 2 doubles, a homer, and 5 RBI, giving him a .295 average, a .872 OPS, 6 doubles, 2 homers, and 11 RBI in 61 total at bats. Matt Young had a nice week for Mayos de Navojoa in the Mexican Winter League, going 6-13 with a walk, bringing his totals to a .289 average and a .657 OPS in 38 at bats.

Myke Jones and Cory Harrilchak are playing in the brand new Panamanian Winter League, but currently there are no stats, or information of any kind, available for the league. They're playing for Diablicos de Azuero, so if anyone can find some stats for the league it would be greatly appreciated. The Australian Baseball League begins play tomorrow, and the Puerto Rican League begins on Friday, so there will be even more action to cover in next week's recap.

UPDATE [3:30]: I was sent links by both gondeee and Myke Jones himself giving me stats for the Diablicos de Azuero, so thanks guys! Jones is dominating in Panama, hitting .393 with a 1.312 OPS, a double, 4 homers, and 7 RBI in 28 at bats. Cory Harrilchak is hitting .333 with a .900 OPS, a double, and 2 RBI in 15 at bats. Randall Delgado is also playing for the Diablicos, and so far he's pitched in 1 game, allowing 2 runs in 1.2 innings.