Salcedo and Lipka Have Good Nights but Can't Overcome Poor Pitching in Atlanta Braves Minor League Recap

by yondaime4 on Jul 12, 2011 11:48 PM EDT in Braves Minor League Recaps

A slow night in the minors with the top half all having the day off. Salcedo and Lipka are the stars of the night as they both collected three hit games. Brandon Drury continues to hit for Danville and tonight he did something he hasn't done all season.

Rome Braves 4, Kannapolis Intimidators 10

Matt Lipka, SS 3-5, HR(1), .235 Avg
Edward Salcedo, 3B 3-5, 2B, RBI, .276 Avg
Caleb Brewer 3.1 IP, 6 H, 8 R(7 ER), 3 BB, 2 K, 4.67 ERA
Carlos Perez 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 5.04 ERA

I am starting to think that Salcedo finds a double under his bed every morning. Tonight's made 24 for the year and 16 of those have come in the last month and a half. In contrast you can see Matt Lipka hit his first homer of the season. He now has 13 extra base hits total. Tonight's three hit game broke him out of a woeful slump that saw him collect just four hits in his last nine games. Caleb Brewer did not have a nice night but Carlos Perez made a relief appearance and looked good. I would suspect this is just a way to keep his innings down.

Kingsport Mets 2, Danville Braves 8

Kurt Fleming, CF 1-4, 2B, RBI, K, SB(5), .212 Avg
Kyle Kubitza, DH 2-4, RBI, BB, K, .259 Avg
Brandon Drury, 3B 2-4, 2 RBI, BB, SB(2), .342 Avg
Sam Munson, RF 3-4, HR(2), 2 RBI, .281 Avg
Williams Perez 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 8 K, 4.58 ERA
Jarrett Miller 2 IP, 0, H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 1.93 ERA

And Brandon Drury put together another nice game for Danville and he finally collected his first walk of the season. Now he is truly a complete player. Nick Ahmed also chipped in with a couple of hits and an RBI. Williams Perez has been a bit of a strikeout machine so far but his walks have gotten the best of him so far. In the past he hasn't shown a propensity for walking batters so this is probably just a blip on the radar.

GCL Braves 4, GCL Tigers 3 - 11 Innings

Seth Moranda, SS 3-6, K, .375 Avg
Anthony Nunez, C 2-4, RBI, K, .130 Avg

There wasn't a whole lot of action in this game but the Braves bullpen put together nearly six innings of hitless baseball to give the offense a chance in the 11th inning. The starter, Eduardo Castillo, pitched five innings and gave up three runs while striking out five.

DSL Tigers 4, DSL Braves 3

Robinson Arno, LF 1-4, 2B, 2 K, .213 Avg
Ibrahim McKenzie, 1B 2-4, RBI, K, .170 Avg

I just realized yesterday that the league our DSL team plays in has just three other teams in it. Probably not a good competition base to compare the players against. Either way it doesn't appear we have any real hitters down here outside of Emmanuel Daniel.

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Comments

OT

but K-Rod was just dealt to Miluakee

"My everything, or nothing. My everything, or nothing. WE gonna fight, til we can't fight no more. We gonna lie down, and bleed a while. Gonna get up, and fight again." -Tashard Choice

by SouthernPanther on Jul 13, 2011 12:07 AM EDT reply actions

Congrats Lipka

Now let’s hope this can spark something, whether it be some consistency, confidence, etc. For him to really turn it on,could make our Minor League depth look that much better.

Plus with his future competition all doing well or having good steady years;he really needs to step it up.

by chicagobullies on Jul 13, 2011 2:57 AM EDT via mobile reply actions

Step up time?

Pastornicky to AAA, Andrelton Simmons backfilling Pastornicky’s spot as the AA SS, Salcedo filling Simmons spot as SS in Lynchburg, Drury coming up to fill Salcedo’s spot as 3B for Rome.

http://sportsandgrits.blogspot.com/

by Mr. Sanchez on Jul 13, 2011 8:13 AM EDT reply actions

I think moving Drury up would be a mistake, he’s only 18 and it’s still early in his season. A full year with Danville would be the best thing for him.

I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it:
http://www.amazon.com/Four-C-B-Wilkins/dp/1449578454/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257720610&sr=1-1
www.dropoutproductions.com

by cbwilk on Jul 13, 2011 9:59 AM EDT up reply actions

Not disagreeing with that...

but several of his draft mates are in Rome. Lipka is only a few months older (and I know you’ve said he’d probably be better served in Danville right now), but he’s been in Rome all year. (And could the slower pace with Drury have him passing Lipka developmentally?)

I was more thinking out loud than something I actually expect the Braves to do in the coming weeks. Basically just saying how they are all doing well in their current spots and the lower guys excelling could slide in to the opening of the others positionally if the organization deemed them ready to move up. Positionally it works, playing wise they all look ready for the next challenge, that kind of thing. An argument could be made either way for moving him up or leaving him where he is to enjoy his success.

To be honest, I expect them all to stay put for at least a few more weeks. Maybe Pastornicky or Simmons move up, but I would expect Salcedo and Drury to spend at least another month, if not the rest of the season with their current teams.

http://sportsandgrits.blogspot.com/

by Mr. Sanchez on Jul 13, 2011 10:41 AM EDT up reply actions

This is the stage at which you could lose a prospect...

These guys aren’t Bryce Harper, they don’t have the expectations and the contract that require quick ascension up the system. Guys like David Filak and Elmer Reyes were sent back down to Danville because Rome was too much for them at this point.

Guys who are 18 or 19 can take all the time they need at the Rookie/Low A levels…because confidence is really improtant. Not saying Lipka’s production is confidence-related, but a guy with his kind of tools to not be able to square up on some balls and deliver more XBHs…it’s confidence.

by TBuzz on Jul 13, 2011 12:05 PM EDT up reply actions

I don’t think it’s even fair to compare Drury and Lipka. If they both reach their potential, Lipka is a much more dynamic player, while Drury is more of a solid everyday third baseman. And Drury, despite the early success this year, has a much steeper climb to meet his potential than Lipka does. What you’ll probably see is them playing side by side next year in Rome, and my guess is Lipka will come out of the gate hot and end up in Lynchburg at some point.

I wouldn’t be shocked to see Pastornicky get moved up today, but I really think Simmons and Salcedo especially would be better served staying where they are.

I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it:
http://www.amazon.com/Four-C-B-Wilkins/dp/1449578454/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257720610&sr=1-1
www.dropoutproductions.com

by cbwilk on Jul 13, 2011 1:15 PM EDT up reply actions

Why would you say Drury passing Lipka developmentally ? The Braves did the same thing with Salcedo last year when they brought him to Rome two weeks shy of his 19th birthday and he struggled big time – slash line of .197/.239/.295 – and now look at his production in his second year in Rome. Lipka is being stretched by the Braves this year because of his potential – they wouldn’t have put him there – and keep him there – if they think he couldn’t handle it.

by bravesfaninchitown on Jul 13, 2011 11:51 AM EDT reply actions