Vizcaino Brings the Ks but Only Gwinnett Brings the Winz in Atlanta Braves Minor League Recap

Arodys Vizcaino tossed out a dominant three innings of work in a loss. A couple of the rookie ball pitchers are starting to catch my eye and the Danville offense has a couple of interesting bats in the lineup. 

Norfolk Tides 2, Gwinnett Braves 3

• Wilkin Castillo, 3B 2-2, BB, .272 Avg
• Ed Lucas, 3B-LF 1-3, 2B, RBI, K, .218 Avg
• Christian Martinez 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R(1 ER), 1 BB, 3 K, 2.12 ERA
• Juan Abreu 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 2.09 ERA
• Jaye Chapman 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 2.45 ERA
• Jairo Ascencio 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 1.65 ERA

The Braves got out to a lead early by scoring a single run in each of the first three innings. That was enough for Christian Martinez and his backup singers. The bullpen pitched three innings of scoreless ball while racking up seven strikeouts with just one hit allowed. The Gwinnett Braves have had some very strong bullpens in recent years but this may be the best of them. 

Tennessee Smokies 5, Mississippi Braves 4

• Tyler Pastornicky, SS 1-4, 2B, .300 Avg
• Martin Prado, 3B 1-5, RBI, K, .222 Avg
• Matt Kennelly, C 2-4, RBI, .257 Avg
• Arodys Vizcaino 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K, 3.86 ERA

Arodys Vizcaino was just nasty in his start today, but unfortunately it lasted just three innings. I would suspect that he was pulled because of his inning in the Futures Game being just three days ago. After getting the leadoff hitter to ground out to second he struck out the next five hitters and then added two more in the third inning. Keith Law put out his top 50 list today and made some waves (as law does) by having Teheran at 12 and Vizcaino at 11. I actually agree with this in that both of them possess similar upside but both have issues that are blocking their ability to reach it (command and breaking ball sharpness with Teheran, health with Vizcaino). 

Winston-Salem Dash 6, Lynchburg Hillcats 3

• Barrett Kleinknecht, 3B 1-4, HR(3), .252 Avg
• Adam Milligan, LF 1-4, 2B, RBI, K, .286 Avg
• Joey Terdoslavich, 1B 1-4, 2B, K, .273 Avg
• David Hale 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 7 K, 4.71 ERA

Ah David Hale. How you tantalize. This game is like a microcosm of his career so far. Those seven strike outs are really interesting, but the four walks and two homers allowed just don't get my hopes up. It doesn't help either that he bounces back and forth between the rotation and bullpen. Adam Milligan continues to bang out extra base hits when he is healthy. It also appears that in the Braves attempt to work Hale back into the rotation they will be using the tandem starter system since Dimaster Delgado took the hill for four innings after Hale left the game. 

Rome Braves 1, Kannapolis Intimidators 6

• Edward Salcedo, 3B 1-4, K, CS(8),  .277 Avg
• Chris Garcia, 1B 2-4, HR(10), .344 Avg
• Matt Weaver, LF 2-4, 3B, 2 K, .318 Avg

Kannapolis jumped on Willie Kempf early with four runs in the first and the Braves could never string together quite enough hits to score more than their single run. Matt Weaver is hitting well like he did in Rome to end last season but he needs to move up and prove himself at the next level. He's not really someone to pin your hopes on but he hit .370 after the All Star break last season so that is something.

Kingsport Mets 6, Danville Braves 5

• Nick Ahmed, SS 1-5, 3 K, .269 Avg
• Elmer Reyes, 2B 1-5, 2B, K, .311 Avg
•  Brandon Drury, 3B 0-4, .333 Avg
• William Beckwith, 1B 1-3, 2B, BB, K, .306 Avg
• Kyle Kubitza, DH 2-4, HR(1), 2 RBI, .262 Avg
• J.R. Graham 4.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 1.46 ERA

Potential power prospect Kyle Kubitza got on the board with his first professional home run while William Beckwinth continues to hit for power and get on base. In fact, the whole Danville team has been getting on base at a .350 clip which leads the Appy League. Fourth round pick J.R. Graham made his longest  appearance since signing. So far he has allowed the league to hit .302 against him but he is striking out more than a batter an inning. He has a plus fastball but the word on the diamond is his secondary stuff is inconsistent. 

GCL Yankees 6, GCL Braves 5

• Kirk Walker, 3B 2-4, 3B, RBI, K, .350 Avg
• Chris Bullard, LF 3-4, 3B, 2 RBI, K, 2 SB(4), .296 Avg
• Nick Popescu, 3B 2-4, 3B, SB(2), .222 Avg
• Jean Carlos Gil 6 IP, 8 H, 4 R(3 ER), 0 BB, 6 K, 2.00 ERA

I don't really know much about Jean Carlos Gil but he is making an impression on me. He has 34 strikeouts through 27 innings this season. He was very good in the DSL last season and he has actually increased his K rate this year. He will be 21 in October so I would like to see him get  a bump up at some point before the end of the season. 

DSL Braves @ DSL Phillies

DSL Phillies @ DSL Braves 

Not reported.