Gattis And Pastornicky Lead The Way In Super-Sized Atlanta Braves Minor League Hot Sheet

It was a great week for Braves prospects, so much so that we've doubled the size of the Hot Sheet just to try to give all the top performers the credit they deserve. Evan Gattis demolished Sally Leauge pitching, Tyler Pastornicky made the transition to AAA look easy, and Myke Jones got himself going in the right direction.

Who's Hot?

1. Evan Gattis C, Rome Braves - 10-23, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 2 BB - Gattis was named the South Atlantic League Player of the Week, and it wasn't much of a surprise as the 24 year old hit .435 for the week, with a ridiculous 1.087 slugging percentage and an equally ridiculous 1.567 OPS. He had 5 homers on the week, and 2 straight 2 homer days. He also showed off his versatility, playing catcher, first base, and DH. The week raised his season batting average from .288 to .304, his season slugging percentage from .534 to .593, and his season OPS from .861 to .955. That's a heck of a week.
   
2. Tyler Pastornicky SS, Gwinnett Braves - 11-27, 3 RBI, BB, 2 SB - The 21 year old earned a promotion to AAA after hitting .299 with a .345 OBP, .759 OPS, and 20 stolen bases in 355 at bats for Mississippi. He made the transition look easy, hitting .407 with a .836 OPS in his first week with Gwinnett. The only knock you could find was that none of his 11 hits went for extra bases, but his .429 OBP and 2 stolen bases were great numbers for a top of the order hitter.
3. Myke Jones CF, Mississippi Braves - 9-20, 2B, 3B, HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 8 K - It's been a trying year for Jones, but he's shown flashes of brilliance, like this week, when he put up a .450 average, a .5522 OBP, and a whopping 1.272 OPS. He also struck out in 40% of his at bats, and while his 24% striketout rate for the year isn't terrible, it's a number he'll need to improve on if he intends to be a top of the order Major League hitter.
4. Brett Oberholtzer LHP, Mississippi Braves - 2-0, 13 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 9 H, 1 BB, 6 K - The 22 year old lefty had a great week, putting up a 1.38 ERA and a 0.77 ERA while winning both of his starts, and he's been on a roll, with a 5-2 record, a 1.93 ERA, and a 1.07 WHIP in his last 7 starts.
5. Tommy La Stella 2B, Rome - 10-19, 2 3B, RBI, 3 BB - La Stella, who the Braves drafted in the 8th round this year, didn't exactly fill up the stat sheet, but a .526 average and a 1.328 OPS will get you on the Hot Sheet every time. After starting his career with a .129 average and a .573 OPS in his first 8 games, the 22 year old has hit .314 with a .881 OPS in his last 21 games.
   
6. Jose Peraza SS, DSL Braves - 12-26, 3B, 3 RBI, 2 SB - It's hard to get noticed when you're playing in another country, but Pereza manged to get a hit in all 6 games he played in this week, which sounds good in any language. The 17 year old Venezuelan hit .462 with a 1.000 OPS, and he's having a solid debut season, hitting .276 with a .341 OBP, a .678 OPS and 21 stolen bases in 163 at bats.
7. David Hale RHP, Lynchburg Hillcats - 0-1, 8 IP, 1 ER, 9 H, 0 BB, 3 K - A lack of offense led to a loss, but Hale was still fantastic in his lone start this week, recording his first complete game while walking none over 8 innings. The 23 year old has flourished since moving into the Hillcats rotation, with a 2.45 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP in 22 innings over 5 starts.
8. Stefan Gartrell RF and Mauro Gomez 1B, Gwinnett Braves - 17-51, 3 2B, 7 HR, 15 RBI, 5 BB - Gartrell and Gomez have excelled all year as Gwinnett's 4 and 5 hitters, and they upped their game this week, combining to hit .333 with a .804 slugging percentage and a 1.197 OPS. Gartrell hit 4 homers in 3 days and Gomez also homered in 3 straight games. Gomez had a hit in every game this week, finishing with a 1.247 OPS on his own.
   

Honorable Mention: Gwinnett Braves: Jairo Asencio, Jaye Chapman, Todd Redmond, Dustin Richardson, Julio Teheran, Jose Constanza; Mississippi Braves: JJ Hoover, Jose Lugo, Benino Pruneda, Richard Sullivan, Matt Kennelly; Lynchburg Hillcats: Brett Butts, Eliecer Cardenas, Dimasther Delgado, Chris Masters, Joe Leonard, Marcus Lemon, Christian Bethancourt, Andrelton Simmons; Rome Braves: Willie Kempf, Gary Moran, Tony Mueller; Danville Braves: Nick Ahmed, Brandon Drury, Kyle Kubitza, Chase Larsson, Nick DeSantiago, Jarrett Miller; GCL Braves: Logan Robbins, Felix Marte

Who's Not?

1. Gerry Rodriguez DH, Lynchburg Hillcats - 1-18, RBI, 9 K - A RBI single on Saturday saved Rodriguez from a hitless week, but he still finshed with a punchless .056 average and anemic .112 OPS, as well as striking out in half of his at bats for the week. This is the third year in a row the 24 year old has spent time at High A, but after .265 with a .785 OPS, 25 homers, and 94 RBI in 544 at bats for Myrtle Beach the last 2 years, he's hit just .208 with a .665 OPS this year, and his strikeout rate has risen from an already high 33% up to 37% this year.
2. Erik Cordier RHP, Gwinnett Braves - 0-1, 3 IP, 8 ER, 9 H, 3 BB, 1 K - Cordier has had an up and down year, and this was a real down, as he allowed 12 baserunners and 8 runs in just 3 innings, good for a 24.00 ERA and a 4.00 WHIP. In his 2 starts before this one, the 25 year old had only allowed 2 earned runs in 12 innings, striking out 12.
   
3. Edward Salcedo 3B, Rome Braves - 3-23, 2B, 3 RBI, BB, 7 K - Salcedo has had a very nice season for Rome, hitting .270 with a .790 OPS, 25 doubles, 10 homers, 48 RBI, and 14 stolen bases whle learning how to play third base, but this week was a bad one, as he hit just .130 with a weak .341 OPS. He also struck out in 30% of his at bats, a much higher rate than the 21% he's struck out at for the season.
4. Billy Bullock RHP, Mississippi Braves - 1-0, 2 IP, 5 ER, 1 H, 6 BB, 3 K - Bullock blew his first save of the season this week, though he actually ended up getting credited with the win in that game. Walks did him in this week, as he allowed 6 in just 2 innings, putting up a 22.50 ERA and a 3.50 WHIP for the week. While his 12.9 K/9 rate this season is outstanding, his 5.8 BB/9 and 2.2 K/BB rates are not, and must be improved if he's to tap into his huge potential.
   

Dishonorable Mention: Gwinnett Braves: Matt Young; Mississippi Braves: Paul Clemens, Cory Harrilchak; Lynchburg Hillcats: Ryan Buchter, LV Ware, Keenan Wiley, Blain Sims, Aaron Shafer, Phil Gosselin; Rome Braves: David Rohm, Caleb Brewer, Aaron Northcraft, Ronan Pacheco, Chris Garcia, Robby Hefflinger; Danville Braves: William Beckwith, Elmer Reyes, Sam Munson