Atlanta Braves Minor Leaguers Swept as Offenses Prove Inept

In a winless night for the organization Mike Minor had a solid start for Gwinnett and Tyler Pastornicky continued to rake in AAA. The teams combined for nine runs in six games tonight and six of those runs came from the GCL Braves. Cole Rohrbough made his first appearance in nearly a year tonight as he looks to return from injury. 

Gwinnett Braves 0, Durham Bulls 4

• Tyler Pastornicky, SS 2-3, BB, SB(4), .441 Avg
• Mike Minor 7 IP, 5 H, 4 R(2 ER), 0 BB, 7 K, 3.14 ERA
• Jairo Asencio 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 1.41 ERA

Even when the rest of the Braves offense can't get on board Tyler Pastornicky is still hitting. He still hasn't picked up an extra base hit in AAA but I am loving the steals and he is walking at exactly the same rate compared to his time in Mississippi (SSS caveat). Mike Minor had a solid start for Gwinnett and he may be the trade chip the Braves are most willing to part with. Luis Val....I mean Jairo Asencio has a 1.41 ERA and is a right handed reliever yet the Braves still look to trade for one on the market. 

Mobile BayBears 2, Mississippi Braves 1

• Mycal Jones, CF 1-3, 2B, BB, K, PO, .240 Avg
• Ernesto Mejia, 1B 2-4, RBI, K, .300 Avg
• Paul Clemens 6.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R(0 ER), 4 BB, 4 K, 3.73 ERA

After a very rough stretch in June that saw his ERA rise almost two full runs, Paul Clemens has returned to form in his more recent starts. His July ERA is still 4.81 but that is much better than the 6.85 monstrosity from June. Mycal Jones has quietly turned his season around this month. He is currently on an eight game hitting streak and has posted a .792 OPS in July while knocking ten doubles after collecting just four in his first two months. Also remember his home stadium is a very tough hitters park. 

Lynchburg Hillcats 0, Myrtle Beach Pelicans 5 - Game 1, 7 Innings

• Phil Gosselin, 2B 1-3, .270 Avg
• Zeke Spruill 7 IP, 7 H, 5 R(4 ER), 2 BB, K, 3.19 ERA

Spruill has picked up five complete games this season -  which you don't see in the minors too often - but I think only two of those have been of the nine inning variety. Moving on..

Lynchburg Hillcats 0, Myrtle Beach Pelicans 4 - Game 2, 7 Innings

• Barrett Kleinknecht, 1B 1-2, 2B, .237 Avg

So to recap this double header: four total hits, zero runs score and nine runs allowed. 

Rome

Today was an off day for the league. 

Danville

Off day for the team. 

GCL Phillies 7, GCL Braves 6

• Todd Cunningham, CF 0-2, 2 K
• Gerardo Reyes, 2B 2-4, 2B, RBI, BB, K, 4 SB(12), .279 Avg
• Carlos Franco, 3B 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI, .205 Avg
• Cole Rohrbough 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 0.00 ERA

Today must have been rehab day for the GCL because the team fielded three players on rehab assignments from other minor league teams. Todd Cunningham has been out since June 12 and was actually having a nice solid season before going down. Yeliar Castro also made a relief appearance tonight. The one guy I had completely forgotten about however was Cole Rohrbough. The lefty demolished two levels of A ball in 2007 and fluctuated between good and bad until 2010 when he went down with an arm injury. He is on the comeback trail now and it should be interesting to see what the Braves do with him. He has always posted solid strikeout numbers with plus stuff and and spike curve but his inconsistency form year to year and the injury are obviously concerns. 

DSL Mets1 4, DSL Braves 1

• Jose Peraza, SS 1-3, BB, K, CS(6), .274 Avg
• Emmanuel Daniel, RF 1-4, RBI, 2 K, .295 Avg

Peraza and Daniel continue to be the only real offensive threats the Braves have going for them.