La Stella And Gattis Power Their Way To The Top Of The Atlanta Braves Minor League Hot Sheet

Rome's dynamic duo of Tommy La Stella and Evan Gattis slugged their way to the top of the hot sheet, Myke Jones, Andrelton Simmons, and Brandon Drury each had extended hitting streaks, and Tyler Stovall took a major step backward in his development.

Who's Hot?

1. Tommy La Stella 2B, Rome Braves - 19-32, 4 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 2 BB - La Stella had the best week of any Braves farmhand this whole season, with 6 multi hit games in a row that helped him to a ridiculous .593/.618/.969/1.587 slash line. The 22 year old has been very impressive since the Braves selected him in the 8th round of the draft this year, with a .322 average, .929 OPS, 7 homers, and 28 RBI in 177 at bats.
2. Evan Gattis C, Rome Braves - 14-31, 3 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 4 BB - Not that he needs a lot of help, but Gattis benefited from constantly having La Stella on base ahead of him, and took advantage of that to put up his own ridiculous slash line of .451/.514/.903/1.417, while extending his hitting streak to 9 games. Gattis is now the South Atlantic League leader in batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS, and, despite only getting 306 at bats so far this year, he is third in the league in home runs with 22.
3. Myke Jones CF Mississippi Braves - 11-23, 3 2B, HR, 6 RBI, 4 BB - Jones struggled for most of the year, but after hitting .522 this week with a 1.295 OPS, he's hitting .324 with a .885 OPS in August, which has pushed his season numbers to a respectable .256 average, .365 OBP, and .759 OPS, numbers that are actually better than the .262 average, .327 OBP, and .747 OPS he put up last season.
4. Andrelton Simmons SS, Lynchburg Hillcats - 12-28, 3 2B, 3B, HR, 3 RBI, 2 SB - Simmons, the Carolina League leader in hits and batting average, hit .429 this week with a gaudy 1.143 OPS. His great week included three 3 hit games, extending his hitting streak to 6 games, and his first homer of the year. He's answered a lot of quesitons about his bat this year, hitting .309 with a .348 OBP, and a .756 OPS overall.
5. Brandon Drury 3B, Danville Braves - 10-29, 3 2B, 4 RBI, 2 BB - Drury's overall line for the week, a .344 average and a .835 OPS, isn't as impressive as the other players' numbers on this list, but he had a hit in every game, extending his hitting streak to 10 games. The third baseman, who just turned 19 on Sunday, is hitting .350 with a .899 OPS and he leads the Appalachian League in hits.

Honorable Mention: Gwinnett: Todd Redmond, Stefan Gartrell, Cory Gearrin, JJ Hoover, Julio Teheran, Diory Hernandez; Mississippi: Chris Cody, Jose Lugo, Aaron Shafer, Jordan Kreke, Ed Lucas, Ernesto Mejia, Benino Pruneda, Andrew Wilson, Cory Harrilchak; Myrtle Beach: Ryan Buchter, Eliecer Cardenas, Dimasther Delgado, Chris Masters, Shawn McGill, Phil Gosselin, Joe Leonard, Joey Terdoslavich, Marcus Lemon, Gerry Rodriguez; Rome Braves: Cody Martin, Gus Schlosser, Chris Garcia, David Rohm; Danville: David Filak, Ryne Harper, Adam Holland, Wilson Rivera, Nick DeSantiago, William Beckwith, Nick Ahmed, Kyle Kubitza, JR Graham

Who's Not?

1. Tyler Stovall LHP, Rome Braves - 3 G, 1.1 IP, 10 R, 9 ER, 8 H, 4 BB, 3 K - Stovall appeared in 3 games this week, and 2 of them when horribly, as he ended up with a 60.90 ERA and a 9.02 WHIP in just 1.1 innings pitched. His 27.1 BB/9 rate this week is all you need to know, as walks have been a constant problem for the 21 year old in his career. This season he has allowed 48 walks in 49 innings, compared to only 42 strikeouts. In his 4 year career, he's allowed 145 walks in 152.1 innings, a 8.6 BB/9 rate. He has an electric arm, but if he can't find some semblance of control he'll never get ouf of A Ball.
2. Chase Larsson LF, Danville Braves - 2-23, 2B, RBI, 4 K - Larsson had a rough week, hitting just .130 with a .304 OPS, continuing a rough August that's seen him hit .159 with a .512 OPS. He's shown good patience this year, walking in 13% of his plate appearances, but he's had trouble making contact, hitting only .225 on the year.
3. Edward Salcedo 3B, Rome Braves - 4-28, HR, 3 RBI, 4 K, SB - Salcedo struggled all week, hitting just .143 with a .393 OPS, and he's been limping toward the finish line with a .171 average and a .461 OPS in August. He's definitely gotten tired as the year has gone on, hitting .233 with a .691 OPS in the second half after hitting .268 with a .766 OPS in the first half.
4. David Hale RHP, Lynchburg Hillcats - 0-1, 4.1 IP, 9 R, 8 ER, 9 H, 3 BB, 6 K, - Hale was knocked around in his only start of the week, allowing 8 runs without making it out of the 5th inning. After putting up a 1.80 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP in 6 July starts, he has a 7.13 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP in 3 starts in August.
5. Matt Young CF, Gwinnett Braves - 3-23, 3B, RBI, 3 BB, 5 K - Young slumped to a .130 average and a .448 OPS this week, and since the All-Star break he's only hitting .228 with a .655 OPS. After hitting .300 with a .380 OBP and a .786 OPS for Gwinnett last year, the 28 year old has fallen to a .263 average, .360 OBP, and 698 OPS this season.

Dishonorable Mention: Gwinnett: Dustin Richardson, Steven Shell, Wilkin Ramirez; Mississippi: Luis Avilan; Lynchburg: Mark Lamm, Gary Moran, Barrett Kleinknecht, Todd Cunningham; Rome: Danilo Alvarez, Carlos Perez, Willie Kempf, Ronan Pacheco, Matt Weaver, Robby Hefflinger, Jarrett Miller; Danville: Rafael Bricenio, Greg Ross, Sam Munson, Ernesto Silva, Kurt Fleming