Richmond 3, Buffalo 11 (In Progress)

• S. Thorman 2-4 HR(17)
• A. Lerew 1.2IP 2H 0R 1BB 1K

I doubt that I'm going to come back and update this game because I'm tired and this looks out of hand. Now the big thing here for me is obviously Anthony Lerew. I was a big fan of Lerew when he was healthy a couple years ago and then he went and got himself hurt. I don't know what the Braves plans for him are (starting or relief - he was trying to be a closer when he went down) but I have always liked him starting and he has a good arm with a couple of solid pitches.

Carolina 3, Mississippi 2

• M. Young 1-4 2B, RBI
• T. Redmond 8IP 1H 0R 2BB 6K

Crafty RIGHT handed pitcher Todd Redmond got hosed in his best start of the season. If I go out and throw 8 innings of 1 hit ball I expect a freaking win. Nope, not today Todd. Not today. Luis Valdez blew his 6th save of the season. Honestly. Todd is having one of the most consistent seasons in the Braves system and has been pretty darn good since we got him from Pittsburgh for some guy named Yates. Honestly I think we got a steal.

Myrtle Beach 9, Winston-Salem 6

• G. Hernandez 1-4 2B, RBI, 2 BB
• W. Cabrera 2-3 HR(10), 2 RBI, 3 BB
• E. Campbell 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, K, CS(1)
• T. Flowers 2-5 3 K
• T. Jones 2-3 2B, RBI, 2 BB

The Pelicans did a good job of padding their walks tonight with 9 total. I have been a little encouraged by Eric Campbell's steadily rising batting average. His OPS is over .800 for instance which honestly surprised me a bit. I don't what the Braves will eventually do with him but I think you'll see him in a major league uni in the next couple of years.

Rome 3, Lexington 5

• F. Freeman 2-5 K
• C. Johnson 0-4 4 K
• J. Locke 5IP 7H 4R 1BB 5K

Freddie Freeman's hitting streak is now at 17 games and counting and his AVG is up to .322. Jason Heyward made a pinch hitting appearance in this one but that was all. His AVG is sitting at .324. Don't get me wrong. Jason Heyward is the better prospect here, but these guys could be hitting 3-4 for us in a couple of years. I think Heyward has just gotten tired as the season has worn on.

Danville 2, Princeton 4

• J. Gilmore 1-3 2B, K
  

Well there wasn't a whole lot going on here. All these doubles are going to turn into homers at some point for Jon Gilmore and he is going to be a beast. The young Australian lefty Steven Kent made an appearance in this game pitching 2.1 innings of scoreless ball.

Braves 3, Indians 3 - suspended

It sucks that I didn't get to post yesterday because what few games we had going on had some big performances from some guys. Tyler Flowers had a 3-4 2 2B, 3 RBI game, Freddie Freeman went 3-3 3 2B, 2 RBI, and Cole Rohrbough continues to rebound from injury with 5 innings of shut out ball.

Richmond - Off for All Star Break

Mississippi - Same

Myrtle Beach 8, Frederick 6

• E. Campbell 3-5 K
• C. Rodriguez 2-4 2 2B
• J. Owings 1-4 HR(15), 2 RBI

Jon Owings continues to impress with his second homer in two days. He has 38 XBH in his 276 ABs and is slugging .543 for the season. He could cut down on the Ks but otherwise these are good numbers for someone playing half their games in a swirling vortex. Eric Campbell's AVG has slowly risen each month and he is hitting .275 this month. Not great, but he is getting in a grove it looks like.

Rome - Off

Danville 6, Bristol 5

• S. Moody 3-4
• C. Shehan 2-4 RBI, BB
• J. Gilmore 1-4 2B, RBI, BB
• C. Kimbrel 2IP 1H 0R 0BB 4K

Craig Kimbrel can't last much longer in the Appy league as he has just butchered hitters out of the pen. His 0.00 ERA is testament to that. Gilmore had another double giving him 8 in 57 July ABs. Another thing to to note about Gilmore is that he only has 4 Ks in those ABs. I guess that isn't a huge deal since he was striking out at a high rate in Rome.

Blue Jays 4, Braves 5

• J. Hanson 1-4 HR(2), 2 RBI
• B. Devall 2IP 1H 0R 1BB 0K

Our 1st round draft pick Brett Devall made his first professional appearance in this game just a few days after he and Tyler Stovall signed. Right now we have our first five picks signed and the next 4 after that. Nothing else special going on here.

Yeah so a lot of rainouts here in the past couple of days. Also, as per request, I will now mention what top prospects did no matter what impact they had. You tell me who you want to hear about.

Richmond 2. Charlotte 3

• B. Jones 1-3 RBI, BB, K
• B. Canizares 2-4 2B, RBI, K

Former major league superstar Tomo Ohka shut down the AAA farm club in this game. Brandon Jones has been hitting a little better lately. More power anyways. For as much as I pumped up Barbaro Canizares earlier in the year (granted he had good numbers the first two months) he has settled into a sub-.800 OPS for the year. I think he would be a good bench bat in the majors, but not much else. By the way, what has been up with Brent Lillibridge in Atlanta the past few games?

Mississippi - Off

Actually the entire league was off tonight.Anyone know why Tommy Hanson hasn't pitched in 10 days? Maybe it is just an oddity in the schedule, but his innings have been limited since his no hitter.

Myrtle Beach @ Frederick - RAIN

Kannapolis @ Rome - RAIN

Burlinton 7, Danville 2

• G. Rodriguez - 1-3 HR(8), BB, K
• J. Gilmore 2-4
  

Jon Gilmore is hitting .425 in his last 10 games and .396 in the month of July with a .991 OPS. Gerrardo Rodriguez has 8 homers in 89 Danville at bats. I wonder if thats for real real power.

GCL Braves - Off

It would have rained anyways.

Short recap tonight because I can.

Richmond 3, Charlotte 4

• B. Jones 3-4 HR(3), 2 RBI

Brandon Jones must have heard me talking about him last night. Either way if he can be consistent in the Show like he has shown in the minors in the past, he IS our LF of the future. At least until you decide what to do with Gorkys and Schafer.

Mississippi @ Jacksonville - postponed due to rain

You know I actually look forward to reading about M-Braves games every night. Who would have thunk it two months ago.

Salem 9, Myrtle Beach 10 - Game 1

• E. Campbell 2-5 2 HR(10), 3 RBI
• T. Flowers 2-2 2B, HR(11), 3 RBI, 3 BB

It is a scary thought indeed when Tyler Flowers starts hitting for power at home. This is probably one of the best lines I have seen this season from any hitter. Also he now has a 66/67 K/BB ratio on the season. That is just awesome. Eric Campbell continues to have good everything but batting average.

Salem @ Myrtle Beach - Game 2 postponed due to rain

A lot of this going on.

Kannapolis 4, Rome 2

• F. Freeman 2-3 2B, HR(14), 2 RBI, BB

You know I had forgotten but Freddie Freeman is in his 18 year old season as well. He is one of the best first base prospects in the minors at this point and has been better than Jason Heyward in the past month. Also I was looking at our community prospect list from last year and would like to point out that I was the only person here that ranked him in the top 25. Eat it :-)

Burlington 2, Danville 12

• C. Shehan 4-5 2 2B
• G. Rodriguez 2-2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB
• J. Gilmore 3-5 2 2B, 2 RBI
• L. V. Ware 2-3 2B, 3B, 4 RBI, BB

I think Chris Shehan heard my praise yesterday as well! Jon Gilmore continues to make a case for a repromotion and L. V. Ware's plethora of tools shows through for a game.

Yankees 8, Braves 3

9th rd pick Kyle Farrell got ripped in this game. Nothing else of notice really.

Richmond 2, Charlotte 8

• B. Jones 1-3 2B
• C. Sammons 2-4 2B

I don't know, theres just not a whole lot here for me to talk about. I don't know what has happened to Brandon Jones. I mean the guy has talent but it just hasn't shown through at all this season. I think he has has some nagging injuries for most of the year and I'm pretty sure he has had nagging wrist injuries in the past. I mean his power is completely absent so far this year. I still have faith in him.

Mississippi 6, Jacksonville 4

• M. Young 2-6 2 2B, 2 RBI
• G. Creek 2-4 2B, 3 RBI, K
• M. Hampton 5IP 6H 2R 0BB 4K

Well Mike Hampton continues his attempt to find a reason not to pitch for the Braves ever again. I will have a poll on this at the end of the article tonight for all to vote on. Matt Young has been strangely productive in last 5-6 games. A guy I want to throw out there that I haven't talked about in a while is Carlos Sencion. He has been in the role of spot starter/set-up man for the Mississippi team and has done an excellent job pitching 39 innings with 34 Ks and a 3.05 ERA while at AA. I think he will be useful in the near future and I would have him in my top 25 right now.

Salem @ Myrtle Beach - Rainout

Greensboro 1, Rome 2 (Final 14 innings)

• A. Coe 3-3 2B, BB
• E. Osuna 7IP 3H 1R 2BB 7K

Freddie Freeman walked with the bases loaded in the 14th to get the walk off win. Edgar Osuna pitched wonderfully in his 7 innings and Braves pitchers have struck out 18 in 13 innings so far. I used to like Adam Coe but I don't think his brief flash of the bat last year is going to produce anything, granted he is just 20 so I guess I can have a little more patience with him.

Bluefield 10, Danville 6 (Game 1)

• J. Gilmore 2-3 2B
• M. Kennelly 2-3 2B
• J. Sucre 1-3 HR(3), 2 RBI
• K. Miles 2-3 2 2B, RBI

Jon Gilmore has really been pouring it on in his last 10 games. He had a 9 game hitting streak coming into this game and has hit .400 over that span. Not bad. Should we give him another shot at Rome? I mean I know he struggled there just a month ago but maybe he had a serious flaw in his swing. I dunno.

Bluefield 0, Danville 3

• C. Shehan 2-3 2B, RBI
• L. V. Ware 2-2
• C. Hodges 7IP 2H 0R 0BB 8K
  

Casey Hodges has allowed just 2 earned runs and 4 walks in his first 30 pro innings. I don't know what the guy has but I think he might be a little advanced for the Appy league. We need more good RHP in the prospect world though. Chris Shehan is my sleeper prospect from this years draft class. Let him get adjusted to wood bats and watch out. It won't be till next season but I think he is going to hit.

Braves 5, Yankees 6

• R. Brooks 3-4 BB
• D. Matra 2-5 2B, 2 RBI, K

Get on the Daniel Matra bandwagon right now! .377/.393/.509

Pawtucket @ Richmond - Postponed due to rain

Mississippi 8, Jacksonville 7

• M. Diaz 2-5 HR(1)
• K. Kaaihue 1-3 2B, RBI, 2 BB
• J. Schafer 2-4 HR(4), 3 RBI, BB
• T. Redmond 6IP 6H 2R 1BB 5K

The offense showed up for the Pearl team tonight. Jordan Schafer had his first multi-hit game this month and broke a streak of 10 straight games with a strike out. Maybe he'll pull out of that mini slump now. Kaaihue's average is up to .255 now which is amazing considering he was still under .200 halfway through May. Todd Redmond is still pitching well for the Braves. He is currently 8-4 with a 3.57 ERA and actually has 91K in 119IP against only 19 walks. Those are impressive numbers but I have seen too many soft tossing lefties do this in the minors.

Salem 5, Myrtle Beach 7

• W. Cabrera 2-4 2 2B, RBI
• E. Campbell 1-3 2B, BB, K
• T. Flowers 2-4 HR(10), 4 RBI

Myrtle Beach was down 5-3 in the 8th inning and then Tyler Flowers hit a Grand Slam. Game over, lets go home. After we play another inning anyways. Flowers has finally figured out how to hit at home as he now has a higher average (.280) at the Beach than he does on the road (.264). He still hits for more power away from home, but I am very pleased to see him making the adjustment in order to get the most out of his home at bats.

Greensboro 4, Rome 3

• J. Heyward 1-3 2 BB,2 BB, K
• F. Freeman 1-4 HR(13), RBI, BB
• C. Johnson 3-4 HR(16), 2 RBI, K
• C. Rohrbough 5IP 4H 2R 0BB 5K

Cody Johnson just wants me to believe he is learning how to hit. At the end of this season I bet his numbers are going to look pretty decent. He will probably hit 20+ HRs (he already has equaled his homer total for June in the first 9 days of July). On the converse I can't remember the last time Jason Heyward homered in a real game. He hit that bomb in the All Star game. Ok I just checked the stats. He homered on June 30. That was his only jack for the entire month of June and he hasn't hit one in July. I mean the dude is hitting .330+ as a teenager so I'm not too worried. I just don't want him to be Delmon Young. Well he already has been discipline (both plate and personal) than Young. 

Bluefield @ Danville -  postponed due to rain

Anyone know what has happened to Teheran? He hasn't pitched since June 23.

Phillies 5, Braves 2

• R. Brooks 2-4 2B, SB
• C. Culver 2-4 2B, RBI, BB

I don't really have anything to say about this game. Just sayin'.

Pawtucket 6, Richmond 7 (Game 1 - 7 Innings)

• B. Canizares 2-4 2B,RBI
• D. Hernandez 3-3 RBI
• C. Loadenthal 3-3 2B, RBI

The Richmond team survived the onslaught of homers from the Boston farmclub by loading the bases in the bottom of the 7th inning and getting Scott Thorman home on a wild pitch. Rumor has it this was a carefully devised scheme from Richmond manager Dave Brundage. Either way Diory Hernandez has been stroking the ball again lately currently riding a 6 game hitting streak. Carl Loadenthal is hitting .316 after tonights performance but I'm going to go ahead and say that .300 might be his only skill. He has some speed sure, but he gets caught too much really to be effective. He does walk his share, but he's pretty much another Gregor Blanco/ Josh Anderson type.

Pawtucket 6, Braves 1

• R. Gorecki 2-2 BB
• B. Lawrence 6IP 4H 2R 3BB 2K

This is more like what I expect when the Braves and Red Sox play each other.

Mississippi 1, Jacksonville 0

• J. Parr 6IP 2H 0R 2BB 5K

James Parr has just been getting better and better. He is 8-4 on the season and 6-1 in his last 10 starts. In his last 3 starts his line is thus: 18IP 3H 2R 10BB 16K. That is probably one of the better 3 game stretches in the minors this season (though the walks are odd). I'll still stick with my previous stance that Parr isn't going to be a major league starter, but he's going to get a shot at something.

Myrtle Beach - Off

Greensboro 3, Rome 5

• F. Freeman 4-4 3B, 2 RBI
• C. Johnson 2-3 BB
• C. Miles 2-3 3B, RBI, BB
• E. Cordier 2.2IP 2H 1R 2BB 2K

Freddie Freeman is trying to make sure we don't forget him. Oh we know, Freddie, we know. Cody Johnson is still hitting and is having a great July so far. Some interesting news here is that Eric Cordier, acquired last year from the Royals for Tony Pena, Jr., made his first start for the Braves outside of rookie ball. I guess he wasn't horrible and was most likely on a strict pitch count. Anyone see him throw tonight? How was he? Velocity? Control?

Bluefield 1, Danville 10

• S. Moody 2-4 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, K
• J. Gilmore 4-5 3 2B
• R. Delgado 4IP 1H 0R 2BB 5K

This Moody kid has been raking the ball ever since we signed him. He is hitting .349 currently and has shown decent plate discipline and some doubles power. Jon Gilmore also doesn't want to be outshone from last year's draft class, but he needs to proves something at Rome  before the season is out if we are going to put any faith in him.

Braves 4, Phillies 5

• C. Maddox 1-2 2B
• R. Voelkel 2-2 2B, RBI, BB
• D. Delgado 3IP 5H 3R 1BB 3K

Delgado is one of our hotshot young arms but he's been 'meh' in the past couple of games. Ryan Voelkel is a big first baseman from Washington. I don't think we drafter him from anywhere since he isn't listed in the last couple of years, but if you want to see him hit a home run here is a video link.

The 10 hours days are starting to catch up to me. Meh. Also, I'm watching Sportscenter right now and I just saw that R.J. Swindle made his major league debut for the Phillies tonight. I went to school with him at Charleston Southern University. Classis soft tosser who dominated the low minors and then got released and then picked up again after some time in an Indy league if I remember correctly. The Mets have a pitching prospect name Robert Parnell who I roomed with in college as well.

Richmond - Off

Chattanooga 3, Mississippi 4

• M. Young 1-3 HR(2), 2 RBI, BB
• M. Diaz 0-4 2K (.188 AVG)
• K. Medlen 7IP 4H 3R 1BB 10K

This game is still going on but Kris Medlen had another solid outing as a starter. We could reasonably see this guy in Atlanta next year if he continues to show this kind of prowess as a starter. Our rotation could be very young. The Braves pull off the come from behind win in this one with a walk-off Sac Fly from Quentin Davis in the 9th.

Wilmington 2, Myrtle Beach 5

• W. Cabrera 2-4 3B, RBI
• T. Flowers 1-3 2B, BB, K
• R. Gress 2-2 HR(1) RBI, BB
• C. Vines 7IP5H 1R 0BB 5K

Tyler Flowers really is a walking machine. He now has a 63/65 BB/K rate on the season and has a .409 OBP. He is quietly putting together a solid season at Myrtle Beach in a horrible park at home and playing a demanding position. I'm impressed. Randy Gress made his debut in full season ball tonight and promptly homered to announce his arrival. He was an 18th Rnd pick out of Quinnipiac last season and struggled pretty heavily last year in the GCL and Appy leagues, but pummeled the Appy in a few games this season.

Greensboro 2, Rome 8

• J. Heyward 2-4 2 RBI
• F. Freeman 2-5 3B, RBI, K
• J. Locke 7IP 3H 0R 0BB 6K

Jeff Locke turned in what was probably his best performance of the year and dropped his ERA below 4 for the first time this season. He has been getting stronger and stronger as the season wears on. Heyward left the game in the 8th inning. I'm not sure if he is injured or what but he has missed some noticeable time lately. Freddie Freeman continues to rake.

Danville - Off

Indians 5, Braves 9 - Suspended due to Rain

Richmond 6, Norfolk 5

• J. Anderson 3-4 2B
• B. Jones 1-5 2B, 2 RBI, K
• S. Thorman 2-5 3B, RBI, K
• E. Cruz 2-4 HR(2), 2 RBI, K

Well the Braves scored their 6 runs in the 3rd and 4th and then the pitching staff held on for dear life. Enrique Cruz flashed some power with a 2 run homer. Josh Anderson is hitting .500 for July. Thats gotta be a record or something (actually didn't Barry Bonds hit over .500 for April a couple seasons ago? Secondbass should look that up).

Mississippi 7, Montgomery 5

• J. Holt 2-5, RBI, K, SB(14)
• J. Guzman 1-3 HR(2)
• J. Boscan 2-3 2B, HR(1), 2 RBI, BB
• J. Parr 6IP 1H 1R 4BB 4K

Another solid outing from Parr. He was 3-0 in June with a 2.49 ERA and he appears to be getting better. This team is playing well across the board though and are now 12-5 in the second half leading the South division of the Southern League.

Myrtle Beach 8, Potomac 3

• W. Cabrera 3-5 2B, HR(8), 2 RBI
• E. Campbell 1-4 2B, 2 RBI, K
  
• T. Jones 1-5 HR(13)
• J. Owings 2-3 3B, BB

You know I have to give a little love here to two guys that I probably at least should have given some acknowledgement to on the hotlist. Willie Cabrera hit .337 with a .904 OPS last month for The Beach. I don't know where he would fit in the future plans of the Braves because he doesn't seem to have a whole lot of speed and he doesn't hit for much power, but I think his bat could be decent for average. Either way he had a really good month. Jon Owings is having a great season for the Pelicans. He now has 13 homers to lead the team, his season OPS is .857 and he is on pace for just over 100 Ks in a 500 AB season, which isn't bad for a power hitter. In June he hit .320 with an OPS over 1.000. He's just 23 at this point and his bat could be useful in the coming seasons. Maybe he could play some first? Or give us a real bat in LF.

Rome 3, Asheville 4

No one really did anything special enough in this game to deserve any recognition from me. And we all know that is important. Cole Rohrbough gave up 3 runs in 2.2 innings and his command wasn't good at all. I wonder if there is something serious wrong or if he just has a nagging injury that he won't give in to. Jason Heyward sat out the game for some reason.

Burlington 7, Danville 6

• G. Rodriguez 1-3 HR(7), 2 RBI, BB
• M. Kennelly 2-3 2B, HR(2), 3 RBI, BB

Rodriguez just keeps on raking. He leads the league in homers at this point and has 7 in 14 games. Matt Kennelly is a catcher out of Australia. He is only 19 at this point and I'm sure hasn't played a ton of baseball coming out of the Down Under, but he has already matched his homer total from last year in the GCL. The Braves sure are mining the Prison Continent.

Braves 3, Blue Jays 5

• D. Matra 2-4 2B
• E. Cordier 3IP 2H 0R 0BB 3K

I think we might have someone good in Daniel Matra. Just a feeling and I could be overreaching because he is hitting well in limited PAs, but he was projected with lot of talent when he was a Jr in high school. Some other good news here is that Eric Cordier pitched 3 scoreless innings. Cordier is a guy we picked up from Kansas City for Tony Pena, Jr. Cordier needed arm surgery when we got him, but scouts have always said he has an excellent arm and if he can bounce back we might have gotten a steal.

Richmond 4, Norfolk 8

• J. Anderson 2-5
• S. Thorman 2-4 2B, HR(15), K

Honestly, there wasn't a whole lot of good that came from this game. Thorman hit a meaningless homer and he appears to turned into somewhat an all or nothing type of guy. I guess we knew that. Damian Moss isn't going to help the team in the future either since he gave up 8 runs in less than 2 innings tonight. But we knew that too.

Mississippi 6, Montgomery 4

• J. Schafer 1-4 2 K
• R. Gorecki 1-3 HR(5)
• G. Creek 2-4 2B, K
• K. Kaaihue 2-4 RBI, K
• K. Medlen 6IP 2H 1R 1BB 5K

Kris Medlen's transition from starter to reliever is still a success and he appears to be getting more and more comfortable as the season progresses. We have to remember this guy was a DOMINANT reliever in Rome and Myrlte Beach last year. I don't know why he struggled so much this year as a reliever but as a starter his ERA is now 2.63. Not bad at all.

Myrtle Beach 8, Potomac 0

• G. Hernandez 2-5 2 SB(10)
• B. Hicks 1-3 3B, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K
• T. Jones 2-4 2B, HR(12), 2 RBI, K
• C. Rodriguez 1-3 HR(6), 2 RBI, BB, K

This team really does have a ton of power. Four players have 10+ homers and another 4 have more than 5 long balls. All of that while playing half their games in an offensive vortex. It is also good to see Gorkys stealing some bases again. I guess that hamstring is fully healed.

Rome - Off

Burlington 5, Danville 1

• L.V. Ware 1-4 2B, K
• C. Shehan 1-3 BB, K

Moving on.

Tigers 2, Braves 5

• J. Hanson 2-4 K
• L. Hiller 2-3 HR(2), 2 RBI, K
• A. Feliz 3-4 2B, RBI
• B. Oberholtzer 5IP 5H 1R 0BB 6K

I spelled Oberholtzer right on the first try. Feliz is a 20 year old Dominican OF that showed some extra base power last year in the Dominican and so far has been hitting well for the GCL Braves. I can't figure out who this Hanson guy is. Baseball America says we drafter a guy named Jason Hanson, 3B in the 14th Rd. and then MinorLeagueBaseball.com has this guy listed as Jake Hanson, 3B but I can't really find anything about him. I don't think they are the same people, just a weird coincidence of some sort.