It was quite the Monday on the Atlanta Braves farm. The four teams in action combined for an astounding 53 hits, many of which were of the extra base variety. Despite the early fireworks, there was some nice pitching going down as the ERA king was at it again while Patrick Weigel continued his journey back to the bigs.
Here’s how it all went down Monday.
Gwinnett Stripers 13, Norfolk Tides 4
- Travis Demeritte, LF: 3-for-4, 3 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR
- Rafael Ortega, CF: 1-for-4, grand slam
- Patrick Weigel: 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 3 K
It wasn’t the prettiest outing, but Weigel finally got in the win column for Gwinnett. He landed just 39 of his 75 pitches for strikes, but the offense was able to make sure he had all the breathing room he needed. The biggest takeaway was that it was Weigel’s longest outing of the year both in innings and pitch count. That’s two starts in a row he’s reached at least 70 pitches.
There continues to be only one real prospect in the lineup for Gwinnett in which we should be concerned, and he continues to make us watch. Demeritte got his average back over the .300 line (.303 to be precise) and his OPS is one hit away from breaking the 1.000 barrier (.999 right now). He’s now hit in nine straight games and has reached in 11 straight.
There was plenty of offense to go around though as Andres Blanco, Jack Lopez, Adam Duvall, Pedro Florimon and Luis Marte all recorded multi-hit games. Four Stripers drove in two or more runs with Ortega leading the way with four on his eighth inning grand salami.
Tuesday, 6/25 probable starter: TBD
Mississippi Braves 1, Biloxi Shuckers 0
- Cristian Pache, CF: 1-for-5, 1 HR
- Riley Unroe, 3B: 3-for-5
- Tucker Davidson: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 R
Davidson had another dandy of an outing, improving his Southern League-leading ERA to 1.48 with six more shutout innings. It is his third-straight start that he hasn’t allowed a run (albeit he had a start of just 2.1 innings cut short by rain). He landed 55 of his 91 pitches for strikes while getting four ground outs and fly outs.
Pache got the game started with his 10th home run of the season and provided all the offense Davidson would need. He saw his 11-game hitting streak come to an end Sunday, and got things started with a vengeance, now with a career-high in homers.
Let’s talk about Unroe. The Braves swept him off what looked like the Los Angeles Angels scrap heap in the Rule 5 draft — one year after the Angels selected him in the Rule 5 — and he’s turned into a nice little find. He recorded his second three-hit game in his last five and is now hitting .287 with an OPS right around .800 between Florida and Mississippi. Unroe is not far removed from being a second round pick by the Tampa Bay Rays. Some players are late bloomers, and while you’re not going to get a lot of power, Unroe is proving his able to get the bat on the ball and play some baseball. That’s some nice depth he may be able to provide.
Tuesday, 6/25 probable starter: TBD
Florida Fire Frogs — Off
Tuesday, 6/25 probable starter: TBD
Rome Braves 12, Charleston RiverDogs 3
- Braden Shewmake, DH: 3-for-5, 4 R, 1 RBI
- Griffin Benson, 1B: 3-for-3, 3 R, 6 RBI, 1 HR
- Victor Vodnik: 4 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K
Rome wasted little time jumping all over Charleston Monday night at State Mutual. Four-straight hits — including two back-to-back by 2019 MLB draft picks Shewmake and Shea Langeliers — led to a five-run first and Benson added to the early July 4th fireworks display with a three-run bomb in the second. There were plenty of hits, and big ones, with nine of the 15 Rome hits going for extra bases. Shewmake now has three multi-hit games in a row since going hitless in his Rome debut. Justin Dean had a walk and a hit while swiping his 16th base of the season and Henry Quintero added a pair of triples on the night.
Victor Vodnik went four innings striking out five and bringing the heat. It was his second start of the season and he threw the most pitches of his year, landing 46 of his 71 pitches for strikes. Vodnik will continue to get stretched out, but he showed Monday night why people are so excited about his potential with five strikeouts.
#chopon #Braves RHP prospect Victor Vodnik starting tonight. Sitting 92-95 in 1st. Here’s a 95 MPH called strike. pic.twitter.com/cMubg1A3OP
— Chris Blessing (@C_Blessing) June 24, 2019
Speaking of potential, Jake Higgenbotham is hopefully back in form. He hasn’t allowed an earned run since May 28 (10.2 innings) and went three strong in relief of Vodnik on Monday, allowing just two hits, no runs or walks and striking out three.
Tuesday, 6/25 probable starter: TBD
Danville Braves — Off
Tuesday, 6/25 probable starter: TBD
GCL Orioles 17, GCL Braves 9
- Michael Harris (2019 3rd round pick), CF: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI
- Eliezel Stevens, 2B: 2-for-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI
- Brandol Mezquita, DH: 3-for-4, 1 R, 3 RBI
The GCL squad did not have a happy Opening Day, but despite the lopsided scoreboard, the Braves were able to put up a seven-run fourth. The pitching obviously had a rough day allowing 16 hits and issuing 10 walks, with all five pitchers allowing at least one run (albeit none of Miguel Pena’s three were earned). This lineup should certainly be fun to watch as the season progresses.
Tuesday, 6/25 probable starter: TBD