Baby Braves

New Location

2007-02-24T13:54:00.000-08:00

Baby Braves has moved over to MVN. Please come check it out and see the new features that will be introduced for the 2007 season.

Here is the link: Baby Braves at MVN

Scott Thorman community project at Minor League Ball

2007-01-23T14:18:00.000-08:00

Just thought I would direct your attention to a relevant piece over at John Sickel's site, minorleagueball.com.

Scott Thorman Community Projection

For what it's worth, I'd say that Thorman will have a similar career path to Adam LaRoche. LaRoche was surprisingly given the starting job, at least against right-handers, in 2004 after a solid 2003 in both Greenville and Richmond. Scott Thorman had an all-star season in Richmond last year and looks to be given the same job Adam did in '04. Craig Wilson may serve as the "Julio Franco" to Thorman while he develops into a full-time player.

Major league and minor league swap

2007-01-18T13:54:00.000-08:00

The Braves and Pirates finally completed the on again, off again LaRoche for Gonzalez deal but the surrounding players were somewhat surprising. It was widely believed that Schuerholz was holding out for a second quality player in the deal. A few of the names included Paul Maholm, Zach Duke, Tom Gorzelanny, and Chris Duffy. It seems they finally came to an agreement which sent one of the Pirates top prospects, Brent Lillibridge, to Atlanta for a marginal prospect in Jamie Romak.

Since this is a minor league blog I'll cover the minor leaguers involved more than LaRoche and Gonzalez since every other site will have their opinions on those players.

Brent Lillibridge was drafted out of Washington University in 2005 and has been rated as the third best prospect in the Pirates organization by John Sickels.

Strengths: He hit over .300 with an OBP over .400 last year in low-A and high-A, his speed is very good with 53 steals last year, he works the count well as seen with his 87 walks, his defense has been said to be even better than his offense, and being a college player he should advance through the system quickly.

Weaknesses: His power took a somewhat significant hit upon his promotion to high-A. He hit 11 of his 13 home runs in low-A. He has been slightly older than his competition at every level thus far. Other than that he really doesn't have any other weaknesses right now.

Follow this link to see what John Sickels has to say about Lillibridge in his 2007 prospect book: Book Excerpts

Now on to Jamie Romak, whom the Braves gave up along with LaRoche in exchange for Gonzalez and Lillibridge.

Jamie hasn't gotten much attention as a prospect but is still young (20 years old) and has some power potential. He is sometimes considered a "moneyball" player because he hits for low averages with high OBP's and has power. Last year in Rome he hit .247 with 16 homers and a .369 OBP. He also struck out 102 times to go with his 59 walks. And that's only in 348 at-bats so he needs to cut down on the k's.

Obviously the Braves like Lillibridge a lot because they took the difference between Lillibridge and Romak when they have been wanting major league contributors. The Braves are probably thinking that Lillibridge is pretty close to the majors, given his age while the Pirates are getting the slugger they have been coveting and a young power bat in the minors.

I don't feel comfortable declaring a win for either side in this deal. It seems that both sides are pretty happy with it for the most part and a lot if it depends on a couple of guys in the low minors.

Baseball America Releases Their Top 10

2007-01-02T18:38:00.000-08:00

This is it:

1.	Jarrod Saltalamacchia, c
2.	Elvis Andrus, ss
3.	Matt Harrison, lhp
4.	Brandon Jones, of
5.	Van Pope, 3b
6.	Eric Campbell, 3b
7.	Scott Thorman, 1b/of
8.	Jo-Jo Reyes, lhp
9.	Joey Devine, rhp
10.	Yunel Escobar, inf

There are really no surprises on this list except for Van Pope at #5. The rest of the guys round up most of the well known Atlanta prospects. Van Pope is surprising not because I don't think he should be there (that's exactly where I would have him on my list), but because he is ahead of players such as Campbell, Devine, and Escobar who are much more hyped. Eric Campbell thought of by some people as the #1 prospect in the Braves organization and yet here he is one spot below Van Pope. The article does not give any reasons for the rankings but they do list Pope with the best infield defense and arm which adds to his value.

We also see yet another list with Yunel Escobar as the 10th best prospect. I guess people are scared away by his age and lack of development time but others seem to really like him. If I had to choose I would agree with those who list him as #10 although his sophomore slump could be attributed to his first full season of professional baseball in America.

There are a lot of tools at the top of the list with Elvis Andrus 2nd and Brandon Jones 4th. Brandon Jones is once again listed as the top athlete in the system and Andrus would lead the list of those with greatest potential if there was such a list. Andrus played much of 2006 in single-A as a 17 year-old with mixed results but obviously has immense untapped potential.

The fact that there are 2 starters and only 3 pitchers on this list further emphasizes the shortage of upper level arms in the system. Harrison is a well liked prospect but he doesn't have much star potential. The good news is that our crop of young arms in the low minors is more promising than ever.

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T09:25:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone and may 2007 be a better year for Atlanta than 2006.

Also, please check out the prospect profiles as I will be periodically updating them with full stats from the 2006 season with updated projections. I will also be replacing Chuck James, Scott Thorman, and Matt Wright so let me know who you want to see on the list.

Another Top 10 List

2006-12-15T09:26:00.000-08:00

Here is yet another top ten list for your viewing pleasure. I'll list the top ten but you can click here to see the write-up on each of the players.

1. Elvis Andrus
2. Jarrod Saltalamacchia
3. Eric Campbell
4. Matt Harrison
5. Brandon Jones
6. Joey Devine
7. Anthony Lerew
8. Jeff Locke
9. Chase Fontaine
10. Yunel Escobar

The top three prospects are the same as usual but he obviously went for potential over performance with Andrus as the #1 prospect.

Jeffrey Locke, just drafted this year, seems to be getting a lot of good reviews from people. He could very well turn out to be the best pitcher from that draft.

He is not high on Yunel Escobar and neither am I, however, his great fall league showing at least provides a glimmer of hope.

Schuerholz finally makes a deal

2006-12-07T09:42:00.000-08:00

I know this is a minor league blog but I wanted to chime in on the Braves first trade this offseason. Count me as one who loves the Ramirez for Soriano swap. Both seem to be somewhat of an injury risk but Soriano could provide so much more value in Atlanta than Ramirez can. Soriano is automatically the official setup man and could close in a pinch if needed. His numbers last year before he got hurt were excellent.

Because of that deal, the Braves backed out of the LaRoche for Mike Gonzalez deal. That makes sense even though the additions of both Soriano and Gonzalez would have given the Braves not just a good bullpen but a great one. LaRoche could fetch a different position of need now that we have Soriano. Starting pitcher and left field or leadoff comes to mind. Giles or maybe even Davies could be added to sweeten the pot so the Braves can land who they want.

Good News

2006-12-07T09:37:00.000-08:00

The Rule V Draft is complete and Sean White was the only Braves player selected. He was taken by the Pirates with the 4th overall pick. White must remain on the Pirates major league roster for the entire season or he can be sold back to Atlanta for half of the purchase price, which was $50,000.

The good news is that Dan Smith is safe for now. I really think he can help our bullpen in the future because he is left-handed and puts up huge strikeout totals. He was successful in AA last year and is 23 so he could move fast.

In other Rule V news, Josh Hamilton was selected by the Cubs and traded to the Reds. This is very interesting because Hamilton was a huge prospect before injuries and drugs led to his demise. He came back and played last year for the first time since 2002 but it was only at low-A ball. It would be an amazing story if he stuck with the Reds the entire year.

Rule V Draft

2006-12-06T09:37:00.000-08:00

The Rule V Draft will take place tomorrow, the last day of the winter meetings. The Rule V Draft is usually not a good day for the Braves as they usually lose a couple of decent prospects each year. This year will probably not be any different with the Braves not expected to take anyone as usual.

Bill Shanks has said that Dan Smith and Sean White are two likely candidates to be taken in tomorrow's draft. Losing White wouldn't bother me that much but I would not be happy if someone took Dan Smith. Smith is already 23 but he only busted onto the scene this season. Whoever takes him will have to include him on their 25-man roster the entire season so hopefully nobody will want to take that gamble.

We've already lost a couple of really good prospects while getting nothing in return. Hopefully we won't lose another one. Cross your fingers.

Arizona Fall League Results

2006-11-17T10:03:00.000-08:00

The Arizona Fall League is over and here are the stats from the Braves participants. The results can be pretty much summed up by saying the pitchers sucked but our position players raked.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia-
Jarrod played only 6 games before a minor injury kept him out for the remainder of the games. However, those 6 games were phenomenal. He hit .565 with 3 homers and 12 RBI's in 23 at-bats while slugging 1.000. His defense wasn't good but the sample size is so small I wouldn't be worried.

Yunel Escobar-
Escobar won the batting title by hitting .407/.463/.558. That is very encouraging after seeing him display almost no power in 2006. He also continued to show good strike zone judgement with 9 walks and 7 strikeouts.

J.C. Holt-
Holt was on fire as well as he hit .388/.453/.507. J.C. hit one home run while driving in 8. He also stole 3 bags in 4 attempts.

Josh Burrus-
Burrus may have been the only player who didn't torch the AFL but he made some major contributions. Josh only hit .261 but he led his team with 4 homers and 24 RBI's. He really made his hits count. He also stole 4 bases without getting caught. Burrus has a lot of tools and I hope he rebounds with a strong 2007.

Sean White-
Now on to the pitchers where it is a whole different story. White started 5 games, losing 3 to go with 2 no-decisions while compiling a hefty 6.35 ERA and 1.71 WHIP. He walked 11 and struck out 12. And this is just the beginning.

Anthony Lerew-
After dominating AA in the second half of the season, Lerew came to the AFL and stunk it up again. In 14.2 relief innings, Lerew had a 5.52 ERA, 1.98 WHIP, and walked 12 while striking out only 8. Those numbers are even worse than White's.

Will Startup-
In 9 innings, Will has both White and Lerew beat. He gave up 16 hits and 17 runs on his way to a 13.00 ERA and 2.44 WHIP. He walked 6, struck out 6, and gave up 4 home runs.

Joey Devine-
Devine wasn't good but he looks great compared with the others. In only 8 innings, Devine walked 7 and struck out 9 for a 4.50 ERA and 1.63 WHIP. He also collected 2 saves.

Notes over Sickels' Top 20

2006-11-16T15:52:00.000-08:00

There seems to be two camps of people when it comes to the Braves top prospects. The camp that thinks Salty is the top prospect and the camp that thinks Campbell is the top prospect. Sickels goes so far as to rank Salty third behind Elvis Andrus. That is very interesting because Andrus is fairly low on some lists because of his performance but his potential alone warrants this ranking.

Matt Harrison has solidified himself as the organizations top pitching prospect and John Sickels sees it no differently ranking him #4.

Jamie Richmond is the first guy who jumps out at you. John admits that it is an aggressive grade and that Richmond doesn't have the raw talent of some other young arms, but his performance is hard to overlook. This is the first list where I've seen him crack the top 10.

Chase Fontaine has a good looking bat at shortstop but he was just drafted so a top 10 ranking seems very optimistic. I hope he is right.

Jo-Jo Reyes seems a little low at #12 given all the talk about his good season. However, I tend to agree with John. Reyes started out really well upon his promotion to Myrtle Beach but was erratic after that. Also, his performance in previous seasons is not in par with last season so I would like to see him do it again in '07.

Neftali Feliz is getting the credit he deserves despite his 4-something ERA in Danville. He throws 98 mph and struck out 42 in 27 innings last year.

Kris Medlen is another guy who is finally getting some recognition. He put up the same ridiculous numbers as Richmond but also put up the strikeouts as well.

The list rounds out with some good young arms with high ceilings. Left-handers Locke and Evarts along with right-handers Rasmus and Hanson provide some low-level, high potential pitching prospects.

Van Pope is a strange omission but he said this is a preliminary list and Pope may end up in the top 20.

John Sickels' Top 20

2006-11-15T21:04:00.001-08:00

Here it is. Analysis will come later.

2007 Top 20 Atlanta Braves Prospects
Eric Campbell, 3B, Grade B+ really like his bat)
Elvis Andrus, SS, Grade B+ really like his birthday, lots of development potential)
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C, Grade B (I am more worried
about reports of excess weight gain and defensive problems in the
Arizona Fall League more than his erratic regular season)
Matt Harrison, LHP, B
Brandon Jones, OF, B
Joey Devine, RHP, B (he has been handled poorly but still has a good arm)
Yunel Escobar, SS, B can read the comment I wrote below)
Jamie Richmond, RHP, B (an aggressive grade but the numbers are great and my intuition likes him)
Scott Thorman, OF-1B, B- (below 150 at-bats so he goes in the book)
Chase Fontaine, SS, B-
Anthony Lerew, RHP, C+
Jo-Jo Reyes, LHP, C+ (nice rebound season but slumped down the stretch)
Neftali Feliz, RHP, C+ (terrific arm but a long way from the majors)
Kevin Gunderson, LHP, C+
Kala Kaaihue, 1B, C+ (sleeper bat, watch this guy)
Kris Medlen, RHP, C+
Jeff Locke, LHP, C+
Cory Rasmus, RHP, C+
Steve Evarts, LHP, C+
Tommy Hanson, RHP,C+
Others: Gregor Blanco, OF, Francisley Bueno, LHP; Dustin Evasn, RHP,Tim Gustafson, RHP; J.C. Holt, 2B; Lee Hyde, LHP; Cody Johnson, 1B;Beau Jones, LHP; Jeff Lyman, RHP; Brayan Pena, C; Tony Pena, C; Van Pope, 3B (may end up in top 20); Chad Rodgers, LHP; Jamie Romak, OF:Zach Screiber, RHP; Will Startup, LHP; Jake Stevens, LHP.

Bad News

2006-11-15T11:52:00.000-08:00

I'm afraid I'm going to have to pass on a piece of bad news. According to some sources discussed over at Talkingchop.com; Matt Wright, Arthur Santos, Onil Joseph, and Cody Clark have all signed minor league contracts with Kansas City as they were all 6 year minor league free agents. The one that hurts the most is obviously Matt Wright, although Santos was a good looking relief prospect as well. Wright and Harrison were about our only chances of having some young faces in the rotation and now the most advanced of the two is gone.

On a lighter note, John Sickels over at minorleagueball.com is going to post the Braves top 20 prospects today. I would encourage everyone to take a look at that and I will post the list on this site as well.

TopProspectAlert.com's 2007 Braves Top 10 Prospects

2006-11-10T09:28:00.000-08:00

J.P. Schwartz compiled this list of top 10 prospects for the Braves but he didn't do any analysis of his picks. I'll list who he picked and try to give you a little insight into why he may have picked them or why I may disagree with the ranking.

1. Jarrod Saltalamacchia C
No argument from me on this pick. Although his numbers took a huge dip this year, he had a big second half and is currently tearing up the Arizona Fall League. Another reason I have never doubted Salty is that in 2006 spring training, Bobby Cox said Salty looked like a special hitter with the way the ball exploded off of his bat. You don't just lose that overnight. He'll be fine and he deserves this top spot.

2. Elvis Andrus SS
As far as ceiling goes, this is an appropriate spot. Nobody doubts Anrus's ceiling because he is so young and talented. The problem is that his results haven't been too great so far. However, the managers he has played for thus far have said that there is something special about Andrus as well. I think he just needs a little more time to tap into his full potential.

3. Matt Harrison SP
Harrison is ranked correctly, in my opinion, as the top pitching prospect in the organization right now. He isn't flashy but he gets the job done while maintaining an adequate strikeout rate. Being a lefty makes him even more valuable. He's the kind of guy that I could see making an easy transition to the majors once he makes it. He's here because he is more of a sure thing and not because of his upside.

4. Beau Jones SP
Beau is the complete opposite of Matt Harrison except for the fact that they are both lefties. He has a ton of talent but has had poor results up to this point, especially in 2006. Control has been a huge problem so far. If he can start throwing strikes, it's only a matter of time before he quickly moves through the system. However, this ranking seems rather high given his extremely poor results in Rome this year. I was even thinking about dropping him off of my top 15 list. But the talent is there; no doubt about that.

5. Van Pope 3B
Number five is a pretty high climb for Pope but I think he deserves it. He was Myrtle Beach's most consistent offensive threat and he is a big guy with a lot of power with the potential to develop even more power. I agree with J.P. that he has burst onto the scene as a top prospect but I would be hesitant to rank him above Eric Campbell.

6. Eric Campbell 3B
Speaking of Eric Campbell, he comes in at number six. Eric had a fantastic year in Rome after winning co-mvp honors in the Appalachian League in 2005. He is a level behind Pope but he produces in ever phase of the game. He hits for power, average, and has some speed on the bases. I probably would rank him higher. He is probably here because he has yet to play above low-A ball.

7. Anthony Lerew SP
This is an interesting pick. Lerew was absolutely atrocious in Richmond this year before being sent down to Mississippi where he dominated. So it's hard to tell which one is the real Lerew. I have never been a big fan of Lerew because he relies too much on a decent fastball and doesn't have much confidence in his secondary pitches. In the majors, you can't make it on your fastball unless it is a great one, like Joel Zumaya's.

8. Yunel Escobar SS/3B
Some people might have Escobar higher that this but he did take a small step back this year. He really showed nothing in the way of power and struggled with defense. He is an older prospect so he may develop quickly but he needs to start now before it is too late.

9. Tim Gustafson P
This is where J.P. might now something that I don't. Gustafson didn't even pitch in Atlanta's minor league system last year after going to the World Series with Georgia Tech. His teamate Lee Hyde and Kevin Gunderson of the champion Oregan State Beavers did pitch for Rome and pitched well, or extremely well in the case of Gunderson.

10. Cory Rasmus P
Cory is here because of his talent. He pitched a little bit in the GCL and it didn't go well. However, he has an overpowering fastball and could be a fast riser. We'll se how he does in 2007.

2006 Richmond Braves

2006-11-03T08:51:00.000-08:00

C- Brayan Pena
Pena started the year slowly but was on fire in the second half. He hit .357 in the second half vs. .271 in the first half. He only hit 1 homer but that is not part of his game. Hopefully he will be Atlanta's backup catcher next year. The Braves don't need to go out and sign another washed up catcher like Todd Pratt. Pena's line in 2006 .302/.342/.372 will hopefully convince Atlanta that this is true.

1B/LF- Scott Thorman
Scott didn't play the entire season in Richmond but he made the most of his time there. He was hitting .298/.360/.508 when he was promoted to Atlanta. He also showed great power with 15 homers and 48 RBI's. His time in Atlanta come with some mixed results but I think that overall he showed a lot good signs including some nice opposite field power.

OF- Gregor Blanco
Blanco split the season between Mississippi and Richmond and performed very well at both stops. He actually played better upon his promotion in the second half to Richmond. Before this year, Blanco was just another good speed, no power, light hitting outfielder. However, Blanco showed something this year as he hit .290 with an OBP of .403. He still didn't show any power with zero home runs but he stole 14 bases and played some great defense.

3B- Wes Timmons
Wes had another solid yet unspectacular year with the bat in 2006. He missed some time with an injury so he only logged 281 at-bats. In those at-bats, Timmons hit .281/.393/.406. He walked 45 times and struck out only 24 times all year. He is definitely the best contact hitter in the organization. His power isn't very good as he only hit 6 homers but it is decent enough for him to be a utility guy in the majors some day. He really handles the stick well and will likely get a look in Atlanta sometime soon especially if Giles is traded.

2B- Martin Prado
Prado played the first half of the year in Mississippi and the second half in Richmond. The thing I like about Prado is he improved upon his promotion to AAA. I always like to see that in a prospect. Overall, Prado hit .281/.321/.360. Prado is a solid middle infielder who hits for decent average but not a lot of power or speed. He will probably get a legitimate shot at winning the starting 2B job if Giles is traded.

SP- Kevin Barry
Kevin Barry had a really solid year in Richmond but his time in the majors proved that he just doesn't have what it takes at that level. He may be a 4-A player. Barry had his ups and downs in Richmond and finished 4-5 with a 3.30 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. Barry had a really long scoreless streak in the middle of the season and was Richmond's best starting pitcher for most of the year. He even started out in Atlanta with 11 scoreless inning, but the rest is history I guess. I doubt we'll be seeing much more of him in Atlanta.

RP- Wayne Franklin
Here is another guy who dominated in Richmond but didn't pitch well at all in Atlanta. In Richmond, Franklin struck out 52 guys in 53.1 innings with a 2.36 ERA and 1.05 WHIP out of the bullpen. That is a really excellent year but he couldn't translate it into major league success unfortunately.

RP- Manny Acosta
Acosta is on here because he pitched well in Mississippi before coming to Richmond and saving 17 games. His ERA and WHIP steadily rose throughout the season to 3.63 and 1.57 respectively in Richmond. He struck out 44 in 44.2 innings but walked 32. I am not all that impressed with Acosta but he did improve a lot this year so we'll see what he does next year.

RP- Will Startup
Startup flew through the organization before settling down in Richmond. After some early struggles, Will settled down to a 3.43 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. He struck out 38 in 42 innings while walking only 11. Startup is probably going to get a shot at winning a bullpen spot in Atlanta next year. As bad as the other guys have been, I like his chances.

RP- Paul Bush
Paul Bush, 28, is old for a prospect but I think he has what it takes to contribute at the major league level. After being called up to Richmond, Bush recorded a 3.60 ERA and 1.13 WHIP while striking out 36 in 40 innings. Bush has made some great strides over the last couple of years and I hope Atlanta gives him a shot at the bullpen sometime soon. If they don't, he may become the next Kevin Barry.

RP- Phil Stockman
Stockman is up here because he put some ridiculous numbers up in Richmond. In 33.1 innings, Stockman struck out 41 while allowing only 13 hits and 3 runs for a 0.81 ERA and 0.69 WHIP. That is just absolutely dominant. I still think Stockman would have stuck in Atlanta longer if he didn't get hurt shortly after his first callup. However, he is still a journeyman and is unlikely to repeat this performance next year.

2006 Mississippi Braves

2006-10-27T09:49:00.000-07:00

SS/3B- Yunel Escobar
Although Yunel did make an appearance in the major league futures game, his 2006 season was somewhat of a disappointment. His power was non-existent with 2 home runs and a .346 slugging percentage. He stole 7 bases but was caught 9 times. He committed 26 errors in the field and hasn’t settled on a position. However, with all this being said, he did show some good plate discipline as he led the team with 59 walks. Also, his athleticism indicates that he is capable of doing some major improving and it shouldn’t take that long as he is about to turn 24 years old.

C- Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Salty came into 2006 with huge expectations after a great year at Myrtle Beach in 2005. However, his first half of the season was so bad that some people were beginning to write him off as a prospect because of it. He went from being Atlanta’s top prospect to almost a non-prospect in half a season. However, we can now see that those judgments were premature and Jarrod has once again established himself as the top prospect with a big second half. His final line of .230/.353/.380 doesn’t look so hot but considering he was under the Mendoza line for much of the season, it doesn’t look that bad. Also, despite his enormous struggles, he was still able to post a very good OBP of .353. Jarrod is currently playing in a winter league and he has been punishing pitchers. He is hitting .565/.655/1.000 in his first 6 games with 3 home runs. I think he is back.

OF- Barbaro Canizares
Canizares is another Cuban defector like Escobar. However, Canizares is 26 going on 27. Barbaro hit .301 for Mississippi with an OBP of .365 while striking out only 44 times. He only hit 4 homers which isn’t a lot for a guy who is 6’3”, 210 pounds. But the guy can hit and could find his way to the majors as a pinch hitter for a few years.

SP- Matt Wright
Matt Wright continued his trend of dominating at a level one year after struggling mightily at the same level. After posting a 6.11 ERA in Mississippi last year, Wright went 7-3 with a 2.22 ERA while striking out 84 in 89 innings. Control is what seems to get Matt in trouble. When he isn’t walking people, he is a very effective pitcher. He struggled in the second half with Richmond so I suspect he will have a very good year in Richmond next year.

SP- Fancisley Bueno
Bueno is a yet another Cuban defector which not a lot of people know about. His 1-7 record will probably turn people off to him but his other numbers look a lot better. His ERA was 3.59 and he struck out 84 batters in 80.1 innings while walking only 19. His WHIP was 1.20 but he did give up 10 home runs which needs to come down.

SP- Matt Harrison
Harrison continued his good pitching at Mississippi after being an all-star in the first half with Myrtle Beach. In Mississippi, he went 3-4 with a 3.61 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. His strikeouts were slightly down at 54 in 77 innings but he will probably bring that up to an acceptable number. Matt is probably the top pitching prospect in the organization right now which doesn’t speak that well for our pitching at the higher levels but Matt still a very good pitcher.

RP- Dan Smith
Smith was probably the surprise of the year in 2006 and he didn’t even come on until later in the season. His numbers were downright nasty. He started 8 games in his 28 appearances and struck out 86 guys in 60.1 innings while holding opponents to a .196 average. His ERA was 3.13 but his ERA over his final 10 games was 1.52. He is a left hander who can strike guys out and could be a candidate for Atlanta’s bullpen sooner rather than later.

RP- Arthur Santos
Santos is a very intriguing pitcher. He is a right-handed late inning reliever but doesn’t strike out a guy per inning. In 40.1 innings, Santos struck out 26 but walked only 8. His ERA was 1.79 and his WHIP was 0.94. Those are excellent numbers but he doesn’t overpower people. It will be interesting to see how he progresses at AAA.

RP- Zach Schreiber
Santos was the 8th inning guy while Schreiber was the 9th inning man. Zach’s style was very different from Santos, however. Schreiber struck out a lot of people but had major issues with his control. Zach pitched 39.2 innings and struck out 45 while walking 28 but he was able to keep his ERA down to 2.50 while recording 21 saves. Schreiber and Santos have been advancing at the same pace which would put them both in Richmond some time next year.

2006 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

2006-09-29T09:31:00.000-07:00

OF- Carl Loadenthal

Loadenthal had a fantastic season in Myrtle Beach, but his age really limits what we can take from it. Carl is 24 years old which is very old for advanced A ball. Anyways, here is what he did. He hit .323 and got on base at a .425 clip to go with 7 homers and 48 RBI. He was second on the team with 25 stolen bases and had an excellent K/BB ratio at 67/62.

OF- Matt Young

Young had a very nice season despite displaying virtually no power. He hit .281 and walked 71 times against 55 strikeouts for a .389 OBP. He also stole 21 bases in 31 attempts. Young combined with J.C. Holt to form a solid 1-2 punch at the top of the lineup in the second half of the season.

2B- J.C. Holt

Holt also had a decent year without any power to speak of. He batted leadoff much of they year and hit .266 while stealing 35 bases in 40 attempts. His plate discipline wasn’t ideal for a leadoff hitter, however, as he walked 41 times and struck out 80 times.

3B- Van Pope

Pope started slow but became the star of the offense once Brandon Jones was promoted. Pope hit .263 with 15 homers and 74 RBI’s to go along with 31 doubles. His batting averages from June to August were .338, .299, and .280 respectively. He also hit 7 home runs during the month of August.

1B- Kala Kaaihue

Kala struggled quite a bit in his first exposure to High-A ball, but there were also many positives. He hit .223 but still slugged .473 thanks to 13 homers in 188 at-bats. He also continued to show a tendency to not only strike out a lot but also walk a lot. He walked 30 times but also struck out 49 times. He has the power, he just needs to improve his contact a little bit.

SP- Kelvin Villa

Kelvin was the lone representative in the all-star game for the Pelicans. The lefty had a nice year, going 8-6 with a 3.83 ERA. He really pitched well during the first half of the season before tailing off a bit in the second half.

SP- Matt Harrison

Harrison began his season in Myrtle Beach and earned a mid-season call-up by going 8-4 with a 3.10 ERA. His K/9 was decent at 6.65 and he had excellent control by only walking 16 and allowing a WHIP of only 1.14. In my opinion, he is possible the brightest pitching prospect in the organization right now.

RP- Michael Nix

After dominating Rome for a few weeks, Nix came up to the Beach and pitched very well there as well, compiling a 2.90 ERA with 7 saves. He struck out 50 guys in 49.2 innings but also walked 30 for a 1.49 WHIP. He is going to have to get that WHIP down to be a successful reliever at higher levels.

Prospect Profile: Van Pope

2006-09-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

Name: Van Pope
Age: 22
Height: 6'0
Weight: 200
Bats: R
Throws: R

History:
Van Pope was drafted in the 4th round of the 2004 draft by the Braves out of Meridian College. He was originally drafted by the White Sox in 2003 but he didn't sign. Pope started his career in Danville and had a decent season for a first year player. He hit .270/.333/.429 with 5 homers and 39 RBI's. In 2005 he was promoted to Rome where he improved his plate discipline but his power was still lacking. He hit .277 and got on base at a .347 clip but hit just 6 home runs. He played about a month in Myrtle Beach in 2005 but he did not fare well as he hit just .167.

Current:
2005 was a different story for Pope in Myrtle Beach. Pope was a steady force on offense throughout the entire year for the Pelicans. He hit .263 after a slow start and improved his power with 15 homers and 74 RBI's. His 15 homers are even more impressive considering he played half of his games in the pitcher's haven at Myrtle Beach. He also walked 58 times to go against 92 strikeouts.

Projected:
Pope is a pretty big guy with some decent power potential which makes 3rd base a good position for him. He took a big step forward this year at Myrtle Beach this year and can hopefully step his game up again next year to be a top prospect. Braves scouts have always liked Van Pope and it is obvious he has a lot of talent. How he projects depends on how he develops over the next year or two, but it looks like he can be a good hitter with some decent pop. He is one stop ahead of Eric Campbell so it will be interesting how they sort that out when the time comes for both of them to play in Atlanta.

Year	Team Name	Org.	Level	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG
2004	Danville	Atl	Rk	60	233	39	63	18	2	5	39	5	1	11	44	.270	.333	.429
2005	Rome	Atl	A	100	386	48	107	24	7	6	60	0	1	42	70	.277	.347	.422
	Myrtle Beach	Atl	A+	25	84	7	14	1	0	1	5	0	0	9	21	.167	.253	.214
2006	Myrtle Beach	Atl	A+	127	467	78	123	31	1	15	74	7	4	58	92	.263	.353	.430

New Prospect Profiles

2006-09-20T09:39:00.001-07:00

I’m planning on replacing 2 of the players on the current top-15 prospect profile list. I’m taking off Max Ramirez because he was traded and Chuck James because he has solidified himself as a major leaguer. Now I would like to ask your opinion on whom to replace them with. Please give me your thoughts in the comments section. I’ve thought about upper level guys like Anthony Lerew, Paul Bush, Wes Timmons, and Gregor Blanco. I’ve also thought about some of the younger guys like Dan Smith, Zach Schreiber, Josh Burrus, or Van Pope. Who would you like to see a prospect profile on?

Rome Braves

2006-09-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

The Rome Braves were the first half division champ at 42-28 but went 29-40 in the second half. It probably had something to do with a couple of all-stars (Reyes, and Kaaihue) being promoted along with the trading of another one (Max Ramirez). Anyways, they finished up a little bit above .500 and were home of some good looking prospects.

1B- Kala Kaaihue

Kala only played the first half of the season in Rome but put up some ridiculous numbers. His line was .329/.458/.614 for a whopping 1.072 OPS. He also hit 15 home runs and drove in 49 during his time in Rome. He struck out 66 times which is a lot considering he only had 228 at-bats. However, he also walked 52 times which is a huge positive. He found it more difficult to hit at Myrtle Beach as his .223 average there indicates, but his power was still there as he hit 13 home runs to give him a total of 28 on the season.

3B- Eric Campbell

Campbell solidified himself as a top prospect with a standout season in Rome. Campbell hit .296 with 22 homers and 77 RBI’s while being named to the all-star team. He also showed another facet of his game as he stole 18 bases in 22 attempts. His strike-zone judgment could use a little work as he walked 23 times and struck out 68 times.

SS- Elvis Andrus

Elvis’s numbers were not great but they were good considering he was 17 during most of the season. His physical talent is unmistakable and he has the potential to be a star. As a 17 year-old in full season single-A ball, Elvis hit .265 with 3 homers and 25 doubles to go along with 23 stolen bases. However, he was caught stealing 15 times and committed 32 errors at shortstop. Elvis obviously needs a lot of refining but his raw talent is exciting.

SP- Jo-Jo Reyes

Reyes is another guy who was promoted at mid-season from Rome. His promotion was well-earned as he went 8-1 with a 2.99 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. He also increased his strikeouts this year by striking out 84 batters in his 75.1 innings at Rome. Jo-Jo was great initially in Myrtle Beach before struggling later in the season. I expect he will rebound next year and pitch very well for Myrtle Beach.

SP- Dustin Evans

Dustin was the 4^th player taken by the Braves in this year’s draft but he was still taken in the 2^nd round. He dominated a few innings in Danville before being promoted to Rome where he pitched well. In 40.2 innings, he only struck out 25 but his ERA and WHIP were low at 2.88 and 1.18 respectively.

RP- Devin Anderson

Anderson was excellent out of the bullpen in Rome before being promoted to the Beach. I’ll admit that his peripherals don’t match up with his 2.13 ERA but he was effective in his time with Rome. His WHIP was 1.29 and he struck out 27 guys in 38 innings. Those aren’t bad numbers but they don’t add up to a 2.13 ERA.

RP- Lee Hyde

Hyde was taken in this June’s draft as well out of Georgia Tech. He faired decently well in his first exposure to pro ball. In 27 innings, he struck out 19 to go with a WHIP of 1.37 and an ERA of 3.33. The Braves hope he will turn into a nice left handed reliever.

RP- Kevin Gunderson

Gunderson got a late start this year as his team, the Oregon State Beavers, won the national championship thanks in no small part to Kevin, who was their closer. In his short time with Rome, Kevin put up some impressive numbers. In 24 innings, he gave up only 16 hits and 4 walks for a 0.83 WHIP while striking out 21. His ERA ended up at 1.13 to go along with 3 saves. Kevin is a lefty but will probably close in the minors and will hopefully be a very effective late inning guy in Atlanta someday.

Danville Braves

2006-09-11T09:37:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the complete lack of posts over the past few weeks but things have been hectic at my new dwelling which included about a week of no internet access. During my time away, it seems that the Danville Braves have concluded their already successful season by taking home the Appalachian Leauge Championship. Unlike the GCL Braves, Danville's strength was the offense, however, they couldn't have won the title without the help of some talented pitchers. Here are some of the top performers this year for the Danville Braves.

OF- Larry Williams
Williams lead a strong outfield in Danville by driving in a team-leading 46 runs while hitting .338 with an OBP of .389. He didn't show much power or speed with 2 homers and 2 stolen bases but his average and RBI's lead the team.

OF- Willie Cabrera
Cabrera was the other offensive leader and showed a little more pop than Williams. He hit .308 to go along with 7 homers and 37 RBI's. He only walked 11 times but he only struck out 32 times which indicates that he is a free swinger who makes consistent contact. However, at higher levels his contact rate will likely decrease.

SS- Robert Fontaine
Fontaine was a 2006 draftee out of a community college in Florida. Robert had a really strong year at the plate with a .296 average and 4 homers to go with an OBP of .411. His on base skills are very strong thanks to a team-leading 37 walks. He did make 20 errors at shortstop so he will definitely need to work in that area.

C- Phillip Britton
Britton was drafted in 2005 and looks like another talented hitting catcher in the Braves system. He it .296 with a slugging percentage of .471 to go with his 7 homers. He only walked 7 times so he will need to address that but his raw power potential is obvious.

IF- Ernesto Meija
Ernesto had a nice year at the plate as well. His .296/.371/.473 line matches up with the other top hitters on the team. His OPS of .845 was 2nd only to Jon Mark Owings.

C- Tyler Flowers
Yes, another catcher. Flowers only had 129 at-bats but he did hit 5 homers for a .465 slugging percentage and walked 16 times for a .373 OBP. His numbers are pretty good but they don't look as good when you see all the great numbers of the other Danville players.

OF- Jon Mark Owings
I'm putting him here because he had a very good season but I will say that he has had experience at higher levels which the other guys haven't. In only 162 at-bats, he slugged .519 with 8 homers and hit .284. His OPS of .861 and home runs lead the squad.

SP- Jamie Richmond
Richmond was not only one of the organization's biggest surprises, but he was also possibly the biggest success as a starting pitcher. Richmond dominated the Appalachian league with a 7-1 record, 1.21 ERA, and 0.82 WHIP. Those numbers are just ridiculous. He only struck out 52 in 67 innings but got away with it by walking a minuscule 4 batters the entire season.

SP- Carlos Sencion
Sencion is a lefty with a poor 0-4 record but his peripherals suggest he is better than that. First of all, his 2.56 ERA and 1.10 WHIP were very good. He struck out 60 guys in 52.2 innings to go with 17 walks which could be a little high but is not troubling at this point.

SP- Tommy Hanson
Hanson is one of my favorite young pitchers in the organization. He was a draft and follow signee early this year. He pitched extremely well in Danville as his ERA was 2.09 and his WHIP was 0.99. Eight of his 13 appearances were starts as he went 4-1 while striking out 56 in 51.2 innings. Equally as impressive as his strikeouts were his 9 walks given up.

RP- David Williams
Williams was a very solid pitcher for the Braves out of the bullpen. He saved 4 games and held 3 more in 22 appearances. In those appearances, Williams struck out 29 in 25 innings while walking 11 for a 2.52 ERA and 1.24 WHIP.

RP- Kristopher Medlen
The star of the bullpen was Medlen. He finished 19 games in 20 appearances while collecting 10 saves. His ERA was 0.41 and his WHIP was 0.73 as he struck out 36 guys in 22 innings while walking only 2. That was just domination. His 18/1 k/bb ratio dwarfs even Jamie Richmond's 13/1 mark.

GCL Braves

2006-08-26T09:28:00.001-07:00

Final Record: 23-27

The 2006 GCL Braves were all about pitching this year. Many of the offensive players were disappointments but the pitching was tremendous. There were seven pitchers that really stood out to me. I will list them alphabetically because I don't want to rank them.

Steven Evarts:
Evarts is a big 6'3'' lefty who was taken in this year's draft. In 11 games (9 starts), Evarts went 2-2 with a 2.93 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. He walked 12 and struck out 33 in 43 innings while not allowing a home run all year.

Steve Kent:
Kent was a lefty who was taken in this year's draft as well. He walked 16 against only 20 strikeouts in 36 innings but he did finish the year with 12 straight scoreless innings. Overall he was 1-4 with a 4.00 ERA.

Neftali Feliz:
Feliz is a young right hander from the Dominican Republic who put up some great peripheral numbers this year. In 29 innings he allowed only 20 hits and struck out 42 for a 1.17 WHIP and 4.03 ERA. He also did not allow any homers. His ERA seems a little inflated given his low WHIP and high strikeout total.

Jeffrey Locke:
Locke is another good looking lefty taken by the Braves in this year's draft. He went 4-3 with a 4.22 ERA in 10 games. His hit total was high, 38 hits in 32 innings, but he only walked 5 and struck out 38 over those 32 innings. Locke has a good arm and could make great strides next year.

Michael Mehlich:
Mehlich is an 18 year old right hander who went 1-0 with a 3.22 ERA for the GCL Braves. In 22.1 innings he struck out 25 and walked only 7. His WHIP was right around 1.00.

Jose Ortegano:
Ortegano is a very small left hander who enjoyed some success with the GCL Braves this year. In 46.1 innings, he only walked 10 batters and struck out 31. His ERA was 3.30 and his WHIP was 1.15.

Chad Rodgers:
The Braves have yet another strong young lefty in Chad Rodgers. Chad went 3-2 with a 2.31 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He also struck out 30 in 39 innings pitched while only allowing 31 hits.

That great crop of young pitchers makes the offensive players look pretty bad. Here are some of the notables.

Cole Miles:
Miles was taken late in last year's draft and really came around this year batting leadoff for the GCL Braves. He hit .307 with 22 walks and only 20 strikeouts in 114 at-bats. He stole 18 bags in 20 attempts while his OBP was great as well at .432.

Adam Coe:
Coe was taken in this year's draft and started off red hot before cooling off toward the end of the season. His early power surge left him with 7 homers on the season to go along with 32 RBI's. He hit .269 with an OBP of .343.

Cody Johnson:
Johnson is on this list because he was the top pick of the draft and not because he did well because he really struggled. Johnson hit .184 in 114 at-bats and hit only one homer. His .281 slugging percentage is even worse considering power was his biggest strength coming out of high school. On the bright side, he is still really young and there is probably not a lot to worry about right now.

One more vacation

2006-08-13T06:44:00.000-07:00

I will be leaving today for one last vacation before school starts. I will have internet access where I am going but blogging will be either minimal or nonexistent for about a week. When I get back I will look at our teams' chances of making the playoffs this year, which start in September.

8/12 Recap

2006-08-12T21:42:00.000-07:00

AAA - Richmond 1, Columbus 7
Nothing much happened in this game. Martin Prado cooled off and went 0-4. Wes Timmons went 1-3 with a double. Brian O'Connor (L, 7-10) started and gave up 5 runs in 5.2 innings for the loss.

Box Score

AA - Mississippi 4, Huntsville 2
Yunel Escobar went 1-3 with a walk and 2 RBI's for the victorius Braves. Luis Hernandez went 2-3 with 2 runs and Salty went 0-3 but did drive in a run. Matt Harrison put together another good start by allowing only 3 hits, 2 walks, and an unearned run in 6 innings. Glen Tucker (W, 2-3) got the win despite allowing 3 hits and a run in his inning. Zach Schreiber didn't allow any hits or, more importanty, any walks in 2 innings while striking out 5 for his 18th save.

Box Score

High A- Myrtle Beach 4, Salem 8
Kala Kaaihue continued his power surge with a 2-run homer in 3 at-bats to go with a walk. Matt Young went 2-3 with an RBI and walked twice. Kelvin Villa (L, 7-6) got the start and gave up 5 runs on 5 hits in 4 innings. Brad Nelson continues his good work with 2 scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 0.54 in Myrtle Beach.

Box Score

Low A- Rome 3, Augusta 2 (13)
Adam Stanley was outstanding through 6 as he allowed only one run on one hit in 6 innings but Kevin Gunderson blew his first save by allowing a run. Rudy Quinonez (W, 2-1) pitched 3 scoreless innings for the win. Eric Campbell had a big day going 4-5 with a double, homer, and 2 runs scored. His average is up to .297. Josh Morris also drove in a run.

Box Score

Rookie- Danville 2, Princeton 3
Carlos Sencion (L, 0-3) was a hard luck loser as he gave up only one run on 3 hits in 5 innings. Jon Mark Owings homered in the loss and Larry Williams also drove in a run. Chase Fontaine went 2-3 with a walk.

Box Score

GCL Braves 12, Phillies 0
It was a big day for 2006 draft picks as Adam Coe went 3-4 with his 7th homer and 3 runs scored. Cody Johnson went 1-5 and hit his 1st homer of his professional career while driving in 4 runs. Adam Parliament also had a big day with 3 hits and 3 RBI's. Jeffrey Locke (W, 3-3) started and looked great as he gave up only 2 hits and a walk in 5 shutout innings while striking out 8. Neftali Feliz got a 3 inning save, his 2nd.

Box Score

Prospect Profile: Matt Wright

2006-08-12T08:15:00.000-07:00

Name: Matt Wright
Age: 24
Position: SP
Height: 6-4
Weight: 230
Bats: R
Throws: R

History:
Matt was taken by the Braves in the 21st round (640th overall) of the 2000 draft out of high school in Waco, Texas. The Braves saw in Wright a big kid who they could develop into a good pitcher. It has taken a while but Matt Wright is finally making his way to the majors. Matt started his professional career on a good note. He pitched out of the bullpen for the Gulf Coast Braves in 2000 and struck out 30 in 21 innings while allowing just 8 hits. His ERA was 0.86. In 2001, Matt went to Danville and was very good there as well. He struck out 89 in 72.2 innings and lowered his walk rate to 3.22/9 for a 1.18 WHIP. In 2002, Wright was promoted to single-A, Macon. He went 10-8 and lowered his ERA to 3.18 but his strikeouts were down to 8.61/9 and his walks were up to 3.54/9. The Braves decided to keep him in single-A to start 2003 and it was the right decision. He dominated the Sally league to the tune of a 1.65 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 10.76/9 K/9 before being promoted to high-A in the middle of the season. However, he struggled mightily in the second half of the season with MB with an ERA of 6.38 and a WHIP of 2.04. In 2004, he stayed at Myrtle Beach and fared much better. His ERA 3.53 and WHIP of 1.38 were decent but he also raised his strikeout rate to 9.55/9. Wright was hurt to start 2005 and when he came back to Mississippi he never found his groove. He once again struggled at his new stop by going 6-8 with a 6.11 ERA and 1.64 WHIP. Matt's prospect status in 2005 was not good being that he was 23 and he had just been injured and was struggling in AA.

Current:
2006 was a different story as Matt once again shook off his early struggles at his new level by dominating the Southern League. He went 7-3 with a 2.22 ERA and 1.15 WHIP before a callup. His strikeouts were good but not as good as they have been in the past. He struck out 84 in his 89 innings at Mississippi. In Richmond, Matt has once again struggled after a promotion. He is currently 1-4 with a 7.45 ERA. If history tells us anything it says that Matt will struggle for the remainder of the season before pitching well in Richmond next year.

Projected:
I think Matt projects as a quality middle of the rotation starter. His walk rate has been around 3/9 when his is pitching well. He is going to have to keep that down because he is not going to be able to sustain a h/9 rate of 5 or 7 like he did some seasons in the minors. His strikeouts have been good all the way up so that shouldn't be a problem. Matt will probably be in Atlanta by 2009 but I suspect he will struggle initially. The test is going to be how well he can overcome his initial struggles and how the Braves deal with him when he struggles. If they are in a pennant race, the will not be able to allow him to struggle and this could stunt his development. If he is allowed to develop, however, I think he will be a good middle of the rotation guy for a while.

Year	Age	Level	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	H9	BB9	K9	WHIP
2000	18	Rk	0	2	0.86	12	0	21.0	8	5	2	11	30	3.43	4.71	12.86	0.90
2001	19	Rk	3	5	3.72	14	14	72.2	60	40	30	26	89	7.43	3.22	11.02	1.18
2002	20	A	10	8	3.18	26	25	152.2	135	68	54	60	146	7.96	3.54	8.61	1.28
2003	21	A	10	2	1.65	14	13	82.0	53	19	15	32	98	5.82	3.51	10.76	1.04
	21	A+	2	7	6.38	13	13	60.2	82	47	43	42	58	12.16	6.23	8.60	2.04
2004	22	A+	4	6	3.53	23	20	119.2	111	55	47	54	127	8.35	4.06	9.55	1.38
2005	23	Rk	1	1	3.12	3	3	8.2	11	8	3	2	9	11.42	2.08	9.35	1.50
	23	AA	6	8	6.11	17	14	84.0	101	60	57	37	63	10.82	3.96	6.75	1.64
2006	24	AA	7	3	2.22	15	14	89.0	74	26	22	28	84	7.48	2.83	8.50	1.15
	24	AAA	1	4	7.45	6	6	29.0	39	25	24	19	22	12.10	5.89	6.82	2.00

8/11 Recap

2006-08-11T22:04:00.000-07:00

AAA - Richmond 2, Columbus 5
Matt Wright (L, 1-4) gave up 3 runs in the first innings and then settled down to pitch 3 scoreless innings before giving up 2 more runs in the 5th. Overall it was not a good performance as he gave up 5 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks in 4.1 innings. Paul Bush pitched shutout ball for 2.2 innings while striking out 5. Martin Prado stayed red hot by going 2-3 with a walk and an RBI double. He is now hitting .312 with Richmond. Gregor Blanco went 1-3 with a walk and scored a run.

Box Score

AA - Mississippi 3, Huntsville 4
Kyle Davies (L, 0-1) started for the Braves and went 2 innings and gave up 2 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs (one earned). Jose Ascanio pitched 3 shutout innings in relief. The offense ran into one of the minors best pitching prospects in Yovani Gallardo. Luis Hernandez went 2-3 but he made 3 errors in the field. Josh Burrus went 2-4 with an RBI. He seems to have settled down after missing a lot of time.

Box Score

High A- Myrtle Beach 3, Salem 1
Stephen Russell (W, 4-1) made another good start by allowing just one run on 5 hits and 2 walks in 6 innings. Dave Watkins didn't give up a hit in the final 2 innings for his 7th save. Kala Kaaihue had one hit in 4 at-bats but made it count by hitting his 10 homer in Myrtle Beach. Mark Jurich went 1-4 with 2 RBI's. J.C. Holt and Matt Young set the table with 2 hits apiece.

Box Score

Low A- Rome 6, Augusta 3
Jeff Lyman (W, 6-3) allowed 3 runs (one earned) in 5 innings and Lee Hyde teamed with fellow draft pick Kevin Gunderson to be perfect over the final 4 innings. Eric Campbell went 3-4 with 2 runs and an RBI. Jordan Schafer went 2-3 and drove in 2 runs. Josh Morris stayed hot with 2 hits in 4 at-bats.

Box Score

Rookie- Danville 0, Bluefield
Jamie Richmond (L, 7-1) gets a tough luck loss as he allowed only 2 hits and an unearned run in 6 innings while walking none and striking out 5. He lowered his ERA to 0.66. The normally potent offense was silenced on just 3 hits. Willie Cabrera batted cleanup and got one of those hits.

Box Score

8/9 Recap

2006-08-09T20:40:00.000-07:00

AAA - Richmond 5, Norfolk 1
Martin Prado and Brayan Pena were at it again as the Braves beat Norfolk. Prado was 2-5 with another home run and Pena went 3-5 wth a run scored. Billy McCarthy joined in on the action with 3 hits and a run scored. Daniel Curtus (W, 3-4) allowed only 3 hits and 2 walks in 7 shutout innings for the win. Peter Moylan gave up the only run but struck out the side in the 9th.

Box Score

AA - Mississippi
Postponed

High A- Myrtle Beach 4, Kinston 5 (6)
Kala Kaaihue went 3-3 with a double and a solo homer and Van Pope also hit a 3 run shot. James Parr (L, 6-7) went the distance (six innings) and gave up 5 runs on 6 hits and no walks.

Game #2 was postponed.

Box Score

Low A- Rome 17, West Virgina 11
The Braves outslugged West Virginia thanks to 2 home runs and 3 RBI's by Josh Morris. Jamie Trejo also hit a homer and drove in 4 runs. Quentin Davis and Elvis Andrus each scored 3 runs and stole 2 bases each. Cody Clark drove in 4 runs as well with 2 hits in 4 at-bats. Beau Jones started and struggled with his control again as he walked 6 people while allowing only 3 hits in 4 innings. Nelson Payano (W, 3-3) got the win thanks to the offense as he gave up 4 runs in his 3 innings of work.

Box Score

Rookie- Danville 7, Bluefield 9
Tommy Hanson started and allowed only one hit and one walk in 5 shutout innings while striking out 5. His ERA was lowered to 2.08. The lead was blown as Kyle Coefield gave up 5 runs in 0.1 innings and Jorge Acosta (L, 2-1) gave up 4 more runs in 1.1 innings. Jon Mark Owings hit a solo home run for the Braves. Willie Cabrera went 2-5 with a double and an RBI to raise his average to .325.

Box Score

GCL Braves 3, Yankees 8
Adam Coe went 3-5 with a double and an RBI and Cody Johnson went 1-2 with a double and 2 walks but it wasn't enough as the Braves fell. Steve Kent started and gave up 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks in 3 innings and Yeliar Castro (L, 1-1) took the loss by allowing 3 runs in 3 innings.

Box Score

8/8 Recap

2006-08-08T20:34:00.000-07:00

AAA - Richmond 4, Norfolk 3
Brayan Pena went 4-4 with a double and 2 runs scored and now has his average up to .297. He will be a good hitting major league backstop someday. Martin Prado was good also as he went 2-4 with a homer and 2 runs scored. I think Prado will make a positive contribution in Atlanta soon. Cormier started and was decent as he gave up 2 runs in 5.2 innings. Will Startup (W, 3-1) took the win with 1.1 perfect innings of relief. Manny Acosta got his 12th save despite allowing an unearned run in the 9th.

Box Score

AA - Mississippi 6, Montgomery 3
Brandon Jones continued his power surge this year with a double, home run, and 4 RBI's. As if that wasn't enough, Jones also stole his 4th base since joining Mississippi. Josh Burrus also played well, going 3-4 with a double. Unlike Jones, Burrus was caught in his one attempt to steal. Dan Smith (W, 3-6) started and was fantastic giving up only an unearned run on 3 hits in 6 innings. He didn't walk anybody and struck out 12 guys in only 6 innings. It was a dominant performance against a squad with prospects such as Reid Brignac and Evan Longoria. Sean White picked up a 3 inning save as he gave up 2 runs.

Box Score

High A- Myrtle Beach
Postponed

Low A- Rome 4, West Virginia 11
Jairo Cuevas (L, 6-9) didn't pitch well as he gave up 6 runs on 8 hits in 4.1 innings. Jake Stevens pitched 2.2 shutout innings in relief but Rudy Quinonez gave up 5 more runs in his one inning. Elvis Andrus went 2-5 with 2 doubles and 2 runs. Jamie Romak and Cody Clark each hit a double and drove in a run as well.

Box Score

Rookie- Danville 4, Pulaski 6
Larry Williams (3-5, .339), Willie Cabrera (2-5, .323), and Chase Fontaine (2-4, .316) lead the offense but Danville lost as Sergio Valenzuela (L, 1-3) gave up 4 runs (2 earned) in his 4 innings of work. Dave Williams worked the final 2 innings to lower his ERA to 1.56.

Box Score

GCL Braves 8, Indians 3
Cole Miles was on base 5 times with 3 hits and 2 walks while Adam Parliament drove in 2 runs with a double. Cody Johnson went 1-2 with 3 walks. Steven Evarts gave up 6 hits and 3 runs in 3 innings but his ERA still stands at 2.12. Michael Mehlich (W, 1-0) took the win with 3 innings of shutout ball with 3 strikeouts.

Box Score

Injury Update

2006-08-08T13:01:00.000-07:00

As if the woes of the major league club is not enough, there has been a rash of season ending injuries in the minor leagues recently. Here is a quick rundown.

Chris Vines is going to have Tommy John surgery on his elbow and will miss the rest of this year and most of next year.
Luis Atilano could possibly have Tommy John surgery as well on his elbow. This would be the biggest blow to the Braves because minor league pitching depth is already a concern. Atilano was a supplemental first round pick and was throwing the ball very well recently. His ERA was 4.50 at Myrtle Beach but many of those runs came during rough stretch about a month or so ago. He will also miss most of next year if he undergoes the surgery.
Myrtle Beach first baseman Greg Creek broke his hand and will miss the remainder of the season.
Mississippi 1B/DH Barbaro Canizares has been placed on the DL. A Cuban defector, Canizares is very old (26) for AA but was hitting excellent. He was hitting .301/.365/.416.

8/7 Recap

2006-08-07T21:39:00.000-07:00

AAA - Richmond
No Game

AA - Mississippi 2, Montgomery 1
Matt Harrison (W, 3-2) made an impressive start and Salty stayed hot as Mississippi won a close one. Harrison didn't allow a run over 6 innings while giving up only 4 hits and 2 walks. Zach Schreiber saved his 17th game of the season by striking out 2 in a perfect 9th. Salty went 2-4 with a double and a run scored and Josh Burrus walked, stole a base, and scored a run as well.

Box Score

High A - Myrtle Beach 2, Kinston 10
After a great start in MB, Jo-Jo Reyes (L, 1-2) made his 3rd consecutive bad start. On August 1st, Reyes only lasted .2 innings and gave up 6 runs to go along with 6 walks. Today was not as bad but he still gave up 7 runs in 4 innings to raise his ERA to 5.55. The offense only mustered 4 hits and J.C. Holt's double was the only extra-base hit.

Box Score

Low A - Rome 0, West Virginia 4
This was a very uneventful game for Rome. Adam Stanley (L, 1-6) pitched pretty decent as he allowed only 2 earned runs in 6 innings. The offense only managed 2 hits while the defense commited 4 errors. Elvis Andrus's 28th error was one of the 4 errors.

Box Score

Rookie - Danville 6, Pulaski 10
Willie Cabrera homered and drove in 3 runs while Chase Fontaine had 2 hits and 2 RBI's but it wasn't enough as Danville fell 10-6. Jaye Chapman started and dave up 6 hits and 4 runs in only 2 innings. Carlos Sencion (L, 0-2) took the loss by allowing 3 runs in the 5th.

Box Score

GCL Braves 1, Phillies 4
Carlos Rivas (L, 0-1) made a rehab start and gave up 3 unearned runs in 2.2 innings as the Braves lost. Phillies top pick, Kyle Drabek, shut the Braves down after struggling to start his pro career. Jeffrey Locke pitched the final 2 innings and struck out 3 while allowing an unearned run off of one hit.

Box Score

8/6 Recap

2006-08-06T19:55:00.000-07:00

Let's see if I can remember how to do this!

AAA - Richmond 7, Durham 4
Brian O'Connor (W, 7-9) made a great start by allowing only one run on 4 hits with 9 strikeouts in 6 innings pitched. Newly acquired Rich Scalamandre gave up 3 runs in 1.1 innings but the Braves held on 7-4. Gregor Blanco continues to hit very well by going 2-5 with a double and 2 RBI's. Jonathan Schuerholz has actually been a little hot lately and went 2-4 with an RBI to raise his average to .189. Carlos Mendez added a solo shot. Manny Acosta shut the door in the 9th for his 11th save.

Box Score

AA - Mississippi 8, Montgomery 9
Kyle Davies made his second rehab start and allowed 5 hits and 4 runs in 3 IP. Two of the runs against Davies were off of a home run to Evan Longoria who has been mashing the ball ever since being drafted this year. Anthony Lerew relieved Kyle and gave up 4 runs of his own in 5 innings. Luckily the offense was on their game. Mike Rosamond, Josh Arteaga, and Josh Burrus each hit homers and Josh Burrus drove in 4 runs. Ryan Basner (L, 4-5) got the loss by allowing the winning run in the 10th inning.

Box Score

High A - Myrtle Beach
No Game

Low A - Rome 6, West Virginia 4
Jeff Lyman did as much damage control as possible by allowing only 4 runs on 11 hits in 5 innings. A couple of 2006 draft picks did the rest as the Braves won 6-4 in 10 innings. Jamie Romak was the offensive star with 3 hits in 5 at-bats to go along with his 13th homer and 4 RBI's. Derrick Arnold had 2 doubles and 2 RBI's. Josh Morris went 2-4 to raise his average to .254 after a slow start. Ovandy Suero also stole his 46th base of the season. Lee Hyde was the first reliever out of the pen and pitched 3 shutout innings to lower his ERA to 2.38. Kevin Gunderson (W, 2-0) pitched 2 perfect innings for the win.

Box Score

Rookie - Danville 14, Pulaski 1
Phillip Britton had 2 home runs and 6 RBI's and Jamie Richmond continued his great starting pitching to lead the Braves to victory. Richmond lowered his ERA to 0.74 with 4.1 shutout innings. Jorge Acosta (W, 2-0) got the win in relief with 1.2 shutout innings with 2 strikeouts. Concepcion Rodriquez batted leadoff and went 2-5 with a double, a homer, and 3 RBI.

Box Score

GCL Braves
No Game

Rich Scalamandre

2006-08-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

I'm back and finally recovered from my trip. Sorry it took so long. Onto the news of the week. There were no more prospects traded by Atlanta while I was gone but we did receive a minor leaguer. By acquiring Rich Scalamandre, Schuerholz made one of his best moves of the year. However, the reason it was the best move is because Jorge Sosa no longer pitches for Atlanta which should already be worth a couple of games in the standings. What they got was a minor league relief pitcher who has put up decent numbers while striking out about one man per inning. Rich was 4-0 with a 4.55 ERA in double-A and is 3-0 with a 4.26 ERA in triple-A. He is already 25 so he is not much of a prospect. He could possible have a year or two of decent work out of a major league bullpen at some point in his career but it is always hard to tell when a reliever hits his peak. Some relievers peak early while some don't peak until their 30's. At any rate, getting a pitcher with somewhat of a chance to pitch in the major leagues for Jorge Sosa is a win for us in my opinion.

Going Out of Town

2006-07-22T12:29:00.000-07:00

I will be among nature for the next week and therefore without internet, TV, or even a cell phone signal. How will I survive!? Well, this trip always occurs during the end of the trading deadline so I know I will miss a lot of deals. It is entirely possible that we will be short another prospect or two when I get back. I will be very anxious to see what the Braves did when I get back.

7/20 Recap

2006-07-21T08:01:00.000-07:00

AAA - Richmond 1, Ottawa 8
Gregor Blanco went 2-4 with a double and a run scored but didn't get any help from the rest of the offense. Blanco continues to be a bright spot on a team without many of them. Ricardo Rodriguez (L, 5-9) started and took the loss. Will Startup pitched an inning of scoreless relief while allowing one hit and striking out one.

Box Score
Recap

AA - Mississippi 2, Tennessee 1
Salty continues his good play since returning from an injury as his 2-run homer was the difference. Barbaro Canizares also had a good day at the dish going 2-3 with a run scored. Chris Waters (W, 6-8) allowed 5 walks and 4 hits in 5 innings but only allowed one run. Zach Schreiber saved his 13th game by allowing one hit and striking out 2 in the 7th. His ERA is now at 1.69.

Box Score

Mississippi 2, Tennessee 1
This is not an error. The Braves played twice and won by the same score both games. This time it was Brandon Jones who provided the heroics with a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 7th, which is the last inning because of the double-header. Josh Burrus also singled twice and scored. Anthony Lerew continues to dominate AA hitters as he allowed only 2 hits and 2 walks to go with an unearned run in 6 innings. His ERA dropped to 1.64. Jose Ascanio (W, 3-2) pitched the top of the 7th for the win.

Box Score

High A - Myrtle Beach 1, Wilmington 4
The Pelicans were able to get 10 hits but could only plate one run. Matt Young got 3 of the hits including a double and a run scored. Carl Loadenthal and Steve Doetsch each had 2 hits as well. Matt Young stole his 18th base while Loadenthal stole his 17th. Kelvin Villa (L, 6-4) gave up 9 hits and 4 runs in 5.2 innings. Ralph Roberts pitched 2.1 scoreless innings in relief.

Box Score
Recap

Low A - Rome 3, Kannapolis 0
Jeff Lyman (W, 5-2) made the best start of his young career by going 7 shutout innings while only allowing 3 hits and 3 walks. This is a good sign from Lyman who had a couple of bad outings in a row before this one. Jake Stevens, who seems to have been relegated to the bullpen, picked up a 2 inning save. Jamie Trejo went 3-4 and drove in a run. Jamie Romak went 2-4 with a double, a run scored, and an RBI.

Box Score
Recap

Rookie - Danville 5, Bristol 3
Michael Broadway (W, 2-0) made another good start and lowered his ERA to 2.08 as he allowed only one run in 5 innings of work. Kristopher Medlen struck out 5 in 1.2 innings for his 3rd save. The offense was lead by Ernesto Mejia who homered and Tyler Flowers who drive in a run on one of his 2 doubles.

Box Score
Recap

GCL Braves 1, Yankees 0
Jose Ortegano (W, 3-2) and Chad Rodgers combined to 3-hit the Yankees on Thursday. Shortstop, Tony de la Cruz, scored the only run of the game to go along with his 2 singles. Rubi Koko also had 2 hits including a double.

Box Score

Braves get a closer; lose Ramirez

2006-07-20T11:23:00.000-07:00

Braves trade for Bob Wickman

The Braves new closer is now Bob Wickman and it comes at the expense of minor league catching prospect Max Ramirez. The Indians have fallen out of the race in a competitive AL Central and have started selling. Wickman has been pretty good for Cleveland this year except for a stretch during June where he struggled. Wickman is a proven big league closer if not a glamorous one. I think just a little bit of stabilization in the Braves' bullpen could prove to be a big difference.

Max Ramirez will be the second top prospect from Atlanta to join Cleveland this year with Andy Marte being the other. Ramirez is a prized catching prospect and played in the South Atlantic League all-star game this year. However, Ramirez was somewhat expendable as the catching position has become a major strength in the Braves organization. Also, Ramirez is only in the middle of his first full professional season and therefore is hard to project. To be able to get a veteran closer for a guy like that is a good decision in my opinion.

7/19 Recap

2006-07-20T10:48:00.000-07:00

AAA - Richmond 0, Ottawa 7
Lance Cormier (L, 3-1) ended a string of good starts by giving up 7 runs in 6 innings. Paul Bush pitched 2 perfect innings of relief with 2 strikeouts. Gregor Blanco, Martin Prado, and Carlos Mendez were the only Richmond players to get hits.

Box Score

AA - Mississippi
No Game

High A - Myrtle Beach 0, Wilmington 1 (11)
The red hot Pelican's offense was completely shut down by Wilmington. Carl Loadenthal was 0-5. Kala Kaaihue went 0-4 with 3 strikeouts. Van Pope went 0-2 but did manage to walk 3 times. On the good side, Luis Atilano made another good start as he tossed 7 shutout innings with 5 strikeouts. Michael Nix pitched 2 shutouts innings before Devin Anderson (L, 1-2) gave up the winning run in the 11th.

Box Score

Low A - Rome
No Game

Rookie - Danville 8, Bristol 5
Phillip Britton broke out of a slump with 4 hits and 3 RBI's. Every starter had a hit but Willie Cabrera who went 0-3. Larry Williams was 2-6 to keep his average at .330. Tommy Hanson was impressive for his 5 innings as he did not give up a run on only 3 hits while striking out 6 with no walks. His ERA is now 2.82. Dave Williams blew his first save of the season when he gave up one run in 2 innings. James Curtis (W, 2-0) pitched the final 2 innings for the win.

Box Score

GCL Braves 1, Indians 3
Starter, Steve Kent (L, 1-1), gave up 2 runs in 3 innings but his ERA still stands at 1.50. Sean White pitched 4 shutouts innings while striking out 4. Adam Coe went 1-4 with a double but his average is down to .267 after a red hot start. Wes Timmons went 1-4 and is hitting .316 in his rehab assignment.

Box Score

7/18 Recap

2006-07-19T06:36:00.000-07:00

AAA - Richmond 4, Ottawa 2
Daniel Curtis (W, 2-3) made another good start as he gave up only an unearned run on 6 hits in 7 innings for the win. Manny Acosta gave up 2 walks, a hit, and a run in the 9th but still got his 8th save. Martin Prado lead the offense with 3 hits in 5 at-bats while driving in 2 runs. His average is now at .299. Tony Pena Jr. was also 1-3 with a run and a stolen base.

Box Score
Recap

AA - Mississippi 2, Tennessee 3
Francisley Bueno (L, 1-4) bounced back from a rough start with a decent start yesterday but it wasn't enough to lead the Braves past Tennessee. Luis Hernandez went 2-4 with 2 RBI's and Josh Burrus hit 2 doubles in 4 at-bats. Brandon Jones also stayed hot by going 2-4 with a double. Salty went 1-4 with 2 strikeouts.

Box Score
Recap

High A- Myrtle Beach
Suspended

Low A- Rome 4, Greenville 6
Phil Stockman made another rehab appearance and struck out the side in the first with 2 walks. Beau Jones then came in and had a terrible time. He allowed 3 runs on 7 walks and 4 hits in only 3.1 innings. Adam Stanley (L, 1-5) took the loss by allowing 2 runs in the 7th inning as the Braves actually held a brief 4-3 lead. Lee Hyde pitched the final 3 innings allowing only a run on 3 hits. Max Ramirez lead the offense by going 3-3 with a walk and an RBI. Ovandy Suero also went 2-4 with an RBI but was caught stealing for the 15th time.

Box Score
Recap

Rookie- Danville 1, Bristol 5
Sergio Valenzuela started and gave up only 1 run on 2 hits in 5 innings, but Joshua Ward (L, 1-1) came in for the 6th inning and allowed 4 runs while recording only one out. Kevin Gunderson made his debut after winning the college world series with Oregon State and pitched a perfect inning. Chase Fontaine singled once in 3 at-bats and scored Danville's lone run.

Box Score
Recap

GCL Braves 11, Phillies 12
Steven Evarts made an impressive start but the bullpen couldn't hold a 6-1 lead for him. Nelson Payano and Julio Sanchez each allowed 4 runs each. Joseph Johnson (L, 1-1) allowed one run in 2 innings for the loss. Cole Miles was a star at the plate with 5 hits in 7 at-bats with a homer and 2 RBI's. Adam Parliament also hit a homer and drove in 2 runs.

Box Score

7/17 Recap

2006-07-18T12:24:00.000-07:00

AAA - Richmond 2, Ottawa 4
Brian O'Connor (L, 4-9) pitched a decent game but got the loss as the offense failed to drive in runs despite 9 hits. Gregor Blanco had another good game with 2 hits and a walk. Cesar Crespo went 1-4 with a home run. Tony Pena Jr. also raised his average to .287 by going 2-3. Wayne Franklin continued his good work out of the pen with a perfect inning and one strikeout. I think the Braves should have given him a shot instead of calling up Peter Moylan again.

Box Score
Recap

AA - Mississippi
No Game

High A - Myrtle Beach 12, Wilmington 3
The Pelicans won again as they continue to get some great hitting from a number of guys. Van Pope went 2-4 with 2 RBI's and 3 runs. Kala Kaaihue went 2-5 with 2 runs scored. Carl Loadenthal was amazing with 5 hits, a home run, and 3 RBI's. Diory Hernandez is also hitting well right now and drove in 4 runs on 2 hits. Another hot hitter is Greg Creek. He went 1-2 with an RBI and 3 walks. James Parr (W, 5-5) took the victory by allowing 3 runs in 5 innings. Moises Hernandez and Ralph Roberts pitched 2 hitless inning each to finish the game.

Box Score
Recap

Low A - Rome 5, Greenville 4
Dustin Evans made his 3rd start with Rome and pitched ok but Tyler Bullock (W, 6-4) got the win with 3 shutout innings in relief. Evans gave up 4 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks in 5 innings. Brad Nelson got his 4th save and has an ERA of 0.84. Jamie Romak had a double and 2 RBI's while Quentin Davis and Max Ramirez each drove in runs as well.

Box Score
Recap

Rookie - Danville 4, Burlington 6
Concepcion Rodriguez drove in 3 runs and Larry Williams went 3-4 but it wasn't enough as Burlington won with 2 runs in the 9th. Tyler Wilson (L, 1-2) gave up the runs to take the loss. Carlos Sencion gave up only one hit in 3.1 innings to lower his ERA to 2.18 for Danville.

Box Score
Recap

GCL Braves
No Game

Weekend Notes:

2006-07-17T13:20:00.000-07:00

Richmond: (1-2)

Lance Cormier pitched 7 strong inning in Richmond's lone win this weekend. He has now put together a few good starts since being demoted.
Gregor Blanco has settled into his role as the new leadoff hitter in Richmond. He went 4-5 with 3 RBI's and a stolen base on Saturday. His speed could bring him to Atlanta soon.
Matt Wright was promoted from Mississippi and just got blasted in his first start. He gave up 10 runs in 3.2 innings as Richmond fell 23-11. It was so bad that catcher, Carlos Mendez, had to get the final out of the game. Vladimer Nunez got pounded and Will Startup didn't pitch too well either. On the bright side, the offense was led by James Jurries' 2 home runs.

Mississippi (3-0)

Anthony Lerew allowed only 5 baserunners and an unearned run in 7 innings on Friday to lower his ERA to 2.00.
Matt Harrison pitched 7 shutout innings on Saturday and Zach Schreiber continued his stellar work with a save on Friday and Saturday.
Brandon Jones homered on Sunday and is currently batting .291.
Salty made his return after sitting out for a few weeks and it looked like it may have made a difference. He went 2-3 on Sunday with a home run.
Dan Smith started and pitched 5 hitless innings while striking out 8. Jose Ascanio also pitched 2 shutout innings in relief this weekend.

Myrtle Beach (0-1)

Joey Devine started on Friday and pitched very well. He gave up only one hit in 3 shutout innings while striking out 5. More importantly, he walked none and didn't throw any wild pitches.
Greg Creek homered in the game and J.C. Holt stole his 20th base.
Devin Anderson took the loss as he gave up 2 runs in the 8th.

Rome (0-3)

Jamie Romak was hot this weekend with is 10th and 11th home runs.
Jeff Lyman made his second straight ineffective start as he took the loss Friday.
Asher Demme pitched 7 shutout innings on Saturday but Rome lost as Phil Stockman gave up 4 hits and 3 unearned runs in the first inning.
Jairo Cuevas pitched 5 hitless innings on Saturday but Jake Stevens came out of the pen to blow it with 5 runs given up in the 6th.

Danville (3-0)

Dave Williams collected his 3rd and 4th saves of the season.
Jamie Richmond and Michael Broadway continued there excellent pitching.
Willie Cabrera had 3 hits Saturday and his average now stands at .340.
Chase Fontaine is still going strong with a .321 average.

New Feature

2006-07-14T06:55:00.000-07:00

Check out the Braves draft history over on the left sidebar just under the prospect profiles. See exactly who the Brave have taken in any draft since 1996. There is one minor thing missing right now however. The 2006 list is for some reason not showing the top 5 picks. I don't know why they are missing but I'm sure thebaseballcube.com will get it sorted out soon.

7/13 Recap

2006-07-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

AAA - Richmond 1, Syracuse 8
Gregor Blanco was on base 3 times with 2 walks and a hit but the rest of the Braves failed to get to the Blue Jay's top pitching prospect, Dustin McGowan. Brayan Pena and Michael Ryan did manage to go 1-3. Dan Curtis (L, 1-3) was coming off a couple of decent starts but was hit hard by Syracuse. He gave up 6 runs on 8 hits in 6 innings. Will Startup pitched an inning but gave up a hit, a walk, and a run. His ERA is 5.28 so he is going to need some time in AAA before being ready to contribute in Atlanta.

Box Score
Recap

AA - Mississippi 1, Huntsville 3
Luis Hernandez walked and scored for the Braves only run in the game. Brandon Jones drove him in with one of his 3 hits including a double. Those 3 hits brought his average up to .303. Yunel Escobar was 1-3 but was caught stealing for the 5th time and committed his 20th error. Chris Waters (L, 5-8) returned from some missed time with a good outing. He gave up only 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks in 6.2 innings. Jose Ascanio gave up another run in the 8th inning.

Box Score
Recap

High A - Myrtle Beach 12, Winston-Salem 6
The Pelican's offense was red hot again as they put a 12-spot up. Kala Kaaihue showed some signs of life with 3 hits, including a home run and 2 RBI's. Mark Jurich was an offensive star as well with 3 hits and 3 RBI's. Clint Sammons and J.C. Holt each drove in 2 runs apiece as well. Kelvin Villa (W, 6-3) pitched the minimum innings required for the win while giving up 4 runs to go along with 3 walks and no strikeouts. Dave Watkins pitched 2 scoreless innings of relief and Michael Nix pitched the final inning without giving up a run.

Box Score
Recap

Low A - Rome 3, Charleston 1
Beau Jones pitched a typical game where he gave up a lot of baserunners (6 hits and 2 walks) but not many runs (1 unearned). He lasted only 4.1 innings thanks to his inefficiency. Jose Santiago (W, 1-0) pitched the final 4.2 innings and allowed only 2 hits while striking out 8. Quentin Davis had a big day at the plate with 3 his, one run, and 4 stolen bases to give him 30 for the season. His 4 steals included stealing 3rd base three times. Max Ramirez hit a 2-run homer in the 6th inning which proved to be the difference.

Box Score
Recap

Rookie - Danville
Suspended

GCL Braves 4, Phillies 0
Steven Evarts (W, 1-1) was terrific with 5 shutout innings on 3 hits and one walk. Edgar Osuna struck out 6 in the final 3 innings for his first save. Evart's ERA now stands at 1.29 while Osuna lowered his ERA to 1.12. Jon Mark Owings continued his good work with 2 doubles and an RBI. Adam Coe also drove in another run with his 1-4 day. Cole Miles went 1-2, walked 3 times, and stole a base out of the leadoff spot. Wes Timmons made a rehab appearance and went 0-3 with a walk and a run.

Box Score

Prospect Profile: Jarrod Saltalamacchia

2006-07-13T18:01:00.000-07:00

Name: Jarrod "Salty" Saltalamacchia
Age: 21
Pos: C
Height: 6-4
Weight: 195
Bats: S
Throws: R

History:
Jarrod Saltalamacchia was drafted in the first round (36th overall) of the 2003 draft out of high school in Florida. He was the 2nd player taken by the braves in the 2003 draft as Luis Atilano was taken just one spot ahead of Jarrod. Jarrod spent 2003 in the gulf coast league and really didn't play well except for the fact that he showed good plate discipline with 28 walks against 33 strikeouts. He hit .239 with only two home runs in 134 at-bats. Jarrod was promoted to Rome in 2004 and started to show some promise. He hit .272 while adding 10 home runs. However, his plate discipline suffered as he struck out to 83 times in 323 at-bats. Salty burst onto the prospect scene in 2005 with a terrific year in the pitcher friendly ballpark at Myrtle Beach. Salty hit 35 doubles and slugged 19 home runs while driving in 81 to go along with his batting line of .314/.394/.519. Jarrod's ascension took him to the top of the braves prospect list at the beginning of the 2006 season.

Current:
Where do we start with Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the 2006 season. Everybody who follows the minor leagues knows that he is having a horrific season. He is currently under the Mendoza line with a .198 batting average. His slugging percentage is just as bad at .298. So what has happened to the braves most prized prospect? A couple of excuses have been mentioned. The first is that he has spent so much time working on his defense that his offense has struggled to keep pace. Some speculate that he has been playing through an injury. Those close to him say that his swing looks different this year and his power has been zapped. I don't know exactly what has happened to Salty this year but I do know that he showed too much promise last year to completely fizzle for good. This season may be basically lost but he has plenty of time to reverse his fortunes and become a top prospect again.

Projected:
Before this season I would have told you that Salty projects as a middle of the order slugger at the major league level. He was even impressive during spring training this march. Now I would say that he still has the skills necessary to be a major league hitter but he needs to quickly find the source of his troubles this year. I have a feeling that one of two things will happen. Either he will bounce back and be the big hitter that he has shown he can be, or he will never again find his stroke and possibly never make it to the big leagues. There's also a question of whether or not he will remain a catcher or become a corner infielder or an outfielder for that matter. With all of the work that he is done on his catching, I would imagine that the braves are intent on him being a catcher at the major league level.

Year	Age	Team	Level	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG
2003	18	Gul	Rookie	46	134	23	32	11	2	2	14	28	33	0	0	.239	.382	.396
2004	19	Rome	A	91	323	42	88	19	2	10	51	34	83	1	0	.272	.348	.437
2005	20	Myr	A+	129	459	70	144	35	1	19	81	57	99	4	2	.314	.394	.519
2006	21	Mis	AA	70	242	16	48	12	0	4	25	33	58	0	0	.198	.311	.298

7/12 Recap

2006-07-13T09:59:00.000-07:00

AAA - Richmond
No Game

AA - Mississippi 0, Huntsville 11
Francisley Bueno (L, 1-3) returned to the mound after missing some time and it showed as he didn't pitch well at all. He gave up 9 runs on 10 hits in 5 innings. The offense was just as bad as they only managed 2 hits, one each by Josh Burrus and Yunel Escobar. This was Burrus's first game back in Mississippi after rehabbing in Florida. Escobar also committed an error which was his 19th of the season.

Box Score
Recap

High A- Myrtle Beach 5, Winston-Salem 3
Luis Atilano (W, 5-7) continued his good pitching of late with 7.1 strong innings of work where he walked one, struck out 3, and gave up 3 runs. Moises Hernandez got the final 5 outs for his 7th save. J.C. Holt and Matt Young both had 2 hits at the top of the order and each drove in a run. Diory Hernandez continued his strong hitting since his rehab with a 2-4 day. Carl Loadenthal went 1-3 and stole his 15th base.

Box Score
Recap

Low A- Rome 3, Charleston 2
Josh Morris went 2-3 with 2 runs scored and Jordan Schafer knocked him in for the winning run in the bottom of the 7th. Ovandy Suero also drove in 2 runs. Elvis Andrus went 0-4 and committed his 24th error. Him and Escobar have a lot of work to do on their fielding. Phil Stockman started his rehab with a scoreless inning of work with 2 strikeouts. Dustin Evans pitched the next 5 innings, giving up 3 hits and 2 runs along with 7 strikeouts. His ERA in Rome now stands at 1.64 since being drafted in June. Jairo Cuevas, (W, 4-7) picked up the win with 2 scoreless innings of work. Another 2006 draft pick, Lee Hyde, pithced the 9th for his first save of the season.

Box Score
Recap

Rookie- Danville 5, Bluefield 3
Ernesto Mejia drove in 2 runs with 2 hits and Willie Cabrera raised his average to .349 with a 3-3 day. Chase Fontaine went 2-4 with an RBI and is batting .347 while Tyler Flowers singled walked and scored twice. Joshua Ward started and gave up 7 hits but only one run in 4 innings. Sergio Valenzuela (W, 1-2) gave up only one hit but 2 runs in 3 innings for the win. Dave Williams collected his second save of the year.

Box Score

GCL Braves
No Game

Prospect Profile: Brandon Jones

2006-07-11T09:54:00.000-07:00

Name: Brandon Jones
Age: 22
Position: OF
Height: 6-2
Weight: 195
Bats: L
Throws: R

History:
Brandon Jones was drafted in the 24th round (727th overall) of the 2003 draft out of community college in Florida. Jones played his first season at Danville in 2004. He was pretty impressive with a .297 average and good plate discipline with 23 walks and 33 strikeouts. He only hit 3 homers and stole 4 bases but it was obvious that he had the physical skills to be a 5-tool player. He was a sleeper heading into 2005 with the potential to breakout. Jones started the year great in Rome hitting .308/.423/.577 with 29 walks and 29 strikeouts. The Braves were impressed enough to promote him to Myrtle Beach in the middle of the season. Unfortunately after 60 at-bats, Brandon broke a bone in his hand to sideline him for the remainder of the season. He still hit .350 in his 60 at-bats at Myrtle Beach to solidify himself as a top prospect in the Atlanta organization.

Current:
Brandon spent the first part of 2006 recovering from his hand injury from 2005. He had to shake off some rust once he came back but was still the most feared hitter in the Pelicans lineup for the first half of the season. The Braves were impressed enough to send him to Mississippi for the second half. His numbers at Myrtle Beach weren't that impressive but all of the scouts and coaches really liked what they saw out of him. He finished the first half at .259/.332/.424 with 7 home runs and 9 stolen bases. So far at Mississippi, Brandon is hitting .259 and slugging .448. I'm hoping to see some improvement in the second half of this year.
Projected:
Brandon Jones is already the top outfield prospect in the Braves' system. He possesses all the tools necessary to be a starting outfielder someday. The problem right now is he doesn't do anything great. His power numbers are not tremendous and he is not stealing a ton of bases. However, he is expected to develop more power down the road and he'll learn how to steal bases. At the very worst, I think he'll be a Langerhans type player who can be a very valuable fourth outfielder or platoon starter. However, if he progresses as expected, he should join Andruw Jones as a starting outfielder someday.

Year	Level	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2004	Rookie	57	209	35	62	6	5	3	33	23	33	4	2	.297	.366	.416	782
2005	Rookie	2	7	0	2	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	.286	.375	.286	661
	Rookie	2	8	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	2	0	1	.125	.125	.125	250
	A	43	156	37	48	12	3	8	27	29	29	4	1	.308	.423	.577	1000
	A+	17	60	7	21	4	0	0	5	9	9	0	1	.350	.437	.417	854
2006	A+	59	224	27	58	10	3	7	35	20	49	9	5	.259	.332	.424	756
	AA	17	58	7	15	4	2	1	7	6	11	0	1	.259	.313	.448	761

7/10 Recap

2006-07-10T21:44:00.000-07:00

AAA - Richmond
No Game

AA - Mississippi
No Game

High A- Myrtle Beach 7, Wilmington 4
Diory Hernandez and Steve Pyzik combined for 7 hits and 6 RBI's as the Pelicans won 7-4. Carl Loadenthal had 2 hits of his own and scored 3 times. Kala Kaaihue doubled and scored twice to raise his average to .190. J.C. Holt stole his 19th base and Matt Young stole his 16th base as well. Ralph Roberts started and gave up 2 runs in 3 innings. Devin Anderson (W, 1-0) claimed his first win since being promoted to Myrtle Beach with 3 shutout innings of relief with 3 k's.

Box Score
Recap

Low A- Rome 7, Columbus 3
Jake Stevens (W, 2-1) pitched a great game, giving up 3 hits and one run in 6 innings for the win. The Braves scored 5 times in the 7th thanks to a grand slam by Eric Campbell. It was his 14th homer of the season. Jordan Schafer had 2 hits and an RBI and Jose Santos also had 2 hits and scored a run to go along with his first stolen base since being promoted from Danville.

Box Score
Recap

Rookie- Danville 2, Kingsport 4
Carlos Sencion (L, 0-1) pitched 4 shutout innings before allowing 3 runs in the 5th. Overall he allowed 4 runs in 5.1 innings. Jaye Chapman pitched the final 2.2 innings without allowing a run to lower his ERA to 2.63. Tyler Flowers had 2 hits including a 2-run home run. Danny Brezeale doubled twice but committed his 6th error of the year. Brandon Monk went 0-4 and is now hitting just .145 since being demoted from Rome. Chase Fontaine also went 0-4 but he is still batting .338.

Box Score

GCL Braves 1, Yankees 5
Neftali Feliz (L, 0-1) started and gave up 2 runs in only 2 innings but took the loss as the Braves could only score once. Kyle Warren pitched pretty well as he only gave up one run in 3 innings of work. Javier Dominguez drove in the only run for the Braves but failed to record a hit. Jon Mark Owings went 1-2 with a walk to raise his average to .385 on his rehab stint. Josh Burrus is still rehabbing and went 1-3 to raise his average to .182.

Box Score

Weekend Recap

2006-07-10T08:39:00.000-07:00

AAA - Richmond
Richmond beat Durham twice this weekend with some really good pitching. Jason Shiell (W, 1-1) pitched 7 shutout innings in the first game with Wayne Franklin and Manny Acosta completing the shutout. Ricardo Rodriguez (W, 5-7) won the second game by giving up only 2 runs in 7 innings. Manny Acosta got the save for the second consecutive night. Brayan Pena drove in 2 runs in the first game while Tony Pena scored twice on his 2-3 night. Gregor Blanco singled, walked, stole a base, and scored as well. Jamal Strong hit his first home run of the season in the second game.

Box Score: Richmond 3, Durham 0
Box Score: Richmond 4, Durham 2

AA - Mississippi
The Mississippi Braves didn't play on Sunday so there is only one game to cover. Matt Wright started and pitched great but he left with the game tied and the Braves ended up losing in extra innings 4-2. Wright only gave up 3 hits and 2 runs in 6.2 innings to lower his ERA to 2.22. Arthur Santos (L, 1-2) pitched 3 innings in relief and gave up his first earned run of the season since being promoted to Mississippi. His ERA now stands at 0.47. Mississippi got on the board with an Anthony Lerew pinch-hit RBI groundout. Luis Hernandez drove in the other run.

Box Score: Mobile 4, Mississippi 2

High A- Myrtle Beach
Myrtle Beach split their games this weekend with the first game being a wild win at 11-10. Jo-Jo Reyes started the game and only gave up one run on 3 hits in 5 innings to lower his ERA to 1.02. Devin Anderson, Ralph Roberts, and Moises Hernandez then gave up 9 runs out of the pen. Michael Nix (W, 2-3) pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless ball for the win. Matt Young, Van Pope, Kala Kaaihue, and Greg Creek each drove in 2 runs in the game. James Parr started Sunday's game and left in a 3-3 game after 6 innings. Joey Devine (L, 0-1) then came in and walked 3, threw a wild pitch, and gave up 2 runs. Diory Hernandez singled twice and scored twice while Clint Sammons drove in a run with 2 hits.

Box Score: MB 11, Wilmington 10
Box Score: Wilmington 5, MB 3

Low A- Rome
Rome has yet to find the success they enjoyed in the first half as they lost twice this weekend. The pitching faltered on Saturday as Tyler Bullock, Nick Tisone, and Adam Stanley (L, 1-4) combined to give up 11 runs. Asher Demme pitched well on Sunday as he gave up only one run on 7 hits in 5 innings but Jeff Lyman (L, 4-1) blew the game with 3 runs in 3 innings. Lyman stuggled with control as he walked 4 and gave up 3 hits. Jamie Romak stared in both games with 2 home runs and 4 RBI. Jordan Schafer homered and drove in 4 runs on Saturday.

Box Score: Columbus 11, Rome 9
Box Score: Columbus 4, Rome 3

Rookie- Danville
Danville continued its good play with a couple of high scoring victories. Phillip Britton went 4-10 with 5 RBI's over the weekend. Chase Fontaine also had a couple of good games with 3 hits and a home run. Danny Brezeale also hit a 3-run homer on Saturday. Tommy Hanson (W, 1-1) got the win on Saturday despite giving up 3 runs in 2 innings. Lee Hyde (W, 1-0) took the win on Sunday with 2 shutout innings.

Box Score: Danville 8, Kingston 7
Box Score: Danville 9, Kingston 5

GCL Braves
Steve Kent (W, 1-0) made an impressive start on Saturday and Ysidro Garcia may have been a little better to finish off the Braves' 7-0 win over the Phillies. Kent gave up only 2 hits with no walks and 6 strikeouts in 5 innings. Garcia held the Phillies hitless in the final 4 innings while allowing only 2 walks. The offense started ominously as the first 6 Braves hitters struck out. Jon Mark Owings provided all the offense the Braves needed with a two-run double in the 3rd. Steven Garcia added 3 hits and a solo homer. Errors were the story of Sunday's game. The Braves made 5 of them. Deivis Rivadeneira made 2 of them. Jose Ortegano gave up only one hit in 4 innings but also gave up 2 runs (one earned). Chad Rodgers (L, 0-1) took the loss despite giving up only an unearned run in 4 innings. Ysidro Garcia finished up by giving up 2 unearned runs of his own as the Braves fell 5-2.

Box Score: Braves 7, Phillies 0
Box Score: Indians 5, Braves 2

Top 20 Braves PRE-SEASON Prospects in Review

2006-07-08T13:09:00.000-07:00

Everyone should check out John Sickel's midseason analysis of the Braves pre-season top-20 prospects. Below is John's summary of the organization thus far this season.

"Salty is a big disappointment, although he's been banged up physically.
It will be very interesting to see how various prospect experts grade
him at the end of the year. I am undecided on that myself. It doesn't
fit with their reputation, but there have been several pitching
disappointments in this organization this year. I still love Chuck
James though, and Startup looks intriguing."

He's right on the money when he says we have had some major pitching disappointments. Jake Stevens, Anthony Lerew, and Joey Devine have endured to most publicized declines. Jairo Cueves, Luis Atilano, and James Parr are guys who have not quite lived up to their ability this year although it is far too early to give up on any of them. Also, the emergence of Jo-Jo Reyes and Matt Harrison give the Braves a few arms to be proud of.

Prospect Profile: Matt Harrison

2006-07-08T12:24:00.000-07:00

Name: Matt Harrison
Age: 20
Pos: SP
Height: 6-4
Weight: 221
Bats: L
Throws: L

History:
Matt was selected by the Braves in the 3rd round (97th overall) of the 2003 draft out of high school in North Carolina. Matt started his pro career in the gulf coast league and pitched pretty well. He was 3-1 with a 3.69 ERA in 11 games (6 starts). He struck out 33 in 39 innings and walked 9. The Braves made him a full-time starter in 2004 at Danville where he went 4-4 with a 4.09 ERA. His ERA went up but his HR/9, BB/9, and WHIP all went down. Harrison was then promoted to Rome in 2005 and had a standout year. He won 12 games with a 3.23 ERA and had a very small WHIP of 1.08. Harrison's K/9 has decreased every season but strikeouts has never been Harrison's game. Matt doesn't walk many and keeps the ball in the ballpark.

Current:
Matt's 2006 season with Myrtle Beach has been even better than his previous years as he was selected to the all-star team. For Myrtle Beach in the first half, Matt went 8-4 with a 3.10 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. He increased his k/9 to 6.67 and lowered his home run rate. Harrison was promoted to Mississippi at the mid-point of the season. He is currently 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA but his last start was very good and he has only given up one homer in 18.1 innings. I expect him to improve his numbers greatly as the season goes on.

Projected:
At this point in Matt Harrison's development, he projects as a starting pitcher in the big leagues. He has succeeded at every level he has been promoted to and will hopefully continue until he gets to Atlanta. As I said earlier, Harrison is not a strikeout pitcher but he strikes out people with more regularity than someone like Horacio Ramirez. I expect that he will eventually be a middle top back of the rotation starter and will likely get a chance at the rotation sometime in 2008.

Year	Team Name	Level	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP
2003	Gulf Coast Braves	Rk	3	1	3.69	11	6	39.0	40	18	16	2	9	33	1.26
2004	Danville	Rk	4	4	4.09	13	12	66.0	72	36	30	3	10	49	1.24
2005	Rome	A	12	7	3.23	27	27	167.0	151	65	60	17	30	118	1.08
2006	Myrtle Beach	A+	8	4	3.10	13	13	81.1	77	30	28	6	16	60	1.14
2006	Mississippi	AA	0	2	5.40	3	3	18.1	22	12	11	1	4	16	1.44

Salty is hurt

2006-07-07T22:04:00.000-07:00

If you've noticed that Jarrod Saltalamacchia has not been in the lineup recently, you should be interested to know that it is an injury that has kept him out. Here is an excerpt from a Baseball America article.

"Things have gone from bad to worse for Braves No. 1 prospect Jarrod Saltalamacchia this season. While he has made strides defensively, the Double-A
Mississippi catcher is hitting just .197/.311/.297 with four homers and
25 RBIs in 239 at-bats this season. Saltalamacchia sustained a bone
bruise on his left hand at the base of his wrist on June 28 and hasn’t
played since. He is not expected to return until after the all-star
break"

Maybe this will give him a chance to work on his swing which has reportedly fallen apart this season. We know he is hitting under .200 but the question is why? Scouts are saying that his swing has deteriorated drastically from both sides of the plate and his power has been zapped. He has made a concerted effort to work on his defense this season so that could have something to do with his offensive drop-off. Hopefully this break will do him some good and he can regain the swing that made him a top prospect.

7/7 Recap

2006-07-07T21:07:00.000-07:00

AAA - Richmond 9, Durham 4
Michael Ryan stayed red hot with a homer and 4 RBI's. He now has his average up to .258. Brayan Pena went 4-5 and has his average all the way up to .272 after a rough start. Gregor Blanco went 2-6 with 2 runs and 2 RBI's. Lance Cormier (W, 2-0) started and pitched really well; 7 innings, 6 hits, one run. Paul Bush finished the game by giving up 3 runs in 2 innings.

Box Score
Recap

AA - Mississippi 5, Mobile 0
Anthony Lerew (W, 1-2) made another impressive start with 6 shutout innings lowering his ERA to 2.70. Dan Smith, Eric Schmitt, and Glen Tucker each threw shutout innings in relief. Brandon Jones led the offense with 2 hits a stolen base and a home run. Yunel Escobar went 3-3 with an RBI and a stolen base and Bobby Darula went 2-4 with a homer from the leadoff spot.

Box Score
Recap

High A - Myrtle Beach 0, Frederick 2
Matt Young had 3 hits but got shutout by Frederick 3-0. Kala Kaaihue continues to struggle since his promotion and is not hitting .156. Charlie Morton (L, 4-6) started and only gave up 2 runs in 6 innings. Moises Hernandez pitched a scoreless 7th and Dave Watkins struck out the side in the 8th.

Box Score
Recap

Low A - Rome 4, Savannah 7
Rome lost 7-4 as Jairo Cuevas (L, 3-7) gave up 3 runs in the 8th inning. Beau Jones started and only gave up 2 runs (one earned) in 5 innings but he walked 6 people. Beau is going to have to cut down on his walks and be able to pitch later into games. Brad Nelson pitched a scoreless 9th. Jordan Schafer stayed hot and went 3-4 with 2 doubles and a homer. Jamie Romak went 2-4 and hit a homer as well. Catcher, Cody Clark, went 1-2 with a couple of walks and is now hitting .317. Eric Campbell and Elvis Andrus each went 0-4.

Box Score
Recap

Rookie - Danville 9, Johnson City 0
Jaye Chapman started and pitched 2 hitless innings but Jamie Richmond (W, 3-0) was the star as he held Johnson City scoreless on one hit for 6 innings. The offense was led by Willie Cabrera who went 2-4 with a homer and 2 RBI. Shortstop, Chase Fontaine, went 3-5 with 3 RBI's and is hitting .364. Larry Williams also drove in 2 runs with 2 hits while raising his average to .313.

Box Score
Recap

7/5 Recap

2006-07-06T08:57:00.000-07:00

AAA - Richmond
Ottawa 11, Richmond 9
Good:
OF- Gregor Blanco- 3/4, 3R, 2BB, SB, CS, .255
2B- Martin Prado- 3/6, 3R, .301
OF- Michael Ryan- 3/4, R, 5 RBI, BB, .244
DH- Dax Norris- 2/5, 2 RBI, .255
Bad:
SP- Jonathan Johnson- 5 IP, 7H, 6R, 3BB, K, 5.23
P- Franklin Nunez (L, 1-6)- .2 IP, 2H, 2R, BB, 4.97

Box Score
Recap

AA - Mississippi
No Game

High A - Myrtle Beach
No Game

Low A - Rome
Savannah 9, Rome 2
Good:
OF- Jordan Schafer- 2/3, HR, R, 2 RBI, .216
Bad:
SP- Jake Stevens (L,1-2)- 5 IP, 6H, 7R, 5BB, 5K, 4.94
DH- Josh Morris- 0/4, .147

Box Score
Recap

Rookie - Danville
Suspended: Rain

GCL Braves-
Jeffrey Locke started and gave up 4 runs (3 earned) in 3 innings as the Braves fell to the Yankees 8-3. Casey Beck pitched two shutout innings to finish the game for the Braves. The offense was lead by Adam Coe and Diory Hernandez who each hit home runs. Coe now has 4 homers to go with his .347 average. Josh Burrus has joined the GCL Braves as he rehabs his injury.

Box Score

Kevin Barry called back up

2006-07-04T09:58:00.000-07:00

Chris Reitsma did not like what he felt in his hand in his first appearance back and has been placed on the DL again. There is some speculation that he could sit out the remainder of the season if he needs surgery. Kevin Barry was recalled from Richmond again to replace Chris. In my opinion this is good news and hopefully Barry will be a consistent bullpen performer not that he has once again gotten the chance he deserves.

Prospect Profile: Eric Campbell

2006-07-04T09:09:00.000-07:00

Name: Eric Campbell
Age: 20
Pos: 3B
Height: 6-0
Weight: 195
Bats: R
Throws: R

History:
Eric Campbell was taken by the Braves in the 2nd round (71st overall) of the 2004 draft out of high school in Indiana. The Braves viewed him as a third baseman with power despite his size (6-0, 195), and I've heard he's more like 5-11 than 6-0. He was sent to the GCL Braves as are almost all high school draft picks. His 2004 season with the GCL Braves was really a disappointment. He hit .251/.306/.384 with 7 home runs and 29 RBI's. He walked on 15 times and struck out 47 times in 211 at-bats. He also played a few games in Rome at the end of the season and went 3-22 there. Eric was promoted to Danville in 2005 despite his 2004 struggles and quickly answered all of his critics. He went on to be an Appalachian League All-Star, Co-player of the year in the Appalachian League, and Rookie Level Player of the Year. He hit .313/.383/.634 and even stole 15 bases in 19 attempts in his breakout season. His slugging potential was seen with his 18 home runs and 64 RBI's in 262 at-bats. He also improved his plate discipline a little bit by walking 28 times. 2005 was a breakout season for Eric which launched him into the status of the heir apparent to Chipper Jones now that Marte has moved on.

Current:
Eric Campbell's debut in full season single-A ball has further solidified Eric as a top prospect. In 297 at-bats, Eric is hitting .303/.342/.519 with 13 home runs and 52 RBI's. He was also selected as a starter for the South Atlantic League All-Star team. Eric also continues to show some speed on the base paths with 9 steals in 11 attempts in the first half. When it comes to plate discipline, Campbell has declined in walks but has improved in strikeouts. He has only walked 14 times but has also cut his strikeouts down a lot to 43.

Projected:
Eric's projected MLB position is still somewhat up in the air. His height and quickness make some people speculate that he could end up being a second baseman at the big league level. His power would make him an excellent offensive second baseman. Right now he is staying at third base and showing enough power to project him as a slugging third baseman even at the major league level. He needs to work on taking walks but everything else is looking very good. He hits for average and power. He has speed and has decreased his strikeouts. He should be starting somewhere in Atlanta's infield in a few years.

Year	Team Name	Level	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG
2004	Gulf Coast Braves	Rk	211	30	53	7	0	7	29	3	1	15	47	.251	.306	.384
2005	Danville	Rk	262	77	82	26	2	18	64	15	4	28	64	.313	.383	.634
2006	Rome	A	300	60	90	19	3	13	52	9	2	14	44	.300	.341	.513

7/3 Recap

2006-07-03T21:26:00.000-07:00

AAA - Richmond
Richmond 8, Ottawa 4
Good:
OF- Gregor Blanco- 1/3, 2R, RBI, 2BB, .213
C- Brayan Pena- 2/5, R, 2 RBI, .265
SS- Tony Pena- 2/5, R, .273
P- Wayne Franklin- 2 IP, H, 2K, 2.39
P- Manny Acosta- IP, H, K, 4.19

Box Score
Recap

AA - Mississippi
Mississippi 3, Montgomery 2
Good:
3B- Yunel Escobar- 1/4, 3B, R, RBI, .279
P- Matt Wright- 7 IP, 5H, 1ER, 4K, 2.19
P- Arthur Santos- 2.2 IP, H, unearned run, 2K, 0.00
Bad:
SS- Luis Hernandez- error lead to winning run

Box Score
Recap

High A - Myrtle Beach
MB 5, Potomac 0
Good:
1B- Kala Kaaihue- 1/3, HR, 3 RBI, 2R, .188
C- Clint Sammons- 3/4, RBI, .233
DH- Mark Jurich- 2/3, HR, 2BB, .250
P- Jo-Jo Reyes- 7 IP, 7H, BB, 6K, 0.71
Bad:
SS- Jaime Trejo- 0/4, 2K, .213

Box Score
Recap

Low A - Rome
Charleston 2, Rome1
Good:
C- Max Ramirez- 2/4, HR, .286
P- Adam Stanley- 6 IP, 6H, R, 2BB, 2K, 5.16
Bad:
P- Marcus Covington- 2.2 IP, 4H, R, 2BB, 2K, 1.35
OF- Jamie Romak- 0/4, 3K, .209

Box Score
Recap

Rookie - Danville
Burlington 8, Danville 4
Good:
1B- Tyler Flowers- 1/2, R, 2BB, .280
2B- Brandon Monk- 2/3, R, .158
P- Lee Hyde- IP, H, BB, K, 0.00
Bad:
P- Kyle Cofield- 4 IP, 6H, 6R, 2BB, K, 4.97

Box Score
Recap

GCL Braves-
Chad Rodgers had a successful debut but the Braves fell 5-2 to the Phillies. Rogers gave up one run on two hits in three innings. Jose Ortegano took the loss by giving up three runs on five hits in four innings. Cody Johnson went 1-2 with an RBI and holds a .308 average. Adam Coe also went 1-3 with a couple of walks to lower his average to a healthy .390.

Box Score

First Half Stats: Myrtle Beach

2006-07-01T12:24:00.000-07:00

Player	POS	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	AVG	OPS	E
Barbaro Canizares	OF	6	21	3	8	0	0	1	1	1	3	1	0	.409	.524	.381	.933	0
Carl Loadenthal	OF	49	163	27	53	8	0	3	18	26	28	12	6	.419	.429	.325	.848	2
Onil Joseph	OF	31	107	19	34	4	2	2	12	10	18	4	2	.381	.449	.318	.830	1
Matt Young	OF	73	252	35	70	19	2	1	30	47	34	14	6	.399	.381	.278	.780	2
Mike Rozema	SS	43	155	23	43	10	1	4	11	10	28	4	4	.323	.432	.277	.756	6
Greg Creek	1B	56	193	20	52	9	1	3	25	12	27	4	3	.319	.373	.269	.692	4
Brandon Jones	OF	59	226	27	58	10	3	7	35	25	49	11	6	.329	.420	.257	.750	5
Van Pope	3B	71	260	33	65	19	1	6	38	25	50	3	3	.327	.400	.250	.727	8
Mark Jurich	1B	23	78	6	18	4	1	1	12	4	15	0	0	.268	.346	.231	.614	2
Steve Doetsch	OF	69	222	23	51	7	2	0	13	22	61	8	2	.307	.279	.230	.586	2
J.C. Holt	2B	56	211	29	47	10	1	1	13	22	44	16	3	.303	.294	.223	.596	3
Clint Sammons	C	57	194	18	43	8	0	5	24	20	40	4	1	.294	.340	.222	.634	6
Jaime Trejo	3B	27	83	12	18	3	0	1	6	8	21	3	1	.280	.289	.217	.569	8
Willie James	SS	11	23	3	5	0	0	0	0	6	4	3	1	.419	.217	.217	.637	1
Scott Schade	3B	15	51	3	11	2	0	2	6	7	24	0	0	.310	.373	.216	.683	0
Diory Hernandez	SS	22	85	7	17	3	0	3	14	4	21	2	0	.242	.341	.200	.583	2
Steve Pyzik	C	27	89	4	17	2	0	0	6	5	7	0	0	.240	.213	.191	.453	4
Ardley Jansen	OF	6	21	0	4	2	0	0	1	1	4	1	0	.227	.286	.190	.513	1
Kala Kaaihue	1B	7	22	3	4	1	0	1	4	3	5	0	0	.280	.364	.182	.644	2
Robert Marcial	2B	16	38	3	4	0	0	0	6	6	13	1	0	.227	.105	.105	.333	1
Barksdale	C	7	23	2	2	0	0	2	3	0	10	0	0	.087	.348	.087	.435	1

Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	HB	BB	SO	WHIP
Luis Atilano	3	7	5.01	15	15	1	0	88.0	109	53	49	14	2	20	34	1.47
Matt Harrison	8	4	3.10	13	13	2	0	81.1	77	30	28	6	4	16	60	1.14
Kelvin Villa	5	2	2.69	14	8	0	1	63.2	67	29	19	1	1	26	50	1.46
James Parr	3	5	5.40	12	10	0	1	63.1	71	40	38	6	1	16	49	1.37
Jake Stevens	1	6	6.41	13	11	0	0	60.1	69	47	43	5	7	30	33	1.64
Charlie Morton	3	5	6.12	16	10	0	0	57.1	66	46	39	7	4	30	48	1.67
Ralph Roberts	4	0	3.65	19	0	0	0	37.0	25	15	15	5	0	17	32	1.14
Jose Ascanio	1	1	4.94	8	6	0	0	31.0	38	18	17	0	4	20	23	1.87
Arthur Santos	4	0	1.04	13	0	0	1	26.0	21	4	3	0	2	6	15	1.04
Stephen Russell	2	0	2.35	12	2	0	0	23.0	16	7	6	3	1	10	19	1.13
Michael Nix	1	3	3.74	16	0	0	2	21.2	19	10	9	0	2	14	17	1.52
Wes Letson	0	0	5.59	12	0	0	0	19.1	26	13	12	0	0	10	9	1.86
David Watkins	1	4	4.08	16	0	0	5	17.2	8	12	8	2	1	8	17	0.91
Moises Hernandez	0	1	5.71	11	0	0	6	17.1	20	13	11	0	3	7	10	1.56
Zach Schreiber	0	0	1.10	8	0	0	3	16.1	13	2	2	1	0	8	18	1.29
Gonzalo Lopez	0	0	2.19	4	1	0	0	12.1	15	4	3	0	0	6	6	1.70
Dan Smith	1	0	1.13	8	0	0	5	8.0	5	1	1	1	0	4	13	1.13
Brad Nelson	0	0	0.00	3	0	0	0	7.1	3	0	0	0	0	2	4	0.68
Jo-Jo Reyes	0	0	1.59	1	1	0	0	5.2	3	3	1	0	0	1	7	0.71
Nelson Payano	0	0	6.23	2	1	0	0	4.1	6	6	3	0	1	3	5	2.08
Nick Tisone	0	0	0.00	1	0	0	0	3.0	4	0	0	0	0	1	3	1.67
Marcus Covington	1	0	0.00	2	0	0	0	2.0	1	0	0	0	0	4	2	2.50
Will Startup	1	0	0.00	1	0	0	0	2.0	1	0	0	0	0	1	3	1.00
Joey Devine	0	0	9.00	2	0	0	0	2.0	1	2	2	0	1	1	3	1.00
Devin Anderson	0	0	0.00	2	0	0	0	2.0	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	1.00

Reitsma activated; Barry sent down

2006-07-01T09:48:00.000-07:00

Kevin Barry was sent back down to Richmond yesterday to make room for Chris Reitsma to come off of the 15-day DL. Kevin Barry's MLB career now consists of one outing at Yankee Stadium in which he threw 3 shutout innings in relief, striking out one and walking one. With that kind of success at Yankee Stadium, I would have loved to see what he could do the rest of the year in the bullpen. I just pray that he will be the guy called up next time somebody goes down.

After seeing Chuck James win his second start of the season, I have to wonder why the heck was this guy not in our starting rotation to begin the season? I am seeing a disturbing trend of mismanagement when it comes to pitchers recently. Why was Sosa starting? Why did they think Chris Reitsma could be a closer? Why wasn't Chuck James starting? Why was John Thomson in the bullpen? Why isn't Kevin Barry getting a shot? Why did Mike Remlinger even make the roster, and then stick around for as long as he did? I don't know the answers to any of these questions but most of these have been solved except for the Kevin Barry situation. The guy deserves a shot and I just hope he gets one.

Prospect Profile: Kala Kaaihue

2006-07-01T07:58:00.000-07:00

Name: Isaac Kala Kaaihue Jr.
Age: 21
Pos: 1B
Height: 6-2
Weight: 230
Bats: R
Throws: R

History:
Kala Kaaihue was taken by the Boston Red Sox in the 22nd round (654th overall) in the 2003 draft. Honestly, I have no idea how he came to be in the Braves organization but I do know that he never played in the Red Sox organization and that he didn't play anywhere in 2004. As far is I know, he just showed up on the GCL Braves in 2005. I'm sure not complaining, though. This kid has been putting up some big numbers. As a member of the GCL Braves, Kaaihue batted .283 and hit 6 home runs to go along with his .520 slugging percentage. He ended up going to Danville for only and handful of at-bats, but he sure made the most of them. He went 7/16 with 2 home runs and slugged 1.000. The Braves were fairly impressed as they gave him an invitation to Spring Training in 2006. Kala comes from a baseball family. His dad played in the Pirates system for a few years before going home to Hawaii and becoming a very prominent baseball figure in the community. Kala's older brother, Kila, is currently playing in the Royals minor league system.

Current:
This has truly been Kaaihue's breakout season. Kala absolutely destroyed the South Atlantic League in the first half of the season. He hit .329/.458/.614 while slugging 15 home runs and driving in 49. His 66 strikeouts were a little high but he made up for it with 50 walks. That would indicated that he attempts to work the count in his favor and goes into many deep counts that result in either a strikeout or a walk. Kaaihue's promotion to Myrtle Beach has been a little slow in the beginning. He is 4/22 with a homer and 4 RBI's. Twenty-two at-bats is not nearly enough to make a judgment on how he will fair in Myrtle Beach, but it would be reasonable to suspect that his numbers would decline given the fact that Myrtle Beach is a pitcher's haven.

Projected:
With this being Kala's first season in single-A, his projection is very difficult. Many players dominate at the lower levels but fizzle out very quickly once they start advancing to better competition. At best, Kala projects as the slugging first baseman that Atlanta has lacked since the departure of Andres Galarraga. The ironic thing is that Kaaihue has drawn comparisons to "The Big Cat" because they look very similar (see above) and Kaaihue has been hitting like Galarraga this year. Another good thing Kaaihue has going for him is his plate discipline. He needs to keep his walk totals and OBP up in order to succeed at higher levels. I look forward to watching Kala Kaaihue as it seems he will be a big hit or a big time fizzler.

6/29 Recap

2006-06-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

AAA - Richmond
Louisville 3, Richmond 1
Good:
2B- Martin Prado- 2/4, 2B, RBI, .316
OF- Gregor Blanco- 1/3, BB, .216
Bad:
1B- James Jurries- 0/4, .207
P- Dan Curtus- 5.2 IP, 7H, 5BB, 2R, 5K, 5.00

Box Score
Recap

AA - Mississippi
Montgomery 6, Mississippi 5
Good:
OF- Brandon Jones- 3/4, 3B, R, 2 RBI, .290
C- Ray Serrano- 3/4, RBI, .307
P- Arthur Santos- 1.1 IP, H, 0.00
Bad:
P- Dan Smith- 1.2 IP, 2H, 2BB, 2R, K, 6.97

Box Score
Recap

High A - Myrtle Beach
Frederick 6, MB 5
Good:
OF- Matt Young- 1/2, 2B, BB, .282
1B- Kala Kaaihue- 1/4, HR, 3 RBI, .211
C- Clint Sammons- 2/4, R, .221
P- Joey Devine- IP, 2K, 9.00
Bad:
P- James Parr- 5 IP, 3H, 4BB, 4R, 6K, 5.40
P- Ralph Roberts- IP, 2H, 2R, BS, 3.65

Box Score
Recap

Low A - Rome
Savannah 6, Rome 3
Good:
3B- Eric Campbell- 2/3, 3B, RBI, .301
C- Cody Clark- 2/4, RBI, .327
Bad:
P- Jake Stevens- 5 IP, 8H, 3BB, 5R, 2.89

Box Score
Recap

Rookie - Danville
Danville 10, Princeton 5
Good:
OF- Concepcion Rodriguez- 3/5, HR, 2R, 3 RBI, .333
SS- Chase Fontiane- 2/5, HR, 2R, RBI, .276
3B- Danny Brezeale- 2/5, HR, 3 RBI, .267
P- Michael Broadway- 4 IP, H, 4K, 0.00
Bad:
P- James Curtis- 4 IP, 5H, BB, 4R, 6.75

Box Score
Recap

GCL Braves-
The Braves beat the Indians 5-4 thanks to a good start by Jeff Lyman. Lyman threw 4 innings, striking out 5 and only giving up one run. Jeffrey Locke made his first appearance of the year and picked up the win with 2 innings of work. He gave up one run but it was unearned. Cody Johnson went 1/2 with an RBI and is hitting .292 now. Adam Coe drove in another run with a 1/4 day but his average dropped to .419. Deivis Rivadeneira also drove in a run and went 2/4 to raise his average to .357.

Box Score

Villa replace Harrison on all-star team

2006-06-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

Matt Harrison was supposed to be the lone Pelican representative in the Carolina League all-star game. With Harrison promoted to Mississippi, Kelvin Villa will take his spot as the only Pelican on the all-star team. Kelvin is 5-2 with a 2.69 ERA in 8 starts and 6 relief appearances this year.

Prospect Profile: Max Ramirez

2006-06-29T08:49:00.000-07:00

Name: Maximiliano Ramirez
Age: 21
Pos: C
Height: 5-11
Weight: 175
Bats: R
Throws: R

History:
Max was signed by the Braves as an undrafted free agent in 2002 out of Venezuela. He spent 2003 playing ball outside of the United States before he joined the GCL Braves in 2004. He played pretty well but not great in 2004 in the Gulf Coast League. He hit .275/.339/.480 with 19 walks and 50 strikeouts. The best part of his game was his 8 home runs. But he really didn't show much else. He really wasn't on any radars until 2005 when he was promoted to Danville. He was the co-MVP of the Appalachian League along with teammate Eric Campbell as he hit .347/.424/.527. Max really improved his plate discipline as he walked 31 times against 41 strikeouts. Ramirez had great numbers but was still relatively unknown as Eric Campbell was generating most of the publicity as the heir apparent to Chipper Jones.

Current:
Max Ramirez as promoted to Rome in 2006 and picked up right where he left off. Max's fast start lead him to be selected as the starting catcher for the 2006 South Atlantic League all-star game. Ramirez was read hot in April and May with a batting average well over .300. However, he has really cooled down a lot in June and his batting average has dipped to .278. He has probably hit the wall in his first full professional season. In 2004 and 2005, Max never surpassed 239 at-bats. I have a feeling he will get a second wind this season and break out of his current slump. His overall numbers are pretty good as he is hitting .278/.393/.439. I really like the fact that Max can get on base without hitting as he has drawn 42 walks in 230 at-bats.

Projected:
Max's future position is still somewhat in the air. He has played catcher the last couple of seasons but has spent much of 2006 as a DH. He has had previous experience in the infield and could turn out to be a third baseman. At 5-11 he is too short to be a first baseman. I think he'll continue to be a catcher known for his offense and not for his defense. His offense is why he is a top prospect. I think Max projects as a very good hitter in the major leagues and possibly a .300 hitter. His plate discipline is what sets him apart from most other Braves prospects. He should also develop decent 15-20 home run pop as well. With many fine catchers in the Braves organization, his position is still up in the air but no one questions his bat.

Year Team G AB H R 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG
2004 GCL 57 204 56 20 16 1 8 35 19 50 1 0 .275 .339 .480
2005 DAN 63 239 83 45 19 0 8 47 31 41 1 2 .347 .424 .527
2006 ROM 67 230 64 42 16 0 7 30 42 64 2 0 .278 .393 .439

6/28 Recap

2006-06-29T08:25:00.000-07:00

AAA - Richmond
Louisville 4, Richmond 2
Good:
OF- Michael Ryan- 3/3, solo HR, .236
3B- Cesar Crespo- 2/4, double, .238

Box Score
Recap

AA - Mississippi
Birmingham 4, Mississippi 2
Good:
SS- Yunel Escobar- 2/4, 2 2B's, RBI, .283
P- Matt Wright- 6.2 IP, 7H, 4R, BB, 8K, 2.27
P- Jose Ascanio- 2.1 IP, H, BB, 2K, 4.91
Bad:
C- Salty- 0/3, BB, .197

Box Score
Recap

Rookie - Danville
Game #1: Princeton 2, Danville 0 (7)
Good:
P- Kyle Cofield- 5 IP, 2H, R, BB, 2K, 1.04
Bad:
Offense- 4 hits

Box Score
Recap

Game #2: Danville 4, Princeton 0
Good:
C- Phillip Britton- 2/3, 2B, 2 RBI, .261
OF- Willie Cabrera- 3/4, 2B, R, RBI, .433
OF- Larry Williams- 1/3, 2B, RBI, .250
DH- Chase Fontaine- 1/3, 2B, R, .250
P- Tommy Hanson- 4 IP, H, BB, 6K, 3.38
P- Tyler Wilson- 2 IP, BB, 2 K's, Win, 2.70

Box Score
Recap

GCL Braves-
The Braves beat the Phillies 8-7 with Derick Himpsl getting his second win of the season. Cory Rasmus started and was not good. He gave up 4 hits and 3 walks along with 4 runs in 2.1 innings. Joseph Johnson collected his second save with 1.2 shutout innings. Jon Mark Owings started getting back in shape by going 1/3 as the leadoff batter. Cody Johnson went 3/5 with 2 RBI's and is hitting .273. Adam Coe stayed extremely hot with his third homer and eighth and ninth RBI's. He is also batting .444. Deivis Rivadeneira went 2/2 with a double and 2 RBI's.

6/27 Recap

2006-06-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

AAA - Richmond
Louisville 3, Richmond 0
Good:
OF- Gregor Blanco- 1/3, BB, .194
P- Jonathan Johnson- scoreless inning
P- Manny Acosta- scoreless inning
Bad:
Offense- only 5 hits

Box Score
Recap

AA - Mississippi
Birmingham 11, Mississippi 2
Good:
DH- Barbaro Canizares- 2/4, HR, 2 RBI, .308
Bad:
C- Salty- 0/2, BB, .199
2B- Luis Hernandez- 2 errors
3B- Josh Arteaga- 2 errors
Pitchers- Anthony Lerew, Eric Schmitt, Ryan Basner

Box Score
Recap

High A - Myrtle Beach
No Game

Low A - Rome
Savannah 3, Rome 1
Good:
2B- Robert Marcial- 1/3, HR, .219
DH- Josh Morris- 1/3, .375
P- Tyler Bullock- 6 IP, 6H, 2R, 3BB, 4K, 4.25
Bad:
Eric Campbell- 0/4
Max Ramirez- 0/4

Box Score
Recap

Rookie - Danville
Postponed

GCL Braves-
No game

Prospect Profile: Yunel Escobar

2006-06-28T08:49:00.000-07:00

Name: Yunel Escobar
Age: 23
Pos: SS
Height: 6-2
Weight: 200
Bats: R
Throws: R

History:
Yunel Escobar was selected in the 2nd round of 2005's draft by the Braves. Yunel defected from Cuba to become eligible for the draft. His age scared most teams away as they did not think he had enough time to develop. But it was obvious that he was a skilled player which is why the Braves took a chance on him in the 2nd round. If anything, at least he wouldn't take too much time in the minors. Yunel began 2005 in the Appalachian League with Danville but proved that he was out of their league. He hit .400 with 2 homers and 8 RBI's in his short stay in rookie ball. He finished 2005 with Rome and was impressive there as well. In 198 at-bats, Yunel hit .313/.358/.470. He was progressing quickly just as Atlanta had hoped and expected from the 22-year-old first year player.

Current:
Escobar started the 2006 season in AA- Mississippi. His performance in Mississippi has been mixed so far. He is hitting .279 with an OBP of .379 which are very good numbers. His weaknesses have been power and defense. He may not project with a lot of power but a drop in slugging from .470 to .375 is not too great. He has also made a lot of errors and shortstop. The Braves have started him at third base for a handful of games this season in an attempt to improve his defense. The Braves would like to see him remain at shortstop but he will have to improve his defense to make that happen.

Projected:
The ceiling for Yunel is not nearly as high as Elvis Andrus. Yunel was old for someone just drafted but did have some development from his playing days in Cuba. Yunel isn't great at anything but is good at everything and has good on base skills. I think he projects as a possible starter at SS or 3B but can definitely make it as a utility infielder. He will have to improve his power numbers to start at third base and he will have to improve his defense if he wants to be a starter at SS. Edgar Renteria's contract is up after next year and it is thought that Atlanta would like Yunel Escobar to hold down shortstop until Elvis Andrus arrives.

Year	Level	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG
2005	Rookie	8	30	9	12	2	1	2	8	5	4	0	0	.400	.472	.733
	A	48	198	30	62	13	3	4	19	14	30	0	2	.313	.358	.470
2006	AA	74	272	35	76	16	2	2	30	41	58	4	2	.279	.379	.375

Prospect Profile: Elvis Andrus

2006-06-27T15:53:00.000-07:00

Name: Elvis Andrus
Age: 18
Pos: SS
Height: 6-0
Weight: 185
Bats: R
Throws: R

History:
The Braves signed Elvis Andrus in January of 2005 when he was 16 out of his home country of Venezuela. It was obvious that Elvis was special when he hit .295 for the Gulf Coast Braves at the age of 16. His ability to draw 19 walks versus 28 strikeouts in 166 at-bats shows that Elvis already has the plate discipline necessary to be a good hitter. Elvis hit 2 home runs, drove in 20, and stole 7 bases in his first season of professional ball. His success as a 16-year-old lead him to be promoted to single A Rome in 2006 while only 17.

2006:
Elvis made great strides as a 17 year-old but also showed a lot of areas where he needs to work. Making the all-star team was the highlight of the season for Andrus. I don't think too many 17 year-olds can say they were all-stars at the single-A level. Areas to work on would be stolen base efficiency, defense, power, and strike zone judgement. Andrus's final line of .265/.324/.362 isn't great but the coaches raved about him saying that he has something special that other players don't have. Andrus's shortcomings are things that take time to master and there is no doubt that Andrus has all of the physical tools to be a great player someday.

Projected:
Elvis's ceiling is sky high. He has the tools to be a perennial all-star at the major league level. However, he is also very young so there is a chance he might fizzle out before he gets there. All indications are that he will be a utility guy at worst and an all-star at best. All he has to do is refine his skills which are so abundant. He probably won't be ready for at least 3 more years so Yunel Escobar might keep shortstop warm until he gets there unless the Braves keep Renteria and move Yunel to third. I'm looking forward to seeing Andrus progress and improve during his tour through the minor leagues.

Year Team  G   AB  R  H   2B  3B  HR  RBI  SB  BB  SO AVG  OBP  SLG
2005 GCL   46  166 26 49  6   1   3   20   7   19  28 .295 .377 .398
2005 Dan   6   18  3  5   1   0   0   1    1   4   4  .278 .409 .333
2006 Rome  111 437 67 116 25  4   3   50   23  36  91 .265 .324 .362

6/26 Recap

2006-06-27T10:15:00.000-07:00

AAA - Richmond
Louisville 10, Richmond 2

Brian O'Connor was hit hard yesterday, as was Carlos Almanzar and Peter Moylan. Of course it comes as no surprise that Moylan got blasted because I don't think he has had a good outing in weeks. David Bush continued his good work in AAA with 1.1 scoreless innings to finish the game. Jamal Strong stayed hot with 3 hits and a run. Martin Prado also went 2-3 with a run. Gregor Blanco went 0-4 and is hitting .179 since his callup to Richmond.

Box Score

AA - Mississippi
Mississippi 1, Birmingham 0

Chris Waters pitched a beauty and standout relievers Arthur Santos and Zach Schreiber did the rest. Waters threw 6 shutout innings with only 2 hits and 3 walks. Santos pitched 2 shutout innings and Schreiber saved it. Santos still hasn't given up a run in AA and Schreiber's ERA is 1.61 to go with his 9 saves. Brandon Jones doubled and scored the only run of the game on Jarrod Saltalamacchia's sacrifice fly. However, Salty went 0-1 to drop his average to barely above the Mendoza line at .201.

Box Score

Low A - Myrtle Beach
Rome 11, Savannah 8

Jairo Cuevas had a rough start but Rudy Quinonez pitched 4 hitless innings to collect the win. Jordan Shafer had a huge day with a double, triple, and 5 RBI's. Cody Clark also had 2 RBI's and is hitting .320. Josh Morris, just drafted out of the University of Georgia, made his debut and collected 2 hits in 5 at-bats while scoring once. Also, Elvis Andrus drove in a run and didn't make an error at shortstop.

Box Score

Rookie - Danville
Danville 4, Greeneville 3

Tyler Flowers went 2-5 with a homer and 3 RBI's as Danville won 4-3. Leadoff batter, Willie Cabrera, went 2-4 with 2 runs scored. Jamie Richmond pitched 4.1 innings and only gave up 1 run. David Williams pitched 2 scoreless innings for the win.

Box Score

GCL Braves
Tigers 7, Braves 2

Adam Coe continues to tear the cover off the ball with 2 hits and a homer yesterday. He is currently batting .455 with 2 home runs. Jose Ortegano gave up 6 runs in 3 innings for the loss but the bullpen pitched well by only surrendering an unearned run.

Box Score

Barry & James get the call

2006-06-24T13:29:00.000-07:00

Chuck James is expected to start for Atlanta on Sunday and Bill Shanks is reporting that Kevin Barry has also been brought up after injuries to John Smoltz and Phil Stockman on Friday. The exact roster moves are not yet available but I will post them as soon as they are.

Kevin Barry has been used as a starter for much of the year in Richmond but I suspect that he will be a reliever in Atlanta. However, it is possible that Barry's stay will be short depending on the severity of the injuries and what the Braves decide to do with Lance Cormier.

Prospect Profile: Jo-Jo Reyes

2006-06-24T12:37:00.000-07:00

Name: Jo-Jo Reyes
Age: 21
Height: 6-2
Weight: 230
Bats: L
Throws: L

History:
Jo-Jo Reyes was taken in the 2nd round (43rd overall) of the 2003 draft out of high school in California. He spent 2003 in the Gulf Coast League and was very successful. He went 5-3 with a 2.56 ERA while striking out 55 in 45 innings. He also only allowed one home run in his 10 starts. After pitching well in the Gulf Coast League, Reyes skipped Danville and went straight to Rome in 2004. That may not have been the right decision as he struggled all year. His hits and walks went up as his strikeouts went down. He finished the year with a 2-5 record with a 5.33 ERA. In 2005, the Braves opted to send Reyes all the way back to the Gulf Coast League. After doing well there again, he was promoted to Danville mid-way through 2005. He only struck out 27 in 43 innings in Danville but he did go 3-0 with a 3.53 ERA. His 0.99 WHIP in Danville had a lot to do with his low ERA.

2006:
Jo-Jo played the first half of the season in Rome and was impressive enough to be the starting pitcher in the all-star game. In 13 starts, Reyes went 8-1 with a 2.99 ERA and 1.14 WHIP to go with 84 strikeouts in 75.1 innings. This earned him a promotion to Myrtle Beach in the second half where he was somewhat inconsistent but had decent overall numbers. He went 4-4 with a 4.11 ERA and 1.34 WHIP. His strikeouts decreased and his walks increased but his strikeout rate stayed at a solid 7.95/9 innings. Overall, 2006 was a great comback year for Jo-Jo and he will look to continue his success next year.

Projected:
I think Jo-Jo Reyes could easily be anything from a #4 starter to a middle relief pitcher. If he continues with his success that he has enjoyed this season he could be a #3 starter. I might project him higher except that he really hasn't shown any reason to be excited at all until the first half of this season. If his strikeout numbers slide at the upper levels of the minor leagues, Reyes might just be another Horacio Ramirez. If he wants to be any better than that, he must continue his success and not let his strikeout numbers drop.

Projection Update: After seeing a complete season from J0-Jo I think his ceiling is a little higher than a #4 or #3 starter. Lefties who strike people out are hard to find which makes Reyes very valuable. If he maintains his strikeout rate, his ceiling is very high but the most likely occurrence is that his strikeout rate will decline as he ascends through the minors which would make him more like a #3 or #4 starter.

Year	Age	Team	Level	G	W	L	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2003	18	Gul	Rookie	11	5	3	0	45.0	34	16	13	1	14	55	2.56	1.05
2004	19	Rom	A	15	2	4	0	74.0	84	49	44	10	25	71	5.33	1.47
2005	20	GCL	Rookie	3	0	1	0	5.1	6	2	1	0	1	6	1.69	1.31
		Dan	Rookie	9	3	0	0	43.1	37	18	17	3	6	27	3.53	0.99
2006	21	Rom	A	13	8	1	0	75.1	62	26	25	5	25	84	2.99	1.14
		Myr	A+	14	4	4	0	65.2	52	36	30	0	36	58	4.11	1.34

6/23 Recap

2006-06-24T08:28:00.000-07:00

AAA - Richmond
Indianapolis 1, Richmond 0
Good:
P- Ricardo Rodriguez- 7 IP, 4H, 2BB, 2K, 4.25
Bad:
The offense
P- Peter Moylan- L, .2 IP, H, R, BB, K, 5.86

Box Score
Recap

AA - Mississippi
West TN 7, Mississippi 1
Good:
SS- Luis Hernandez- 3/4, RBI, .257
3B- Yunel Escobar- 1/3, R, .288
Bad:
P- Dan Smith- 3 IP, 6H, 5R, 3BB, 4K, 6.63

Box Score
Recap

High A - Myrtle Beach
MB 9, Lynchburg 8
Good:
OF- Carl Loadenthal- 4/5, 2R, RBI, .329
DH- Greg Creek- 3/5, HR, 3 RBI, .274
1B- Kala Kaaihue- 2/5, 2B, R, .300
3B- Van Pope- 2/4, HR, 2 RBI, .253
2B- J.C. Holt- leadoff homer, .222
Bad:
P- James Parr- 5.1 IP, 6H, 6R, 5.40
P- Joey Devine- debut, 1 IP, H, BB, 2R, K

Box Score
Recap

Low A - Rome
Charleston 10, Rome 5
Good:
SS- Elvis Andrus- 1/3, R, BB, .280
3B- Eric Campbell- 2/5, RBI, .304
C- Cody Clark- 2/4, RBI, .326
1B- Manuel Rodriguez- 2/4, R, RBI, .224
Bad:
DH- Max Ramirez- 0/5, 3K's, .287
P- Asher Demme- 4 IP, 7H, 7R, 5ER, 4BB, 4.03

Box Score
Recap

Rookie - Danville
Suspended

GCL Braves-
The Braves lost to the Phillies 3-1 with Osuna taking the loss despite allowing just one unearned run in 4 innings. Draft Pick, Steven Evarts, pitched 2 innings allowing 2 hits, 1 run, and striking out 3. Top pick Cody Johnson was the offensive star with a triple and an run while going 2/4.

6/22 Recap

2006-06-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

AAA - Richmond
Suspended

AA - Mississippi
West TN 3, Mississippi 2
Good:
1B- Barbaro Canizares- 3/4, BB, .303
3B- Yunel Escobar- 2/5, 2B, RBI, BB, .287
OF- Onil Joseph- 2/5, 2 2B's
P- Matt Wright- 7 IP, 8H, 2R, 2BB, 7K, 1.97
P- Carlos Almanzar- 2 shutout innings
Bad:
P- Zach Schreiber- gave up walk-off homer on first pitch in 10th

Box Score
Recap

High A - Myrtle Beach
MB 2, Salem 1
Good:
P- Luis Atilano- CG, 4H, R, BB, 2K, 5.16
2B- J.C. Holt- 2/5, 2B, R
3B- Van Pope- 1/2, 2B, 2 RBI, BB
C- Clint Sammons- 3/4

Box Score
Recap

Low A - Rome
Charleston 6, Rome 5
Good:
SS- Elvis Andrus- 3/5, 3B, 2R, BB, RBI
3B- Eric Campbell- 2/4, HR, 2RBI
Bad:
SS- Elvis Andrus- 2 errors
OF- Ovandy Suero- CS, PO
P- Nick Tisone- 2 IP, BS, 3 unearned runs

Box Score
Recap

Rookie - Danville
Burlington 4, Danville 2
Good:
OF- Willie Cabrera- 2/5, RBI
1B- Tyler Flowers- 3/5
P- Coefield- 3.2 IP, 4H, OER, BB, 3K
Bad:
SS- Chase Fontaine- 0/5

Box Score
Recap

6/21 Recap

2006-06-21T20:10:00.000-07:00

AAA- Richmond
Off

AA - Mississippi
West TN 4, Mississippi 3
Good:
LF- Mike Rosamond- 2/4, 2B, 2 RBI, .266
2B- Mike Rozema- 2/4, 2B, RBI, .245
C- Ray Serrano- 2/4, 2B, R, .301
P- Anthony Lerew- 4 IP, 4H, R, BB, 2K, 2.25
Bad:
P- David Coggin- 2 IP, 5H, 2R, 4.95

Box Score
Recap

High A - Myrtle Beach
MB 3, Salem 2
Good:
2B- J.C. Holt- 1/3, BB, 2B, 2R, .215
LF- Carl Loadenthal- 3/4, 2B, 2 RBI, SB, .321
P- Kelvin Villa- W, 7 IP, 7H, R, BB, 5K, 2.69
P- Moises Hernandez- 6th save
Bad:
1B- Mark Jurich- 0/3, error

Box Score
Recap

Rookie Ball - Danville
Danville 9, Burlington 4
Good:
LF- Willie Cabrera- 3/5, 2B, 2 RBI
SS- Chase Fontaine- 2/3, BB, 3R
C- Phillip Britton- 2/3, 2B, 2 RBI
CF- Yahan Silva- 3/3, 2R, 2 RBI

Box Score
Recap

GCL Braves-
The Braves beat the Tigers 7-3 thanks to 7 runs in the 8th inning. Seventh round pick Adam Coe went 2/3 with walk and scored once. Top pick Cody Johnson was 1/3 with walk and 2 RBI's. On the pitching side, first rounder Cory Rasmus threw two perfect innings with 2 strikeouts.

Box Score