MINORS FINAL 6/29: Wrapping up the farm system shakeup

[rico43]

MANY MOVES SATURDAY
Most have been reported piecemeal, but we're rounding 'em up.

GWINNETT
Christian Bethancourt called up to Atlanta; Gus Schlosser called up for DH, then returned. Juan Jaime returned to Gwinnett; Elmer Reyes promoted from Miss. to Gwinnett. Salcedo activated.

MISSISSIPPI
2B Daniel Castro promoted from Lynchburg. OF Kyle Wren promoted from Lynchburg. OF Blake Brown promoted from Rome.

LYNCHBURG
2B Gerald Chin promoted from Rome. OF Keith Curcio promoted from Rome. SS Reed Harper sent to GCL for rehab. P Daniel Watts promoted from Rome. 1B Trenton Moses released (never got an AB this year after breaking his ankle in an off-season skiing accident!)

----------------

CLASS AAA

Charlotte 9, Gwinnett 6

LP: Northcraft (0-1) 2.2 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 K.
Fisher 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.
Buchter 1 IP, 1 H 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K.
Terdoslavich 2-2, 2 R.
E. Reyes 1-4, 2B, 2 RBIs. (played SS)
Salcedo 1-4, 2B, 2 RBIs. (played RF)
Cunningham 1-5, HR 4th), 2 RBIs.

CLASS AA

Huntsville 9, Mississippi 7

SP: Hursh 5.1 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K.
LP: R. Kelly (0-1) 2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K.
Hunter 3-5, HR (8th), 2 RBIs.
Castro 1-4, RBI.
M.Jones 0-2, R, 2 BB, 2 SB.
Peraza 1-5, R.
Wren 1-5, R, RBI. (Pedraza-Wren 1-2)
Kubitza 1-3, 3B, R, SB.

ADVANCED CLASS A

Lynchburg 10, Myrtle Beach 7

SP: J. Miller 5.2 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K.
WP: Wilson (4-2) 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K.
Brown 2-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBIs, SB. (debut)
Martinez 1-3, RBI.
Bloxom 3-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI.
Ahrens 3-4, 2 2B, R, RBI.
E. Garcia 1-5, 2 RBIs, SB.

CLASS A

Savannah 15, Rome 12

Rome led 5-0 after 1/2 IP, scored 6 in 9th trailing 15-6.
SP: Holmes 3.1 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.
LP: Holland (2-3) 1.1 IP, 4 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 0 K.
Curcio 3-5, R, 2 RBIs, OF assist. (Rome debut)
Chin 2-5, 2B, R, 3 RBIs.
Lien 1-3, R, 2 RBIs, 2 BB.
Giardina 2-4, 2 R, RBI.

SHORT-SEASON

Danville 11, Bluefield 2

WP: Grosser (1-0) 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
Povse 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. (debut)
Nevarez 1-4, HR (1st), 3 RBIs.
Edgerton 1-1, 2B, R, RBI. (14 RBIs in 9 games)
De La Rosa 2-4, 2 2B, 2 R.
Godfrey 2-4, 2 2B, 2 R, RBI.

GCL Braves (3-5, 2nd, 2 GB) idle

DSL Braves idle (16-9, 1st, 2 GA) idle.

[The Chosen One]

Is that Scott Brosius' son?

[cajunrevenge]

Is that Scott Brosius' son?

Yes

[nsacpi]

Another impressive outing by Grosser.

[Jay212033]

Another impressive outing by Grosser.

That's exactly why I had him in my Top 15.

[BremanFan88]

Kyle Kubitza's OBP sends its regards...

[rico43]

That's exactly why I had him in my Top 15.

Good call. I amended my list; he's there!

[zbhargrove]

I know its a small sample size, but its easy to start getting excited about Edgerton early in a position of need. He will be one to watch as he moves up the ranks in levels more appropriate to his age.

[The Chosen One]

Does Salcedo's move to OF mean Braves think he sucks at 3rd, or they want Peraza to play 2nd/3rd like Prado.

[Fredi Gonzalez]

Does Salcedo's move to OF mean Braves think he sucks at 3rd, or they want Peraza to play 2nd/3rd like Prado.

It means he is getting closer to playing in Atlanta and he is Brooks Conrad bad in the infield.

[50PoundHead]

Yes

I don't believe he is. Have yet to see an article where a father/son link between the Brosius' is mentioned, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Big weekend. Lots of upward movement, most of which I thought would take place.

As per Salcedo, I think the Braves are trying to get his bat to play. He could be a corner reserve (RF, LF, 3B, 1B), but he still has to show he can hit if he's going to stick in the big leagues. IF he does hit, a player who can at least stand at four positions without embarrassing himself defensively would be a nice addition.

Danville is loaded, but there's a sprinkling of guys on the team (Sanchez, Black, Livesay, Dodig, Flores, Ubiera) who are sticking around rookie ball a little longer than expected. Nice to see Edgerton off to a good start. I like Grosser as well. He and Salazar (provided he finds his control) could be a solid pair of prospects. Grosser could be in Rome by August.

Speaking of Rome, I follow the games on my phone and yesterday I checked the score before my wife and I took a walk. Rome was up 5-3 early. I chuckled and thought, "I wonder how long this is going to last?" Sure enough, I return from the walk and they are down 14-6. There are some nice offensive prospects on the team (Gerald Chin is a new addition to the team that I'm watching and it looks like Connor Lien has figured out that if you don't swing at four pitches out of the strike zone, they allow you to go to first base), but the pitching is simply miserable. Rome pitchers threw 143 pitches yesterday: 73 strikes and 70 balls. That about says it all.

PS--Nice to see Daniel Castro promoted. I don't know where he sits in the prospect universe, but the fact they moved Peraza to 2B and kept Castro at SS is interesting. The Braves have usually left prospects at SS up the ladder (unless it's obvious they can't play the position), but maybe with Simmons firmly ensconced at SS for the foreseeable future, they wanted to get Peraza experience at his likely major league position earlier than later. Castro probably isn't going to hit a whole bunch, but if he can play defense, he could stick somewhere. Still only 21 (22 in November).

[KB21]

If Edgerton and McElroy keep hitting like they are, the Braves need to go ahead and push them to Rome.

[nsacpi]

With the promotions of Peraza, Wren and Castro, Lynchburg has lost virtually all of its positional prospects. The best positional prospect left on that team is their catcher, Tyler Tewell. So we now have a High A team with virtually no positional prospects and a Low A team with virtually no pitching prospects (Yean Carlos Gil is about the only one). The issues with those two teams reflects the bifurcated nature of the last couple drafts. We've had a small number of guys from the 2012 and 2013 drafts who have moved fast (Wood, Hursh, Simmons) and a lot who have not progressed at all. Many of the players who should be populating the High A and Low A rosters are instead still trying to make it out of rookie ball.

On the bright side, the AA team now looks quite good with the recent promotions. Lots of prospects of various stripes on that team. And Gwinnett has a solid group too, though with less upside. The two rookie ball teams have a certain amount of congestion at certain positions reflecting the slow progress of some of the recent draftees. In Danville for example, they are trying to juggle playing time in the outfield for six outfielders (I suspect this congestion is why they promoted Curcio to Rome so fast because with him there were seven outfielders on the Danville roster). In the GCL, we have a similar issue in the infield. It is going to be hard finding time for all the infielders there (Dykstra, Albies, Manwaring, Hagenmiller, Azuaje, Cruz, Franco). They will be soon joined by Dorrian. The congestion there has also led to what looks like a premature promotion, with Grullon going to Danville even though he is probably not quite ready for that level.

The congestion at the rookie level is both good and bad. The negative aspect is that it reflects the slow progress of some of the players drafted in 2012 and 2013. The positive aspect is that at this point it does appear that enough of the players on those teams are doing well enough that they will soon be leading to an upgrade of the High A and Low A teams.

[nsacpi]

If Edgerton and McElroy keep hitting like they are, the Braves need to go ahead and push them to Rome.

Godfrey is another one who could earn a quick promotion given he was drafted as a senior and is doing pretty well. The slightly awkward aspect of this is that Rome could really use an influx of pitching, but the guys in Danville who are making the strongest case for promotion are hitters.

[KB21]

If Edgerton and McElroy keep hitting like they are, the Braves need to go ahead and push them to Rome.

I should add Sean Godfrey to that list. These three guys are destroying the short season rookie league they are in.

[nsacpi]

It is a little odd that they promoted Curcio not Godfrey. But maybe the small sample numbers don't reveal what they saw from Curcio.

[KB21]

It is a little odd that they promoted Curcio not Godfrey. But maybe the small sample numbers don't reveal what they saw from Curcio.

My guess is, since they were promoting Blake Brown, they needed a center field type. Curcio has had a nice start in A ball in a very SSS.

[nsacpi]

My guess is, since they were promoting Blake Brown, they needed a center field type. Curcio has had a nice start in A ball in a very SSS.

Godfrey has played at least one game in center. Brown had mostly been playing left in Rome. Connor Oliver is the center fielder in Rome and a very good one defensively.

[50PoundHead]

With the promotions of Peraza, Wren and Castro, Lynchburg has lost virtually all of its positional prospects. The best positional prospect left on that team is their catcher, Tyler Tewell. So we now have a High A team with virtually no positional prospects and a Low A team with virtually no pitching prospects (Yean Carlos Gil is about the only one). The issues with those two teams reflects the bifurcated nature of the last couple drafts. We've had a small number of guys from the 2012 and 2013 drafts who have moved fast (Wood, Hursh, Simmons) and a lot who have not progressed at all. Many of the players who should be populating the High A and Low A rosters are instead still trying to make it out of rookie ball.

On the bright side, the AA team now looks quite good with the recent promotions. Lots of prospects of various stripes on that team. And Gwinnett has a solid group too, though with less upside. The two rookie ball teams have a certain amount of congestion at certain positions reflecting the slow progress of some of the recent draftees. In Danville for example, they are trying to juggle playing time in the outfield for six outfielders (I suspect this congestion is why they promoted Curcio to Rome so fast because with him there were seven outfielders on the Danville roster). In the GCL, we have a similar issue in the infield. It is going to be hard finding time for all the infielders there (Dykstra, Albies, Manwaring, Hagenmiller, Azuaje, Cruz, Franco). They will be soon joined by Dorrian. The congestion there has also led to what looks like a premature promotion, with Grullon going to Danville even though he is probably not quite ready for that level.

The congestion at the rookie level is both good and bad. The negative aspect is that it reflects the slow progress of some of the players drafted in 2012 and 2013. The positive aspect is that at this point it does appear that enough of the players on those teams are doing well enough that they will soon be leading to an upgrade of the High A and Low A teams.

I'm not that worried about the congestion in the GCL. I view the GCL and the DSL as glorified scrimmage leagues. The more important stuff (or let me amend that to "equally important stuff") probably takes place on the practice fields.

With Chin moving up, Danville needed a 2B and Grullon got the call.

Did Oliver get hurt and is that why Curcio was promoted? Curious that Joseph Daris started out in the GCL except that when I looked at their profiles from the scouting services, Curcio and Daris look pretty much like the same guy.

I'm not getting too riled up about what's happening in Danville right now. Godfrey and McElroy are relatively late picks and I wonder what their ceiling is. We will find out, but Rome's strength right now (if a team with a winning percentage below .333 can have a strength) is that it has some guys with projection that simply need to play. A guy like Carlos Franco is probably on his last legs as a prospect, but he's supposedly been a tools guy whose tools have yet to translate and he's probably given one last chance to show what he's got. With the investment in Edgerton, it makes Franco's task that much more crucial for his status.

nscapi, I think "bifurcated" is a great term to describe what's going on.

[nsacpi]

I'm not that worried about the congestion in the GCL. I view the GCL and the DSL as glorified scrimmage leagues. The more important stuff (or let me amend that to "equally important stuff") probably takes place on the practice fields.

With Chin moving up, Danville needed a 2B and Grullon got the call.

Did Oliver get hurt and is that why Curcio was promoted? Curious that Joseph Daris started out in the GCL except that when I looked at their profiles from the scouting services, Curcio and Daris look pretty much like the same guy.

I'm not getting too riled up about what's happening in Danville right now. Godfrey and McElroy are relatively late picks and I wonder what their ceiling is. We will find out, but Rome's strength right now (if a team with a winning percentage below .333 can have a strength) is that it has some guys with projection that simply need to play. A guy like Carlos Franco is probably on his last legs as a prospect, but he's supposedly been a tools guy whose tools have yet to translate and he's probably given one last chance to show what he's got. With the investment in Edgerton, it makes Franco's task that much more crucial for his status.

nscapi, I think "bifurcated" is a great term to describe what's going on.

Thank you. I'm rather proud of coming up with it!

I'm not so sure Danville was in need of a second baseman. They had Monasterio and Obregon. Grullon makes three.

I agree that this may be Carlos Franco's last chance. In person, he does look like a ballplayer. He looks athletic and natural both at the plate and in the field. The results haven't been there for the most part. But he's had a good month of June and I think he is a player we should keep in the lineup on a regular basis.

[KB21]

Another interesting move is starting Sal Giardina at Rome right off the bat.

[nsacpi]

I'm curious to see how quickly some of the Danville pitchers get promoted given the dire situation in Rome. I suspect they won't rush Grosser given his age. Let him have a taste of success. But older guys like Waszak, Matt Kimbrel, Michael Flores, Ubiera, Dirks, Kinman, Roney, Povse, Barker and Sims could be going to Rome soon.

[50PoundHead]

Another interesting move is starting Sal Giardina at Rome right off the bat.

For some reason, this gets done with catchers periodically. Caratini is going to get most of the ABs behind the plate and they've had a lot of guys behind him thus far this season (Nunez, Sanchez, Sears, De La Rosa). As a four-year college player, my guess is they want to toss Giardina right in there.

And I agree that a lot of the college pitchers could be in Rome sooner as opposed to later. When is 2013 #12 Ryan Gunther expected back. I see that Chris Diaz (2014 #5) is already in Rome. The two guys I have been most disappointed in this season have been Flores and Ubiera. I thought they would be solid contributors in Rome.

[rico43]

For some reason, this gets done with catchers periodically. Caratini is going to get most of the ABs behind the plate and they've had a lot of guys behind him thus far this season (Nunez, Sanchez, Sears, De La Rosa). As a four-year college player, my guess is they want to toss Giardina right in there.

And I agree that a lot of the college pitchers could be in Rome sooner as opposed to later. When is 2013 #12 Ryan Gunther expected back. I see that Chris Diaz (2014 #5) is already in Rome. The two guys I have been most disappointed in this season have been Flores and Ubiera. I thought they would be solid contributors in Rome.

What I've read about him is that Giardina has worked a ton of tournaments and is quite a leader behind the plate. Think guys in the Ross/Laird/Corky Miller vein.

[50PoundHead]

What I've read about him is that Giardina has worked a ton of tournaments and is quite a leader behind the plate. Think guys in the Ross/Laird/Corky Miller vein.

That may help the Rome staff some. When a guy is drafted that late, it's usually for something that is perceived as value-added over raw talent. Who knows what Giardina might develop into, but if he has the qualities you mention, at the very least he could be a solid organizational guy who develops into a "coach on the field" guy who helps with the development of those around him.

[Julio3000]

I don't know about depth, but we have a lot of breadth at C.

[nsacpi]

I don't know about depth, but we have a lot of breadth at C.

That starts at the top with Laird. He sets the standard.

[KB21]

That starts at the top with Laird. He sets the standard.

It's strategic. Block the umps view of the strike zone for pitch framing purposes.

Evan Gattis is 6'4", 260 lbs
Sal Giardina is 6'4", 220 lbs
Wigberto Nevarez is 6'3", 220 lbs

[nsacpi]

It's strategic. Block the umps view of the strike zone for pitch framing purposes.

Evan Gattis is 6'4", 260 lbs
Sal Giardina is 6'4", 220 lbs
Wigberto Nevarez is 6'3", 220 lbs

mini Lairds

[rico43]

It's strategic. Block the umps view of the strike zone for pitch framing purposes.

Evan Gattis is 6'4", 260 lbs
Sal Giardina is 6'4", 220 lbs
Wigberto Nevarez is 6'3", 220 lbs

But the best catcher in the system (now that Bethancourt is up) might be Tyler Tewell, all 5-11, 185 of him. What is he thinking?

[The Chosen One]

Of course it's still early, but I wasn't thoroughly impressed with Bethancourt's setup and positioning behind the plate on Saturday.

Mac setup and positioned himself like a pro from the first day he was called up. He leads the league in framed strikes still, and a huge part of it, is his posture and the way he catches. Almost Eddie Perez-like, the way there's very little to no movement of his glove from the time the pitcher winds up, to the time the ball is caught.

Bethancourt might have a good arm and he may block wild pitches well, but Mac's pitch framing was a thing of beauty.

[KB21]

Of course it's still early, but I wasn't thoroughly impressed with Bethancourt's setup and positioning behind the plate on Saturday.

Mac setup and positioned himself like a pro from the first day he was called up. He leads the league in framed strikes still, and a huge part of it, is his posture and the way he catches. Almost Eddie Perez-like, the way there's very little to no movement of his glove from the time the pitcher winds up, to the time the ball is caught.

Bethancourt might have a good arm and he may block wild pitches well, but Mac's pitch framing was a thing of beauty.

I did not get to watch it. The 2nd game of the double header got pre empted by an exhibition tennis match between John McEnroe and Ivan Lendel on my FSS station, and it was blacked out on my MLB package.

[KB21]

But the best catcher in the system (now that Bethancourt is up) might be Tyler Tewell, all 5-11, 185 of him. What is he thinking?

He did not get the memo.

[The Chosen One]

I did not get to watch it. The 2nd game of the double header got pre empted by an exhibition tennis match between John McEnroe and Ivan Lendel on my FSS station, and it was blacked out on my MLB package.

That's because it wasn't on your regional FSS station... it was on FS1 (new national Fox Sports network). :cooter:

[catcher10]

He did not get the memo.

Genetics, I blame his father!

[catcher10]

But the best catcher in the system (now that Bethancourt is up) might be Tyler Tewell, all 5-11, 185 of him. What is he thinking?

Cat like reflexes.

[JohnAdcox]

Does Salcedo's move to OF mean Braves think he sucks at 3rd, or they want Peraza to play 2nd/3rd like Prado.

Really hoping the latter, but fear it may be the former as well.