MINORS FINAL 8/14: Povse Flirts with No-No; YC Gil returns to form

Povse Shows Braves Worthy of 3rd Round
(from MiLB.com)
The Braves took a leap of faith on Max Povse, and so far this year, he's repaid that confidence in kind. The right-handed Atlanta prospect took a no-hitter into the seventh inning as Rookie-level Danville routed Burlington, 10-1, on Thursday. Povse struck out five and walked one in his longest pro outing, finishing with seven one-hit frames. The 20-year-old did not allow a hit until Logan Moon singled with one out in the seventh inning. He had retired 15 straight batters prior to that.
"It was sharp," Povse said of his stuff. "Everything had good movement and was late. I kind of got into cruise mode, everything was in sync. I just felt really good."
Selected in the third round by Atlanta in June, Povse has watched his innings increase with each start. On Thursday, he improved to 3-2 while lowering his ERA to 3.06. He has come on strong of late, allowing four earned runs on 17 hits in his past five games while picking up victories in his last three straight starts.
"Just trusting my stuff," the North Carolina native said of his recent success. "Not doing too much, just sit back in the lower half of the zone. I'm getting ground balls and the defense has been making the plays behind me."
Drafted out of the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Atlanta was intrigued by his 6-foot-7 frame as well as the speed of his fastball, which sits around 93 mph. This despite a 4.99 ERA in 15 appearances as a junior for the Spartans.
"I think some people can fall in love with stats and stuff, but I feel like my stuff has really translated to the next level," Povse said. "I feel like I was just blessed to be given the opportunity to play for the Braves. I'm trying to make the best of it."
Povse feels as though he's acclimated quickly to the pros, particularly in how often he takes the ball.
"It's different," he said of pro life. "The whole every five days has been something I've been trying to get used to. Over the past month or so, I feel like I've gotten into a good routine and things are starting to become more natural."
Tanner Murphy went 3-for-4 with a homer, four runs scored and two RBIs while Jordan Edgarton plated a pair of runs for the Braves.

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We've saluted the incredible career of Brandon Cunniff before, but here's the latest on the undefeated reliever for the M-Braves:

With two innings of one-hit relief August 10, Cunniff earned his third win of the season since being promoted to Mississippi. Why that's just part of his amazing story:

For the 2014 season, Cunniff is 4-0, 1.19 with 4 saves;
Since joining the Braves, he is 5-0 in 58 games with an ERA of 1.45 (4 saves)
In organized ball, he is 7-0, 1.76 in 76 games (8 saves), 127 innings.
Including Indy ball, he is, in 169 games, all in relief, 14-0, 1.64, with 33 saves for his pro career. Allowed 159 hits in 230 innings (280 strikeouts).
When the Braves signed him in 2013, he'd gotten eight saves in 12 games for S. Illinois with an ERA of 0.00.

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WEDNESDAY BOXES LINK

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CLASS AAA

Pawtucket 5, Gwinnett 1

LP: Texiera (3-4) 6.2 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K.
Cunningham 2-4, SB.
Constanza 2-4, R, 2 SB.
E. Reyes 1-4.

CLASS AA

Mississippi 4, Montgomery 1

WP: W. Perez (5-6) 6 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.
R. Kelly (Save, 5) 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.
Kubitza 3-4, 2B, HR (6th), 2 R, RBI.
Hunter 2-3, 2B.
Rohm 3-3, 2B, R.
G. Nunez 1-4, 2 RBIs.
Erik Castro 0-4. (debut, 1B)

ADVANCED CLASS A

Winston-Salem 5, Lynchburg 4

SP: L. Sims 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K.
LP: Cabrera (1-1) 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.
Bloxom 1-3, HR (2nd), 2 RBIs.
Ahrens 2-4, HR (6th), RBI.
Hyams 1-3, 2B, R.
E. Garcia 2-4, RBI.

CLASS A

Rome 3, Charleston 2

WP: Gil (6-6) 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K.
P. Perez (Save, 7) 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K.
Giardina 2-4, 2 RBIs.
R. Wilson 2-4, R.

SHORT-SEASON

GCL Braves 2, GCL Tigers 1

SP: Santana 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 2 K.
WP: Dettmann (2-3) 2 IP, 0 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K.
Zavala (Save, 6) 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.
J.J. Franco 3-4, 2B, 2 R. (.371)
Dykstra 0-4, RBI.
Meneses 0-2.

Danville 10, Burlington 1

WP: Povse (3-2) 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K. (3.06)
Murphy 3-3, 4 R, HR (4th), 2 RBIs.
Edgerton 2-4, 2 RBIs.
Black 4-5, 2 2B, 2 R, 4 RBIs. (.301)
Albies 1-3, R, RBI, BB, HBP. (.373)
Davidson 0-5, 2 K.
Obregon 3-5, RBI.

DSL Braves 11, DSL Brewers 8

SP: L. Perez 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 0 K.
Barrios 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K.
WP: Moreno (4-3) 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.
Salazar 4-5, 2 R, 3 RBIs.
C. Castro 4-6, HR (2nd), 2 RBIs.
T. Josephina 2-5, RBI.
Arias 3-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBIs. (.300)

Sims saving his year with a solid second half.

A few nice hitters are starting to show their abilities down in Rome and Danville. Very good sign for a system that hasn't developed many hitters recently.

Povse could be the next Harang. That would be huge.