2024 Minor League Thread

[CJ9]

Schwellenbach at it again. Four perfect innings outside of an infield single with six Ks. Only 47 pitches.

[msstate7]

Schwellenbach at it again. Four perfect innings outside of an infield single with six Ks. Only 47 pitches.

Surely 2 of him, AJss, Waldrep, and Murphy will hit

[CJ9]

5 innings and 7 Ks with only one infield single so far for Schwellenbach.

And he just touched 99 mph: https://x.com/charris731/status/1793...FYkGV6nUElb0dA

[zbhargrove]

5 innings and 7 Ks with only one infield single so far for Schwellenbach.

And he just touched 99 mph: https://x.com/charris731/status/1793...FYkGV6nUElb0dA

Just seems to me that Schwellenbach has discovered something. Love seeing him increase his K's... pretty exciting

[CJ9]

Schwellenbach final line: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K. He gave up an infield single and a ground ball double. 76 pitches, 53 strikes.

[zbhargrove]

Schwellenbach final line: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K. He gave up an infield single and a ground ball double. 76 pitches, 53 strikes.

That's seriously sexy

[Hudson2]

These minor league updates are getting more exciting to check out. Good job guys on the updates.

[zbhargrove]

These minor league updates are getting more exciting to check out. Good job guys on the updates.

Now if we could get anyone to hit

[zbhargrove]

Is Riley Frey a real prospect? 2023 draft 19th rounder... 22 and was recently promoted to Rome. Microscopic ERA in 4 starts with Augusta and 2 with Rome. Relatively low K-rate.

What about Luis Vargas? 22 year old at Augusta putting up some serious K's. Been mostly a reliever this year but struck out 12 in 5 innings today as a starter. Walks a few though... he's an International guy who's been around since 2019.

[CJ9]

Is Riley Frey a real prospect? 2023 draft 19th rounder... 22 and was recently promoted to Rome. Microscopic ERA in 4 starts with Augusta and 2 with Rome. Relatively low K-rate.

What about Luis Vargas? 22 year old at Augusta putting up some serious K's. Been mostly a reliever this year but struck out 12 in 5 innings today as a starter. Walks a few though... he's an International guy who's been around since 2019.

I keep getting Frey and Mitch Ferris confused. Ferris was a 14th rounder in 2023 and had 37 Ks in 22 innings (but also 14 BBs). Both in Rome now, but Frey definitely seems like the highest upside one.

I didn’t know much about Vargas before that line tonight, but he was apparently into the upper 90s.

It’s nice to have some pop up guys like that finally. But like you said, would be nice to have a few of those pop ups from hitters.

[Hudson2]

Now if we could get anyone to hit

Alot of our hitting talent is super young and we know that’ll take longer to develop. If they havent started to turn it around by end of next season then maybe worry a little bit. The pitching is crazy right now.

[zbhargrove]

Alot of our hitting talent is super young and we know that’ll take longer to develop. If they havent started to turn it around by end of next season then maybe worry a little bit. The pitching is crazy right now.

Nah... I think there's plenty of reason to be concerned at the present at the lack of position player development

[zbhargrove]

I keep getting Frey and Mitch Ferris confused. Ferris was a 14th rounder in 2023 and had 37 Ks in 22 innings (but also 14 BBs). Both in Rome now, but Frey definitely seems like the highest upside one.

I didn’t know much about Vargas before that line tonight, but he was apparently into the upper 90s.

It’s nice to have some pop up guys like that finally. But like you said, would be nice to have a few of those pop ups from hitters.

I guess there are a couple "ehhh" looking guys that have popped up a little this year.

Jace Grady at Augusta has started off solid... 2023 11th rounder and 22 years old. Corner OFer...

Batting .304 with a .390 OBP and a .861 OPS... likely helped by a .355 BABIP

E.J. Exposito at Rome... 2022 16th rounder and 23 years old. Second baseman (but has also spent time this year at SS and 1B)

Batting .308 with a .379 OBP and a 1.024 OPS, 9 homers and 12 SBs... Maybe a future super utility guy? But 9 errors already... yikes.

Sabin Ceballos (2023 3rd rounder) has started playing better as of late at Rome

Kilpatrick Jr. at Rome has cooled off big time after starting out on fire. Seem to remember he started off on fire last year too before really falling off.

Drew Compton at Augusta... Undrafted FA at 23 years old. Third baseman

.286 average, .831 OPS

Going really young...

Douglas Glod OFer in the FCL hit his first homer of the year yesterday and is showing signs of life after a tough start.

Junior Garcia OFer in the FCL has .325 average and .901 OPS.. 18 years old.

Otherwise, the FCL looks pretty abysmal in the early going. Maybe a couple interesting arms.

[Deester11]

Nah... I think there's plenty of reason to be concerned at the present at the lack of position player development

This is two years in a row where I'm questioning the direction of hitting philosophy. I haven't found consistent swings from any batter from fcl to AA. But watching a few batters I've seen: inconsistent approaches. Aggressive early....passive late in counts. Pitch recognition is severely lacking. Nacho has a clue, inconsistent results. Drake..lights out one at bat, the next unsure. Those two have a clue though.

Kilpatrick, starting to click. The swing and miss is still there but he's quite a Threat. I like what he's doing. Workinger..is a baseball rat. May not be enough but he's a pest. I won't go into the international guys. Gotta hope Guanipa and Perdomo are the major outliers. I like Alexander Martinez. Defense coming along..offense non existent. Shrug. So many things I can expand on, but just know...for as much of a clue as we have on certain pitchers, the positional players are less certain than ever before.

[Hulavol]

You guys think AJSS is ready to lock down a spot and stay up for good?

[cajunrevenge]

I think he isnt worse than Elder and Vines. Assuming we delayed his service time enough to get an extra year of control I would like for him to get a longer shot at the rotation even if he isnt great at first. Whatever the case, I am sure people will overreact based on this next start.

[bravesfanMatt]

It sounds like Vines is going Friday after AJ. I am down with that move personally. Seems like either the org and/or twit is really committed to babying the pitching staff this year. That is the right move, imo.

My biggest concern with AJ is if he is mentally ready more so than pitching ready. He is 21. I would rather waldrep up and let AJ have the whole year to develop and build pitch confidence. Waldrep is a college guy who should be who his is by now. He will take his bumps and bruises but I trust he could handle it better than AJ. Time will tell I guess.

[cajunrevenge]

The only pitcher who got close to a full season of innings last year was Morton and he is old as hell. Fried is 19 innings from last years total, Lopez is 20, and Sale is 44 IP from last years total. They will all be around or over last years total innings pitched by the ASG and thats with giving them extra rest. Do we really want to increase their workload year over year by 100IP and THEN have them pitching in the playoffs?

[CyYoung31]

How much of a prospect is Ian Mejia? I see he threw a no hitter in his last start and just got promoted to Gwinnett. I also see that he’s 24, so fairly old for AA.

[Carp]

It sounds like Vines is going Friday after AJ. I am down with that move personally. Seems like either the org and/or twit is really committed to babying the pitching staff this year. That is the right move, imo.

My biggest concern with AJ is if he is mentally ready more so than pitching ready. He is 21. I would rather waldrep up and let AJ have the whole year to develop and build pitch confidence. Waldrep is a college guy who should be who his is by now. He will take his bumps and bruises but I trust he could handle it better than AJ. Time will tell I guess.

AJ already had success last year in the majors. Gave up some homers, but he did better than you would expect for of a 20 year old.