Tommy La Stella's drag bunt single in the first inning against Pensacola on June 9 gave him a .330 average in his first 26 games with Mississippi. The hit, though, came with a price, which has too frequently been the case for Atlanta's No. 16 prospect.
La Stella strained his hamstring just before reaching first base, landing him on the disabled list. Unfortunately, that's a spot the second baseman is all too familiar with.
La Stella, 24, was beaned at Class A Advanced Lynchburg last season, then sat out six weeks after breaking his leg in a collision while covering first on a bunt. This year, he missed Spring Training and the first three weeks of the season because of a sore right elbow.
"It's been frustrating," said the left-handed hitting La Stella, who made it back from his hamstring injury June 29. "You want to play, not sit."
When healthy, La Stella has always hit, and the Braves feel that the former Coastal Carolina standout was a steal as an eighth-round pick in the 2011 Draft. After batting .398 his last season in college, La Stella hit .328 for Class A Rome and then .302 with Lynchburg last year despite being limited to 85 games.
La Stella went 11-for-20 in seven games with the Hillcats this season after recovering from elbow inflammation, and then was 3-for-6 with two doubles, a triple and five RBIs in his Mississippi debut May 7.
Who needs Spring Training?
"Lynchburg was my Spring Training," La Stella said.
But now the New Jersey native is having to get back up to speed again after sitting out nearly three weeks. Eased back, La Stella had just four hits in his first 21 at-bats, dropping his average to .304.
"I'm trying to get my timing back," he said.
When La Stella does, he will be an offensive force again. He has struck out just 11 times while drawing 18 walks for Lynchburg and Mississippi this season, following his normal pattern. La Stella has walked 84 times in 194 Minor League games and struck out just 64 times.
La Stella, who started his college career at St. John's, also has some pop. He had 14 homers his final season at Coastal Carolina and has a .467 slugging average this year to go with his .422 on-base percentage.
"I want to be aggressive but make sure it is a pitch I can handle," said La Stella, who drove in seven runs in the playoffs as Lynchburg won the Carolina League's Mills Cup last season.
But for La Stella, the real key is staying healthy.
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We call your attention to the second game of Danville's doubleheader Saturday. Three individual performances need to be mentioned in the 1-0 Danville win.
First baseman Jacob Schrader, the final (Lowest) round signee in this June's draft (27th round) hit his team-leading third home run for Danville. To refresh, he's a 6-2 righty hitter who attended Tempa.
Andrew Waszak, the Braves' 23rd round pick out of Michigan State, worked four shutout innings as the starter, lowering his pro ERA to 0.66. In five appearances (one start) covering 13.2 innings, the right-hander has allowed six hits and only one earned run. The pitcher who followed him and eventually earned the win, Jordan Sechler, has pitched almost as well. Atlanta's 19th round pick from national champs UCLA, lefty Sechler, has now worked 9.1 innings with six hits and one run allowed.
SATURDAY'S SCORES
CLASS AAA
Durham 8, Gwinnett (41-56) 1
LP: Bisenius (3-2) 3 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K. Rasmus 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 B, 2 K.
Carrithers 1-4; Gartrell 3-4, HR (6th), RBI.
Gattis (DH) 1-4, 2B, K.
CLASS AA
Mississippi (12-12) 7, Chattanooga 1
SP: Moran 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K.
WP: Pacheco 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K.
Salcedo 1-2, 2B; Brewer 0-1; Marrero 1-2.
ADVANCED CLASS A
Wilmington 2, Lynchburg (5-12) 1 (11)
SP: Holland 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 4 K, 2 HBP
LP: Hyatt (BS, 1-3) 0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, HBP.
C. Perez 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, HBP.
Rohm 1-3; Kubitza 1-2, R.
CLASS A
Hagerstown 7, Rome (7-13) 4
SP: Parsons 5 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. Fitzgerald 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R., 1 BB, 1 K.
Wren 2-5, 2 R, HR (1st), RBI; Peraza 2-5, 3B, 2 RBI, SB (37); Meneses 2-4; Heffley 1-4, RBI.
ROOKIE LEAGUES
GCL Braves (7-10) 3, GCL Tigers 1
WP: Gonzalez (2-1) 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 4 K. Holmes (Save, 2) 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.
Arno 2-3, HR (1st), 3 RBI; V. Reyes 1-4, 2B, R; Odom 1-4, 2B. 17 Braves struck out!
Game One
Danville (10-9) 5, Princeton 4 (8)
SP: Gil 4 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K.
WP: Tate (1-0) 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K.
Piloto 3-3, RBI; De La Rosa 1-3, RBI; Camargo 2-3, 2B, R; Lien 2-4, 2B, R; Caratini 1-4, R..
Game Two
Danville (11-9) 1, Princeton 0 (7)
SP: Waszak 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.
WP: Sechler (1-0) 3 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 4 K.
Schrader 1-3, HR (3RD), RBI; Luna 1-3, 2B; Piloto 1-2.
DSL Braves (15-16) 8, DSL Orioles 5 (14)
SP: Manzanares 2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.
Falcon (BS) 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K. Silva 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K.
WP: Matos (2-1) 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K.
Tejada 2-5, R, HR (2nd), 4 RBI; Chin 2-6, 2B, 3B, 2 R, RBI; Vasquez 1-2, R, RBI.
Friday Game
DSL Brewers 5, DSL Braves (14-17) 3
SP: Ledezma 2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K.
LP: Santiago (1-3) 4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 3 K.
Estevez 1-3, RBI, SB; Castro 1-3, RBI; Cleofa 1-3.
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