MINORS FINAL 6/25: Rome wins two! Gosselin's huge DH

[rico43]

Today is the 19th annual Rickwood Classic, when a group of avid Birmingham Barons fans open the gates to their 90-year-old ballpark for a Southern League Turn Back the Clock game.

Gwinnett and Rome resume suspended games before their own today, making this the most Braves-heavy day of the year for fans. Rome is trying to avoid beginning the year 0-6 as the R-Braves are heading down the path towards becoming one of the worst affiliated minor league teams in this or any other century.

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LINK TO BOXSCORES

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CLASS AAA
Scheduled Game
Gwinnett 7, Toledo 1 (7)

WP: C. Martin (5-6) 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K.
Gosselin 2-3, 3 R, HR (3rd), RBI. (.336)
Terdoslavich 1-4, HR (4th), RBI.
Cunningam 1-4, 2 R, HR (3rd), RBI.
Bethancourt 2-3, 2B, RBI, SB. (.270)

Suspended Game
Toledo 7, Gwinnett 5

Blown save; 5-run 9th for Toledo.
SP: Northcraft 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.
Texeira 5.1 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K.
LP: Buchter (BS, 2-3) 2 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 2 HR.
Gosselin 3-4, HR (2nd), 3 R, RBI, BB. (.332)
Pastornicky 2-4, 2B, R, RBI.
Bethancourt 1-4, RBI.
Terdoslavich 2-5, RBI.
Cunningham 2-5, RBI.

CLASS AA

Mississippi 5, Birmingham 2

WP: G. Ross (1-0) 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K.
Shreve (Save, 4) 1 IP, 0 H, 3 K.
Loman 2-3, 2B, HR (10th), 2 R, 3 RBIs.
Pedraza DNP.
Kennelly 1-2, 3B, RBI. (.306)
Kubitza 2-3, 2 2B, R, BB. (.302)

ADVANCED CLASS A

Lynchburg 11, Wilmington 7

SP: Jadofsky 3 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 HR.
WP: Moore (1-0) 3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K.
Hyatt (Save, 3) 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K.
Martinez 3-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBIs.
Wren 2-5, 2 R, RBI.
Ahrens 3-5, 2B, 2 RBIs.
Nick 2-4, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBIs.
Castro 2-5, 2 2B, R, 2 RBIs.
Tewell 2-4, 2 R.

CLASS A
Scheduled Game
Rome 4, Augusta 0 (7)

3-hitter for Rome staff!
SP: Marksberry 4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K.
WP: Holland (2-2) 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K.
Caratini 1-3, HR (3rd), RBI.
Oliver 3-4, 2B, R.
Brown 1-3, HR (3rd), RBI.
Franco 1-3, R.

Suspended Game
Rome 6, Augusta 4

SP: Holmes 3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.
WP: Brosius (2-4) 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K.
Camargo 2-5.
Brown 2-4, 3B, R, RBI.
R. Wilson 1-4, HR (2nd), 2 RBIs.
V.Reyes 3-4, 2B, R.
Lien 3-4, 2B, R.

SHORT-SEASON

Greeneville 9, Danville 5

LP: Waszak (0-1) 3.1 IP, 11 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 3 K.
Miranda 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K.
Edgerton 3-5, 3 2B, 4 RBIs.
Piloto 1-1, R. (PH)

GCL Tigers 5, GCL Braves 1

LP: Webb (0-1) 1.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.
Caicedo 5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.
Dykstra 1-2, R, BB.
Albies 1-2, SB.
Salcedo 1-4. (Playing RF!)
Only three hits!

DSL Braves 3, DSL Rangers 2

WP: Mejia (2-0) 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K.
Jesus Jones 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.
Moreno (Save, 6) 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.
Cabrera 3-3, 2B, R.
Arias 0-3, R, SB, BB.


MOVES: Aaron Northcraft to Gwinnett, Alex Wood to ATL; Ryan Buchter to Gwinnett; Andy Simunic to "temporarily inactive" list; Ata. Severino to DL with bicep tendinitis; FA pitcher Kanekoa Texiera signed for Gwinnett. Greg Ross from Lynchburg to Miss.

[nsacpi]

Tis the time of year for promotions and sadly releases. Glad to see Greg Ross get the promotion. He's pitched very well at Lynchburg the last two seasons. I'd like to see Wes Parsons and Yean Carlos Gil also get promotions.

[50PoundHead]

Good to see the Northcraft move. He's moved slowly but steadily upward.

[50PoundHead]

Pretty good afternoon. Lots of solid performances. Wish Cornely didn't walk so many guys.

I'm keeping my eye on Connor Oliver. Pretty nice season for a guy who leapfrogged Danville.

[thethe]

When does Kubitza become a real deal prospect? Doing well at AA is a great sign of future success.

He not only continued his performance from Lynchburg last year but IMPROVED his numbers at AA. Very impressive.

[50PoundHead]

Looks like Gosselin took his vitamins. I don't know where Gossellin sits on the prospect radar. His 2014 season has been a grand departure from his previous performance, but I have to wonder how long we are going to go with a 24-man roster at the big league level.

[Jay212033]

Dilmer Mejia has been awesome so far this season! I really would like to know what kind of stuff the little young lefty has.

[Julio3000]

Looks like Gosselin took his vitamins. I don't know where Gossellin sits on the prospect radar. His 2014 season has been a grand departure from his previous performance, but I have to wonder how long we are going to go with a 24-man roster at the big league level.

Not too much longer, I hope. Might as well bring up another bullpen arm right now.

Bring on Gosselin, or whomever.

[zbhargrove]

Looks like Gosselin took his vitamins. I don't know where Gossellin sits on the prospect radar. His 2014 season has been a grand departure from his previous performance, but I have to wonder how long we are going to go with a 24-man roster at the big league level.

Gosselin does have a pretty high babip... .388, so I'm sure that has something to do with the surprise year. I'd like to see him keep succeeding... He was one I had high hopes for coming out of college that just never found his way. Unfortunately... If he's not hitting for average, he has no other real tool... No power, mediocre speed... Doesn't strike out a whole lot but also doesn't walk much either. Because he has the chance to be versatile position wise he will probably have a spot somewhere in the majors on and off.

[zbhargrove]

When does Kubitza become a real deal prospect? Doing well at AA is a great sign of future success.

He not only continued his performance from Lynchburg last year but IMPROVED his numbers at AA. Very impressive.

I know there are many who don't like him but he has to be a legit prospect at this point. He keeps improving, has really only had one bad to mediocre year in the minors... Has great patience and on base skills... Has some power potential he can still tap into, and is a good defender. .853 OPS in his first AA stint is nothing to sneeze at, but as with Gosselin, he also has a high babip... He probably won't ever be a permanent starter but I can't see him being much worse than CJ and he may end up being a great bench piece. His constant improvement is encouraging and he's still young.

[BremanFan88]

but as with Gosselin, he also has a high babip...

He's a high babip guy though. This year isn't even his highest. Kubitza is just a very consistent player.

[zbhargrove]

He's a high babip guy though. This year isn't even his highest. Kubitza is just a very consistent player.

Well his highest year was his first year at only 162 at bats in rookie ball so I don't know if that exactly counts. Excluding that year, this year is by far his highest babip year... .388 vs. .344 vs. .310... I wasn't arguing against him... In fact my post was very high on him.

[BremanFan88]

Well his highest year was his first year at only 162 at bats in rookie ball so I don't know if that exactly counts. Excluding that year, this year is by far his highest babip year... .388 vs. .344 vs. .310... I wasn't arguing against him... In fact my post was very high on him.

I wasn't saying your post wasn't high on him. I was just merely pointing out that he seems to be a guy that consistently puts up rather high babip's. Like you pointed out even his down year of .310 is fairly high and it carried over to the AFL. His wobp and wRC+ have also been very good throughout his career. Basically Kyle Kubitza is what Chris Johnson wishes he was.

[nsacpi]

Both Kubitza and Gosselin have high BABIPs this year in absolute terms. .389 for Kubitza and .388 for Gosselin. The difference is that in past years Kubitza has more of a track record for high BABIPs, .344 last year for example. Both are in line for some regression. But if you take their track record in past years as a baseline, the magnitude of regression is likely to be larger in Gosselin's case.

There is also the possibility that one or both of them has figured out something in terms of hitting and that their past years' record is no longer a reliable baseline.

Elmer Reyes is another one this year benefitting from a very high BABIP, .391. He is more like Gosselin in not having a track record of high BABIPs.

The other thing that differentiates Kubitza from Gosselin and Reyes is a significantly higher walk rate, both this year and in years past.

[nsacpi]

Basically Kyle Kubitza is what Chris Johnson wishes he was.

I think this is a very interesting comparison. Kubitza has a chance to be Chris Johnson with a good walk rate. A chance. I'd say less than 50% because he still has a significant amount of developing to do and success at AA while a very good sign is far from a guarantee of success in the majors (note he is not young for AA at age 23). But Chris Johnson with a walk rate of 10% would be a pretty valuable player.

[50PoundHead]

Gosselin does have a pretty high babip... .388, so I'm sure that has something to do with the surprise year. I'd like to see him keep succeeding... He was one I had high hopes for coming out of college that just never found his way. Unfortunately... If he's not hitting for average, he has no other real tool... No power, mediocre speed... Doesn't strike out a whole lot but also doesn't walk much either. Because he has the chance to be versatile position wise he will probably have a spot somewhere in the majors on and off.

Just to make it clear, I'm not contending that Gosselin is an answer to any grand question. He's a 25th guy who might be better than our current one.

Don't know on Kubitza. Supposedly a good fielder, but he makes a ton of errors. Power hasn't developed (it might). Walks a lot. Ks with pretty steady regularity. Don't know if he projects to be better than Johnson (whom I don't hold in high regard). I've always thought solid bench guy as his ceiling, but we'll just have to see. My guess is he won't see the bigs this year, but will go on the 40-man over the winter.

I've always liked Elmer Reyes, but I would be very surprised if he ends the season over .300 and, as others have pointed out, he's a ball-in-play guy so his iso-sets aren't going to be very high. I would think his ceiling is somewhere between a better version of Ramiro Pena and a starting SS. He may be a trading chip, because Simmons is locked up and middle IFs appear to be the one area in the farm system that is fairly well stocked right now. Problem is, I don't know how other teams view him, but there are a lot of steady-glove, light-hitting SSs in the big leagues right now.

[nsacpi]

I would say useful bench player is the most likely outcome for Kubitza. His upside is Chris Johnson with a 10% walk rate.

The most likely outcome for both Gosselin and Reyes is major league utility infielder. For players of this type the shape of their major league careers depends a lot on what other similar players the team has in their system. There is not likely to be room on the Braves for all three of Reyes, Gosselin and Pastornicky to have significant major league careers.

It is always worth keeping in mind that a small number of players will go on to have major league careers that significantly exceed what their minor league pedigrees suggested. And there are others who will fall short.

[rico43]

This thread has set a record for longest infield prospects discussion that doesn't mention Pedraza.

[nsacpi]

This thread has set a record for longest infield prospects discussion that doesn't mention Pedraza.

Well he belongs in an entirely different class and conversation.

[Jay212033]

This thread has set a record for longest infield prospects discussion that doesn't mention Pedraza.

Who's that?!