You'd better get to know this man. Ross, Greg Ross.
In the Braves' two decades of playoff contention, no deadline deal might be more obscure or forgotten as the one on August 31, 2012, when the Braves picked up longtime Cubs utilityman Jeff Baker from the Tigers for a player to be named later. Baker was just about done with his 2-for-19 performance for the Braves when the Tigers selected Class A pitcher Greg Ross from the Braves to complete the deal that Sept 25th.
Fast-forward to spring, 2013. The final, bloody cuts of the spring were happening everywhere, and March 25 saw the Tigers axed Ross among their final minor league moves. It took the Braves less than three days to re-sign their former 18th round pick out of Frostburg State, and all he's done since is impress. As such a late acquisition, he began that year in the Rome bullpen, but after going 1-0, 1.40 in long man duty, he earned the bump up to Lynchburg and quickly slipped into the rotation and enjoyed a 9-6, 3.27 completion to his season.
He had to begin 2014 with the Hillcats as well, but was 5-3 in mid-June when he was moved to Mississippi to replace Aaron Northcraft. And the 6-3 right-hander has come into his own in a big way.
His first Double-A start was in front of 8,000 fans in the Rickwood Classic and got the win with just two earned runs allowed over six innings. He followed that up with a rare nine-inning complete game shutout of tough Huntsville (Brewers AA), a six-hitter. He allowed only one earned run in his only loss, but Friday improved to 3-1, 0.98 with the M-Braves with seven shutout innings, two-hitting Moble. He has only allowed 15 hits in 28 Class AA innings, a .158 average and is rapidly becoming the next-best gift from the Tigers since John Smoltz.
For Ross, Friday night was not as easy at it looked.
"Our catcher [Braeden Schlehuber] noticed I was sweating more than he was. Being from up north, I'm not used to the humidity down here yet. I was sweating like crazy," the Braves prospect said.
Nonetheless, the Baltimore native continued to get great results.
"I think today was a rough one. I know the numbers don't say it, but my command wasn't there," Ross said. "But I've been throwing a lot of innings this year, and part of what I do is compete and grind. I give it everything I got and if I'm spent when I come out, at least I got the most out of it."
Ross, who threw a six-hit shutout in his second Double-A outing, boasts a 0.98 ERA. So far, he hasn't approached pitching for the M-Braves all too differently than the way he did pitching in the Carolina League, where he was 5-3 with a 3.50 ERA in 15 games -- including 11 starts -- for the Hillcats.
"I'm just attacking guys, really, knowing my strengths and competing," said Ross. "I know it's a little better competition here, so I'm trying to stay aggressive. Schlehuber and [Matt] Kennelly both call great games. They know the hitters and know the sequences to throw. That's more than helpful, so I'm just trying to throw all my pitches for strikes."
The two hits Ross allowed were singles.
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SATURDAY BOXSCORE LINK
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CLASS AAA
Game One
Norfolk 5, Gwinnett 3 (7)
LP: Texeira (1-1) 4.2 IP, 8 H< 5 ER, 5 BB, 2 K.
Gosselin 3-4, 2 2B, R. (.343)
Yepez 1-3, 2B, 2 RBIs.
Game Two
Norfolk 9, Gwinnett 8 (7)
Blown save; walkoff win
SP: Doyle 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 K.
LP: Hoyt (1-1) 2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.
Gosselin 1-1, R, RBI. (.345)
Kazmar 2-3, 2B, 2 RBIs. (.329)
Terdoslavich 2-4, 2 RBIs.
E. Reyes 1-4, 2 R.
CLASS AA
Mobile 5, Mississippi 1
LP: W. Perez (3-5) 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.
Robinson 2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.
Castro 1-4, RBI.
Kubitza 1-2, 2B, R.
ADVANCED CLASS A
Myrtle Beach 8, Lynchburg 6
LP: Scarpetta (3-3) 3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K.
Cabrera 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.
Landoni 2-5, 2B, 2 RBIs.
Nick 2-5, 2B, R.
Hyams 2-4, 2B, R.
Martinez 1-3, 2B, RBI. (.405)
CLASS A
Hickory 8, Rome 1
LP: Janas (2-4) 4 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.
Kimbrel 3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.
Godfrey 2-4.
Giardina 1-2. (1B)
SHORT-SEASON
Elizabethton 7, Danville 1
SP: Cordero (1-3) 2.2 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 0 BB, 2 K.
M. Sims 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.
McElroy 2-4, 3B, R.
Murphy 1-2, RBI.
Black 2-3.
Edgerton 1-4.
GCL Braves 8, GCL Tigers 1
WP: Jhon Martinez (1-1) 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K.
Jacob Webb 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K.
Nevarez 2-2, 2B, R, 3 RBIs.
Dykstra 1-2, HR (1st), 2 RBIs. (.375)
Davidson 1-2. (.237)
DSL Rangers 5, DSL Braves 4
LP: Gavidia (0-3) 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K.
Jesus Heredia 3.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K. (0.44 ERA)
T. Josephina 2-3, BB. (.317)
Salazar 1-3, R.
Willlems 2-4, R.
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