Updates on the Braves' two most recent No. 1 picks, thanks to MiLB.com:
Braves first-rounder Jason Hursh is quietly going about his business. He has fit into Rome's rotation quickly and without fanfare and his desire to work hard and improve has already endeared him to his pitching coach, Derrick Lewis.
Between putting up zeros and showing a will to get better in all parts of his game, Hursh is the kind of talent that coaches dream about working with.
In his fourth start of the year, the 21-year-old right-hander tossed three hitless innings in the Braves' 10-2 win over the visiting Lakewood BlueClaws on Monday.
It marked the third time in four outings he has not surrendered a hit and extended his scoreless-inning streak to 9 2/3 frames to start his professional career.
"He's going to be a good one. He has a good throw," Lewis said. "The way he goes about his business is very professional. From when he came in on Day 1 and got his feet wet, he's got on with everybody well. He blends right in. His goal is to get to the big leagues, but he wants to get better. You would like to see everybody have his type of mentality."
The 6-foot-3 hurler has certainly made the transition from college ball to the Minors look simple so far.
He fired two hitless innings in his debut on July 5 at home vs. Asheville, and he worked around three hits in putting up two more zeros six days later in Lakewood. Last time out July 17 in Lexington, the Texas native struck out three batters over 2 2/3 hitless frames.
"The ball comes out good. He's not herky-jerky, he's smooth and fluid and it comes out of his hand well," Lewis said. "He wants to work on his fastball and his off-speed stuff because he's not content with where he is. He just needs experience, nothing in particular."
Selected by the Braves 31st overall in June's Draft, Hursh is coming off a collegiate workload with Oklahoma State University that saw him go 6-5 with a 2.79 ERA, three complete games and 86 strikeouts in 16 starts.
"He pitched a regular college season. He was their main guy so he threw some innings," Lewis said. "But he's in our rotation and we are going to let him get his innings and monitor it when we need to."
It may be surprising that the Braves are being cautious with Hursh, who throws a low- to mid-90s fastball, a 12-6 curveball and a change-up. But he missed all of 2012 recovering from Tommy John surgery and he threw 106 1/3 innings for the Cowboys before inking a $1.7 million contact last month.
"They are quality pitches. He has quality stuff all around," Lewis said. "His fastball is his best pitch and right now the off-speed pitches are even. It's just what he has a good feel for, but they're not far behind [his fastball]. He's a fastball pitcher, but the more he uses the others, the better they will get."
On Monday, Patrick Scoggin (7-4) threw three scoreless innings in relief of Hursh to earn the victory. He worked around three hits and struck out three BlueClaws in lowering his ERA to 3.60.
Rome center fielder Kyle Wren was 3-for-5 with a triple, three runs scored and two RBIs out of the leadoff spot and catcher Chase Anselment collected a pair of hits, including a two-run homer.
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Rain delayed Lucas Sims' start by an hour on Tuesday afternoon, but it didn't dent his focus.
Sims, a first-round pick by the Braves in 2012 and their No. 3 prospect, shook off a pair of rough outings to toss six scoreless frames in Rome's 5-3 win over visiting Lakewood.
"I worked out some kinks with my mechanics this week, so I spent the delay just focusing on what I needed to do when I got out there," he said.
The 19-year-old right-hander improved to 5-4 with the win, striking out six and walking a pair. All four of the hits the BlueClaws mustered off Sims were singles.
"The plan was pretty simple -- keep the ball down, get ahead of hitters," Sims said. "The defense made some great plays to help keep them off the board."
Sims had to be good working from the stretch, as Lakewood's leadoff hitter reached base in each of the first three frames. All three runners made outs on the base paths, however -- Brian Pointer and Carlos Tocci were thrown out trying to steal in the first and third, respectively, while Willie Carmona was ruled out due to batter Art Charles interfering with Rome catcher Tyler Tewell while striking out.
"I don't want to be too quick to the plate, but I try to keep it simple. Tyler made some great throws," Sims said.
Sims matched a career-high by going six innings for the third time. He is holding South Atlantic League hitters to a .196 batting average and just two home runs in 77 1/3 innings this season.
Rome's hitters gave Sims a comfortable lead to work with, scoring a pair of runs in the first, two more in the third and a fifth run in the fourth. The R-Braves got hits from eight of nine batters for the second straight game.
Left fielder Daniel Carroll led the charge, going 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. Leadoff man Kyle Wren, the Braves' eighth-round pick out of Georgia Tech in last month's Draft, singled in the ninth to extend his hitting streak to seven games. Wren has hits in all but one of his 16 games with Rome and is batting .369/.414/.523 with 13 stolen bases in as many attempts.
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TUESDAY'S SCORES
CLASS AAA
Gwinnett (45-59) 4, Durham 1
WP: Flande (5-6) 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. Rasmus (Save, 13) 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K.
Pastornicky 2-3,R SB; Mejia 2-4, 2B, RBI, SB; Leonard 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI.
CLASS AA
Mississippi 8, Pensacola 3
WP: Northcraft (4-8) 6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K.
La Stella 2-5, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI; Hefflinger 2-5, 2B, RBI; M. Jones 3-5, 2B, R, RBI; Martinez 2-5, 2 R, RBI; Salcedo 2-5, RBI.
ADVANCED CLASS A
Myrtle Beach 10, Lynchburg 2
LP: Holland (4-7) 3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K.
Rivera 2.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K.
Lipka 2-5, 2 2B, R; Moses 1-4, RBI; Skinner 1-4, 2B, R.
CLASS A
Rome (13-18) 5, Lakewood 3
WP: L. Sims (5-4) 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K.
Wren 1-3, R, SB (HOME!); Franco 2-3, R, RBI; Carroll 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI; Sanchez 1-3, 2B, 2 R, RBI. .
SHORT SEASON LEAGUES
GCL Pirates 17, GCL Braves (10-16) 7 5 Braves errors; Pirates scored in all 8 at-bats.
LP: Cordero (0-2) 2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER(8R), `1 BB, 0 K.
B. Sims 2.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER(5R), 0 BB, 3 K. (13.50).
V. Reyes 1-5, R, RBI; Livesay 2-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB; Reed Harper 2-5, R, RBI; Arno 1-4, 2B, RBI.
DSL Reds @ DSL Braves (18-22)
SP: TBA.
Bluefield 5, Danville (15-14) 1
LP: Montenegro (1-2) 4 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 0 K.
Marksberry 3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K.
Lien 2-4; Camargo 2-3, R; Piloto 1-3.
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