4/11 Monday Minors Thread: Rain Ruins Barker start

[rico43]

MONDAY'S MINOR LEAGUE RESULTS

CLASS AAA

Durham 6, Gwinnett 5 (11)

SP: C. Kelly 5 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
Weber 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
LP: Peterson (0-1) 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 K

d'Arnaud 2-6, 2B, RBI
Tuiasosopo 3-5, 2B, 2 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, HBP
Moore 2-6, RBI
Ruiz 2-4, R, BB
Mustelier 1-4, BB

CLASS AA

Pensacola 5, Mississippi 1

(2:25 delay)
SP: Barker 5.2 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K.
LP: Janas (0-2) 1.2 IP, 6 H, 04 R, 0 BB, 1 K.
Roney 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K
Hursh 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Albies 1-4, 2B, R
D. Peterson 1-3, RBI, BB
Rodriguez 1-4

ADVANCED CLASS A

Wilmington 6, Carolina 4

LP: Quintana 4.1 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Parsons 2.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Salazar 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K

Obregon 1-4, 3B, R
Swanson 2-4, 2 2B, R, RBI
Meneses 2-4
Curcio 1-4, 2B, RBI, SF
Gaylor 1-4, 2B, R
Davidson 0-3, RBI, SF
Edgerton 1-4, 3B, R, RBI

CLASS A

Columbia @ Rome (2-2), ppd.

[striker42]

I'm interested to see what Toussaint does. This is a big year for him. I'm not going to get too worried by a rough start as he'll likely need time to get dialed in but I'd like to see him turn his stuff into some stats this year.

[50PoundHead]

I'd really like to see Casey Kelly do well. He was a big-time prospect before the injuries hit.

[UNCBlue012]

If anything, I'm incredibly excited about the minor league games!

[50PoundHead]

The only thing that saddens me about the minor league threads is that with the retirement of Mike Hessman, I have less incentive to find out what is going on outside the Braves' system.

Mike Hessman: Gone, but not--and never--forgotten.

[rico43]

Gondeee pays attention! He just pointed out that Barrett Kleinknecht, he of the many positions, has retired and has been added to the Carolina coaching staff. This kid is a manager in waiting.

He has a couple of MLB at-bats this spring. Nice last hurrah.

[rico43]

Tuiasosopo second homer of the night puts Gwinnett up in the 10th. Already has 3 this season.
Also had a double and was hit by pitch in the game.

And then Peterson gave up a pair in the bottom of the 10th. It's an epidemic.

[smootness]

Nice to see so many of our hitting prospects having good starts to the year. Swanson, Albies, Peterson, and Mallex are hitting well, and even Rio Ruiz is showing some good things.

[UNCBlue012]

Nice to see so many of our hitting prospects having good starts to the year. Swanson, Albies, Peterson, and Mallex are hitting well, and even Rio Ruiz is showing some good things.

I was thinking about that over the winter. Our pitching is what we were supposed to be known for at this point, yet I think our hitting will be a strength in two years or so.

[50PoundHead]

Nice to see so many of our hitting prospects having good starts to the year. Swanson, Albies, Peterson, and Mallex are hitting well, and even Rio Ruiz is showing some good things.

They pushed him to AAA even with his uneven performance in Mississippi last season. They must like him. Just following on Gameday, he seems to use the whole field when hitting.

[UNCBlue012]

They pushed him to AAA even with his uneven performance in Mississippi last season. They must like him. Just following on Gameday, he seems to use the whole field when hitting.

I PRAY he works out. I like Ruiz, he's a nice young player and a huge piece to get back from the Stros. It would be a great problem if him and Riley both progress well.

[striker42]

They pushed him to AAA even with his uneven performance in Mississippi last season. They must like him. Just following on Gameday, he seems to use the whole field when hitting.

He apparently was pretty out of shape last year and they laid it on the line with him letting him know he had to work on conditioning. He's apparently gotten himself into much better shape. Scouts still rave about his tools so hopefully those will transition into stats this year.

[50PoundHead]

If Ruiz has a solid few months in AAA, I could see the Braves trying to peddle Garcia at the deadline. Garcia could be a valuable piece to a contender as a versatile bench bat.

[striker42]

If Ruiz has a solid few months in AAA, I could see the Braves trying to peddle Garcia at the deadline. Garcia could be a valuable piece to a contender as a versatile bench bat.

If Garcia keeps hitting he'll be more than a bench bat.

[50PoundHead]

If Garcia keeps hitting he'll be more than a bench bat.

I think his ideal role is as a 300 AB guy who plays some LF and 3B on a very good team. He'll be a starter for us because there's no alternative. I just don't see him as someone to plan on for the long term.

[striker42]

I think his ideal role is as a 300 AB guy who plays some LF and 3B on a very good team. He'll be a starter for us because there's no alternative. I just don't see him as someone to plan on for the long term.

I'm with you. I don't see him keeping up what he's doing but I do think he'd be an exceptional part time player like you're saying. However, maybe he is able to keep up what he's doing and be a regular for a couple years. He wouldn't be the first guy to figure the game out only after turning 30.

[nsacpi]

If Ruiz has a solid few months in AAA, I could see the Braves trying to peddle Garcia at the deadline. Garcia could be a valuable piece to a contender as a versatile bench bat.

One thing I like about Ruiz is that he has maintained a good walk rate as he has moved up through the minors, even last year when he struggled.

[dak]

One thing I like about Ruiz is that he has maintained a good walk rate as he has moved up through the minors, even last year when he struggled.

Ruiz is a big wild card for us, IMO. If he can do well enough to split time with someone like Garcia next year and beyond, it would allow us to devote resources to other needs. I feel like he's kind of been lost in the shuffle. I read a scouting report on him this Spring that was pretty bullish on his defense, and I know that has been a bit of a concern previously. I've found that he's the first player I check on every night when looking at box scores.

[smootness]

The primary think Ruiz needs to start showing is power. I doubt he's ever going to sniff .300, but if he can hit .260ish with the number of walks he'll put up, that's fine. We just need him to start hitting the ball hard. He will need to put up an ISO of around .150 or so to go with a good OBP to be a good regular, and he was far from that last year.

He either needs to jump up to 20+ HR or he needs to start hitting about 50 2B.

[nsacpi]

My guess is that Ruiz will end up being a 1-2 WAR player who is well suited to be the left-handed side of a platoon. I would also guess that he will need more than a year in AAA.