rico43
<B>Director of Minor League Reports</B>
Sims Reminds Us Why He IS Braves Top Pitching Prospect
From MiLB.com
Lucas Sims felt the pressure of Lynchburg's nine-game losing streak when he took the mound Friday evening, And after a shaky second inning, he needed a little nudge. Sims, who said he was on a mission to avoid a big inning, took command and turned in one of his best starts of the young season, allowing one run over six innings for his second win as the Hillcats knocked off Salem, 7-2.
The Braves' top prospect struck out four while holding the Red Sox to four hits and a pair of walks in his sixth start. It was his best outing since he gave up one run on two hits over five frames on April 9 against Potomac.
"I came into my start knowing it's no secret we've been struggling pretty bad," said Sims, the Braves' 2013 Minor League Pitcher of the Year. "But it was important for me to compete and keep my team in the game and keep them off the board and give our team a chance to put some runs up."
The right-hander, who turns 20 on May 10, struck out Jon Roof to end a perfect first before allowing a run in the second as Reed Gragnani hit a one-out single and came home on Mario Martinez's double to center. Sims (2-3) pitched around an error, two steals and a walk in the third, avoided trouble after a leadoff single in the fourth and pitched a 1-2-3 fifth.
"Fastball in, I had too much of the plate and he got a single and it found a hole," Sims said of Gragnani's hit. "Next guy, I threw a little too much over the plate and he hit a double. It kind of started with my warmups, I kind of rushed it.
"I think the biggest thing was trying to eliminate the big inning, locking down with runners in scoring position, being able to execute quality pitches, not leave anything over the middle," Sims said. "I'm going after guys and making sure they don't have anything to hit. If they're going to hit anything, it's going to be my pitch."
The Georgia native said he's working on establishing more of his secondary pitches to complement a fastball that has helped him reach No. 56 overall on MLB.com's rankings of the Top 100 Prospects.
"I felt good about the start. Everything was kind of coming together, I'm getting a better feel for my breaking ball," he said. "It's not where I want it to be, but I'm locating my fastball better each outing. It's a process and I'm taking it in stride and learning from each one."
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CLASS AAA
Lehigh Valley 2 Gwinnett 1
Triple-A missing Mejia already
LP: Rodriguez (3-3) 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K.
Cunningham 3-5. (.308)
Terdoslavich 2-4, 2B, R. (.327)
Gosselin 2-5. (.315)
La Stella 0-4. (.316)
CLASS AA
Jacksonville 4 Mississippi 3
LP: W. Perez (2-3) 7 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K.
E. Reyes 1-1 (PH) (.351)
M. Jones 1-3, 2B, 2 R, 2 BB.
Kubitza 2-4, 2B, R.
ADVANCED CLASS A
Lynchburg 5, Salem 3
SP: L. Batista 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.
WP: Jadofsky (2-1) 3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.
Cunniff (Save, 3) 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K.
Peraza 2-5, R, SB (14th). (.348)
Wren 1-3, R, RBI, 2 BB, SB (15th). (.267)
Odom 2-4, R.
Ahrens 1-4, 2B, R, RBI.
Carroll 1-2, 2B, R, RBI, 2 BB. (.429)
CLASS A
Savannah 12, Rome 2
LP: Salazar (1-3) 2.1 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 2 WP.
Perez 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.
Caratini 2-4, 3B, R.
V. Reyes 2-4, 2 RBIs. (.340)
