It was a busy day across the Atlanta Braves farm system with a few performances and appearances worthy of headlines. The biggest of these was the first full season appearance for Hurston Waldrep on his rehab journey, and even though he had a bit of trouble late in his outing overall there was plenty to like about how he looked for Columbus. Garrett Baumann made his Triple-A debut and pitched wonderfully for Gwinnett, showcasing his good changeup and fastball velocity improvements on his way to allowing only one run over five innings. Then of course the Rome Emperors couldn’t go a game without putting at least one name in the hat. In fact, they put in three names. Cam Caminiti had four scoreless innings of pitching, Eric Hartman hit another impressive home run, and John Gil doubled him up with a two home run game as part of Rome’s win.
(34-32) Gwinnett Stripers 14, (36-30) Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 5
Hidden below the truly big news across the farm on Thursday was the Triple-A debut for Garrett Baumann, and overall it was a game that had plenty of positive notes for him. He was definitely a bit pumped up in the first inning, averaging just a hair below 98 mph on his fastball and sinker with all of his 98+ mph pitches coming in that inning, but even so he held his control together well and started his day off with a swinging strikeout on his changeup. His fastball settled down after that to average a bit over 95 mph for most of the game, but it was really that pitch that was dynamite for him. He gave up a hit in the first inning and had a couple early that he located poorly, but for the entirety of the game he did a phenomenal job at landing his changeup in good spots and got great results even though he had to deal with a more righty-heavy lineup. Most of the solid contact came, as expected, on his fastball which even with his velocity is going to struggle to miss bats against upper level hitters given it’s mediocre-at-best traits, however that contact came on the ground which is the big advantage of him having such a high release and downhill plane. If there was anything that got him in some trouble this game it was his struggles to land quality sliders, with him missing too often to elicit chases below the zone from the righties in the lineup. He had no strikeouts on his breaking balls and two whiffs to two hard-hit balls allowed on the pitch, but that’s not a huge surprise given that we already knew that tends to be his weakness. He still has some work to do to refine his breaking balls into major-league quality secondaries, but he’s made year-over-year improvements in the slider to give enough confidence that he can turn it into an average pitch. It was terrific to see him having so much success at commanding his changeup and if he locates his fastball and changeup that well in future outings he shouldn’t take long to adjust to Triple-A.
While I don’t have the numbers pulled up, it’s easy to imagine that teams win a lot of games when each of the top four hitters in the lineup notch a home run. That’s likely especially true when all of them have multi-hit games and two of them reach base in five of their six plate appearances. Jim Jarvis, DaShawn Keirsey, Brett Wisely, and Brewer Hicklen went off in this game, giving Baumann early support that allowed him room to breathe while making his debut. Hicklen’s in the first inning was an absolute missile, cruising off of the bat at 112 mph and putting the Stripers on top 2-0 before Baumann even threw a pitch. Keirsey and Wisely went back-to-back in the third inning with short solo shots to extend the lead, but it was really the late innings where Gwinnett piled on. They had a run in the seventh inning and then six more in the eighth, ballooning the score up to 12-2 where even a late Jacksonville rally couldn’t approach. Jarvis capped off the day with a two-run wall scraper in the ninth inning, which was a really big swing for him. Jarvis got off to a blistering pace in April but his power has evaporated, with that being his first long ball since April 28th. That’s far from a surprise as Jarvis is just not a guy that can maintain a high power output, but the Stripers need a lot more production than they’ve been getting from him to keep the offense moving, and some of that comes with hitting the ball in the air more often than he did in May. He had a great month in terms of hitting the ball hard, but most of that contact for the last month and a half has come on the ground. That swing also tied him for his career-high in home runs as a little added bonus, and he did that in just 60 games versus 116 in his prior best year.
(27-30) Columbus Clingstones 5, (30-30) Pensacola Blue Wahoos 6
It is a welcome relief to see Hurston Waldrep back on the mound and making a bid to try to reclaim the success he found at the end of the season last year. Waldrep is making his first stop in full season after the elbow surgery in spring training that derailed his season, and for a while he looked like he was dialed in. His velocity looked terrific in the first inning and he was throwing strikes with his fastball, and although he was having trouble landing his secondaries (save for one glorious splitter for a strikeout) there was plenty to find optimistic about his appearance. He breezed through the second inning with no trouble and kept that momentum with a perfect third and a strikeout on a slow curveball, and given how early he is in his rehab that’s enough to consider this a successful appearance. Yet it wouldn’t end on a high note. His issues with locating his secondaries started to take a toll the second time through the lineup as the hitters were able to sit on anything with velocity in the zone, and he coughed up four runs including a home run before being pulled from the game. It was a rough end for him on the day but it’s worth not discounting how in control of his fastball he was and that his individual pitches looked tuned and his velocity was in his normal range. In terms of what you would look for in early rehab appearances he checked off those boxes and has plenty to work with moving into next week’s start.
Outside of that fourth inning for Waldrep the Clingstones pitching staff just outright dominated this game. Brett Sears went to work for six innings in relief, filling up the strike zone with sinkers and producing quick ground ball after quick ground ball. Sears needed only 58 pitches to get through his six innings and headed into extra innings had not allowed a run. Yet the offense needed to get something going to get back into the game, because through five only a home run from Archer Brookman was keeping them from being shut out. Patrick Clohisy came through in the sixth inning with a solo home run of his own to cut into the deficit, but late magic would still be needed to send this game into extra innings. Clohisy managed to start the inning by beating out a slow chopper to the third base side, and for the first time in the game the Clingstones were able to muster a rally. Luke Waddell sliced a single into center field, and Clohisy got a great jump from first base and was able to streak around to third base to set up a huge scoring chance. That chance turned into gold on a wild pitch, allowing Clohisy to score from third base and Waddell to get all the way to third when the throw from the catcher sailed past the pitcher. David McCabe then ripped on through the right side for a game-tying single. McCabe would advance to third on a sacrifice bunt and a fly ball to deep right that died at the warning track, and Pensacola’s pitcher lost it and walked the next two hitters to load the bases. They couldn’t add on, however, as Drew Compton flew out lazily to right field to end the rally. In the tenth Brett Sears finally bent a little, allowing a leadoff double that would Pensacola the lead. He locked in, though, retiring the next three hitters with ease to keep any more runs from scoring and give Columbus a chance in the bottom of the ninth. The Clingstones got their run back with a wild pitch scoring a run, and they had a huge chance to hold the Blue Wahoos scoreless in the 11th. Tyler LaPorte allowed a shallow pop up to center field that didn’t allow the runner to advance, and following a ground out they were one out away from having a chance to win it in the 11th. However, Brookman dropped a slider right in glove that skittered past for a passed ball, and the runner came in from third to give Pensacola the lead. In the 11th Brookman got thrown out at third trying to advance on a tapper in front of the plate, and the Clingstones would go down after that and fail to score anyone.
(32-27) Rome Emperors 8, (42-17) Bowling Green Hot Rods 7
Strap in for another close game, this one featuring tons of big performances from the top prospects on Rome’s roster. The fireworks started early thanks to Eric Hartman, who hit a rocket into the Rome bullpen in the first inning for his 16th home run of the season. Shortly after John Gil put his first stamp on the game in the third inning, launching a nuke out to left field that cleared the stadium in Bowling Green, and he was far from done in the game. Rome was also far from done. Mason Guerra and Colin Burgess both left the yard in the fourth inning, and after Luis Sanchez turned the lineup over with a single the top of the order had a chance to add on to a 5-0 lead. Tate Southisene put a great swing on a low pitch and smoked it out into the right center field gap, and he used his speed to get into second base easily even though the right fielder cut the ball off while extending the lead to 6-0. Gil then got a fastball on the inner half of the plate 3-1 and he was sitting dead red. He annihilated yet another long home run, giving him an even ten on the season, and ballooning the lead to 8-0. However this was the last run the Emperors scored in the game, and they only had one hit over the final five innings. Back to Gil, he seems to finally be heating back up as he already has seven hits in the first three games in the series and is back to hitting the ball hard consistently. Gil’s streaky play has produced highs this season that really on Hartman can match throughout the system, and he seems to be dialed in and ready to go on another warpath. The way the ball is coming off of his bat this season is a thing of beauty, and he’s only a home run short of his entire career total coming into this season — a mark that took him 245 games to reach.
This game seemed like it would be a breeze early on because Cam Caminiti was rolling. Coming off of a disappointing series of results in May, Caminiti was looking for a big outing to start off this month and he got it in a big way. Caminiti came out and filled up the zone with high fastballs in the first inning, and he just carried that momentum for the rest of the game. It was as good as he has commanded his fastball all season and the end result speaks for itself even though he didn’t really have a great feel of his slider. Keeping his breaking balls down in the zone has been a consistent problem for Caminiti and it existed again in this game, but he was so dialed in with his fastball that it was rarely a problem. He even did a much better job as the game went on of making solid pitches with his slider, getting a couple of whiffs on the pitch and avoiding leaving them over the middle of the plate. He still needs to get his command locked on his slider to maximize his success this season, but there was still a ton of positives to take out of this game. There was a lot less positive to be said about Cade Kuehler. Last week he didn’t have great command but this was the worst he has looked in a long time as he never really dialed in his control well enough to settle in. A three run home run did most of the damage against him, but he was overall not fine enough with his pitches to get the whiffs he needed to have success and he also walked three batters. With as good as he has been lately and coming out of the bullpen in an unfamiliar role it’s due for him to have a bad game here or there, so hopefully this is less the start of a trend and more a blip on what has otherwise been a successful stretch of outings. This game got right in the ninth inning as Justin Long struggled out of the bullpen. With a hit, a walk, and a couple of wild pitches, he set the Hot Rods up with a couple of runners in scoring position which they cashed in on a two-out base hit. Long then walked another batter, and the next batter hit a rocket out to center field. Fortunately Eric Hartman was right there and tracked it down short of the warning track, protecting the win and closing out the game.
(31-29) Augusta GreenJackets 7, (23-35) Myrtle Beach Pelicans 11
This was not a well-pitched game for Derek Vartanian, and home runs have really started to be a problem for him. Vartanian only walked one guy in this game but his command was still a struggle as he tended to just spray his pitches at home plate rather than hitting spots well. He got away with it for much of the game, as guys who throw strikes at this level can do at times, but eventually his inability to land his changeup anywhere near the strike zone was far too limiting to his arsenal. Without that pitch in his back pocket he struggles to produce swing-and-miss, and in the fifth inning it finally came to a head. Alex Lodise dropped a hot short hop that was ruled an error, and Vartanian followed that with a walk before recording the second out. Then the game unraveled. A hanging slider got bashed for a game-tying double, then a curveball right over the middle put Myrtle Beach on top as it got cranked for a two-run home run. He then left a changeup up in the strike zone that got hit for another home run, capping off a five run inning although due to the Lodise error all went as unearned. Lewis Sifontes and Carter Lovasz combined for a rough inning the bottom of the sixth and gave up four more runs which were pretty much enough to seal the game in favor of the Pelicans.
Even with the pitching issues there were things to like from this game on the offensive end. Alex Lodise did a good job of sitting on a slider in the third inning and he turned on it and hit it hard down the left field line for a two-run double. This tied the game up at the time, and the inning kept going with Luis Guanipa behind him. Guanipa got a fastball on the inner half, a pitch he is always going to feast on, and he hit a hard line drive out to left field that evaded the diving effort of the left fielder. This gave Augusta the early lead in the game and allowed Guanipa to cruise in with a double. Junior Garcia had a great game at the plate, starting with an early double but really coming to its peak in the fourth inning. He took a low ball out to the opposite field and carried it for a solo home run. Guanipa added another RBI in the seventh inning when he shot a line drive the opposite way for a base hit, scoring Conor Essenburg who only contributed a couple of walks and struck out a couple of times in his three at bats. Unfortunately late in the game Michael Martinez came up hurt after an awkward swing on an outside slider. He spent some time trying to roll out and adjust his shoulder, and eventually had to be pulled from the game due to the injury.
(8-21) FCL Braves 6, (14-15) FCL Red Sox 26
I’ve already made this a long recap so this is one we can just skate right past. Diego Tornes had another hit and continues to be a ton better through the first two weeks of June, though it’s still been quite a disappointing season for him. Manuel Campos was a player to watch after a solid stint in the DSL last season, and he has been one of the bright spots for the FCL so far this season. He’s drawing a ton of walks and already has ten extra base hits and 14 stolen bases. The strikeout rate is a bit higher than you might like to see from a guy in rookie ball but that’s sort of nitpicking an impressive season so far. The pitching staff allowed 16 walks and only struck out four hitters and there’s nothing else that needs to be said there.
(1-7) DSL Braves 3, (5-3) DSL Cubs Blue 10
It’s another loss, but at least the guys you’d really want to see succeed had good days. Starlyn De La Cruz hit his second home run of this early season, and he’s been the biggest bright spot for the team so far. His strikeouts are high so far but that’s a seven game sample and nothing to be freaked out over just yet. Jose Manon had been as advertised, and even if he didn’t have a hit in this game he still made an impact by drawing a couple of walks. So far he has seven walks and only three strikeouts, the same number of strikeouts as he has extra base hits. He’s reached base safely in every game he has played so far in his career.
