Weekly Preview (Aug. 17-22): Dedicating The Week To 2021 Picks
Regular content will return this week with notes on 2021 draft picks. Now that I have a week-plus with many of the position players and at least one start for some pitchers, I have a better grasp of their evals and will begin including them in notes. Some will join the prospect list for September.
Thank you for your patience with the lack of content last week. It was a week of introducing myself to the new guys in the system.
Schedule
Triple-A Gwinnett
Aug. 17-22: at Louisville (Reds)
Aug. 17-19 at 6:30 p.m., Aug. 20-21 at 7, Aug. 22 at 1
Double-A Mississippi
Aug. 17-22: at Montgomery (Rays)
Aug. 17-20 at 7:35 p.m. ET, Aug. 21 at 7:05, Aug. 22 at 4:33
High-A Rome
Aug. 17-22: vs. Greenville (Red Sox)
Aug. 17-20 at 7 p.m., Aug. 21 at 6, Aug. 22 at 2
Low-A Augusta
Aug. 17-22: at Carolina (Brewers)
Aug. 17-20 at 7 p.m., Aug. 21 at 5, Aug. 22 at 1
Prospects to Watch This Week
At Triple-A Gwinnett, Cristian Pache is swinging a hot stick right now and looks good mechanically. He has seven hits in his past five games, including two doubles, two homers, one walk and one stolen base. At Double-A Mississippi, Bryce Elder and Victor Vodnik had strong starts last week and will look to back that up, while Shea Langeliers keeps mashing, picking up six hits including two homers and four walks in five games. At High-A Rome, Jesse Franklin and Michael Harris keep raking. Franklin has two home runs and six total hits in his past four games, while Harris has five hits and two walks in his past four. At Low-A Augusta, Vaughn Grissom refuses to slow down at the plate, recording 10 hits in his past six games, including two doubles and a triple, three walks and a stolen base. Joey Estes had a memorable start over the weekend and threw more than 100 pitches, so we’ll see how he responds next time out.
Twitter Observations
Aug. 14: Joey Estes is a heck of a 16th-round pick. Tonight was probably the best I've seen him. Impressive 19-year-old who needs to be known among the org's best young pitchers.
Aug. 14: Tonight was definitely the best I've seen Estes. He's holding velo better than he was in May/June, sitting 93-94 w/ life into the 8th. CH continues to flash at a high level w/ arm speed. Upside arm here for sure.
Aug. 14: A memorable night for Joey Estes. An outing he'll never forget: 9 IP (CG), 4 H, 2 R/ER, 0 BB, 14 K, 106 pitches. Held his velo and life on the FB throughout. Was a bulldog to the last pitch. That was a lot of fun to watch.
Aug. 14: Another reason to love Vaughn Grissom: He fouled a ball off his leg and literally rubbed some dirt on it. Got back in the box and singled home a run on a good, aggressive swing.
Aug. 13: Pache has really simplified. That is a short, quick, direct path to the zone. He's in a good spot right now.
Aug. 12: Ryan Cusick has a 7 arm. Probably the quickest arm in the system now. 96-100 early, sat 94-97 in 2nd-3rd. Big riding life up, some natural cut to glove-side. Breaker 87-89, would like to see more north-south and cut down hump but framework is there, very tight w/ arm speed.
Aug. 12: Cusick will probably track like Strider and not get challenged until Double-A. Different frames and they go about it differently, but the stuff is similar.
Aug. 12: (Regarding Kyle Muller) Lots of positives to take from this stint. Needs to go down and re-establish the fastball, regain confidence in it and tighten things up. But he's in a good spot going forward.
Recent Prospect Performances
Triple-A Gwinnett
8/13: Cristian Pache 2-4, 2B, RBI, SB
8/11: Cristian Pache 4-6, 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, BB (DH)
8/11: Drew Waters 2-6, BB, SB (DH)
Double-A Mississippi
8/15: Braden Shewmake 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI
8/15: Freddy Tarnok 4 IP, 6 H, 4 R/ER, 2 BB, 5 K
8/14: Trey Harris 2-4, RBI
8/14: Bryce Elder 6 IP, 3 H, 9 K
8/13: Braden Shewmake 1-3, BB, SB
8/13: Victor Vodnik 5 IP, BB, 9 K
8/12: Spencer Strider 5 IP, 4 H, 4 R/ER, 2 BB, 4 K
8/11: Indigo Diaz 1 IP, 2 K
8/10: Shea Langeliers 4-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI
8/10: Freddy Tarnok 5.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R/ER, BB, 9 K
High-A Rome
8/15: Michael Harris 2-3, RBI, BB
8/15: Jesse Franklin 2-3, BB
8/15: Beau Philip 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB
8/15: Jared Shuster 3 IP, 2 H, R/ER, BB, 4 K
8/13: Michael Harris 2-4, RBI, SB
8/13: Darius Vines 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R/ER, BB, 3 K
8/11: Michael Harris 1-4, RBI, BB
8/10: Jesse Franklin 4-5, 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI
8/10: Beau Philip 4-4, HR, 2 RBI, BB, SB
8/10: Jared Shuster 4 IP, 7 H, 2 R/ER, 5 K
Low-A Augusta
8/15: Vaughn Grissom 2-4, 2 2B, BB
8/15: Rolddy Munoz 3 IP, 3 K
8/15: Lisandro Santos 1 IP, 2 K
8/14: Cal Conley 3-5
8/14: Vaughn Grissom 2-5, RBI
8/14: Willie Carter 1-5, HR
8/14: Joey Estes 9 IP, 4 H, 2 R/ER, 14 K
8/13: Vaughn Grissom 2-3, 3B, BB
8/13: Stephen Paolini 2-4
8/13: Andrew Hoffmann 3 IP, 3 H, R/ER, BB, 6 K
8/12: Cal Conley 2-5, HR, 3 RBI
8/12: Vaughn Grissom 2-3
8/12: Stephen Paolini 1-4, RBI, SB
8/12: Ryan Cusick 3 IP, H, 7 K
8/10: Vaughn Grissom 2-4, RBI, SB
8/10: Rolddy Munoz 2 IP, H, 4 K
FCL Braves
8/13: Tyler Collins 2-4, SB
Transactions
8/14: OF Drew Campbell sent on rehab assignment to FCL
8/13: LHP Kyle Muller optioned to Triple-A
8/13: RHP Jacob Webb recalled to Atlanta
8/13: C Kevan Smith outrighted to Triple-A; elected free agency
8/13: INF Kevin Josephina placed on 60-day IL at High-A
8/13: C Liam McGill assigned to Low-A
8/13: RHP Jared Johnson assigned to FCL from Low-A
8/12: 2B Jason Kipnis activated from IL at Triple-A
8/11: RHP Tanner Gordon assigned to High-A from Low-A
8/11: RHP Ryan Cusick assigned to Low-A
8/10: LHP A.J. Minter recalled from Triple-A
8/10: OF Eddie Rosario sent on rehab assignment to Triple-A
8/10: LHP Corbin Clouse assigned to Double-A from FCL
8/10: INF Riley Unroe activated from IL at Double-A
8/10: INF Riley Delgado assigned to High-A from Double-A
8/10: C Carlos Martinez assigned to High-A from Double-A