Weekly Preview (June 1-6): Strider To Be Promoted; Vodnik Goes On IL
It was a tale of extreme highs and lows for a couple of exciting Braves pitching prospects this past week.
On the high end, Spencer Strider was assigned to High-A Rome to begin the new week. On the other end, Victor Vodnik was placed on the injured list at Double-A Mississippi.
It was only a matter of time before Strider would earn a promotion out of Low-A Augusta. The fourth-rounder in 2020 out of Clemson ended his four-start stint with the GreenJackets at a 0.59 ERA, 32 strikeouts and five walks in 15.1 innings. That’s one run allowed.
Strider, 22, quickly earned national attention by firing 95-100 heat in his Augusta starts. He hit triple digits multiple times consistently and added variations of a breaking ball between a sharp biting breaker with slider tendencies and a more traditional power curve. After his third start, I wrote up his scouting report with grades and a future role.
Augusta will modify its rotation this week against Charleston by giving Roddery Munoz and Tyler Owens their own start days. They had previously piggybacked at times. Munoz’s results have been up and down, but he has 24 strikeouts to five walks in 17 innings, and the stuff continues to look explosive. Owens’ stuff has been down so far and it’s showing in the numbers.
Sunday’s Augusta starter is to be determined. The Braves could choose to rest a long reliever and let him start or make a roster move.
For Vodnik, it’s a disappointing development to go on the injured list after three impressive starts at Mississippi.
The 21-year-old walked two and got one out Thursday before being pulled. His velocity was noticeably down before leaving with the trainer. The extent of the injury is not publicly known and I’m not in the business of reporting a young player’s injury.
Vodnik had been pumping upper-90s fastballs along with a power changeup, carrying over an explosive spring training and looking fantastic at a higher level. He had a 2.51 ERA with nine walks to 19 strikeouts in 14.1 innings. Here’s to hoping for the best for Vodnik.
Schedule
Triple-A Gwinnett
June 1-6: vs. Jacksonville (Marlins)
June 1-4 at 7:05 p.m., June 5 at 6:05, June 6 at 1:05
Double-A Mississippi
June 1-6: at Pensacola (Marlins)
June 1-4 at 7:35 p.m. EDT, June 5 at 7:05, June 6 at 5
High-A Rome
June 1-6: at Bowling Green (Rays)
June 1-5 at 7:35 p.m., June 6 at 6:35
Low-A Augusta
June 1-6: vs. Charleston (Rays)
June 1-4 at 7:05 p.m., June 5 at 6:05, June 6 at 2:05
Prospects to Watch This Week
At Double-A Mississippi, Shea Langeliers continues to produce, entering the week at .259/.403/.517 with three doubles, four home runs and 12 walks in 19 games. He has eight hits in his past five games, including two doubles, a homer and five RBIs. Langeliers is a defense-first catcher who is providing tons of value behind the plate, which is to be expected, but the early production at Double-A is a tremendous sign for his overall profile. At High-A Rome, Bryce Ball is starting to show comfort at the plate, recording five hits in his past four games, including three doubles, five RBIs and a walk. The ball is rocketing off his bat right now when he makes contact. At Low-A Augusta, Vaughn Grissom notched his first home run of the season Sunday and is hitting .266/.342/.328 in his first taste of full-season ball. I wrote Friday that Grissom’s power will come with time.
Recent Prospect Performances
Triple-A Gwinnett
Drew Waters: 2-5, SB (5/30)
Alex Jackson: 4-4, 3 HR, 7 RBI, BB (5/27)
Kyle Muller: 5 IP, 3 H, R/ER, 8 K (5/27)
Thomas Burrows: 1 IP, 2 K (5/26)
Double-A Mississippi
Shea Langeliers: 3-5, 2B, RBI (5/30)
C.J. Alexander: 2-4 (5/28)
Trey Harris: 1-2, RBI, 2 BB (5/28)
Odalvi Javier: 5 IP, 2 H, R/ER, BB, 6 K (5/28)
Shea Langeliers: 1-3, HR, 4 RBI, BB (5/27)
Trey Harris: 2-2, 2B, 2 BB (5/26)
Shea Langeliers: 2-4 (5/26)
Justin Dean: 2-3, 2 2B, RBI, BB, 2 SB (5/25)
Trey Harris: 1-3, RBI, BB (5/25)
C.J. Alexander: 2-3, RBI, BB (5/25)
Nolan Kingham: 6.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R/ER, 5 K (5/25)
Daysbel Hernandez: 1.2 IP, H, 3 K (5/25)
High-A Rome
Logan Brown: 3-5, HR, 3 RBI (5/30)
Kasey Kalich: 2 IP, H, BB, 4 K (5/30)
Michael Harris: 3-5 (5/30)
Bryce Ball: 2-4, 2 2B, RBI (5/29)
Beau Philip: 2-4, 2B, RBI, SB (5/29)
Michael Harris: 2-4, RBI, SB (5/29)
Beau Philip: 3-3, RBI (5/28)
Bryce Elder: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R/ER, 4 BB, 5 K (5/28)
Indigo Diaz: 3 IP, BB, 8 K (5/28)
Michael Harris: 2-4, RBI (5/27)
Bryce Ball: 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB (5/26)
Michael Harris: 1-4, RBI, SB (5/25)
Beau Philip: 1-2, HR, BB (5/25)
Jared Shuster: 2.2 IP, BB, 3 K (5/25)
Trey Riley: 2 IP, H, BB, 2 K (5/25)
Indigo Diaz: 1 IP, H, 2 K (5/25)
Low-A Augusta
Willie Carter: 2-3, HR, RBI, SB (5/30)
Spencer Strider: 4 IP, 3 H, R/ER, 2 BB, 6 K (5/30)
Vaughn Grissom: 1-5, HR, RBI (5/30)
Willie Carter: 2-4, HR, 2 RBI (5/29)
Cade Bunnell: 2-4, HR, 3 RBI, BB, SB (5/28)
Stephen Paolini: 2-4, BB, SB (5/28)
Brandon Parker: 1-4, HR, 3 RBI, BB (5/28)
Vaughn Grissom: 2-5 (5/27)
Stephen Paolini: 2-4 (5/27)
Brandon Parker: 1-4, HR, 3 RBI (5/27)
Roddery Munoz: 4 IP, 2 H, R/ER, 2 BB, 6 K (5/27)
Joey Estes: 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, ER, 2 BB, 4 K (5/26)
Vaughn Grissom: 2-4 (5/26)
Willie Carter: 3-5, RBI (5/25)
Spencer Strider: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 9 K (5/25)
Transactions
5/31: OF Abraham Almonte’s contract selected by Atlanta
5/31: RHP Jay Flaa optioned to Triple-A
5/30: RHP Victor Vodnik placed on 7-day IL at Double-A
5/29: OF Cristian Pache on rehab assignment to Triple-A
5/29: C Carlos Martinez placed on temporarily inactive list at Triple-A
5/29: RHP Jose Rodriguez assigned to Double-A
5/28: UTL Johan Camargo recalled to Atlanta
5/26: RHP Yoan Lopez assigned to Triple-A
5/25: 2B Jason Kipnis assigned to Triple-A
5/25: RHP Daysbel Hernandez assigned to Double-A
5/25: OF Jefrey Ramos activated at Double-A
5/25: RHP Matt Hartman assigned to High-A
5/25: OF Jose Bermudez assigned to Low-A
5/24: OF Drew Campbell placed on 7-day IL at Low-A