Weekly Preview (May 4-9): Opening Week, Contreras Called Up, Augusta's Debut As Affiliate

Welcome back, Minor League Baseball!

It’s been a crazy road of cancellations, league restructuring and teams coming and going over the past year. It’s still not entirely “normal,” with masks to be worn and less than 100% capacity for most affiliates to start the season. But we have actual minor league baseball on the calendar again, and that means in-person prospect evaluation.

It sounds like the Braves won’t release their rosters until Tuesday, so the affiliates won’t have much of a chance to promote the prospects before fans enter the gates for opening night. That also means I can’t provide pitching probables or a definite list of prospects to look for at each affiliate to kick off my weekly coverage. But we have a decent idea of where some guys will go.

This weekly preview post on Mondays will include more relevant information once we have rosters and games begin playing (including pitching probables, recent stat trends, etc.).

Schedule

Triple-A Gwinnett
May 4-9: at Charlotte (White Sox)
All game times 7:04 p.m. except Sunday at 2:05

Double-A Mississippi
May 4-9: vs. Pensacola (Marlins)
May 4-7 at 7:35 p.m. EDT, May 8 at 7:05, May 9 at 2:05

High-A Rome
May 4-9: at Winston-Salem (White Sox)
May 4-7 at 7 p.m., May 8 at 6, May 9 at 2

Low-A Augusta
May 4-9: vs. Columbia (Royals)
May 4-7 at 7:05 p.m., May 8 at 6:05, May 9 at 2:05

Prospects to Watch This Week

MLB
William Contreras was called up to the major league roster Sunday after Travis d’Arnaud and Alex Jackson were placed on the injured list. d’Arnaud’s stint is 60 days, so this could be a big opportunity for Contreras if he runs with it. It could be seen as a positive stepping stone toward a potential regular role in 2022. Ideally, he would have spent the majority of the season at Gwinnett and gained more comfort against upper-level pitching, but injuries are forcing Atlanta’s hand. Contreras is my highest-graded catcher in the system. Follow that link for observations from last summer and why I’m so high on him.

Triple-A Gwinnett
Pitching is why you watch Gwinnett this season. Tucker Davidson, Kyle Muller, Bryse Wilson, Kyle Wright and Jasseel De La Cruz are among those likely to open the season on staff. Basically every night, you will have a pitcher worth watching on this team. He’s not a prospect anymore, but it will be interesting to see what Orlando Arcia has in the tank at shortstop. Drew Waters may start and play most of the year here to regain some comfort at the plate, with an eye toward a potential 2022 major league role.

Double-A Mississippi
Braden Shewmake seems likely to get challenged with an assignment here. Freddy Tarnok and Victor Vodnik could also get challenged here, or Tarnok could open at Rome. Shea Langeliers and Justin Dean will either be here or Rome. We may see guys like Daysbel Hernandez, Kasey Kalich and C.J. Alexander open here, or one level above or below.

High-A Rome
My guess is Michael Harris opens at Rome and the Braves let him hit his way up the ladder. Mississippi would be a tough ask of a 20-year-old with no full-season experience. But I’m guessing Harris sees Mississippi soon. Bryce Ball could track similarly as Harris by starting here and moving up. Any of the 2020 draft picks could start here; if not, they will open at Augusta. William Woods and Ricky DeVito are a couple interesting arms that could open here.

Low-A Augusta
Augusta will be a team of sleepers. There will be many guys who we’ve heard of or briefly seen but lack extended looks and reports. Vaughn Grissom, Mahki Backstrom, Stephen Paolini, Tyler Owens, Jared Johnson, Joey Estes all seem likely to start here. Lesser-known guys like Brandon Parker and Kadon Morton may open here.

Notes

• Tuesday marks Augusta’s first game as a Braves affiliate. Here are some details on SRP Park if you plan to make the trip soon.

• Remember that the weekly minor league schedule spans six straight days of games against the same team, Tuesday-Sunday. Every Monday is an off day. MLB did this to reduce travel and limit exposure between various teams. There has been talk that it could catch on as a permanent thing in the future.

• Mississippi announced 100% capacity for home games this season.

• MiLB.tv is a great option for watching minor league games if you can’t attend. It’s a good value and all four Braves affiliates stream their games.

Transactions

April 25: Jeremy Fernandez released.