JR Ritchie and young Rayven Antonio headline the arms going in the Braves system on Saturday, along with Jose Suarez and his unblemished ERA.
Gwinnett Stripers at Durham Bulls – 6:35 PM ET
Probable Starters
GWI: Jose Suarez, 0-0 0.00 ERA
DUR: Ian Seymour, 4-1 1.73 ERA
A day after Nathan Wiles threw another gem to bring his season ERA to 1.72, another pitcher with an ERA in the 1.70’s is set to pitch in Durham prospect Ian Seymour. The lefty second rounder from 2020 is having a breakout start to his year with a 1.73 ERA and 0.99 WHIP through his first seven appearances. He’ll be opposed by Jose Suarez, who brings in a perfect ERA through his first two starts after starting the year in the big league bullpen.
Jarred Kelenic is the player to watch in the Gwinnett lineup. He spent yesterday going hitless in two at bats, but drawing a pair of walks and scoring a pair of runs with a stolen base included in there. Kelenic is six for his last 20 with six walks in that time, good for a .462 on base and four extra-base hits.
Birmingham Barons at Columbus Clingstones – 6:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
BIR: Hagen Smith, 2-0 2.28 ERA
COL: TBD
Columbus is facing one of the top prospects in all of baseball in Hagen Smith. Last year’s #5 overall draft choice is ranked as a Top 30 prospect according to Pipeline and brings in 38 strikeouts in his first 23.2 innings of work. He’s the type of premium velocity pitcher who will be a test for David McCabe, who singled and walked last night.
It’s also worth noting that Stephen Paolini may be on the verge of breaking out. The 2019 fifth round pick has had a slow start to his pro career with some occasional flashes, but hit his first homer in Double-A last night and is slashing .333/.571/.667 in the month of May with an overall .917 OPS.
Greenville Drive at Rome Emperors – 7:00 PM ET
Probable Starters
GRN: Payton Tolle, 1-1 4.30 ERA
ROM: JR Ritchie, 3-1 1.65 ERA
The Emperors have JR Ritchie on the bump and he will look to continue his excellent start to the season against Greenville. Ritchie has a 1.65 ERA and 0.95 WHIP over his first six starts and feels like he is enjoying the breakout that he appeared to be headed to early in 2023, before needing Tommy John. Ritchie will be opposed by a pitcher in Payton Tolle, who was the team’s second round pick out of TCU last year and ranks among the Red Sox Top 20 prospects.
Hickory Crawdads at Augusta GreenJackets – 6:05 PM ET
Probable Starters
HCK: Aneudis Mejia, 1-2 4.11 ERA
AUG: Rayven Antonio, 2-0 2.20 ERA
Rayven Antonio is back on the mound today and off to a strong start to his season. The 19-year-old is already more than halfway to setting a new career high in strikeouts with 16 in 16.1 innings, after he struck out 31 in 46.2 innings a year ago.
Among the players to watch John Gil drew a pair of walks and stole a base last night, while Owen Carey went two for four and stole a base as well. These two guys at the top of the lineup will always give Augusta something to watch as they can impact the game in every facet.
FCL Braves at FCL Rays – 10:00 AM ET
Probable Starters
RAY: TBD
BRA: TBD