The Braves are hoping Tornes can be their first international prospect in years to hit the ground running and not look back
It’s been a long time since a teenager has gone to the rookie levels and just mashed for the Braves, and Diego Tornes is on a tear at the plate to start out his professional career. He leads a first place team in the DSL Braves with a 15 game hitting streak and 16 game on base streak. For the Gwinnett Stripers Jurickson Profar’s rehab has been going tremendously and he had a massive day for them in a win. He’s now just a few days from giving the Atlanta Braves a boost with his suspension set to end July 2nd.
(31-48) Gwinnett Stripers 6, (32-43) Norfolk Tides 4
- Jarred Kelenic, CF: 1-4, BB, .213/.299/.314
- Jurickson Profar, LF: 2-2, 2B, 2 BB, 2 RBI, .351/.438/.569
- Nathan Wiles, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 7 K, 3.08 ERA
- Hayden Harris, RP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 0.00 ERA
It was a big day for the Gwinnett Stripers offense, which was able to string together some hits and take advantage of a host of walks to outscore the Tides. It started out quickly for the Stripers, with two walks and a check-swing tapper to the pitcher by Jarred Kelenic loading the bases immediately. A ground out got a run on the board and Luke Waddell made it a crooked number with a medium-hit line drive single, and for quite awhile this lead held for Gwinnett. The Stripers didn’t have a ton of hard contact this game but they were fortunate that what they got fell into place, including a terrific game from Eddy Alvarez out of the nine spot. Alvarez had two of Gwinnett’s four 100+ mph batted balls and both fell for doubles — one to each gap — and that along with his sixth inning walk helped flip the lineup over. There Jurickson Profar waited, and he has done about what you would expect for an MLB player of his caliber down in Triple-A. Profar had a few games in a row where the hits weren’t falling but he has been a steady force for Gwinnett and should be ready to make an immediate impact in Atlanta once he is done serving his suspension.
After those early two runs Gwinnett was a bit more laggard through the next few innings, and Norfolk climbed back in the game in a hurry because Nathan Wiles could not get Jeremiah Jackson out. While Wiles struggled with his command this game and issued four walks as a result he still managed to have a lot of success, namely with his changeup forcing 10 whiffs from Tides hitters to help him pile up those seven strikeouts. Wiles didn’t give up many hits, but Norfolk made the most of him as Jackson was able to take Wiles deep on two occasions to drive in all three of the runs Wiles allowed. His fifth inning home run on a changeup left up in the strike zone tied the game at 3-3, and Gwinnett’s offense went into the top of the sixth inning looking for a spark. That came in the form of Norfolk walking the world. Tides pitchers walked three Stripers in the sixth inning, and along with a hit from Sandy Leon and Jonathan Ornelas Gwinnett was able to put three runs on the board to pull away in the game. With Wiles out of the game the Stripers bullpen was terrific, though it did get a little tight in the eighth inning. Jose Ruiz allowed three hits, but got out of it with only one run allowed with the help of a terrible baserunning decision and easy outfield assist from Carlos Rodriguez to end the inning. Wander Suero shut the door in the ninth inning, striking out the side in order.
Swing and Misses
Nathan Wiles – 16
Jose Ruiz – 5
Wander Suero – 4
(28-42) Columbus Clingstones 0, (44-29) Biloxi Shuckers 3
- Cal Conley, SS: 1-4, .199/.256/.232
- Drew Compton, 1B: 1-4, .261/.340/.358
- Landon Harper, SP: 5 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 3.00 ERA
- Austin Smith, RP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB,1 K, 1.32 ERA
The Columbus offense had absolutely no answer for Biloxi starter Brett Wichrowski, and after getting off to a promising start they easily slid into a funk on the offensive end and went down without a fight. Cal Conley had a bunt single in the first inning and Drew Compton followed with an inside-out bloop to left field, two quick one-out hits that looked to provide some early run support for Landon Harper. Yet, on the play Conley was thrown out trying to go first-to-third and that little gap was all it took for Wichrowski and the Shuckers staff to close the door. That Compton hit was the last hit the Clingstones had in the game and Wichrowski himself retired 15 straight hitters before Cody Milligan drew a walk in the sixth inning. Columbus had few solidly hit balls in the game and those that were fell into the glove of Shuckers outfielders, and even a solid start from Landon Harper couldn’t save the day as they got shutout. Once Wichrowski left the game turned even worse with the Shuckers bullpen getting Columbus to strike out five times over three hitless innings.
Landon Harper had his work cut out for him but gave the Clingstones a chance to win by keeping Shuckers hitters off balance all game. They seemed to have trouble timing him up and his ability to pull the string on his slider got keep poor swings and whiffs when he needed them. There was some trouble in the first inning on a couple of hard hit balls got baserunners in each of the first couple of innings, but Harper bounced back with his best stuff of the day to close the door on each of Biloxi’s scoring chances. That was until the fourth inning. Harper left pitches over the plate dangerously and Biloxi was able to jump all over it and crush them for a couple of doubles. Harper’s worst inning, which included a back-foot breaker that nipped the toe of Darrien Miller, cost him two runs and the loss in the game. Biloxi added on later against the bullpen with a home run from Miller, but the Clingstones staff largely pitched well enough to win this game. Austin Smith looked great in the ninth inning, throwing another scoreless inning to give him six straight scoreless outings and a 1.32 ERA in Double-A this year.
Swing and Misses
Landon Harper – 14
Blane Abeyta – 4
(31-40) Rome Emperors, (36-36) Greenville Drive PPD
(35-36) Augusta GreenJackets 2, (40-33) Fayetteville Woodpeckers 5
- Luis Guanipa, DH: 2-4, RBI, .150/.261/.200
- Isaiah Drake, CF: 0-2, 2 BB, .252/.338/.357
- Douglas Glod, RF: 2-4, .216, .368/.358
- Luis Arestigueta, SP: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 4.74 ERA
- Samuel Mejia, RP: 3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 4.66 ERA
Augusta had a few opportunities to score in this game, but struggled to string together hits and had key outs when the chances were largest. Without John Gil and Owen Carey in the lineup the GreenJackets were missing two key on-base threats at the top of the order, yet quickly got themselves on the board in the first inning. Colby Jones led off the game with a walk and brought up Luis Guanipa who has already had more success since coming off of the injured list than in his few games before. Guanipa hit a sharp chopper back towards the mound, and though the pitcher deflected it he was unable to get Guanipa out and threw the ball away at first base allowing Jones to come around to score the game’s first run. Isaiah Drake then drew a walk, but the middle of the order stopped the rally there. An infield fly and a double play ball snuffed out the rally, and Woodpeckers starter Raimy Rodriguez settled in from there to keep Augusta off of the board. The next chance came in the seventh inning, now trailing by four runs, when new pitcher Leomar Rosario issued to walks to bring up Guanipa with runners on. Guanipa chopped one over to the right side of the infield, finding a hole for a hit and scoring Jake Steels. With the tying run now up to bat the GreenJackets found themselves in position to get into the game, but consecutive strikeouts from Isaiah Drake and Douglas Glod ended a promising rally.
It was another rough outing for Luis Aresigueta, who since a strong first month for the GreenJackets really hasn’t been able to find consistency with his control. Arestigueta has been missing his spots with his fastball far too often, and given the velocity and shape of his fastball he can’t afford to be making those mistakes at this stage. He limited this game to only two walks, but got hit around a bit and has seen a drastic drop in both control and swing-and-miss this season. Arestigueta’s age and projectability makes none of this a major concern yet, but he is going to need better results on his slider and better location across the board to really take the next step in his progression. For the most part, though, Arestigueta managed to limit the damage throughout the game and kept Augusta in the game. A two-run home run in the fifth inning was the only mark against his earned run total, and that’s been one of the biggest positive notes for Arestigueta this season. Despite his inexperience he really doesn’t ever stop going at hitters, fully staying in starts mentally and avoiding those spiral innings that often plague young pitchers.
Swing and Misses
Samuel Mejia – 15
Luis Arestigueta – 7
(14-25) FCL Braves 4, (23-17) FCL Rays 6
- Mario Baez, 2B: 2-3, BB, .221/.424/.265
- Jose Perdomo, SS: 2-5, 2B, .214/.261/.276
- Juan Mateo, DH: 1-4, BB, .281/.356/.329
The top prospects for the FCL had one of the best collective days of the season with each of Juan Mateo, Jose Perdomo, and Mario Baez reaching base at least twice. For Mateo his hit and walk help extend a fantastic month of June, and in particular he has shown statistical progression with his peripherals. After only six walks in the first month of the season he has started to make himself a significant on-base threat with ten walks in 79 plate appearances in June and a .405 OBP. For Jose Perdomo his two-hits hopefully represent a turning point for him. It is his first multi-hit game since May 22nd, and now he has hit safely in his last four games including a double this game that was his first in three weeks. He badly needs to show some improvement, though he is still not drawing many walks and striking out much more often than expected. Mario Baez has looked a ton better in his second try at the FCL, with now 18 walks to 12 strikeouts this season including a 10:3 ratio this month. Baez is getting on base at a .424 clip, but hasn’t shown the power to be an MLB player yet and may just not be strong enough to turn into one of those guys. Baez certainly has an interesting hit tool and is only 18 years old but his small stature and lack of notable progress at hitting the ball hard makes him much harder to project out positively.
(11-7) DSL Braves 6, (8-11) DSL Royals Fortuna 4
- Diego Tornes, CF: 1-4, BB, .338/.427/.492
- Michael Martinez, LF: 2-5, 2B, HR, .289/.418/.578
The hot hitter stay hot for the DSL Braves, and of course Diego Tornes is at the forefront of that effort. The hits for him are just routine at this point as he singled in his first at bat of this game to stretch his hitting streak to 15 games. He followed that up with a stolen base to move to 15/15 on steal attempts this season, and with seven extra base hits and a .427 OBP through 16 games the performance is matching the reports we heard from Tornes out of camp. After a slower start to the year Michael Martinez is crushing the baseball this week, with ten hits and seven extra base hits over his past five games. A home run and a double in this game helped contribute to his huge surge in numbers, and in the past week he has improved his OPS from .533 to .996.