Forgetting the Present and Looking to the Future.

The title may seem a little depressing. I haven't given up on the Braves (It's only June!), I just think that there's enough negative press to read about the team right now, so I want to counter it with an uplifiting look at the minor leagues.


It's about the midway point of the minor league season (at least for A-AAA, Rookie ball hasn't even started yet.), so I am going to hand out some mid-season awards, and introduce you to some of the Braves best prospects if you are one of the many fans that doesn't follow them until they get to the Bigs.


Rome Braves (Low A): 20-42 record, 23 games back
Team Review: You thought it was rough with Atlanta being .500, look at the record for Rome. The biggest issue with this team is pitching. Only three pitchers (one starter and two relievers) have an ERA lower than 4.00. Thankfully for Rome, the South Atlantic League crowns division champions for the first half and second half seperately so they'll get to start with a clean slate in about a week.

Team MVP: Jason Heyward, OF- Last year's first round draft pick looks like the real deal. He leads the team, and is 4th in the SAL, in average at .330. He also is 2nd on the team in HR (7) , RBI (30) , 2b (15), and SB (8). The major leaguer that Heyward often gets compared to, hitting-wise, is Frank Thomas. Obviously with 8 SB Heyward has a little more speed than the Big Hurt. It's a nice comparison none-the-less. At this pace, we could see Heyward in Turner field by late 2010. Honorable Mention: Freddie Freeman, 1B (.290, 7 HR, 43 RBI, 20 2b)

Team Cy Young: Jose Ortegano- As mentioned earlier, there isn't much to talk about as far as Rome Pitchers, but this 20 year old Venezuelan lefty does stand out. Ortegano is the only Rome starter with an ERA (3.71) below 4.20, and shows great command for such a young pitcher--64 Ks and only 19 BB in 68 innings. The strikout rate is a little low for a staff ace in low A ball, but the walks are very impressive. Ortegano currently projects to a middle of the rotation starter at best, but there's definitely something there.

Honorable Mention: Edgar Osuna (3.47 ERA, 5 Saves, 47 K, 36.1 IP)


Myrtle Beach Pelicans (High A): 41-22, First Half Division Champs
Team Review: Take the paragraph about Rome's pitching and reverse it. The Pelicans do play in what is commonly considered the best pitcher's park in all of the minors. The entire starting rotation has sub-3.50 ERAs. At this point, though, it doesn't seem like any of the MB pitchers are pitching too far off what they have previously. It's just a pretty good collection of pitchers. Hitting is not quite as impressive, but that has to do with the ballpark as well. There's no arguing the nearly .667 Win %.

Team MVP: Ernesto Mejia, 1B- The big (6' 6") 1B from Venezuela is a little old (22) to be considered as a big time prospect for this level without otherworldly numbers. Still the stats are soli: .283 9 Hr, 40 RBI, 24 2b. He may just be a late bloomer.
Honorable Mention: Gorkys Hernandez, OF: (28 G) .306, 3 HR, 6 SB, 5 3b, .521 SLG

Team Cy Young: Thomas Hanson- Before getting called up to Mississippi, the fast-rising Hanson had a 3-1 record and 0.90 ERA in 7 starts (40 IP). Hanson has a big league curveball and big league control (23 BB in 72 IP overall) already. His ERA in Mississppi is 5.06, but he's getting better with each start in AA.
Honaorable Mention: Ryne Reynoso (6-3, 3.29, 55 K, 17 BB, 63 IP)


Mississippi Braves (AA) : 26-39, 11 games back
Team Review: The M-Braves are struggling along the same lines as Rome, except with fewer prospects. Some recent trades have depleted the sytem of some pretty good guys that would be at this level right now. Next year when the current Myrtle Beach team is here. They sgould be a lot better. Still it's not good to see the AA team looking so bad when it's usually where the top prospects are. In fact, the Braves top prospect, Jordan Schafer, is at Mississippi but just came off a Performance Enhancing Drug suspension, (ouch).

Team MVP: Honestly, there's almost nothing promising as far as hitters go with the exception of Schafer (.243, 3, 9 in 10 games) and he is basically just starting his season.

Team Cy Young: Todd Redmond: Surprisingly, the Braves were able to get Redmond (23 yrs. old) from the Pirates for the great Tyler Yates. Redmonds stats (6-2, 3.72, 62 K, 13 BB in 77.1 IP) aren't mind-boggling, but considering the supporting cast, they're not bad at all--especially his control numbers.
Honorable Mention: Luis Valdez (2.22, 9 saves, 38 K in 28.1 IP)


Richmond Braves (AAA): 32-31, 1.5 games back.
Team Review: The R-Braves are the defending champs of the International League and started off this year strong. They've beeen fading lately and it may be partially due to being a lame duck in Richmond. Next year the team is moving to Metro Atlanta, right down State Route 20 from my house in Gwinnett County, GA. I can't wait to go see some Gwinnett Braves baseball next season!... but I digress.

Team MVP: Barbaro Canizares, 1B- The 28 year old Cuban is too old to be considered a prospect, but ever since he showed up in Atlanta's system in 2006, Canizares has done nothing but rake. In what now amounts to about 2/3 of a season's worth of games in AAA between '07 and '08, he has hit over .320 with 11 HR, 68 RBI, and 24 2b. If Canizares could play outfield, I think the Braves would probably have called him up instead of Anderson. I dn't think he's anyhting close to being a possible replacement for Tex but he could be a solid bench player by the looks of it.
Honorable Mention: Diory Hernandez, SS (.314, 4, 21)

Team Cy Young: Charlie Morton- The 24 year old Morton (5-2, 2.05, 72 K, 79 IP) was drafted by the Braves in '01 out of High School in New Jersey and didn't start to show good development until late last year at Mississippi. Then, while pitching in the Arizona Fall League, he openened many scouts eyes; as well as the eyes of Bobby Cox and Frank Wren when they attended a game in which Morton threw 7 scoreless innings and was perfect through 5. His fastball is low 90's but he has a plus-plus curveball if the scouting reports are true (and i'm in no position to argue them). Fans probably won't have to wait long to see him. There's little doubt that Morton will get the call-up next time the Braves need a starter to fill in.
There's no one worth giving honorable mention to that hasn't already been in the majors for an extended period.