Ozzie Albies, SS, low Single-A Rome
Ranking: Braves' No. 2 prospect in Baseball America's midseason report.
Just in case the Futures Game selection wasn’t enough of a clue that Albies has emerged as the Braves’ top middle infield prospect, the trade of Jose Peraza to the Dodgers as part of the package to get Cuban Hector Olivera confirms it. Albies reached base six times in his previous three games entering the week, including a season-high three-walk game Friday against Augusta. Staying patient will be key as pitchers continue to respect him at the plate.
Touki Toussaint, RHP, low Single-A Rome
Ranking: No. 3 prospect in Baseball America's midseason report
Toussaint bounced back from a nine-run, four-homer outing at hitter-friendly McCormick Field in Asheville. He gave up just one run on two hits over six innings Saturday against Augusta. He walked five and struck out four in that game, pitching effectively wild (45 strikes among 82 pitches).
Mallex Smith, CF, Triple-A Gwinnett
Ranking: No. 6 prospect in Baseball America's midseason report
Smith had hit safely in nine of his past 10 games for Gwinnett entering the week, raising his batting average 30 points to .230 in 33 games since his promotion to Triple-A. He was 12-for-40 (.300) with a double and seven runs scored over that time. Smith stole seven bases in a seven-game stretch, including a pair of two-steal games.
Braxton Davidson, RF, Low-A Rome
Ranking: No. 7 prospect in Baseball America's midseason report
Davidson, 18, had to leave Rome’s game last Tuesday night in his hometown of Asheville, N.C. He sustained a concussion when he crashed into the right field fence chasing down a ball that ended up going for an-inside the-park home run for Omar Carrizales. Davidson managed to stay in the game for the rest of the inning but was replaced an inning later. He is on the seven-day disabled list.
Tyrell Jenkins, RHP, Triple-A Gwinnett
Ranking: No. 9 prospect in Baseball America's midseason report
Jenkins has made three straight quality starts for Gwinnett, including a six-inning performance Saturday night when he allowed just one run on five hits. He hit a batter, walked four and struck out eight. Jenkins threw 60 of his 103 pitches for strikes. He is 3-1 with a 2.03 ERA (seven earned runs in 31 innings) in five starts since his promotion to Triple-A.
Lucas Sims, RHP, Double-A Mississippi
Ranking: No. 10 prospect in Baseball America's midseason report
Sims had a rough go his last time out for Mississippi, his third start since his promotion to Double-A, and a scoring change didn’t help him much either. He lasted only two innings, giving up a season-high seven runs. All of them were earned after a second-inning error was changed to a triple. After walking 11 batters in 9 2/3 innings over his first two Double-A starts, Sims walked only two on Saturday but he gave up eight hits.
Christian Bethancourt, C, Triple-A Gwinnett
Ranking: No. 6 prospect by Baseball America 2015 preseason
Bethancourt went 3-for-4 with three doubles last Monday against Durham. He became the first Gwinnett Brave with three doubles in a game since Ernesto Mejia did it on June 1, 2013 in Lehigh Valley. Bethancourt followed that up with two more doubles Tuesday against Durham on a 3-for-5 night with three runs scored. He had three straight multi-hit games in the series, going 8-for-13 (.615).
Rio Ruiz, 3B, Double-A Mississippi
Ranking: No. 11 prospect by Baseball America 2015 preseason
Given his struggles this season, it would be easy for Ruiz to lose patience. But that’s exactly what he used last week to work himself out of an 0-for-29 funk. Ruiz had gone eight games without a walk when he changed his approach on a recent road trip and drew walks in six consecutive games. Not surprisingly some hits followed. Ruiz went 5-for-17 (.294) with five runs scored over that span to raise his season average to .212.
Andrew Thurman, RHP, high Single-A Carolina
Ranking: No. 20 prospect by Baseball America 2015 preseason
Thurman pitched a season-high seven innings Sunday, allowing just one hit and no runs in a 6-0 win over Wilmington. Thurman gave up a leadoff double and retired the next 21 batters he faced. He walked none and struck out seven. Thurman was making just his fourth start back from the disabled list following the Carolina bus crash. He went no more than four innings in each of his first three starts back.
Steve Janas RHP, Double-A Mississippi
Ranking: No. 30 prospect by Baseball America 2015 preseason
Janas pitched two more quality starts last week for Mississippi to give him three in his past four starts. He’s only 1-3 in those games, given Mississippi’s offensive struggles. Janas is 1-4 with a 3.55 ERA in six starts since his promotion from the Carolina Mudcats.
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