Matt Wisler, RHP, Triple-A Gwinnett
Ranking: Braves’ No. 1 prospect by Baseball America
Wisler made good use of his rain-shortened, two-inning outing on May 25. His next time out, he pitched 8 1/3 shutout innings against Columbus on Saturday night, working into the ninth inning for the first time in his pro career. Wisler allowed just two hits — both singles — walked two, struck out seven and did not allow a runner past first base. He threw 80 of his season-high 112 pitches for strikes. Wisler went 3-0 with a 1.78 ERA in six starts in May, after going 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA in four starts in April.
Jose Peraza, 2B/CF, Triple-A Gwinnett
Ranking: No. 2 prospect by Baseball America
The Braves decided to follow up on what they started in spring training when they gave Peraza a taste of center field last week. Peraza got his first start in center for Gwinnett in the second game of a doubleheader Wednesday and played three games there over a four-day span. The Braves believe it will increase Peraza’s chances of making an impact in the big leagues with Jace Peterson establishing himself at second base in Atlanta. Peraza is holding his own in center and still managed to hit through all the defensive transition. He is 6-for-18 (.333) with a double and three RBIs since he made the move.
Jason Hursh, RHP, Double-A Mississippi
Ranking: No. 7 prospect by Baseball America
Jason Hursh resumed his upward trajectory his last time out, striking out a career-high eight batters in six innings and allowing just two runs in his start against Pensacola on Wednesday. He continues to see improvement with the location of his sinker and used it to induce seven groundouts, giving him 27 groundouts in his past three games. Hursh is scheduled to start the second game of a doubleheader Tuesday night against Jackson.
Ozhaino Albies, SS, low Single-A Rome
Ranking: No. 8 prospect by Baseball America
Albies continues to adjust to the steady diet of offspeed pitches he’s getting after leading the Appalachian League in hitting last year and getting off to a good start in the South Atlantic League. He hit safely in each of the seven games on the Rome’s recent road trip to Charleston and Hickory, going 11-for-26 (.423) with three doubles, five RBIs and three stolen bases.
Braxton Davidson, RF, low Single-A Rome
Ranking: No. 12 prospect by Baseball America
Davidson showed his opposite field stroke, doubling to left field on a line drive to score Ozhaino Albies in the first inning Saturday to help Rome take a 5-0 win over Hickory. Playing before 15 family and friends who made the drive from nearby Asheville, Davidson went 2-for-3 that night and followed up with a 1-for-4 the following day. Davidson finished May with a .248 batting average, up from the .214 mark at the end of April.
Tyrell Jenkins, RHP, Double-A Mississippi
Ranking: No. 13 prospect by Baseball America
Jenkins walked five batters for the second time in three starts, but he continued to pitch effectively wild. He walked away with a win over Pensacola after limiting the Blue Wahoos to two runs on four hits in five innings. Jenkins is 4-2 with a 3.00 ERA in 10 starts for Mississippi.
Manny Banuelos, LHP, Triple-A Gwinnett
Ranking: No. 14 prospect by Baseball America
Banuelos won his fourth start of the season to lead the Gwinnett staff by pitching five shutout innings on Thursday against Lehigh Valley. He has allowed one or no earned runs in each of his past six starts. Like Wisler, Banuelos saw marked May improvement. He was 1-0 with a 4.43 ERA in four April starts. He went 3-0 with a 1.11 ERA in six May starts.
Mallex Smith, CF, Double-A Mississippi
Ranking: No. 17 prospect by Baseball America
The Southern League may have found a way to catch up to Smith: rain-outs. Mississippi had three games washed out this weekend after Smith went 0-for-4 Friday night to snap an 8-game hitting streak. That left him with a .338 batting average, dropping him out of the league lead by three percentage points in third place. Smith hit .347 with 10 stolen bases in 12 attempts in May.
Alec Grosser, RHP, low Single-A Rome
Ranking: No. 23 prospect by Baseball America
The Virginia high school product is rounding into form for the Rome Braves. Grosser pitched six innings on Tuesday in Charleston and allowed only one run, his best start of the year. He had more strikeouts (four) than walks (two) for only the second time in nine starts this season. Since a nine-run outing (six earned) against Hagerstown on May 6, Grosser has allowed three or fewer earned runs in each of his past four starts over a span of 22 1/3 innings.
Tanner Murphy, C, low Single-A Rome
Ranking: No. 24 prospect by Baseball America
Murphy went on a five-game hitting streak during Rome’s recent trip to Charleston and Hickory, batting 6-for-15 (.400) with two doubles and five RBIs. The fourth-round draft pick from 2013 still has some work to do on his batting average, which was only .157 through Sunday. He’s still drawing his walks though (22 of them), like he did last year in Danville, to give him a .285 on-base percentage.
