Matt Wisler, RHP, Triple-A Gwinnett
Ranking: Braves’ No. 1 prospect by Baseball America
Wisler’s first month in the Braves organization started well — five shutout innings in his debut — before getting progressively worse. He has watched his ERA climb to 6.75 after giving up 17 runs (15 earned) in 15 innings over his next three starts. He gave up seven earned runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings in his last start against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He’ll look for redemption and a clean slate in May when he faces Scranton Wilkes-Barre and former “Baby Brave” Kyle Davies again on Tuesday.
Jose Peraza, 2B, Triple-A Gwinnett
Ranking: Braves’ No. 2 prospect by Baseball America
In a matter of 14 games for Gwinnett, Peraza has raised his batting average from .195 to .301. He hit 20-for-52 (.385) with eight runs and six RBIs over that time while going 6-for-7 in stolen base attempts. He capped this two-week run with his fifth career four-hit game on Sunday. He reached base five times in an 8-1 win over Toledo with four singles and a walk. He scored two runs, drove in three and stole a base.
Mike Foltynewicz, RHP, Triple-A Gwinnett
Ranking: Braves’ No. 3 prospect by Baseball America
Updating his progress is just a formality since Foltynewicz earned a big league call-up last week and joined the Braves rotation in place of the struggling Trevor Cahill. Foltynewicz, who had a 2.08 ERA in four starts for Gwinnett, got his first major league win in his first major league start Friday night (he had 17 relief appearances for Houston), after holding the Reds to three runs (two earned) in five innings. He drove in two of the Braves’ four runs in the 4-3 win on his first major league hit, a double.
Lucas Sims, RHP, high Single-A Carolina
Ranking: Braves’ No. 5 prospect by Baseball America
Sims is still searching a bit in his first month of the season with the Carolina Mudcats, going 1-3 with an 8.59 ERA in four starts. He has walked 13 batters in 14 2/3 innings, including four in each of his past two outings, neither of which lasted past the fourth inning. Most of his struggles have been against left-handed hitters, who are batting .423 against him, compared to .152 by right-handers. Nine of his 13 walks have come against lefties.
Jason Hursh, RHP, Double-A Mississippi
Ranking: Braves’ No. 7 prospect by Baseball America
Hursh was spotted a 3-0 lead in the first inning of his last start but couldn’t make it hold up. He allowed five runs in the third inning and was gone after just 2 2/3 innings. Hursh, who went 0-1 with an 8.40 ERA through five April starts, is working to find a consistent arm slot as his command has a tendency to come and go at times.
Ozhaino Albies, SS, low Single-A Rome
Ranking: Braves’ No. 8 prospect by Baseball America
Albies has been heating up at the plate over the past couple of weeks, making the adjustment to South Atlantic League pitching. He is 12-for-39 (.308) over his past nine games, with a double, a triple, eight runs scored and four stolen bases in five attempts. He raised his season average from .255 to .278 in that span.
Ricardo Sanchez, LHP, low Single-A Rome
Ranking: Braves’ No. 9 prospect by Baseball America
Sanchez was placed on the seven-day disabled list Saturday with a right calf strain, retroactive to his most recent start on April 29. The Venezuela native is pitching in his first full professional season after just turning 18 on April 11. He is 0-3 with an 8.79 ERA through four starts. He gave up six runs (four earned) in three innings of his last outing at Lexington.
Tyrell Jenkins, RHP, Double-A Mississippi
Ranking: Braves’ No. 13 prospect by Baseball America
Jenkins got roughed up for nine runs in 5 2/3 innings in his May 1 outing, his worst statistical start of the young season in Mississippi. Jenkins gave up seven of those runs in the third inning, when eight consecutive batters reached base, but allowed just two hits otherwise.
Manny Banuelos, LHP, Triple-A Gwinnett
Ranking: Braves’ No. 14 prospect by Baseball America
Banuelos pitched six shutout innings in a 5-0 win over Toledo for his best outing since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2012 as a Yankees prospect. He threw 50 of his 86 pitches for strikes. It was the first time he pitched more than five scoreless innings since Aug. 29, 2011, when he was pitching for the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Banuelos is 2-0 with a 3.42 ERA and a .211 opponents’ batting average in his first five starts for Gwinnett.
Mallex Smith, CF, Double-A Mississippi
Ranking: Braves’ No. 17 prospect by Baseball America
Smith missed four games with a sprained foot, which he injured rounding first base April 26 in Mobile. He got right back into the swing of things in a hurry with a three-hit game Sunday against Montgomery, including two infield hits, to raise his season average to .324. It was his fourth three-hit game of the year.
