Jose Peraza, 2B/OF, Triple-A Gwinnett
Ranking: Braves’ No. 2 prospect by Baseball America
Peraza had multi-hit games in three of his past four entering the week, while batting .333 (7-for-21) with four runs scored, seven RBIs and two stolen bases. He went 2-for-5 in the first game of a doubleheader Friday in Charlotte with a double, a home run – his third of the year – and four RBIs.
Mike Foltynewicz, RHP, Triple-A Gwinnett
Ranking: No. 3 prospect by Baseball America
Foltynewicz gave up five runs, only one of which was earned, in a 5-1 loss to Charlotte on Saturday. An error by third baseman Adonis Garcia prolonged the sixth inning and with two outs, Foltynewicz walked a batter and then gave up a grand slam to Matt Tuiasosopo. He walked three and struck out eight in the game. Since returning to Gwinnett from Atlanta, Foltynewicz is 1-2 with a 4.13 ERA, but seven of the 11 earned runs he’s given up came in one outing on June 19.
Lucas Sims, RHP, high Single-A Carolina
Ranking: No. 5 prospect by Baseball America
Sims made his return after nearly two months out following the Carolina Mudcats’ bus crash on May 12. After making two rehabilitation starts for the Gulf Coast Braves, Sims returned to the mound with Carolina on Sunday. Facing Myrtle Beach, he pitched three innings, gave up six runs, walked three and struck out one. He threw two wild pitches, hit a batter and threw only 34 of his 67 pitches for strikes as he tried to shake off the rust from time away due to a hip contusion.
Ozhaino Albies, SS, low Single-A Rome
Ranking: No. 8 prospect by Baseball America
Albies, who will represent the Braves in the July 12 Futures Game, keeps tearing it up for Rome. Not only was he on a 17-game hitting streak entering Monday, he had multi-hit games in eight of his previous 11. He is hitting .403 (29-for-72) with two doubles, three triples, six RBIs, nine runs scored and four stolen bases over the 17-game streak, which dates back to June 13.
Rio Ruiz, 3B, Double-A Mississippi
Ranking: No. 11 prospect by Baseball America
Ruiz came off the bench to hit his first home run of the season Friday night at Biloxi. Ruiz, a left-hander, cleared the left field wall for an opposite-field, two-run shot in the ninth inning to drive in the winning runs in a 4-3 victory. After hitting just .211 with no home runs and 12 RBIs in 60 games over the first half, Ruiz is hitting .323 with a home run and four RBIs in the first 10 games of the second half.
Tyrell Jenkins, RHP, Double-A Mississippi
Ranking: No. 13 prospect by Baseball America
Jenkins celebrated July 4th with seven dominant innings and a win over Jackson. He allowed just two runs in seven innings, which matched his season high, struck out four and, for only the second time all year (16 starts), didn’t walk a batter. Jenkins is 5-5 with a 3.00 ERA, which is 12th in the Southern League.
Manny Banuelos, LHP, Triple-A Gwinnett
Ranking: No. 14 prospect by Baseball America
Banuelos pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings in his major league debut Thursday against the Nationals after having been called up to pitch in place of the injured Williams Perez. He gave up just two hits, walked none and struck out seven. About the only thing that went wrong was some cramping and dehydration which cut his night short. Banuelos is scheduled to pitch again Tuesday night in Milwaukee.
Andrew Thurman, RHP, high Single-A Carolina
Ranking: No. 20 prospect by Baseball America
Thurman has begun a minor league rehabilitation to make his return from a DL stint following the May 12 Mudcats’ bus crash. He pitched two scoreless innings for the Gulf Coast Braves on Thursday, walking none and striking out three while allowing two hits. He will get at least one more outing with the GCL Braves and if all goes well, would join the Mudcats along with Sims, who also made recent return from the DL.
Steve Janas, RHP, Double-A Mississippi
Ranking: No. 30 prospect by Baseball America
Janas made one start back with the Carolina Mudcats after returning from the DL following the team bus crash, pitching five scoreless innings. He shortly thereafter earned a promotion to Double-A. He was 5-0 with a 0.49 ERA in six starts for Carolina. Janas did more of the same in his first start for Mississippi on Friday night, pitching 5 2/3 shutout innings and allowing just three hits. He threw 51 of his 77 pitches for strikes, hit a batter and struck out three.
Touki Toussaint, RHP, low Single-A Rome
Ranking: Former Diamondbacks’ No. 5 prospect by Baseball America
On July 4th Toussaint made his second start as a Rome Brave since the 2014 first-round pick (16th overall) was traded from Arizona and it was electric. He pitched five shutout innings, allowing just one hit in a 1-0 win at Charleston, to give him just one earned run in his first 9 1/3 innings with Rome. He settled in after walking five in his first outing on nine day’s rest by walking just two on five days’ rest.
