Three to watch at Double-A Mississippi

Acquired in the offseason trade that sent Andrelton Simmons to the Angels, Ellis has appeared in seven games this season, all starts, and has yet to record a loss.

He is 5-0 with a 1.71 ERA. In 42 innings, he has allowed 26 hits, eight earned runs, 15 walks, 32 strikeouts and one home run. Opposing batters are hitting .182 against him, and he has a 0.98 WHIP.

In his most recent start, Ellis pitched seven innings May 10 and didn’t allow a run. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out five. That was one of his three starts this season in which he allowed no runs.

Sean Newcomb, LHP, 6-5, 255

(No. 2 prospect by MLB.com)

Also acquired in the Simmons trade, Newcomb also had made seven starts, but with less success than Ellis has had. He’s 1-2 with a 3.96 ERA.

He posted two strong starts out of the gate, allowing two earned runs in 10 innings, with no decision in either game. Since those two, Newcomb is 1-2 with a 4.79 ERA.

In his past two outings he was roughed up for eight earned runs in 11 innings (6.55 ERA).

Overall, Newcomb has recorded almost a strikeout per inning (35 in 36 IP), but also has allowed 31 hits and walked 20 batters.

Dansby Swanson, SS, 6-1, 190

(No. 1 prospect by MLB.com)

Swanson is in a slump after a strong start to the season, having been held without a hit in seven of the past eight games. The exception was a 3-for-4 night May 10.

In the eight-game slump he is 3-for-28 with two runs scored and one RBI. He has six strikeouts and four walks.

He hit .333 with one homer, 12 doubles and 10 RBIs in 21 games at high-Single-A Carolina and was 5-for-8 in his first two games for the M-Braves.

In 13 games at Double-A he is hitting .250 with one homer and seven RBIs. He has a .357 on-base percentage and a .774 OPS.

One positive from his stint so far at Double-A, he has cut down on his strikeouts a bit, from once every six at-bats at Carolina to once every eight.