Transaction Tuesday: Newcomb, Medlen, Pike, Minter

Lots of moves to report this week in this recap. A top prospect is promoted to the bigs, a former prospect works his way up the ladder, and a non-prospect continues his wayward journey to never spend too much time in one city. Hope you enjoy!

A note on this report - moves referenced today took place between June 6 and June 12. I no longer refer to Taxi Squad, but extended spring training which is what sending a player to Danville technically refers to this early in the year. Many of them don't actually head to extended spring, though. Prospect Numbers are derived from my preseason Top 50.

Atlanta

Hursh (3rd across) | Jeff Morris - Follow on Twitter

Recalled from Mississippi, Optioned to Gwinnett, and Recalled Again: Jason Hursh...Don't look now, but Hursh has added some velocity to his heater and hit 96.18 mph last week. If he can throw that heavy fastball with that kind of velocity and location, the Braves may have themselves a prospect after all. He was dealing for both Mississippi and Gwinnett this year. At 25, it's time to see if he can stick in the majors for good now.

Recalled: Lane Adams...Most players are kind of boring to follow on twitter. They retweet generic inspirational posts, reach out to their hometown buddies, or say "let's go get 'em" each time there is a game. Lane Adams, though, is a joy to follow. Recent tweets include him taking someone to task for being a "true fan," his endorsement of the Minute Maid soft-frozen lemonade (which he says is the "bomb dot com"), and advising women to stop bedazzling their capris. His twitter feed was major league quality long before he was brought back to the majors.

Recalled and Optioned to Gwinnett: Matt Wisler...Hitters in general show improvement the more times in a game they see a pitcher so I don't want you to fall in love with these splits, but opposing OPS from the first appearance against Wisler in a game to the fourth appearance ranges from .741 to .795 to .837 to .925. He's got a good slider and likely would add a few ticks to his heater (currently in the 93 mph range) if he was in a relief role. Is it time to consider that?

Called Up: Sean Newcomb (#2)...I wrote a blurb about Newcomb yesterday so I don't want to repeat myself much. What I didn't mention yesterday is the news that dropped about Newcomb. He'll get at least a second start. Are you hyped yet?

DL'd: Bartolo Colon (left oblique/general awfulness)...Colon's greatest contribution to the Braves this year has been hitting the DL so Newcomb could be promoted. That's just a sad fact. He has a 5.09 FIP, his highest walk rate since Barrack Obama's first year, and an xFIP of 4.83 - which would be a new high (the stat goes back to 2002). But hey, we got plenty of fat jokes along the way.

DL'd: Adonis Garcia (left finger/general awfulness)...The nearly everyday third baseman (for reasons) is back on the DL for a second time this season. He has a .282 OBP this year which is just 20 points below his career average so...yay for a regression to the norm at some point...

DL'd: Eric O'Flaherty (left shoulder/general awfulness)...My daughter was given a gobstopper and immediately tried to bite it down and crunch it. I told her that she needs to suck it first because it's too hard to bite. She said she understood and wouldn't ya know it? She kept trying to bite it. I took it away from her because she wouldn't eat the candy properly. At some point, John Coppolella has to take away O'Flaherty from Brian Snitker because Snit won't use O'Flaherty properly. Over the last two seasons, lefties have a .292 wOBA against O'Flaherty with a 20% strikeout rate. Righties? They brutalize O'Flaherty to the tune of a .461 wOBA (not a typo). Yet, he's faced just one more lefty than he has a righty during that time. This season, he's faced five more righties than he has lefties! Coppy, take the gobstopper away from Snit. He's just going to use it wrong.

Released: Emilio Bonifacio...Could this be the end of the Braves/Boni relationship? One can hope. You have to give it up for Boni's consistency, though. In 2015, in 82 PA, he had a -0.7 fWAR. Last year, in 43 PA, he had -0.6 fWAR. This season, in 44 PA, he had a -0.6 fWAR. Only nine major league players were able to amass more than -1.5 fWAR over the last three years and to his credit, nobody did it more efficiently than Bonifacio (just 169 PA). It took Casey McGehee nearly 200 more PA to be that inept.

Gwinnett

Gaylor | Barry College

Promoted from Mississippi: Stephen Gaylor...This is actually Gaylor's second assignment in Gwinnett - he played there one game last year. Gaylor has some fans in the front office who keep promoting him despite some fairly un-noteworthy numbers. He was hitting just .118 in 13 games before joining Gwinnett after all and has a career .646 OPS, but the undrafted outfielder out of Berry College continues to climb the ladder.

Promoted from Mississippi: Kris Medlen...The comeback continued into its third different assignment as Medlen graduates from Florida and Mississippi on his way back to the majors. His first start in Gwinnett since 2012 wasn't great, though he did strike out six, a season high. The pinpoint control just isn't there yet and he'll need a bit more time, but the 31-year-old has looked strong in his five outings.

Activated: Aaron Blair...Following a short stint on the DL, Blair returned last week to make two starts. One was pretty ugly, but his Sunday start against Charlotte was superb with 6.1 innings, four hits, no runs, two walks, and five K's. Blair's control has been suspect all season and a pitcher with his limitations needs to be able to hit his spots much better.

Activated: Braeden Schlehuber...A fourth rounder in Frank Wren's first draft class (2008), Schlehuber is an organizational guy who I would be shocked to see not get a coaching assignment in the organization once he retires. He's been on the DL nearly as many times (three) this year as games played (four). On the plus side, on May 31, he hit his first home run since 2014.

Temporary Inactive: Caleb Dirks (#34)...I'm not real sure what this is about for Dirks. Likely, this is related to paternity leave, but in general, a temporary inactive placement is just a way to say the player in on paid leave. A placement like this requires at least three days away from the team. Dirks was placed on the list last Friday. He's struck out 40 over 34.1 innings compared to just ten unintentional walks. He has matched his career-high by surrendering three home runs and has an FIP of 3.29.

Released: Mel Rojas Jr....Rojas was a big minor league pickup last year and logged significant time this spring with the Dominican Republic squad this spring for the World Baseball Classic. That potentially was to his detriment as he missed out on an opportunity to compete for a spot on the Braves bench with Bonifacio. After a slow start with Gwinnett, Rojas was ready to try his luck elsewhere and asked for his release to sign with a team in Korea. The Braves obliged and Rojas will have a shot to make some good money in Asia.

Mississippi
Promoted from Florida: Tyler Pike...Otherwise known as the other guy the Braves got in the Alex Jackson trade, Pike left a minor league system that does some questionable things to their arms to a system that gives more reasonable assignments and rewards performance. Lucky for all of us. Pike's improvement with his control that really began last year continued for Florida and he upped his groundball rate in the process. He carried a 2.94 FIP over nearly 70 innings with the Fire Frogs before the promotion. Pike was a former #126th overall pick so he's got some talent. If the Braves are able to develop that talent into an exciting prospect, they will show once more that sometimes, it's not the prospects who disappoint, but the scouting-and-development team that doesn't bring out the best of the prospect.

Parsons | Jeff Morris - Follow on Twitter

Activated with Gwinnett from extended spring, demoted from Gwinnett: Wes Parsons...For us that have watched Parsons struggle to stay on the mound, his promotion to Gwinnett was a nice moment. However, he got bashed around in his 8.1 innings and will return back to Mississippi, where he was impressive over 30.1 innings.

Activated: Bradley Roney (#38)...Roney has spent much of the season sidelined. He's only appeared in eleven games. His walk rate continues to be an issue (14% at Mississippi), which negates his very impressive strikeout numbers. Roney pitched 27 games in Gwinnett last season and has closer stuff. Will he ever hit the strike zone enough, though?

DL'd: Matt Withrow (#29)...After a tremendous beginning to the season, Withrow's numbers had really come back to Earth over his last four starts (18 ER in 17.1 ING with 10 BB and 15 K's). He now heads to the DL for the first time for the 2015 sixth rounder. The Texas Tech alum has a nice fastball with good sink, but doesn't get many grounders out of it. Withrow has a classic fastball/slider combination that might serve him well as a reliever or the Braves might keep him as a starter as he tries to develop his offspeed stuff because that makes him a better trade asset.

Florida
Activated from DL: A.J. Minter (#19)...It's been a tough season for Minter, who carried a great deal of hype into spring training. There was thought he might even jump to the majors and why not? He jumped from Rome to Mississippi in 13 games with a stop in Carolina last year. But he was slowed by injury this spring and when he finally got into a game on April 11th, he strained his groin. But on Sunday, he made his return and struck out all three batters he faced. Kids, time to get hyped again.

Promoted to Mississippi and demoted back: Andres Santiago...So, this is Santiago's season. He spent a week to open the year with Florida, was "sent" to Danville for three days, brought back to Florida for a dozen, "back" to Danville for four, and was added to Rome for nearly two weeks before returning to Florida on May 10. I'm not done. Ten days later, he "returned" to Danville for a week before coming back to Florida for about five days. He then went to Gwinnett for two days, back to Florida for four days, up to Mississippi for three days, and two days ago, he was demoted back to Florida. In two months, he's moved around more than I have in nearly 35 years on this planet. I need to do more with my life.

Rome
Promoted from extended spring: Alan Rangel...Plucked out of Mexico back in 2014 during Frank Wren's last international class, Rangel has spent his first two professional seasons in the Gulf Coast League. He struggled badly through his first run, but turned the corner a bit last year with 46.2 solid innings. Rangel works off his control, which is superb and gets some good downward movement on his pitches. He fit the mold that the Wren-era scouting team was looking for in that way. He was expected to be on the Danville roster when the season opened, but received a shot with Rome to show what he has. He scattered seven hits over 4.2 innings, but only one, a homer, led to a run. He also walked a batter and struck out four. Just 19, he might get an extended stay with the Danville pitching staff likely to be stacked from the draft.

Activated: Oriel Caicedo...An extreme control artist, Caicedo has walked just four in 43.1 innings this year for Rome. Overall, he has a mere 73 walks in 412.2 career innings. He'll never strikeout a lot and doesn't get a ridiculous amount of grounders, which is why he won't show up on your prospect lists, but he's a solid dependable arm who can start when needed.

DL'd: Ryan Lawlor...Selected in 2015 with the #240th overall pick, Lawlor skipped Rome last year on his way to Carolina. He struggled there with an ERA and FIP near 5.00 before being demoted to Rome for this season. Though his ERA has been pedestrian (4.37), his peripherals have been wonderful (31% K-rate, 8% walk rate, no homeruns, 48% groundball rate, 2.03 FIP). I have not seen any report as to why he hit the DL, but he last pitched on May 31 and went 5.2 innings that day while matching his season and career-high in strikeouts with nine.

Danville
Demoted from Rome: Jaret Hellinger...A 2015 20th rounder out of McDonough, GA, Hellinger has some good sinking stuff, but the southpaw struggled to put it together with Danville last year (4.42 FIP). He opened this season in extended spring training before getting a call-up in mid-May. His first outing was solid, but he struggled from there with a four-run four-inning start mixed in during his six-appearance run with Rome. Short of an injury, Hellinger might be stuck in Danville until their season begins.

DSL

Severino | Jeff Morris - Follow on Twitter

Assigned: Yenci Pena...Another one of the seven-figure prospects the Braves added last July, Pena us expected to add power as he ages (he's still just 16). A capable defender at shortstop, there is concern whether he'll stay there long-term, but for now, the Braves will roll with him at the position. He's gotten off to a 4-for-18 start with a pair of doubles, five strikeouts, and a steal.

Assigned: Yunior Severino (#44)...Signed for $1.9 million last July, Severino is one of the crown jewels of a massive class that also included Kevin Maitan, Abrahan Guiterrez, and the aforementioned Pena. He was ranked as the eighth-best prospect of last year's class and is a switch-hitting power hitter who may - and I stress may - be able to stay on the middle of the infield. Atlanta has decided for now to shift him over to second base, though opinions were split about whether he'd be able to stay at shortstop should the Braves had tried that. Severino is off to a 2-for-15 start with a double, three walks, and five strikeouts.

Transaction Tuesday: Wisler, Blair, Medlen, and Wentz

In this weekly review of the Braves' transactions, we focus a good deal on the pitchers. Some are attempting to stay in the majors for good while others are trying to work their way back. Elsewhere, one of Atlanta's best young guns is back on the mound just a week after a liner had Braves fans holding their breaths after it struck him.

A note on this report - moves referenced today took place between May 23 and May 29. I no longer refer to Taxi Squad, but extended spring training which is what sending a player to Danville technically refers to this early in the year. Many of them don't actually head to extended spring, though. Prospect Numbers are derived from my preseason Top 50.

Atlanta

Staff Sgt. Jason Duhr via Wikipedia Commons

Recalled: Matt Wisler...Wisler the Reliever, Part 2. Earlier in the year, Wisler came up and had two good outings and two rough ones - one in which he basically had to "wear it" as the Braves were pummelled 16-5. In two outings since returning, he's thrown four perfect frames with two strikeouts. That, at least, is something to build upon. Wisler's Triple-A ERA was high (5.20), but his FIP and xFIP were much more reasonable at 3.75 and 3.92 respectably. At the very least, I'd much rather see him in long relief than the next guy.

Designated for assignment and outrighted to Gwinnett: Josh Collmenter...Well, that didn't take long. After 19 innings over three starts last September for the Braves, Collmenter can't even duplicate the innings output in 2017. The problem was fairly fundamental. The Braves bought into his brief success without looking at the obvious flaws. His FIP was a good two runs higher than his ERA over those three starts and that's ignoring two very troublesome seasons from 2015-16 as a whole. The Braves rolled the dice and quickly regretted it. Collmenter gave up one run for each of the 17 innings he pitched and often, those runs came on flyballs that haven't landed yet (7 HR!). According to the Braves transaction page, he accepted a demotion to Gwinnett.

Gwinnett
Activated: Enrique Burgos...The often wild, but electric Burgos worked a quiet first frame as a member of the Gwinnett Braves after he was acquired last week. Despite prolific strikeout numbers, the last time Burgos had a better than 2-to-1 strikeout-to-walk rate was back in 2014. He's a project and at 26, probably not a project the Braves will have a wealth of patience to wait on.

Outrighted: Anthony Recker...Rarely used in Atlanta, Recker was DFA'd last week after the flurry of trades and roster moves. He passed through waivers and elected to stick with the team.

Promoted from Mississippi: Wes Parsons...For the second time, Parsons is now a Triple-A ballplayer. The first time came on April 28 when he made an one appearance run with Gwinnett. It's been a long - often arduous - road for Parsons to get to this point. After a combined 142.1 innings over the last three years, Parsons had already reached 30.1 innings this year before the promotion. He's probably a bit miscast as a reliever, but he still flashes plus-plus control. He worked a tough inning in his return, allowing three singles and a run while striking out two.

Rehab: Adonis Garcia...So, Garcia had a four-hit game yesterday. He's definitely coming back and it's going to be pretty darn interesting what happens when he does. I have to believe that John Coppolella will wave off any lobbying by Brian Snitker and sent Emilio Bonifacio packing. When Garcia returns, he will likely settle into a platoon option, though knowing Snitker, we may get more of a timeshare than a platoon which ignores the best parts of Rio Ruiz and Garcia's game.

By Jeff Morris. Follow him on Twitter @AtlBravesJeff

Rehab: Eric O'Flaherty...Last week, O'Flaherty hit the DL after aggravating his back giving up a homerun to Jose Bautista playing on the Toronto turf. He'll likely join the Braves soon after already making his first rehab appearance with a perfect frame. But should the Braves really roll out the carpet to welcome back him? We were told that after having his elbow cleaned out last year, he was feeling better than he had in a few years. There were reports he was getting sink on his pitches once again. And then the data came rolling in and said otherwise. According to PITCHf/x, at his best, O'Flaherty was getting between 5.71 and 6.74 of vertical movement on his sinker. It's down to 4.45 this season, which is actually very similar to last year's 4.56. His fourseamer had between 8.11 and 9.27 inches of vertical movement. It's been between 6.23 and 6.47 the last two seasons. He's using his slider a lot more now and getting half of the depth as his best Braves years. In his favor is that he's still handling lefties so far. That might be enough to get him back on the roster. But he's not "back" in the deeper sense. Not even a bit.

DL'd: Aaron Blair...Two years ago, Blair flashed plus-plus control with some newfound ability to induce his fair share of grounders. It made the Braves anxious to acquire him. Since coming to Atlanta, his control has never been worse (12.6 BB% this season), his strikeouts have never been worse, and his groundball rate has fallen ten points. Did the Braves rush him to the bigs last year? I don't think so. Blair's not making adjustments and that's not the fault of the Braves. He quickly fell into the habit of nibbling last year after he got to the majors. It reminds me of how Mike Minor pitched once he got to the majors from 2010-2012. His fear led him to give up baserunners in bunches until he finally started to trust his stuff. When that happened, Minor posted a 3.5 fWAR during 2013. Will Blair follow a similar path or will he continue to regress? Hopefully, it will be the former. I'm not sure why Blair hit the DL, by the way.

DL'd: Joel De La Cruz...He's spent more of the season on the DL than on the active roster. When he has been healthy, the results have been pretty miserable. Remember that this was a guy who threw 62.2 innings for last year's pitching staff.

Mississippi
Promoted from Florida: Kris Medlen...After turning some heads with a six shutout innings in his 2017 debut, Medlen was roughed up by Clearwater last week for five runs in 5.1 ING. Nevertheless, he received a promotion up the ladder as he tries to work his way back into the picture. The control has been suspect, which you might expect from a guy working off the rust. The Braves could use all the help they can get and if Medlen does make it all the way back, he'll certainly force Atlanta to make a potentially tough decision.

Activated: Stephen Gaylor...The left-hand hitting outfielder has played in just a dozen games this season and is off to a 3-for-30 start with two walks. An undrafted free agent back in 2014, Gaylor showed a decent enough hit tool until arriving in Carolina last year. It's gotten much worse at Double-A.

Activated: Danny Reynolds...Picked up after becoming a minor league free agent this offseason, Reynolds' fourth season at Double-A has been a mixed bag. His groundball rate has shot up and his control is a bit improved compared to the previous two seasons, but his strikeouts have declined. His 5.48 ERA is a bit misleading - his LOB% is 56% - but his FIP and xFIP tell two different stories (3.33/4.56).

Demoted to Extended Spring: Connor Lien (#36)...It's hard to be too disappointed with Lien this year. With a deeper system than two years ago, he was no longer a borderline Top 20 prospect. Of course, his injury-riddled 2016 was also a factor. Though, even if he wasn't a major prospect anymore, this season has been tough to watch Lien go through. He was hitting .187/.268/.343 at the time of his demotion with 59 K's in 149 PA. That comes out to a nearly 40% strikeout rate - about 15% higher than his 2015 campaign. He has looked lost and unable to turn it around. Perhaps sometime at extended spring where he can clear his head will help.

By Jeff Morris. Follow him
on Twitter @AtlBravesJeff

DL'd: Bradley Roney (#38)....It's been a tough campaign for Roney, whose talented by wild arm had him pitching meaningful games in the International League playoffs last year. After opening the year on the DL, he headed to Florida in late April before a promotion to Mississippi. He was actually doing okay there and unintentionally walked just four of the first 36 he faced while striking out a dozen, but he's now back on the DL.

Florida
Promoted from Rome: Matt Gonzalez...Picked in the sixth round last year out of Georgia Tech, Gonzalez missed the first month of action while in extended spring training until a call-up after the first week of May. He then spent just 16 games in Rome, hitting .300/.355/.329. He picked up starts at third and in left and made a cameo at second base. It's second base that might help Gonzalez find some playing time in Florida as Alay Lago has underwhelmed to this point.

Demoted to Extended Spring: Andres Santiago...Often one of the names that fluctuates on-and-off the roster, Santiago has appeared nine times this year, including seven games with Florida. The results haven't been there for the eleven-year veteran, though the strikeouts look great (21 in 14.2 ING).

Released: J.B. Moss...To make room for Gonzalez, the Braves cut Moss, a seventh-round selection last year. Moss had blitzed the Appalachian League after being drafted, but the former Texas A&M star struggled with Carolina and then this season in his brief twelve games with Florida. Moss's value with the Braves was tied into how much money he saved them by signing under-slot last June. It's the tough thing about being signed less for your potential and more about allowing the team to sign the guys they actually want.

Rome
Activated: Joey Wentz (#14)...Good to see the southpaw Wentz back out there on Memorial less than two weeks after taking a liner off his leg. He tossed four innings of one-run ball in his return with a walk and three strikeouts. On the year, Wentz has a 3.18 ERA and over a strikeout an inning.

Promoted from Extended Spring: Ramon Osuna...With Rome getting little-to-no production from Anthony Concepcion and Kurt Hoekstra at first base, Osuna will get a chance to see if he can help out. A 14th round pick out of Walters State Community College in Morristown, TN last year, Osuna hit .276/.342/.423 with four homers in Danville. He struck out a ton (29%) and the former corner outfielder in college struggled with his new role at first base. Hopefully, an offseason of fine-tuning his skills will help him look more comfortable at first base.

Demoted from Mississippi: Joe Rogers...The late-spring cut by the Tigers has shown up a number of times in this series as he cycled on-and-off the Mississippi roster while only pitching three games.

Demoted to Extended Spring: Raymar Navarro...The Cuban righty has been limited to just five games with Rome this year. They have been successful for the most part, but the 26-year-old is not progressing up the depth chart despite pitching 67 innings last year at High-A.

DL'd: Oriel Caicedo...There have been two Oriel Caicedos in professional baseball. Both were signed out of Panama by the Braves. One is 26 and hasn't played since 2011 while the other recently hit the DL. Caicedo is no spring chicken at 23 years-old and made his debut in 2011...where he played with the other Oriel Caicedo. Seriously, this is something for me to obsess about. New Caicedo has impeccable control (just 71 unintentional passes in 411.2 innings), but also won't pick up many K's. He's been a swingman throughout his career and this marks his third year with Rome. Not sure what sent Caicedo to the DL.

Transaction Tuesday: Cabrera, Wisler, Carlos Salazar

So, today has seen a bunch of action as far as transactions go. Patrick Weigel, Ronald Acuna, and Anfernee Seymour have all been promoted up the ladder while Adam Walker received his walking papers. These moves will be covered next week with a look at what the first week for the recently promoted prospects looked like.

A note on this report - moves referenced today took place between May 2 and May 8. Taxi Squad refers to a Braves minor league team "sending" a player to Danville just to get him off the active roster. In most cases, the player will stay with the team that just demoted him until he is brought back onto the active roster. Prospect Numbers are derived from my preseason Top 50.

Atlanta Braves
*Last night, I went over the trade of Danny Santana/Kevin Chapman, the release of Ryan Howard, and Lane Adams being optioned.

Promoted from Gwinnett: Sam Freeman...The arrival of Freeman was a bit of a surprise. Yes, he only allowed one earned run in 10.1 innings with Gwinnett, but his numbers beyond his ERA were pretty pedestrian (20% K rate, 15% walk rate, unsustainable .160 BABIP and 94% LOB%). Still, the Braves brought the lefty up. I have my doubts about his ability to stick for very long, but considering the issues Eric O'Flaherty and Ian Krol have had, a dependable lefty could be of assistance - though, as OFR's Andy Harris pointed out, Freeman is not a left-hand specialist.

Activated off DL and Optioned to Gwinnett: Mauricio Cabrera...Elbow issues limited Cabrera this spring and kept him from pitching in a game until late April as he began a rehab stint. Control problems plagued him as they had been known to do throughout his career. As such, the Braves wanted to see more from the fireballer before bringing him back to the bigs. Once he starts to throw strikes consistently, he'll be back.

Optioned to Gwinnett: Matt Wisler...Year Three of Wisler in the majors didn't look so hot. He rolled in his first two outings out of the pen, facing one over the minimum over three innings. His next two innings, spaced over two outings, saw ten batters reach base, seven score run, two receive free passes to first, and just one strikeout. Obviously, it's still too early to say much of anything about Wisler and certainly, five innings is too small of a sample to grade anything on. All that said, Wisler was last really impressive in 2013, spent mostly at Double-A. His control remains very good, but it too often waivers in the majors as Wisler can't entice many weak swings on his offerings early in the count like he can in the minors. The Braves have little reason to close the door on Wisler, but he's also given Atlanta little reason to want to see him more.

Transferred to 60-day DL: Micah Johnson...Nothing surprising here as Johnson was still ways off from earning a spot on the roster and the Braves needed a spot for Santana. He fractured his wrist nearly two months ago and there's little news on what a timetable might look like.

Transferred to 60-day DL: Daniel Winkler...Like with Johnson, this was a procedure move to get Freeman on the roster. Winkler had been hoping to be in rehab games by this point, but 13 months since fracturing his elbow, he's still not in a position to throw a competitive pitch. A trip to the 60-day DL simply means he wouldn't be back before June - which was a given.

Gwinnett Braves
Activated off DL: Emerson Landoni...Landoni first joined the organization back in 2012 and has been a fixture ever since. A utility infielder, Landoni has some fans in the organization who keep him around. He's 1-for-12 on the year and it's not a good bet to expect much better from Landoni's bat.

Mississippi Braves
Activated off DL: Sal Giardina...A 2014 draft choice and rare switch-hitting catcher, Giardina hit .246/.302/.342 with Carolina last year. You won't get many walks from him and he strikes out a bit too much, but for the Braves to make room for him (while dropping one of their top defensive catchers), you have to believe the Braves like Giardina for their young pitchers.

Activated off DL: Levi Hyams...After beginning the year on the DL, this will mark the third consecutive year Hyams has played in Mississippi. He had a nice run with Rome back in 2013 and produced in Pearl two years ago, but his career has been mostly pedestrian. Interestingly, his walk rate, which had been above 10% for three years before 2016 cratered last year. Meanwhile, his K% has never been higher. He has a little pop in his bat and if the walk rate returns, he'll be a decent enough option off the bench for Mississippi.

Demoted to Taxi Squad with Gwinnett and Promoted to Mississippi: Wes Parsons...Parsons briefly appeared with Gwinnett - the first time the former undrafted prospect has made it that far. Parsons came onto the scene with a big 2013 where he kept the Southern League at bay over 109.2 innings. He would struggle the following year and injuries would limit the righty to just 86.1 innings over the last two seasons. Used as a long reliever with Mississippi, Parsons has been a bit unlucky with Mississippi (.333 BABIP) but has done a superb job getting grounders and being efficient (2.8 K/BB).

Placed on DL: Reed Harper...On the day Hyams was activated, Harper headed to the DL. Plucked out of the 25th round back in 2013 out of Austin Peay State, Harper has been a utility infielder for much of his career. He's never had much of a bat, but mans his position(s) well.

Placed on DL: Joe Rogers...A late release this spring by the Tigers, Rogers has struggled to stay off the DL in his career. That has continued with the Braves. He missed most of the first month before a recent activation. He worked two games before heading back to the DL. In two innings this year, Rogers has allowed two runs, walked two, and struck out one. A former fifth-rounder out of UCF, Rogers is a lefty with pedestrian numbers when he's healthy enough to pitch.

Traded to Baltimore for cash: Armando Araiza...A strong defender, Araiza was pushed out when Giardina was activated for Mississippi. He had been hitting .143 with a homer over eleven games. He's - at times - flashed a decent enough hit tool, but his glove is his best weapon. He was immediately assigned a spot in Triple-A after the trade.

Florida Fire Frogs
Rehab: Chaz Roe...After a strong 21-game finish to 2016, the Braves had high hopes for Roe this year, but the righty struggled in spring training and looked very bad in three outings before landing on the DL in mid-April. Diagnosed with a right lat strain, Roe finally took the field again last week and gave up a run while facing five hitters. He struck out one and was charged with two hits.

Demoted from Gwinnett: Enderson Franco...An organizational guy early this season, Franco opened the season in the Rome bullpen before being recruited for emergency starting duty in Gwinnett. After two starts there, he headed to Florida and already has a start there. In his eighth minor league season and fourth organization, Franco hadn't pitched above A-ball until his brief (and successful) run in Gwinnett.

Released: Carlos Salazar...And just like that, Salazar ran out of chances. Frank Wren's team was criticized for - and rightfully so - going safe with many of their top picks in the amateur draft, but Salazar was not one of those safe picks. Picked with the #102nd overall selection back in 2013, Salazar had a big arm even as a young teenager. He was clocked in the mid-90's with upper-90's max velocity. But a wild and inconsistent delivery was his undoing. The Braves continued to tinker with him, but he was never able to show the ability to get hitters out above rookie ball. The last three years, he had strikeout and walk rates both over 20%. I imagine this isn't the end of the road for Salazar, but he might have to go to independent ball and hope he can find the strikezone more often there before another organization will give him a look.

Rome Braves
None.

Reviewing My 2015 Top 30 Prospects (Part 1 of 3)

Recently, I released the first ten players who made this year's Walk-Off Walk Top 50 Prospects. Of course, the Braves followed by adding two more prospects to the mix, but I forgive them. As I originally said about my prospect list, releasing these lists is a mix of talent, results, and hope. The hope comes in big when you look back at a list in a few years. Projection is one thing, but can they take the next step?

With that in mind, I thought it might be fun to look back at a prospect list. In 2015, I released a Top 30 in a similar ten prospects at a time method that I am doing this year. Let's take a look at the 2015's #21-30 prospects as graded and ranked by yours truly. Hope I did well.

30. Victor Reyes, OF, Grade: C....One of the last big international splurges for the Frank Wren era, Reyes is a switch-hitter who would be traded less than a month after I released the list to the Diamondbacks. In exchange, the Braves took on most of Trevor Cahill's salary. They also received the #75th overall pick of the 2015 draft, which was used to draft talented lefty A.J. Minter. Reyes has been productive since the trade, hitting a comebined .307 over the last two years. However, the power projections have yet to happen for the 22 year-old, who had a .113 ISO in the hitter-friendly California League last year. Still, not a bad start to the list.

29. Wes Parsons, P, Grade: C....At the time, others ranked Parsons higher than me. He was coming off a 23-start campaign with Lynchburg in which he struggled with a 5.02 ERA. None of us, however, could foresee the troubles Parsons would have the next two years due to injuries, which have limited him to 86.1 innings. Parsons still made my 2016 Top 50, but didn't make this year's list as he tries to jumpstart his career this spring.

28. Max Povse, P, Grade: C....In March of 2015, I called Povse "a sleeper in this system" and said "I like his chances a lot." Well, he turned into that sleeper with back-to-back productive seasons where he displayed great control, a tendency to induce many groundballs, and the ability to be a workhorse. In November, he was dealt to the Mariners in the Alex Jackson deal.

27. Shae Simmons, P, Grade: C....When I ranked him in March of 2015, he had just been given the news that he was destined for Tommy John surgery. It took him well over a year to get back to the Braves. Recently, he was sent packing to the Mariners to join Povse.

By Arturo Pardavila III from Hoboken, NJ, USA [CC BY 2.0],
via Wikimedia Commons

26. Williams Perez, P, Grade: C....The Braves liked Perez probably more than they should have. Surprisingly kept over a bigger prospect like J.R. Graham, Perez was a groundball artist who relied on location. In Atlanta, the location was often not as spot-on as it had to be. A month ago, he was released on the final day of the winter meetings so the Braves could open up a 40-man roster spot and draft Armando Rivero in the Rule 5 draft. He's been on the market ever since.

25. Tanner Murphy, C, Grade: C....At the time, Murphy was receiving some high marks for his defense and on-base skills. I was quickly a fan, but his bat has become an even bigger liability and his defense has received some poor reports since 2014. Like Parsons, Murphy made my Top 50 last year, but fell off this year.

24. Dilmer Mejia, P, Grade: C....Before the Braves began to acquire every left-handed pitching prospect on the planet, Mejia was a hyped teenager in rookie ball who looked like he might be a force to reckon with. Injuries have sapped some of the hype, but he still made my list this year at #48 and I believe he can once again surprise some people.

23. Cody Martin, P, Grade: C....A 7th rounder out of Gonzaga in 2011, Martin was a veterab of over 200 innings at the Triple-A level heading into 2015. The numbers were there, but the projections weren't. He would pitch in 21 games out of the Braves' bullpen in 2015, but was prone to gopher balls. In July, the Braves sent him to the A's for some international slots so that they could sign their prospects. Since then, he has spent most of his time in the Pacific Coast League with 34.2 innings in the bigs, spent mostly with the Mariners after Oakland waives him.

22. Andrew Thurman, P, Grade: C....Acquired in the Evan Gattis trade, Thurman got off to a wonderful start with Carolina in 2015. However, his season and his team's season would be marred by a bus crash. Thurman never seemed the same after that. Thurman's woeful pitching in 2016 removed any prospect luster from him and he was released last August. He has since signed with the Dodgers and will try to revive his career out west.

21. Johan Camargo, SS, Grade: C+....A plus defender, Camargo has made prospect lists based solely on his skill in the field. The switch-hitter continues to struggle to hit, though. With a career ISO under .100 and a .304 OBP at Mississippi last year, Camargo is a longshot to become a fixture in the majors. However, the Braves do like him and added him to the 40-man roster this winter.

Of the first ten prospects released for the 2015 Top 30, six are no longer in the organization. Of those remaining four, only one made my Top 50 this season. That's both a testament to the system's depth and the struggles prospects have had since the original ranking.

Braves Monday Roundup - Fort Bragg, Sims, Trades

Welcome to the return of the Monday Roundup. Haven't been able to do this in a couple of weeks, but glad to be getting back into my regular posting schedule. For returnee fans, I plan to post the rest of my Best/Worst Draft series over the next few days leading up to the MLB Draft on Thursday. I hope you guys are enjoying the series - I know I enjoy writing about it. Once it's completed, I will look for another series of posts to focus on. I'm thinking of looking at who the Braves could trade and what kind of package they might seek. After all, the Braves will likely be busy on that front.

In the meantime, here are 5 stories you may have missed...

By Fish Cop. (Blashfield Sign Company) [Public domain],
via Wikimedia Commons

Fort Bragg's "Pop-Up Stadium" Nearly Completion
-One of the most interesting things related to the Braves during this lost season will come next month when they play host to the Miami Marlins at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Crews are putting the final touches on the stadium, including installing bleachers, fencing, a broadcast booth for ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, and more. The "pop-up stadium" appears to be an experiment of sorts for baseball as they try to host a game five months after announcing the venture. You have to believe if the event is a success - and it has every reason to be - MLB will continue to attempt similar events. While much of the stadium will be removed after the game, the field will be donated to Fort Bragg, who hope to expand the location into a "larger athletic complex."

Sims Gets Crushed
-After Shae Simmons threw a scoreless inning to open Sunday's tilt with Durham, Gwinnett went with regular starter Lucas Sims. The results were awful. Sims went just 2.2 innings in the loss as he struggled greatly with his control, walking six batters and throwing a wild pitch. He also yielded a pair of homeruns when he did find the strikezone. Sims has given up six or more runs in four of his last seven games for Gwinnett. Suffice it to say, it's a learning experience for Sims, who turned just 22 last month and opened the year with three starts in Double-A. While no one should get too disappointed with Sims so far, it's a sign that one of Atlanta's star prospects is not close to being ready for prime time.

Mock Draft Brings in Number of Bats
-Tomahawk Take's Benjamin Chase was tasked with the role of playing the Braves General Manager at minorleagueball.com's mock draft. Of the six players drafted, Chase took four bats - which would be a stark change from last year's pitching shopping spree. It will be interesting to see if something like that happens. Clearly, the Braves need more offense in the system, but I'm of the belief that they won't make an effort to go bat or arm at any point in the draft. Instead, they will focus on best player available. That might be a bat like Kyle Lewis at #3 as it was for Chase. Or it might be an arm like Jason Groome or Riley Pint. Regardless of which way they go with that pick or any pick after it, I am convinced Atlanta will only go with the player that is on top of their Big Board at that time.

Jon Heyman: "Everyone can be had"
-In his recent Inside Baseball column, Jon Heyman mentioned a variety of Braves' notes, many with a a common theme - trades. According to Heyman, "a few teams have checked in on Nick Markakis," which I wrote about recently with the hope that - if true - Atlanta jumps on a possible trade. Heyman also mentioned Kelly Johnson and Alexi Ogando as possible trade targets, though neither have played well this year and have shown little sign of turning the corner. 2016 was supposed to be bad for the Braves, but the under-performance of so many veterans who appeared likely to attract trade interest hasn't helped.

Teheran Might be a Fit for the Red Sox
-The Braves have little reason to trade Julio Teheran. He's in just year 3 of a 6-year, $32.4M contract extension that also has a very manageable $12M club option for 2020. He's an effective pitcher who could be on his way to a 3 WAR season regardless of what his win-loss record may say. It's for all of those reasons that Teheran makes for such an attractive option for many teams in need of a dependable cog to add to their rotation. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe thinks the Red Sox could be one of those teams, especially with their collection of major-league ready (or nearly ready) talent. Cafardo mentions Blake Swihart, though that took a hit when Swihart hurt his left ankle playing left field (because reasons). Over 383 PA in the majors, Swihart has hit .271/.328/.386 with the Sox and was a Top 20 prospect heading into 2015. A switch-hitting option, Swihart definitely could help the Braves in terms of giving them a catcher-of-the-future option in the majors. Another name might be a better fit, though, and that's Andrew Benintendi. The 7th overall pick of the 2015 draft, Benintendi is already in Double-A, though his numbers have taken a bit of a fall through a couple dozen games there. In 458 PA since joining the Sox organization, Benintendi has a .206 ISO. A lefty masher who still might have room to grow, the Braves would be hard pressed to refuse an offer centering around Benintendi.

Bonus Link - Leudys Baez Reviewed
-A few weeks ago, I pointed you to a review on Mike Soroka by notesfromthesally.com. Over the weekend, John Calvagno posted another review on a current Rome Brave in Leudys Baez. The article quickly stands out as Calvagno says, "He (Baez) has some of the loudest tools in the league and no one is talking about him." Give the link a read.

Trivia Question
-The last time I did this, I asked, "In the expansion era (1961-to-present), and excluding the streak-shortened 1981, what three teams have tied for the fewest players on the team to hit at least one homerun?" No one ventured a guess even though I gave a hint. 10 players is the answer and it has been accomplished three times by the Cubs in 1967, the Royals in 1972, and the New York Mets in 1980. With Brandon Snyder's homer Sunday, the Braves reached ten. Here's today's trivia question. Freddie Freeman now has six intentional walks. What is the franchise record for walks in a single season? If you know the answer, send me a tweet.

Birthdays
Happy birthday today to Tony Graffanio, who began his 13-year major league career with the Braves in 1996 and turns 44 today. Wednesday is Pete Orr's 37th birthday. The Canadian utility guy last played in the majors in 2013 and is currently a free agent. On Thursday, Joel De La Cruz, who has been promoted to the majors twice and never used, turns 27. Not-a-Brave Zoilo Almonte turns 27 on June 10 (Friday). Atlanta had hoped Almonte would earn a platoon job last spring, but he ultimately was cut and didn't play organized ball again until last winter. He's currently doing well in the Mexican League. Also celebrating their birthday Friday will be Jeff Bennett (36 years-old), who I profiled awhile back. Rick Camp would have been 63 on Friday as well. Odalis Perez turns 38 on Saturday while Ryan Klesko celebrates his 45th birthday on Sunday.

Shameless Plugs 
Worst 5 Drafts Since 2000 - #4 ...The fourth worst draft might be one of the worst drafts in just talent for the Braves since the draft's inception. It was that ugly.

Transaction Tuesday: Thayer, Shae, Parsons, McCreery ...Weekly recap of the minor league moves. Analysis includes the recent addition of Dale Thayer, Shae Simmons' setback, Wes Parsons inability to stay healthy, and Adam McCreery getting his first taste of minor league ball as a Brave.

Braves Throw Away the Grill(i) ...Atlanta deals away Jason Grilli as they continue to add potential pieces for the future.

By EricEnfermero (Own work)
[CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Braves Shift Tyrell to the Pen ...Last week, the Braves made the choice to move right-hander Tyrell Jenkins out of the rotation and into the bullpen. In my article, I looked at how the move could mimic a similar move to the pen in 2010 for Jonny Venters.

Freddie Freeman's Power Numbers are Fine ...Where does Freeman rank among power hitters in the game and at his position? Certainly not with the elite, but his numbers are better than many give him credit for.

Braves Saturday Stats Pack ...Some of the topics discussed include Mallex Smith's odd stolen base success rate, Tyler Flowers' hard-hit rate, and Arodys Vizcaino's heat.

Minor League Saturday Stats Pack ...Sean Newcomb might be turning the corner and so might Braxton Davidson. See the column for more.

Best 5 Drafts Since 2000 - #4 ...As aggressive as the Braves were in last year's draft, my ranking of the draft in context with every draft since 2000 might be more aggressive.

Worst 5 Drafts Since 2000 - #3 ...Three years ago, the Braves struck out on nearly every pick. Let's hope for better luck Thursday as you review how it all went wrong in 2013.

Thanks for reading and remember to follow me on Twitter.

Transaction Tuesday: Thayer, Shae, Parsons, McCreery

These moves cover May 24 to May 30. Check out the previous week's recap.

Gwinnett Braves
Signed: Dale Thayer...For three years, Thayer was an above-average reliever for the Padres, but his numbers fell off the map last year. This year, he appeared in seven ugly games with Tulsa in the Double-A Texas League. Worth a shot, but Thayer is in his age-35 year and unlikely to find much more success during his professional career.

Promoted (from CAR): Stephen Gaylor...A regular in this column, Gaylor picks up a lot of singles and not much else. In 34 games over a trio of minor league stops this year, he's on-based .360 wth 9 steals. He is a fill-in option around the minor league system as needed.

Promoted (from DAN): Jose Ramirez...His demotion to the taxi squad was simply to give him some rest after a 2.2 inning, 46-pitch outing on the 20th. He's turned the corner a bit over his last nine games for Gwinnett with 11.1 inning, one run allowed, and 14 K's. However, his control has been an issue.

Promoted (from DAN): Braeden Schlehuber...Taxi squad move. Nothing more, nothing less.

Optioned: Dario Alvarez...I talked about Alvarez when he was claimed off waivers.

Optioned: Casey Kelly...In three outings this year in the bigs, Kelly has taken it on the chin as a fill-in/long relief option. He's allowed many of the 56 batters he's faced on the year to reach, but he's also done nothing to hurt his chances to stick around. His numbers with Gwinnett have been a mixed bag to this point.

Outrighted: Joel De La Cruz...Twice this season, De La Cruz has been called up to the bigs. Twice, he's been outrighted off the major league roster after never being used in the majors. The righty's numbers this year have not really earned a promotion, but it's still a bit odd to bring up a guy twice and never use him to at least get him a game in the bigs under his umbrella.

Outrighted: Reid Brignac...A long time ago, Brignac was an interesting option. His ability to play multiple positions has kept him in the bigs for nine straight years, but because he has no bat, he has done played more than 46 games in the majors since 2012. This season's 13-game cameo did little to keep Brignac in the majors.

Rehab: Jim Johnson...The Braves chose to not expedite Johnson's arrival in the bigs after trading Jason Grilli Tuesday. Friday looks like his target game. In three rehab outings (twice with Gwinnett), Johnson has thrown three scoreless innings with 3 hits allowed and 3 K's.

DL'd: David Peterson...An 8th rounder in 2012, Peterson had a solid 2015 after opening the year in Carolina and ending the season in Gwinnett. 2016 has not been nearly as positive, though. In 15 games with Gwinnett, Peterson has been hit hard and often (9.17 ERA, 1.5 HR/9) and struggled with his usually pinpoint control (7.1 BB/9 vs. 2 BB/9 last two years). Maybe injury has played a role? Regardless, Peterson is not much of a prospect.

Paternity List: Sean Kazmar...Congrats to Kazmar, who has played 300 games with Gwinnett over the last four years. The nearly 32 year-old appeared in the majors 19 times during 2008 for San Diego and has not been able to get back since.

Mississippi Braves
Rehab: Shae Simmons...The reliever landed with Mississippi seeking his fourth game back as he returns from Tommy John surgery, but some forearm tightness set him back.

Demoted from GWI: Brandon Cunniff...A big find out of the independent leagues, Cuniff pitched 39 times in the majors last year. However, after being a non-factor this spring, he has struggled greatly this year. He's never had great control, but he was always able to get enough K's to carry a 2+ K/BB rate. This year, it was even with Gwinnett (13 of each) in 20.2 innings. Maybe a demotion will be a catalyst for him. In his first game, he gave up a hit and walked one while striking out 4 in two frames.

Carolina Mudcats
Promoted from ROME: Taylor Lewis...A ninth rounder last June, Lewis had a lot of K's, but his numbers weren't overwhelming this year with Rome. Still, the 22 year-old was promoted and in his first two games, he's K'd three in 3.2 scoreless innings while allowing just two baserunners.

Demoted from MIS: Michael O'Neal...A fill-in option for Mississippi, O'Neal returns to Carolina where he has thrown 10 innings with this season. O'Neal spent two years in the Frontier League after being undrafted out of Auburn.

DL'd: Wes Parsons...For while, Parsons looked like the next Brandon Beachy. Undrafted out of a small school, Parsons had a 4.8 K/BB rate over 109.2 innings with Rome in 2013. Unfortunately, since drawing some prospect coverage, Parsons has both struggled when on the mound and struggled to even stay on the mound. He had appeared in eleven games with Carolina so far this year, including 3 starts, and had been hit around a good deal.

Rome Braves
Promoted from DAN: Adam McCreery...Acquired in the Jhoulys Chacin trade, McCreery finally made his 2016 debut with two innings out of the Rome bullpen. He struck out three and walked one. As I mentioned in my previous column about the trade, McCreery has some potential as a left-hand specialist, but with very little upside.

Released: Matt Tellor...It was only a matter of time for Tellor. A tenth rounder in 2014, Tellor had hit .224/.271/.331 as a professional over 607 PA with 170 K's. Limited to only first base, he needed to show a bat - but it never came.

Danville Braves
Demoted from CAR: Zach Quintana...Acquired for Kyle Wren last offseason, Quintana was a nice swingman with Rome last year, but has struggled with Carolina this year. He surrendered just one homer in 2015 and has given up 5 this year.

Demoted to DAN and re-promoted to GWI and re-demoted to DAN: Kanekoa Texeira...Taxi squad central.

GCL Braves
No moves.

DSL Braves
No moves.

Carolina Mudcats 2016 Preview

Swanson's a Mudcat in 2016
Rob Carr/Getty Images

Yesterday, I previewed the Rome Braves roster, which is full of prospects throughout. Today's team, the Carolina Mudcats, is not quite as impressive from a prospect standpoint, though the franchise's top prospect will start there. There are some good prospects throughout this team, though.

Staff - Rocket Wheeler (Manager), Jose Mota (Coach), Carlos Mendez (Hitting), Derrick Lewis (Pitching)
-Since 2003, Wheeler has been managing Braves affiliates with his longest tenure coming with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans for five seasons until 2010. He was at the helm of the 2008 squad that won 89 game behind the play of Ernesto Mejia, Tyler Flowers, and Scott Diamond. Now he's back in the Carolina League with the Mudcats. The rest of the coaching staff is unchanged from last season. Mendez played 16 professional years with a 26-game run with the Orioles in 2003 mixed in. After spending his final three years with Richmond, the career .296 minor league hitter retired and joined the organization as a coach in '08. Lewis, a 20th rounder in 1997, pitched as high as AAA with the Braves organization before retiring in 2003 and joining the Braves coaching ranks the year after. Mota was not part of the announced coaching staff, but is on Carolina's roster page. In a career spanning a dozen years, he made it to the majors twice in the 90's.

(L) - Left-handed Pitcher/Hitter
(B) - Switch-Hitter
(#number) - Where player ranked in my preseason Top 50 if applicable

Pitchers - Zach Bird (#16), Ryan Clark (#36), Enderson Franco, Chase Johnson-Mullins (L), Ryan Lawlor (L)
-Bird's placement is a mild surprise after Atlanta gave him three starts in AA after acquiring him in the Hector Olivera/Alex Wood exchange last July. A high-ceiling guy, Bird has great potential, but many question marks that have stunk with him since the Dodgers signed him out of Murrah High School in Jackson, Mississippi. Clark's an aggressive placement after being the Braves' fifth round pick last June. In 52.2 innings with Danville, he showed pinpoint control and kept the ball in the yard (4 K/BB, 2 HR allowed). An UNC-Greensboro alum, Clark could be a depth guy for the major league roster at some point in 2017. Picked up from the Marlins organization (he played with Houston and Tampa Bay before that), Franco is a 23-year old in his seventh year of minor league ball with zero innings above A-ball. Another aggressive placement, Johnson-Mullins was picked eight rounds after Clark. A reliever out of Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa, Johnson-Mullins walked too many batters last year, but if the 21 year-old southpaw throws strikes, he could be a good reliever for the Braves. Georgia Bulldog fans remember Lawlor, who the Braves also picked last June in the 8th round. He started 7 of 8 games for Danville last year and had a good strikeout rate of 8.2 per nine. He walked a few too many, but kept the ball in the yard.

Pitchers (cont'd) - Sean McLaughlin, Raimar Navarro (also sometimes Raymar), Wes Parsons, Evan Phillips, Max Povse (#21)
-Lawlor's teammate with Georgia and Danville last year, McLaughlin is one of the few 2015 picks to already have A-ball experience after finishing last year with 17.2 innings with Rome. Struck out nearly 10 batters for every nine innings thrown and had pretty stout control to match (3.4 K/BB). Navarro left Cuba in 2013 and was training with Hector Olivera for a time as he tried to find an MLB deal. Before defecting and signing with the Braves last August, he pitched in the Cuban National Series with Holguin from 2009-2012 mostly as a starter, though he was very very young to be pitching in Cuba's primer league. Now 24, his first game with Carolina will be his first one in the states. Parsons came on the scene with a big 2013 season at Rome after being signed as an undrafted free agent, but stagnated in 2014. He was also hurt and that would continue in 2015, when he pitched just 19.2 total innings including one start in Carolina before his season came to a close. There's a lot to like about Parsons when he's healthy and dealing. With any luck, we'll see some of that this year. A 17th rounder out of UNC-Wilmington last June, Phillips appeared in 12 games with Rome after less than a month with Danville. The righty, who was also drafted by the Royals in 2012, had big strikeout numbers last year (11.2 per nine). Povse started last year with a dozen good starts in Rome before earning a callup to Carolina where everything came off the rails. After less than a month there, it became apparent something was wrong. Povse's season whimpered to a close in late July. The 6'8" behemoth will try to right the ship in 2016.

Pitchers (cont'd) - Zach Quintana, Carlos Salazar, Richie Tate (suspended), Matt Withrow
-Quick question: who did the Braves get in the Kyle Wren trade? If you guessed Zach Quintana, way to follow the format I'm doing here. Quintana was a third rounder by the Brewers in 2012, but had never found success until last year. It wasn't great success, but they got him to throw a lot more strikes and his lowered his walk rate from about 4.5 per nine to 2 per nine. He was a nice swingman for Rome - a role he might serve for Carolina. A 2013 third rounder out of Kerman, California, Salazar is kind of repeating a level after finishing 2015 with ten games in Carolina. The 21 year-old has always shown strikeout potential, but doesn't always know where the ball is going. Richie Tate got suspended for the second consecutive season after testing positive for a "drug of abuse." MLB defines cocaine, opiates, PCP, and cannabis as drugs of abuse and this is Tate's third overall suspension. Tate will miss over half of the year with a 100-game suspension and hasn't built much goodwill with a poor performance on the mound as well. With his brother Chris Withrow in Gwinnett, Matt Withrow joins Clark, Johnson-Mullins, and Lawlor in skipping Rome to begin his first full season in the system with Carolina. He started 13 games for Danville last year with a decent K/BB rate of 2.2.

Catchers - Tanner Murphy (#47), Joseph Odom
-If the Braves didn't have both Lucas Herbert and Jonathan Morales deserving promotions to Rome, Murphy likely would have been given a chance to improve upon his .193/.277/.312 stinker of a year he posted in the South Atlantic League last year. But things being as they are, Murphy will have to re-establish himself in High-A while playing in the Carolina League, which is much harder to hit in than other high-A leagues. The previous year, he showed some good on-base skills and pop (.361 OBP, .147 ISO) to match his great defense. A return to form would be great. Odom has been with the Braves' Carolina League affiliate for two years already. He's a caddy for the starter.

Infielders - Jordan Edgerton (#46), Reed Harper, Joey Meneses, Omar Obregon (B), Dansby Swanson (#1)
-Edgerton carried a little hype heading into 2015, but it eroded with a .245/.290/.317 season in Rome. Like Murphy, if he is to redeem himself, he will have to do it while moving up to high-A. Harper played 82 games with Carolina last year and OPS'd .549, which brought his career OPS down to .608. He can sub all over the infield, though. Meneses memorably OPS'd .850 with Rome in 2014 while hitting for the cycle, but struggled badly in Carolina last year. He can play the outfield, though Carolina is pretty good there. Obregon has a decent glove and speed, but is raw (19 CS in 50 attempts) and has zero power (.039 career ISO). It was a bit of a surprise to see Ozhaino Albies skip Carolina and Dansby Swanson start the year there instead. While the narrative suggested the Braves wanted to keep the duo separate for now to allow them to both play shortstop, with Swanson's competitive college experience and age, it was assumed he would start ahead of Albies. Guess not. Easily one of the most dynamic offensive players not only for Carolina, but in the Carolina League, the excitement for Swanson is huge right now. Fans have been spoiled by the quick ascension of many college players but if Swanson takes more time, that's not a bad thing. Let him develop at his own speed. He's going to be a good one.

Outfielders - Keith Curcio (L, #38), Joseph Daris (L, #40), Braxton Davidson (L, #12), Ryan Gebhardt, Sean Godfrey
-Curcio earned a promotion to Carolina last year after a .343/.416/.479 slash in 32 games with Rome. The results in Carolina were not nearly as exciting, but a .265/.327/.369 triple slash from a player in his first full season - who was also being shifted to second base at times - is acceptable. He played almost all-outfield in winter ball so I assume the 2B experiment was taken out back and shot. Curcio left Daris in Rome and the latter was given the full season to slash .272/.336/.396 - a significant improvement over his first year where he struggled in rookie ball. Daris also nearly pulled off a nerdy feat. Until the final few weeks, he had more triples than doubles, but finished with 13 doubles and 12 triples. He also stole 23 out of 30 bases. Davidson's in-game power started to show more in 2015 than the year before (.132 ISO) but it's still not in line with his projected power output. Love his patience at the plate and I think more power will come. I'm more interested to see if he stays in the outfield or if the Braves eventually move him to first. 2015 was the season of change for Gebhardt. He began the year with AA-Mobile, was demoted to low-A Kane County, promoted to high-A Visalia, demoted back to Kane County, released, signed with Long Island of the independent Atlantic League, purchased by the Braves, assigned to Rome, and then finished the year with three games in Carolina. He saw more states in six months than many of us see in a lifetime. He also found time to pitch a game. Though labelled an outfielder here, he's only played there once so far. Like Bird, Godfrey has to be disappointed with beginning this season back in Carolina. The 22nd rounder out of Ball State opened last year with the Mudcats and hit .304 over 62 games, earning a promotion to Mississippi where he hit like a decent-hitting pitcher (.194/.232/.272). Godfrey was a fun pick in 2014 because he went from drafted to Danville to Rome to Lynchburg within the span of a few months. Now, he's hanging on by a thread to his dreams of being an Atlanta Brave.

Pay to see: Povse, Swanson, Davidson.

Keep an eye on: Bird, Clark, Parson, Murphy, Curcio.

As 2016 begins, Carolina has a little star power with Swanson and Davidson, but not much beyond that. Promotions will change that as the season progresses. If you can catch Carolina play this year, do so early to make sure you get to see Swanson up close. I am going to try to see a few games with the Mudcats and Hillcats in early May for that exact reason.