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Lucas Braun and Logan Samuels were impressive for the system in a poor Saturday slate If you’re disappointed in the Atlanta Braves on Saturday and looking for a pick-me-up this morning, you might wanna just not look at the scores for these games. The system got swept. However, two pitchers had outstanding days. The usual suspect, Lucas Braun, struck out nine for Columbus. Then down in Augusta there’s a new name you might hear a lot of this season, because Logan Samuels was the star of the farm with five scoreless innings on Saturday.
(3-5) Gwinnett Stripers 2, (3-5) Nashville Sounds 10
Box Score
Statcast
Alex Verdugo, RF: 1-3, 2B
Luke Waddell, SS: 1-3, 2 BB
Chasen Shreve, SP: 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 5.63 ERA
Dylan Dodd, RP: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 23.63 ERA
There was not a whole lot to be excited about for Braves fans in this game. For the, rightfully, desperate among us let’s take a look at Alex Verdugo, who had a solid game for the Stripers with his first hit in his new threads. Verdugo turned around a 2-2 fastball on the inner half and laced it into the gap at 106 mph for a leadoff double that immediately gave the Stripers a threat to tie what was then a 3-1 game. Luke Waddell followed by raking a single and Garrett Cooper was hit by a pitch to load the bases, giving Luke Williams and the middle of the Gwinnett lineup a huge opportunity to do damage. Williams struck out, Matthew Batten brought in the inning’s lone run on a force play, and Eddys Leonard struck out to end what would be the last real chance Gwinnett would have. Once Jacob Misiorowski came in out of the bullpen it might as well have been over. Sure, Misiorowski gave Gwinnett some chances with four issues walks, but he overpowered the Stripers hitters and they didn’t have a hit over the final five innings of this game.
The pitching for Gwinnett gave even less hope as they ran out the veteran depth squad and Nashville knocked them around. In four innings starter Chasen Shreve was unable to record a strikeout, although he did hold it together after a three-run first inning to keep the Stripers in the game. That opportunity didn’t last too much longer with Jackson Stephens on the mound and the Sounds ran away with this game in the second half. It was another struggle-filled outing for Dylan Dodd, who showed some of his prior habits. Dodd fell back into the pattern of throwing his fastball with a significantly different release point than his other pitches, and whether it was this or Dodd’s resultant command issues that were the main factor, the Sounds tagged him for three hard hit balls and two runs in the ninth inning while Dodd only recorded one swing-and-miss.
Swing and Misses
Jackson Stephens - 7
Michael Peterson - 4
Chasen Shreve - 3
(0-2) Columbus Clingstones 5, (2-0) Montgomery Biscuits 6 F/10
Box Score
Cal Conley, SS: 2-5, RBI
David McCabe, 3B: 1-2, 2 BB, RBI
Lucas Braun, SP: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, 4.50 ERA
Hayden Harris, RP: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA
Columbus came oh so close to earning their first win as a franchise, but fell short in extra innings as they never could pull away or get the big out on the mound. Lucas Braun had a mostly solid outing, but early in his outing made some uncharacteristic misses with his sliders. Unfortunately for him those misses didn’t come against the weak links in the lineup, and both Colton Ledbetter and Brayden Taylor were able to crush no-doubt home runs that put three total runs up on the board. Those mistakes aside, it was much the same Lucas Braun we became accustomed to seeing in 2024. Braun was able to mix and locate his pitches, racking up strikeouts as he pounded the zone and stayed ahead in counts consistently. After the first time through the order the Biscuits really had no answer for Braun as he locked in, striking out four of the final eleven batters he faced.
While Braun was doing his thing the Columbus offense was able to make some early moves as Biscuits starter Jackson Baumeister wasn’t missing many bats. The first three Mississippi hitters of the game were able to get solid wood on Baumeister, each hitting safely to score a run. Mississippi was able to add on another run on an RBI ground out but failed to extend the inning after a walk to David McCabe. Mississippi added two more runs in the fourth inning to take the lead, a lead that Braun would hold through the rest of his outing. McCabe’s eye this season has been terrific so far, showing yet again an advanced feel for the zone, but right now his timing is a bit off. He is late on fastballs and seems to be cheating to try to get to them, leaving him susceptible to getting busted on back foot sliders.
The offense was scattered following Baumeister’s departure, and it was up to Mississippi’s bullpen to try to hold a one run lead over the final three innings. That lead lasted all of a single batter. Blane Abeyta, acquired in the Minor League phase of the Rule 5 draft this winter, recorded a quick out, but once again the Biscuits power showed through in this game. Jalen Battles did not miss on a 2-2 slider hung out over the plate, crushing a 416 foot home run to tie the game on the second batter of Abeyta’s Clingstones career. Abeyta spins his slider well and it gives him a pitch to utilize out of the bullpen, though he’ll have to be better on his command than he was in this first inning. He can get up into the mid-90’s in these shorter outings with a 96 on the gun, but he primarily works out of the lower-90’s with his fastball. The next two innings belonged to Hayden Harris, who did exactly to the Biscuits what he did to Double-A hitters last season and what we should expect to see from him moving forward. Harris’s dominance in no surprise, but the interesting name to watch is 10th inning man Elison Joseph. Joseph’s upper 90’s fastball and high spin slider have him on the radar for a major league job this year, but yesterday was one of those games he runs into where his location just is not good enough to get outs. His command has been the limiting factor from the start for Joseph, but last season, especially late, he was much better and if this is just a fluke for him then he’ll get a major league opportunity possibly as soon as this season. He is on the short list of guys to watch and/or follow if you’re interested in players who can debut in 2025.
Swing and Misses
Lucas Braun - 14
Hayden Harris - 4
(1-1) Rome Emperors 6, (1-1) Winston-Salem Dash 16
Box Score
EJ Exposito, 3B: 1-5, 2B, RBI
Lizandro Espinoza, SS: 3-5, 2 2B
Titus Dumitru, CF: 2-5, 2B, RBI
Garrett Baumann, SP: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 18.90 ERA
William Silva, RP: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 19.29 ERA
You’re not going to win often when you issue 12 walks as a staff (past Augusta, at least), but Garrett Baumann is certainly not the guy you would expect to have lead that charge for Rome. Baumann’s ability to control his delivery at such a young age with such a big body has been his most impressive trait in his young career, but so far we’ve seen two tough command days for him between spring breakout and his 2025 Rome debut. However, this time Baumann started off hot with three innings of one run ball, no walks, and four strikeouts. Then the wheels just fell off of the bus. Baumann just lost his release point and started pulling everything glove side, and he walked four of the six batters he faced in what would be a six-run fourth inning. After a base hit drove in the third and fourth runs of the inning Baumann was lifted for Giomar Diaz, who couldn’t prevent the two inherited runners from scoring.
Diaz in his own right struggled with his command, in the fifth inning walking four consecutive batters before being pulled from the game. Finally William Silva, Atlanta’s 2022 fifth round pick who should be one of the relievers to watch in the system this season, gave the Emperors a bit of a breather. Silva immediatelt forced a double play ball to escape Diaz’s bases-loaded jam in the fifth inning, and in the sixth retired the side in order. Silva uses a nasty slider as his go-to pitch, getting a striekout in that sixth inning, and the Emperors had hoped he could give them another solid inning in the seventh. The Dash got a couple of baserunners, but two strikeouts had Silva on the verge of escaping with another scoreless inning. Then the Dash put the game away, as Silva allowed a hit, hit a batter, then hung one of those sliders to Ryan Galanie which got crushed for a grand slam to break it open at 13-6.
Rome’s offense was able to keep up early, but eventually the outbursts from Winston-Salem were too much for them to match. Lizandro Espinoza had quite the second game in an Emperors uniform, banging a ball off of the top of the high center field wall in his first at bat of the game. He later scored the first run of the game on a wild pitch, but his contribution was far from complete. The Dash tied the game in the top of the third inning, and in the bottom of the third Espinoza was once again leading off. He was able to hook an outside pitch into left field and roll it to the wall for his second double of the game, once again setting the table for a scoring rally. EJ Exposito brought Espinoza home with a double of his own, hit the waddle, then stole third before scoring on a sacrifice fly to put Rome up 3-1.
In total Rome had six doubles in this game, and trailing 8-3 they picked an opportune time to break out a few of them in the fifth inning. Jace Grady led off yet another odd inning with a double, and the Dash narrowly kept Rome from an even bigger inning. Espinoza got a hanging breaker but just got under it for the first out, and Exposito jumped on the first pitch and ripped it just to the left of the third base bag for a foul ball. Expo rolled out to third base for the second out, then Rome managed to have a bit of luck on their side. A little pop down the first base line from Titus Dumitru fell perfectly behind the first baseman who had trouble tracking it over his shoulder, going for a double and another run for Rome. Then Patrick Clohisy put a great swing on a hanging breaking ball and cranked it down the left field line for the third double of the inning, and the Emperors suddenly found themselves with some life in the game. Ambioris Tavarez helped the Emperors waddle even closer when he walked and came around to score on a couple of soft hits in the sixth inning, but as mentioned it all went to hell after that. Tavarez has been impressive with his approach in the first couple of games, showing the best plate discipline and pitch recognition we’ve seen from him as a professional. His maturation has been impressive, though I do agree that we’re going to have to see a lot of actual hitting from him this year to really feel like he’s turned things around. Still, his approach is completely unrecognizable from the player he was in Augusta, even with injuries impacting his playing time, and he has to be commended for the work he has done to get to this point.
Swing and Misses
Garrett Baumann - 10
Adam Shoemaker - 9
William Silva - 7
Giomar Diaz - 5
(1-1) Augusta GreenJackets 1, (1-1) Columbia Fireflies 3
Box Score
John Gil, SS: 1-4, 2 SB
Eric Hartman, 2B: 1-4
Logan Samuels, SP: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 0.00 ERA
Reibyn Corona, RP: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 6.75 ERA
At least once every year the Braves do their thing with one of the pitchers they draft, and Logan Samuels looks like he is going to be that guy this year. Last year’s 8th round pick out of Division-II Montevallo was nothing short of terrific in his first start of 2025, and if not for a clogged pipeline of starting pitchers I would predict a rapid ascent for him. Samuels showcased a solid three pitch mix, commanding his fastball at 93 to 94 and showing the ability to move it around the zone. Through the first four innings he didn’t allow a baserunner, with a looped single in the fifth inning being the only baserunner he allowed. Samuels commanded both his short slider and his changeup, with both pitches showing that they could be average pitches. I like Samuels as a back end type starter, which is an incredible pickup in the seventh round, though somewhat similar to Dylan Dodd I’m not sure he really has that one go-to above average to plus secondary pitch that’s going to get him consistent outs at the upper levels. Now, the advantage for Samuels is that he’s got plenty of time to develop, more velocity than Dodd, and given his frame may even have room to add more velocity despite him being a senior sign. Samuels is one to watch this season, and I really don’t see either A-level providing much of a challenge for a pitcher with his command profile and three pitches.
Now you might notice that despite Samuels making an impression, the GreenJackets didn’t win this game. That’s because they couldn’t hit. John Gil certainly did his best in the first inning, beating out an infield single, stealing second and third, then scoring on a ground out from Luis Guanipa, but after this the GreenJackets came up empty. Yesterday I called them one of the best collections of raw talent we’ve seen in a lineup in awhile, but this is the flip side of that. This team is young, and RAW, and there are going to be a lot of days where none of these guys have it working. I did see some decent swings though. The Eric Hartman/Owen Carey duo are going to have some success this season. Both have nice swings and can make contact and hit the ball hard, though like we often see that young approach will take its toll. Luis Guanipa looked better today with his swings, staying on a better line to the pitcher, though he just hasn’t made solid contact yet at any point with Augusta over the past two seasons. One thing to note about this team is how good they are defensively. Typically teams at this level are quite awful, and Gil had a couple of errors yesterday (one not really his fault), but overall this team has defenders at every position. Guanipa is terrific in center, Gil is better than he showed at shortstop yesterday, and both Carey and Hartman have the athleticism to track balls down in the corners as does Isaiah Drake. Colby Jones has already made some flashy plays, and his ability to play all three infield spots at a high level is going to be a huge benefit for the team this season and gives him a leg up in a potential MLB bench job one day. Jones’s approach is concerning, but his glove stands out and he has the bat speed to be a solid hitter.
Swing and Misses
Logan Samuels - 10
Albert Rivas - 2
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Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Lucas Braun and Logan Samuels were impressive for the system in a poor Saturday slate If you’re disappointed in the Atlanta Braves on Saturday and looking for a pick-me-up this morning, you might wanna just not look at the scores for these games. The system got swept. However, two pitchers had outstanding days. The usual suspect, Lucas Braun, struck out nine for Columbus. Then down in Augusta there’s a new name you might hear a lot of this season, because Logan Samuels was the star of the farm with five scoreless innings on Saturday.
(3-5) Gwinnett Stripers 2, (3-5) Nashville Sounds 10
Box Score
Statcast
Alex Verdugo, RF: 1-3, 2B
Luke Waddell, SS: 1-3, 2 BB
Chasen Shreve, SP: 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 5.63 ERA
Dylan Dodd, RP: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 23.63 ERA
There was not a whole lot to be excited about for Braves fans in this game. For the, rightfully, desperate among us let’s take a look at Alex Verdugo, who had a solid game for the Stripers with his first hit in his new threads. Verdugo turned around a 2-2 fastball on the inner half and laced it into the gap at 106 mph for a leadoff double that immediately gave the Stripers a threat to tie what was then a 3-1 game. Luke Waddell followed by raking a single and Garrett Cooper was hit by a pitch to load the bases, giving Luke Williams and the middle of the Gwinnett lineup a huge opportunity to do damage. Williams struck out, Matthew Batten brought in the inning’s lone run on a force play, and Eddys Leonard struck out to end what would be the last real chance Gwinnett would have. Once Jacob Misiorowski came in out of the bullpen it might as well have been over. Sure, Misiorowski gave Gwinnett some chances with four issues walks, but he overpowered the Stripers hitters and they didn’t have a hit over the final five innings of this game.
The pitching for Gwinnett gave even less hope as they ran out the veteran depth squad and Nashville knocked them around. In four innings starter Chasen Shreve was unable to record a strikeout, although he did hold it together after a three-run first inning to keep the Stripers in the game. That opportunity didn’t last too much longer with Jackson Stephens on the mound and the Sounds ran away with this game in the second half. It was another struggle-filled outing for Dylan Dodd, who showed some of his prior habits. Dodd fell back into the pattern of throwing his fastball with a significantly different release point than his other pitches, and whether it was this or Dodd’s resultant command issues that were the main factor, the Sounds tagged him for three hard hit balls and two runs in the ninth inning while Dodd only recorded one swing-and-miss.
Swing and Misses
Jackson Stephens - 7
Michael Peterson - 4
Chasen Shreve - 3
(0-2) Columbus Clingstones 5, (2-0) Montgomery Biscuits 6 F/10
Box Score
Cal Conley, SS: 2-5, RBI
David McCabe, 3B: 1-2, 2 BB, RBI
Lucas Braun, SP: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, 4.50 ERA
Hayden Harris, RP: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA
Columbus came oh so close to earning their first win as a franchise, but fell short in extra innings as they never could pull away or get the big out on the mound. Lucas Braun had a mostly solid outing, but early in his outing made some uncharacteristic misses with his sliders. Unfortunately for him those misses didn’t come against the weak links in the lineup, and both Colton Ledbetter and Brayden Taylor were able to crush no-doubt home runs that put three total runs up on the board. Those mistakes aside, it was much the same Lucas Braun we became accustomed to seeing in 2024. Braun was able to mix and locate his pitches, racking up strikeouts as he pounded the zone and stayed ahead in counts consistently. After the first time through the order the Biscuits really had no answer for Braun as he locked in, striking out four of the final eleven batters he faced.
While Braun was doing his thing the Columbus offense was able to make some early moves as Biscuits starter Jackson Baumeister wasn’t missing many bats. The first three Mississippi hitters of the game were able to get solid wood on Baumeister, each hitting safely to score a run. Mississippi was able to add on another run on an RBI ground out but failed to extend the inning after a walk to David McCabe. Mississippi added two more runs in the fourth inning to take the lead, a lead that Braun would hold through the rest of his outing. McCabe’s eye this season has been terrific so far, showing yet again an advanced feel for the zone, but right now his timing is a bit off. He is late on fastballs and seems to be cheating to try to get to them, leaving him susceptible to getting busted on back foot sliders.
The offense was scattered following Baumeister’s departure, and it was up to Mississippi’s bullpen to try to hold a one run lead over the final three innings. That lead lasted all of a single batter. Blane Abeyta, acquired in the Minor League phase of the Rule 5 draft this winter, recorded a quick out, but once again the Biscuits power showed through in this game. Jalen Battles did not miss on a 2-2 slider hung out over the plate, crushing a 416 foot home run to tie the game on the second batter of Abeyta’s Clingstones career. Abeyta spins his slider well and it gives him a pitch to utilize out of the bullpen, though he’ll have to be better on his command than he was in this first inning. He can get up into the mid-90’s in these shorter outings with a 96 on the gun, but he primarily works out of the lower-90’s with his fastball. The next two innings belonged to Hayden Harris, who did exactly to the Biscuits what he did to Double-A hitters last season and what we should expect to see from him moving forward. Harris’s dominance in no surprise, but the interesting name to watch is 10th inning man Elison Joseph. Joseph’s upper 90’s fastball and high spin slider have him on the radar for a major league job this year, but yesterday was one of those games he runs into where his location just is not good enough to get outs. His command has been the limiting factor from the start for Joseph, but last season, especially late, he was much better and if this is just a fluke for him then he’ll get a major league opportunity possibly as soon as this season. He is on the short list of guys to watch and/or follow if you’re interested in players who can debut in 2025.
Swing and Misses
Lucas Braun - 14
Hayden Harris - 4
(1-1) Rome Emperors 6, (1-1) Winston-Salem Dash 16
Box Score
EJ Exposito, 3B: 1-5, 2B, RBI
Lizandro Espinoza, SS: 3-5, 2 2B
Titus Dumitru, CF: 2-5, 2B, RBI
Garrett Baumann, SP: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 18.90 ERA
William Silva, RP: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 19.29 ERA
You’re not going to win often when you issue 12 walks as a staff (past Augusta, at least), but Garrett Baumann is certainly not the guy you would expect to have lead that charge for Rome. Baumann’s ability to control his delivery at such a young age with such a big body has been his most impressive trait in his young career, but so far we’ve seen two tough command days for him between spring breakout and his 2025 Rome debut. However, this time Baumann started off hot with three innings of one run ball, no walks, and four strikeouts. Then the wheels just fell off of the bus. Baumann just lost his release point and started pulling everything glove side, and he walked four of the six batters he faced in what would be a six-run fourth inning. After a base hit drove in the third and fourth runs of the inning Baumann was lifted for Giomar Diaz, who couldn’t prevent the two inherited runners from scoring.
Diaz in his own right struggled with his command, in the fifth inning walking four consecutive batters before being pulled from the game. Finally William Silva, Atlanta’s 2022 fifth round pick who should be one of the relievers to watch in the system this season, gave the Emperors a bit of a breather. Silva immediatelt forced a double play ball to escape Diaz’s bases-loaded jam in the fifth inning, and in the sixth retired the side in order. Silva uses a nasty slider as his go-to pitch, getting a striekout in that sixth inning, and the Emperors had hoped he could give them another solid inning in the seventh. The Dash got a couple of baserunners, but two strikeouts had Silva on the verge of escaping with another scoreless inning. Then the Dash put the game away, as Silva allowed a hit, hit a batter, then hung one of those sliders to Ryan Galanie which got crushed for a grand slam to break it open at 13-6.
Rome’s offense was able to keep up early, but eventually the outbursts from Winston-Salem were too much for them to match. Lizandro Espinoza had quite the second game in an Emperors uniform, banging a ball off of the top of the high center field wall in his first at bat of the game. He later scored the first run of the game on a wild pitch, but his contribution was far from complete. The Dash tied the game in the top of the third inning, and in the bottom of the third Espinoza was once again leading off. He was able to hook an outside pitch into left field and roll it to the wall for his second double of the game, once again setting the table for a scoring rally. EJ Exposito brought Espinoza home with a double of his own, hit the waddle, then stole third before scoring on a sacrifice fly to put Rome up 3-1.
In total Rome had six doubles in this game, and trailing 8-3 they picked an opportune time to break out a few of them in the fifth inning. Jace Grady led off yet another odd inning with a double, and the Dash narrowly kept Rome from an even bigger inning. Espinoza got a hanging breaker but just got under it for the first out, and Exposito jumped on the first pitch and ripped it just to the left of the third base bag for a foul ball. Expo rolled out to third base for the second out, then Rome managed to have a bit of luck on their side. A little pop down the first base line from Titus Dumitru fell perfectly behind the first baseman who had trouble tracking it over his shoulder, going for a double and another run for Rome. Then Patrick Clohisy put a great swing on a hanging breaking ball and cranked it down the left field line for the third double of the inning, and the Emperors suddenly found themselves with some life in the game. Ambioris Tavarez helped the Emperors waddle even closer when he walked and came around to score on a couple of soft hits in the sixth inning, but as mentioned it all went to hell after that. Tavarez has been impressive with his approach in the first couple of games, showing the best plate discipline and pitch recognition we’ve seen from him as a professional. His maturation has been impressive, though I do agree that we’re going to have to see a lot of actual hitting from him this year to really feel like he’s turned things around. Still, his approach is completely unrecognizable from the player he was in Augusta, even with injuries impacting his playing time, and he has to be commended for the work he has done to get to this point.
Swing and Misses
Garrett Baumann - 10
Adam Shoemaker - 9
William Silva - 7
Giomar Diaz - 5
(1-1) Augusta GreenJackets 1, (1-1) Columbia Fireflies 3
Box Score
John Gil, SS: 1-4, 2 SB
Eric Hartman, 2B: 1-4
Logan Samuels, SP: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 0.00 ERA
Reibyn Corona, RP: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 6.75 ERA
At least once every year the Braves do their thing with one of the pitchers they draft, and Logan Samuels looks like he is going to be that guy this year. Last year’s 8th round pick out of Division-II Montevallo was nothing short of terrific in his first start of 2025, and if not for a clogged pipeline of starting pitchers I would predict a rapid ascent for him. Samuels showcased a solid three pitch mix, commanding his fastball at 93 to 94 and showing the ability to move it around the zone. Through the first four innings he didn’t allow a baserunner, with a looped single in the fifth inning being the only baserunner he allowed. Samuels commanded both his short slider and his changeup, with both pitches showing that they could be average pitches. I like Samuels as a back end type starter, which is an incredible pickup in the seventh round, though somewhat similar to Dylan Dodd I’m not sure he really has that one go-to above average to plus secondary pitch that’s going to get him consistent outs at the upper levels. Now, the advantage for Samuels is that he’s got plenty of time to develop, more velocity than Dodd, and given his frame may even have room to add more velocity despite him being a senior sign. Samuels is one to watch this season, and I really don’t see either A-level providing much of a challenge for a pitcher with his command profile and three pitches.
Now you might notice that despite Samuels making an impression, the GreenJackets didn’t win this game. That’s because they couldn’t hit. John Gil certainly did his best in the first inning, beating out an infield single, stealing second and third, then scoring on a ground out from Luis Guanipa, but after this the GreenJackets came up empty. Yesterday I called them one of the best collections of raw talent we’ve seen in a lineup in awhile, but this is the flip side of that. This team is young, and RAW, and there are going to be a lot of days where none of these guys have it working. I did see some decent swings though. The Eric Hartman/Owen Carey duo are going to have some success this season. Both have nice swings and can make contact and hit the ball hard, though like we often see that young approach will take its toll. Luis Guanipa looked better today with his swings, staying on a better line to the pitcher, though he just hasn’t made solid contact yet at any point with Augusta over the past two seasons. One thing to note about this team is how good they are defensively. Typically teams at this level are quite awful, and Gil had a couple of errors yesterday (one not really his fault), but overall this team has defenders at every position. Guanipa is terrific in center, Gil is better than he showed at shortstop yesterday, and both Carey and Hartman have the athleticism to track balls down in the corners as does Isaiah Drake. Colby Jones has already made some flashy plays, and his ability to play all three infield spots at a high level is going to be a huge benefit for the team this season and gives him a leg up in a potential MLB bench job one day. Jones’s approach is concerning, but his glove stands out and he has the bat speed to be a solid hitter.
Swing and Misses
Logan Samuels - 10
Albert Rivas - 2
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