Talking Chop

Impressive Stat of the Night: Willie Cabrera's 26th double tonight puts him in sole possession of the league lead in that category while playing 10 less games than the two guys who were tied with him coming into the night.

Norfolk 4, Gwinnett 9

• F. Freeman 1-5 3K, .286 Avg
• B. Canizares 3-4 3 RBI, BB, .316 Avg
• M. Jones 3-3 HR(15), 2 RBI, .269 Avg
• M. Minor 5IP 5H 1R 2BB 6K 1.42 ERA

Gwinnett improves to 8-2 in their last 10 games one the back of some solid offensive efforts from the middle of the order and a good start from Mike Minor. Minor improves to 2-0 with Gwinnett and has allowed just 2 runs while striking out 15 in his first 12.2 innings. Freddie Freeman just manages to keep his on base streak alive with a single but otherwise it was a forgettable night for the young first-basemen.

West Tenn 3, Mississippi 7

• A. Richardson 2-4 BB, K, SB(11), .314 Avg
• M. Gomez 2-5 2B, RBI, K, .262 Avg
• W. Cabrera 2-2 2B, 3 RBI, BB, SB(10), .324 Avg

Mississippi survives long enough in this one to get their second half record up above .500 and keep hold of second place in the division. Antoan Richardson has been fantastic for the Braves since they picked him up in late May. He gets on base (.423 OBP coming into tonight) and steals bases at a high rate and just generally does everything you want out of a lead-off guy. Willie Cabrera continues doing his thing.

Salem 1, Myrtle Beach 7

• C. Harrilchak 4-4 2 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, .284 Avg
• T. Jones 1-2 HR(6), 2 RBI, BB, .237 Avg
• R. Delgado 6IP 4H 0R 1BB 5K 2.82 ERA

After a rough week or so for the Braves top pitching prospects the big boys appear to have righted the ship with Minor, Delgado, Teheran and even Brandon Beachy all having solid starts the past week. Delgado had given up 9 runs in his last 2 outings after leaving the ball up in the zone a little more than usual. Cory Harrilchak, in one game, has gone from a terrible run in the Carolina league to respectable. He now has a modest 4 game hitting streak which has seen him reach base 11 times. I will admit I have a fondness for Harrilchak and what he does but he has to be very good at the two skills he has - high average and the ability to take a walk - in order to be useful. He does have speed as well but he really needs to harness that in the same way Kyle Rose does.

Rome 7, Savannah 6

• P. Gosselin 2-4 BB, SB(3), .302 Avg
• T. Cunningham 2-4 K, .298 Avg
• C. Bethancourt 1-4 2B, 2 RBI, 2K, .247 Avg
• E. Salcedo 1-4 3B, 3K, .222 Avg

The 12 strikeouts the Sand Gnats pitchers registered weren't enough to quiet the bats of the Braves on this night. Edward Salcedo looked lost for most of the game and then knocked a 2-out, 2-run triple in the top of the 8th inning and scored on a throwing error to 3B to give the Braves the lead and the win. The 2010 draftees are all looking good so far though no one has shown much power yet.

Danville 5, Johnson City 6

• J. Leonard 2-5 HR(1), 2 RBI, 2K, .444 Avg
• J. Whitmer 3-3 2B, .351 Avg
• D. Filak 1IP 2H 1R 1BB 2K 2.00 ERA

Joe Leonard continues to hit the ball with authority and now has at least one hit and one RBI in every game so far. He still hasn't walked, but when you are hot a lot of times you don't want to let anything go by. Jace Whitmer has pretty much raked since he was sent down to Danville, which is still weird since he was the best hitting catcher in Rome.

GCL Blue Jays 1, GCL Braves 3 - Game 1

• M. Lipka 0-4 .273 Avg
• R. Query 1-3 HR(2), 2 RBI, .222 Avg
• E. Silva 4IP 4H 0R 0BB 4K 8.31 ERA

Ernesto Silva has had one really bad start and a couple of solid ones. This was one of the solid ones and the Braves had just enough offense to get through the 7 inning game 1.

GCL Braves 0, GCL Blue Jays 3 - Game 2

• M. Lipka 2-3 K, .298 Avg
• E. Sanchez 1-3 2B, 2K, .310 Avg

Edison Sanchez and Matt Lipka both contributed a little with the bat but that was about all the offense the Braves could muster in the second game in which fortunes reversed themselves for both sides.

DSL Braves - Off