Here's the link:

Sally League Top 20

Here's the List:

1. Madison Bumgarner, lhp, Augusta (Giants)
2. Jason Heyward, of, Rome (Braves)
3. Mike Stanton, of, Greensboro (Marlins)
4. Jhoulys Chacin, rhp, Asheville (Rockies)
5. Matt Dominguez, 3b, Greensboro (Marlins)
6. Angel Villalona, 1b, Augusta (Giants)
7. Jesus Montero, c, Charleston (Yankees)
8. Austin Romine, c, Charleston (Yankees)
9. Nick Noonan, 2b, Augusta (Giants)
10. Freddie Freeman, 1b, Rome (Braves)
11. Michael Burgess, of, Hagerstown (Nationals)
12. Che-Hsuan Lin, of, Greenville (Red Sox)
13. Cole Rohrbough, lhp, Rome (Braves)
14. Jeff Locke, lhp, Rome (Braves)
15. Michael Taylor, of, Lakewood (Phillies)
16. Alex Cobb, rhp, Columbus (Rays)
17. Darin Holcomb, 3b, Asheville (Rockies)
18. Caleb Gindl, of, West Virginia (Brewers)
19. Ryan Kalish, of, Greenville (Red Sox)
20. Cody Johnson, of, Rome (Braves)

The biggest surprise for a lot of people in the chat was Bumgardener getting the nod over Heyward. I don't know how great Bum will be but he did have a great season all year long at age 19 and Heyward slipped a little in the middle ( a little, not a lot) and his power production wasn't off the charts. I'm not too worried seeing as how deep this league was this year.

BA was pretty impressed with Cody Johnson's second half as well noting that he cut his strike outs from 41% of PAs to 'just' 34 %. Now that is a 7% drop, but don't get fooled, a 34% K rate is still insanely bad, but Johnson seemed to over come it in the second half and post a solid OPS. Coaches and scots love how hard he hits the ball apparently.

I thought Freeman might rank a little higher on this list but sometimes BA falls head over heals for certain players (Villalona) and takes some time to buy into the hype on others. Either way, they say Freeman is our 1B of the future.

People are still big fans of Cole Rohrbough and his amazing spike curve even when he has struggles and Jeff Locke still has some big supporters out there. I am a big fan of Locke as well but I was alittle surprised that he ended up on the list, though they say his tools are still good and his numbers were worse than he pitched. Edgar Osuna also had some votes for the list but didn't quite make the stacked league, but we are told he will move up the Braves top 30 list significantly.

I can't wait for the Carolina League list!

MLB Trade Rumors has been doing team by team coverage of what teams will be facing as they go into the offseason and what they may be looking at. They finally got around to the Braves yesterday:

Braves Offseason

The think we will go after one SP on the FA market (Derek Lowe is their guess) and one on the trade market (please let us get Matt Cain!!!). And then spend some big money on a LF bat. They do address the Francoeur trade rumors but suggest the same thing we have been, that we would be selling low on him. Its a good piece anyways.

Granted at this point there isn't a real possibility of this happening, but nezt year San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg will most likely be the top pick in the draft and is easily the most talented player coming out. The guy struck out 24 batters earlier this year in a 9 inning game and was (i think) the only college player on the US Olympic team. He has truly elite stuff and a breaking ball that is nearly 20 MPH slower than his fastball that sits in the upper 90s.

So that being said, should the Braves tried to throw the season after they decided that they weren't contenders at the All star break? I mean right now they would have the 5th pick in the draft next season, but I can't see Seattle, Washington, Pittsburgh and San Diego taking a pass on this guy. I don't care who might represent him. Thoughts?

So after the Mora flashback, I'm going to be in Vegas until Friday on a business trip (hehe, yeeeeeeaaaahhhh). So I won't be able to post on the championship round for Mississippi and Myrtle Beach (but gondeee will!).

Birmingham 0, Mississippi 3

• V. Pope 2-3 2 2B, RBI
• K. Medlen 9IP 5H 0R 0BB 12K

So yeah, the story here is Kris Medlen. Since converting to a starter he has just gotten better and better each week and this start, the most important of the season, is his best one. Even considering that Baseball America article that made it sound like the Braves just wanted Medlen to start to get him some innings, they almost have to keep him in this role until he fails at it. He has been almost as good as Tommy Hanson as a starter at AA, thought I don't think he has the upside that Hanson does, but he apparently has the same tenacity. Anyways, Mississippi completes the sweep and will meet the Carolina Mudcats for the championship series. Mississippi is 4-6 on the season vs. the Mudcats.

Myrtle Beach 11, Winston-Salem 5

• G. Hernandez 2-5 3B, BB, K
• T. Jones 2-4 2B, 2 RBI, K
• E. Campbell 2-3 2BB, K
• T. Flowers 2-4 2B, 2 RBI, BB
• J. Heyward 2-4 2B, RBI, BB
• R. Reynoso 7IP 7H 3R 2BB 3K

This team is a powerhouse and frankly I was surprised to see anyone beat them. Their starting pitching isn't incredibly deep but their offense is nearly unstoppable. Every starter had a hit in this game and half of them had XBH. I don't know if they give out playoff awards in the minors but Flowers would definitely be the MVP of the series, like I said last night. He finished with a .529 AVG with 3 doubles, 2 HR, and 5 RBI. Heyward was also pretty impressive with a couple of doubles and a slew of walks in the series. The Pelicans will meet the Potomac Nationals in the championship series. And surprise!!! The Pelicans actually had a losing record against Potomac duriing the regular season at 9-11. I would go on record as saying they are probably the only team in the league that Myrtle Beach had a losing record against. That adds a little bit of grudge to this matchup.

Mississippi 3, Birmingham 2 - Final 11 Innings -  Braves lead 2-0

• K. Kaaihue 2-5 2 K
• J. Schafer 1-4 RBI, SF
• V. Pope 1-4 2B, RBI
• T. Hanson 7IP 6H 2R 0BB 9K

You know I think the thing I like the most about Hanson is his size. Dude is like 6' 6". That means he is probably going to be pretty durable and will be able to eat some innings. Jordan Schafer hit a sac fly in the 11th inning to score Matt Young (whose stolen base had put him on second and then was singled over by Kala) to give the Braves the win. Luis Valdez got the save in the game, his second in the series. There are some very good relievers on this team, especially if you still consider Medlen one. One more win and Mississippi moves on to the championship series.

Myrtle Beach 5, Winston Salem 1 - Pelicans lead 2-1

• E. Campbell 1-4 2B, BB
• E. Mejia 2-5 2B, 2 RBI
• T. Flowers 3-4 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB
• J. Heyward 0-2 3 BB, K
• C. Rohrbough 6IP 2H 1R 3BB 3K

So Tyler Flowers has got to be the MVP of this series already. Dude is hitting .538 in the series with a couple bombs and double. Heyward, I think, is doing a great job of contributing without having to get a bunch of hits. Cole Rohrbough showed up to this game and pitched like a man (or Tommy Hanson) as he only gave up 2 hits in his 6 innings. These teams play again tomorrow night and the Pelicans will have the chance to move on to the championship series. I think we will probably see Ryne Reynoso for the Beach.

Mississippi 1, Birmingham 0

• J. Schafer 1-2 2B, BB
• W. Cabrera 1-2 2B, RBI, 2 BB
• T. Redmond 8IP 5H 0R 0BB 9K

Well, in the first game of the playoffs, Mississippi's 'Pitcher of the Year', Todd Redmond, pitched what I would assume was his best game of the season. Redmond was matched for most of the game as the Baron's Justin Cassel 1-hit Mississippi through 8 innings. Cassel was pulled going into the 9th and the Braves offense delivered the run that Redmond needed. Luis Valdez (soon of Atlanta) closed out the game to give Mississippi a 1-0 lead in the series.

Winston-Salem 6, Myrtle Beach 5

• E. Campbell 3-5 2B, K
• T. Flowers 2-5 HR, K
• J. Heyward 2-4 RBI, BB

I am not sure why Carlos Rivas got tossed out there to start this one. Maybe some of the other guys were tired. Anyways, Rivas gave up 4 runs in the 1st inning and after that the Pelicans tried their damndest to claw their way back into the game scoring single runs in the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th innings. I like seeing Jason Heyward step up in a big game and get a couple hits even when he struggled at the Beach the last week. I am convinced that coming out of this season Tyler Flowers should be considered one of the top catching prospects in the minors, and if he weren't a catcher he should still be mentioned as one of the best hitters around. Dude walked nearly 100 times, and while he did K in about 25% of his ABs the walks balance out that negative.

Norfolk 3, Richmond 9

• C. Loadenthal 3-5 K
• D. Hernandez 2-5 2B, RBI, K
• J. Perry 1-4 HR(10), 2 RBI
• W. Timmons 2-2 HR(2), 3 RBI, BB

Well the Richmond team ends the season on note after starting the season well. They finish the season at 64-78 and 9.5 games out in last place. To be fair they were only a half game behind the 2nd place team as Durham (Tampa Bay) ran away with the division. I'll be back after the playoffs to do some post season awards and what not with the blessing of Martin.

West. Tenn @ Mississippi - Cancelled

Kinston 4, Myrtle Beach 4 - 10 Innings

• T. Jones 4-5 2B, 2 RBI, K
• T. Flowers 1-5 HR(17), 2 K
• C. Kimbrel 2IP 4H 0R 0BB 2K

HA! Tyler Flowers hit a walkoff homer in the 10th. It wasn't even posted in the boxscore when I looked at it then I hit refresh and it happened! Sorry, probably too excited about that. Craig Kimbrel is on his 3rd level of the season and even the Braves are surprised by the speed at which he is moving. Matt Eddy from Baseball America was saying the other day that he has a similar arm slot to Joey Devine but with better overall stuff, hitting higher on the radar gun and a wicked slider. In his three stops he has an ERA of 0.54 and 54K in 33.1 IP. I guess that is doable.

Columbus 2, Rome 5

• C. Johnson 2-4 RBI
• A. Coe 2-3

Rome finishes the second half of the season at 34-34 which is a marked improvement over the first where they were 22-47. That is 56-81 for the entirety of the season and last place (by 5.5 games) for the year. They were that bad in the first half. In the game there wasn't a whole lot action. Osuna didn't pitch especially well, but the defense wasn't really solid behind him either. He has been the best pitcher on the roster for most of the year. Is he the best prospect? I dunno. We'll see.

Hi guys, I haven't posted here in a while but I just wanted to get a feeler out on the Braves system from the rest of the community. I follow the minors pretty closely, but for the most part the only team whose depth I have any real idea on is the Braves. Outside that I just know the top couple of guys in most of the other systems.

That said I just wanted to do this post to see where you guys think the Braves system ranks in comparison with other teams out there. Personally I feel like we are probably a top 10 team like last year (according to BA at least), but I could just be fantasizing on the potential of some of the guys. Are we top 10? Top 5?

Here are some quick thoughts on a couple guys and their possible top 100 rankings:

Jason Heyward - consensus most places is he is a top 10 guy, maybe top 5 for some people.

Tommy Hanson - Most people see him as a middle of the rotation guy (at least before the season they did) but he added velocity and command of his pitches and dominated (mostly) at two levels. Top 25 prospect doesn't seem outside the realm of possibility?

Jordan Schafer - Obviously the suspension hurt him, but he destroyed the baseball in August and his defense remained stellar for the whole season and his XBH tendencies remained intact. Some might say he is still 25-50. I think he'll end up falling past 50 somewhere till he proves he can do it for more than a month.

Julio Teheran - Injuries plagued him for most of the season but scouts still say he has one of the best arms in the low minors in the past few seasons. Not much to go on so far, but is very young and talented. Possible top 100 guys based solely on projectability.

Freddie Freeman - this dude exploded onto the scene this year as an 18 year old in the Sally League. He benefited hitting behind Heyward for most of the season, but he flashed more power and decent plate discipline than the young OF. He'll be ranked all over the place, but he has to make the 100 I think.

Tyler Flowers - I love this guy. Most people think he won't stay at catcher. I don't think it is because he can't catch (he can from the reports I have read) but simply because he has McCann in front of him. Maybe he'll be trade bait, but either way putting up a .289/.429/.490 line while hitting half his games in a pitchers park and playing a difficult position has to speak for something. He also has a 98/100 BB/K ratio on the season.

Gorkys Hernandez - We picked him up from Detroit in the offseason and he hit well early on but was never quite the same after pulling a hammy and sitting for most of a month. Lots of tools and has Furcal like ability (maybe with a little less speed). I dunno if he is still top 100 material or not.

Other guys - Cole Rohrbough, LHP; Kris Medlen, RHP; Jeff Locke, LHP; Brandon Hicks, SS; Travis Jones, 2B; Jake Thompson, RHP; Kala Kaaihue, 1B; Eric Campbell, 3B

I didn't mean to make this so long, but I just feel like we have a few good prosepcts and I get excited easily. What do you guys think about our system? Top Tier?

Norfolk 1, Richmond 2

• S. Thorman 1-4 2B
• A. Lerew 7IP 5H 1R 0BB 5K

Well Richmond only has one game left in the season and they are most likely going to finish at the bottom of their division. Anthony Lerew had an excellent outing tonight which I find to be a good thing. Maybe he can be a piece of the puzzle again soon.

West. Tenn. 1, Mississippi 6 (Completed early - 6 Innings)

• J. Holt 2-4 3B
• J. Schafer 1-3
• T. Hanson 5IP 2H 0R 2BB 9K

Tommy Hanson might get one more start thus year. Mississippi has 5 more games i believe and it is quite possible that he will pitch in the final game of the season. This was another excellent start, of course, and if he pitches well in his last start he could bring his AA ERA under 2.00 for the season.

Kinston 6, Myrtle Beach 4

• E. Mejia 2-4 K
• T. Flowers 3-4 2B, RBI
• J. Owings 2-3 2B, RBI, BB
• C. Rohrbough 6IP 5H 5R 3BB 7K

Myrtle Beach also has another series before their season ends. Rohrbough actually only allowed 2 EARNED runs, but we don't like the concept of earned runs around here, so I am giving him credit for all 5. Anyways, the Beach is pretty much just tuning up for the playoffs right now.

Columbus 11, Rome 1

• A. Coe 2-4 RBI
  
• C. Shehan 2-3

Eh, there wasn't really anything good here. On the plus side though recent draftee Jacob Thompson pitched 5 innings of 1 run ball. I know some of us are pretty high on him so seeing him pitch well at a higher level is promising.

Richmond 7, Norfolk 2

• B. Lillibridge 2-5 3B, 3 RBI, K
• R. Gotay 2-4 RBI, K
• C. Miller 1-5 HR(5), 2 RBI, K
• J. Parr 5IP 5H 1R 1BB 4K

I'm still not ready to throw James Parr into the top prospect category but he has to have put himself into the Braves plans here at the end of the season. He is definitely on the radar and could be pitching in the bullpen next season. Hell if Jo-Jo and Morton don't live up to some of their potential then they could be watching Parr pitch in their spot. Seriously, the guy doesn't have crazy stuff, he just gets the job done, at least he has at Richmond. (Parr is also only 22 years old, that surprised me). What else is there to say about Corky Miller?

West. Tenn. 4, Mississippi 0

• J. Lyman 5IP 2H 0R 2BB 3K

Mississippi has sown up their playoff spot so they really don't care about winning anymore. So I don't care about writing about them. Amazing how bad this team was in the first month of the season and how they have turned this around.

Kinston 6, Myrtle Beach 10

• E. Mejia 3-5 2B, HR(21), 3 RBI, K
  
• E. Campbell 1-2 2 RBI, 3 BB, K
  
• J. Heyward 2-5 2B, 3 RBI, K
• C. Kimbrel 1.2IP 1H 0R 1BB 1K

Jason Heyward finally gets a hit with the Pelicans, and HEY!!! it was a good one. Mejia now has 73 XBH on the season. I can't ignore that and I will keep beating that horse. He does have 135 K against 26 BB so that part isn't as good, but when you get that many hits when playing at that park (he has 10 less homers at home) someone will take notice, and its me.

Charleston 15, Rome 7

• L. Sumoza 1-5 3 K
• A. Coe 2-5 2B, RBI, K
• J. Gilmore 2-5 RBI
• C. Sheha 1-3 2B, 2 RBI, K

Some of the promotions got some hits tonight against the advanced competition (though I wonder if Charleston had some just promoted guys in also). Gilmore has hit in both games back in Rome so I hope he can keep that up. He is the one guy in this bunch I would most like to see do well at the end of the season. Another horse I will keep beating is Chris Shehan is my sleeper pick for our hitters next year.

Danville & GCL Braves

Both of their seasons are finished.