The Rome Emperors season has come to a close. The higher level of two levels of A-ball in the Atlanta Braves organization has completed its season by going 61-68, though one that provided plenty of excitement with prospects. This article will highlight some of the successes and failures of the team’s season, as well as picking the team’s hitter and pitcher of the year.
Rome Hitter of the Year: Eric Hartman, OF
There was no other options here as Eric Hartman posted a breakout season good enough to have
him ranked in the Top 25-50 in the national prospect lists. The 20-year-old hit .273/.364/.525 with 18 doubles, a triple, 24 home runs, and 38 steals in 45 attempts with a 47 walk to 98 strikeout rate in 426 plate appearances. If not for a promotion to Columbus, he would have challenged for a 30 homer, 50 steal season with Rome – very possible since he is presently at 26 homers and 52 steals. Impressive numbers for a kid who didn’t even turn 20 until mid-June.
Rome Pitcher of the Year: Cam Caminiti, LHP
Just like Hartman for the top hitter in Rome, Cam Caminiti didn’t have any competition for this spot. That’s because he posted a 3.89 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and 93 strikeouts over 83.1 innings before a promotion to Columbus. Caminiti ended up leading Rome in strikeouts as well as the lowest hits per nine allowed for any pitcher who hit even 25 innings pitched. There did feel like some more ups and downs than you might expect from a young pitcher with his stuff and feel for pitching, but this was only his age-19 season and he spent it mostly in High-A at an average of 4.2 years younger than his competition.
Hitting
Hartman was joined in the lineup by John Gil, Isaiah Drake, Owen Carey, and Dixon Williams for much of the year, and that group did an excellent job of leading the Rome offense. Gil was able to show his power spike at the end of last year was in fact real growth, as he slashed .242/.346/.378 with 12 homers and 43 steals, plus 56 walks to 93 strikeouts in 431 plate appearances. Drake seemed to be taking the next step with consistency this year, hitting .264/.342/.443 with 12 homers and 19 steals plus 30 walks to 80 strikeouts in 313 plate appearances, prior to injury ending his season early. Carey slashed .272/.347/.480 with 10 doubles, four triples, eight homers, and 19 walks to 40 strikeouts in 225 plate appearances – though an injury cost him some time and counting stats, which may not showcase the type of breakout he had. Williams had a 20 homer, 30 steal season here by slashing .238/.337/.472 with 20 doubles, 22 homers, 31 steals, and 52 walks to 133 strikeouts in 451 plate appearances, while being used all over defensively.
Other prospects were promoted here in-season, guys like Alex Lodise, Tate Southisene, Conor Essenburg, Carter Beck, and Luis Guanipa. Lodise really stood out in 17 games, hitting .343/.434/.571 with four homers, and more walks (7) than strikeouts (6) in 83 plate appearances. Southisene started slow, but ended up hitting .255/.379/.428 with nine doubles, two triples, four homers, and nine steals with 28 walks to 42 strikeouts in 177 plate appearances, earning another promotion. Essenburg hit .235/.412/.392 with seven doubles, three homers and 28 walks to 32 strikeouts in 136 plate appearances. Guanipa slashed .217/.233/.355 with three homers and four walks to 22 strikeouts over 146 plate appearances. Beck slashed .203/.353/.319 with three doubles, a triple, and a homer with 16 walks to 17 strikeouts in 85 plate appearances.
Will Verdung, Mason Guerra, and Logan Braunschweig were three more guys who had strong seasons. Guerra was here all season and hit .245/.365/.393 with 11 home runs. Braunschweig split time across here and Columbus, but hit .265/.399/.343 with three homers and 12 steals in 57 games. Verdung hit .320/.419/.447 with two home runs over 124 plate appearances.
One guy who was here and struggled as a notable prospect would be Cody Miller, who hit .200/.314/.329 with 12 doubles, a triple, eight homers, and 31 steals with 37 walks to 102 strikeouts in 354 plate appearances. There was more expected of last season’s third round pick after he had a .779 OPS here in 16 games late last year. If anything it almost felt like Miller was focusing more on power, which he did experience a power spike last year for the first time, as opposed to just making contact and allowing his double plus speed to play.
Among the other players to crack 100 plate appearances were Colby Jones (.605 OPS, 35 steals), Colin Burgess (.549 OPS), Mac Guscette (.676 OPS), and Dallas Macias (.608 OPS).
Pitching
Beyond Caminiti, the rotation was led by Cedric De Grandpre, Zach Royse, Luke Sinnard, and Ethan Bagwell. Cedric made 12 starts totaling 55 innings before his first promotion, pitching to a 4.58 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and 78 strikeouts – a whopping 12.8 K/9 rate. Royse got to spend half his season here after starting in Augusta and posted a 3.77 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, and 54 strikeouts over 62 innings. Sinnard battled with injuries once again, making eight starts for 29.2 innings and posting a 2.73 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and 36 strikeouts before his promotion. After coming up from Augusta Bagwell would post a 3.83 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and 36 strikeouts over 40 innings.
The group of Cade Kuehler, Jeremy Reyes, Aiven Cabral, and Colin Daniel also played a big role in the rotation. Kuehler led the team in innings at 109.1, but had an ERA of 6.34 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, and 78 strikeouts, returning from an injury that cost him his 2025 season. Reyes never really had his best command this year and would post a 6.11 ERA, 1.70 WHIP, and 40 strikeouts over 53 innings before being demoted to Augusta. Cabral had a 4.15 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and 47 strikeouts over 65 innings. Daniel’s season ended early with injury, but he had a 5.20 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and 60 strikeouts over 55.1 innings of work.
Briggs McKenzie, Davis Polo, and Daniel Brooks were among the prospects sent here for a short time. McKenzie made three starts totaling 9.2 innings and struck out 14 before an injury ended his season early. Polo made two starts totaling 11 innings and 18 strikeouts, before being promoted quickly again. Brooks went 10.1 scoreless innings with 16 strikeouts over three starts after coming from Augusta.
In the pen David Rodriguez, Jacob Kroeger, Mathieu Curtis, Riley Frey, and Isaac Gallegos were the most effective guys. Rodriguez was arguably the top reliever on this Rome team with a 3.38 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 57 strikeouts over 56 innings. Curtis was his toughest challenge, posting 3.23 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and 46 strikeouts over 39 innings. Gallegos had a 1.82 ERA and 0.77 WHIP with 36 strikeouts, but only 24.2 innings with Rome. Kroeger had a 4.86 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, and 61 strikeouts over 50 innings, as he couldn’t find the same success he did last year. Frey had a 4.09 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and 34 strikeouts over 33 innings.
Among the other players with 20+ innings were Logan Samuels (6.08 ERA), Jacob Shafer (9.00 ERA), Justin Long (7.44 ERA), Drew Christo (6.16 ERA), Tyler Schoff (7.01 ERA), and Jarret Whorff (7.13 ERA).
