The Augusta GreenJackets season has come to a close. The lowest level of full season ball in the Atlanta Braves organization has completed it’s season by going 70-61, and missing the playoffs by a couple of games. 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.
Augusta Hitter of the Year: Conor Essenburg, OF
This came down to two guys, Conor Essenburg and Tate Southisene, and both had a fairly similar number of plate appearances in Augusta. Both of these
guys were in their first professional seasons after being drafted out of high school last year, though Southisene came with the added advantage of getting a brief look at this competition level last summer. Still Essenburg was able to outdo Southisene at the plate, slashing .286/.427/.564 with 13 doubles, three triples, 14 homers, six steals, and 55 walks to 88 strikeouts over his 279 plate appearances. Southisene’s line was .297/.429/.500 with nine doubles, three triples, eight homers, and 36 steals with 37 walks and 51 strikeouts over 240 plate appearances. Both Essenburg and Southisene got on base at a high clip, though I gave the slight edge to Essenburg because of the power he has shown.
Augusta Pitcher of the Year: Davis Polo, RHP
This came down to the guy with the better stats (Ethan Bagwell) versus the guy with 30 more innings (Davis Polo). Polo got the win with his 3.25 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 106 strikeouts to 37 walks in 99.2 innings, allowing 6.6 H/9 as he was pretty dominant in the second half of the season after a solid, but mediocre start following missing last year with injury. Bagwell had a 2.78 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 69 strikeouts – but just 68 innings before being promoted to Rome.
Hitting
While 19-year-olds Essenburg and Southisene were the biggest stars, plenty of others stood out for the Jackets this year. Alex Lodise opened here after playing with Rome last year, and after a bit of a slow start to his year for expectations, he really turned it on prior to his promotion. For the year with Augusta he hit .256/.343/.483 with 16 doubles, three triples, and 21 homers – though did strike out 113 times in 435 plate appearances. Luis Guanipa was the other big standout in his third year here due to injuries, and he went on to break out by hitting .303/.365/.452 with 17 doubles, three triples, 11 homers, and 37 steals in 422 plate appearances.
Among the other bigger named prospects who spent a bunch of time here, Juan Mateo hit .250/.322/.351, Cody Miller posted a .727 OPS after a demotion from Rome, Michael Martinez had a .766 OPS with seven homers in 140 plate appearances before injury, and Nick Montgomery had a .708 OPS with eight homers in 207 plate appearances.
Then there were a group of prospects that weren’t here very long but still cracked the 100 plate appearance mark, including draft picks Parker Brosius and Caleb Klein, plus 18-year old shortstop Manuel Campos. Brosius had a .739 OPS, while Klein posted a .747 mark as both cleared that 100 plate appearance mark in the final week of the season. Campos managed a .694 OPS after a slow start following his promotion from the FCL.
With the prospects who were here but didn’t spend much time we had some mixed results. Jose Perdomo went hitless in six at bats before an injury in the second game of the season ended his season with injury. First round pick Carter Beck had a .980 OPS in 50 plate appearances before being promoted.
Guys who didn’t come with big prospect pedigree but stood out included some undrafted free agents from last year. Cooper McMurray started very slow, but ended with a .771 OPS and 11 homers. Catcher Tanner Smith posted a .749 OPS with 11 homers before being promoted to Rome. Infielder Yamvier Carrero had a .752 OPS as he split time between here and the FCL, while outfielder Caden Merritt had a .673 OPS. A guy who was drafted last year was Dallas Macias, and he went on to post a .738 OPS with six homers and 14 steals over 68 games before going to Rome.
Other guys who went over 100 plate appearances included Junior Garcia (.620 OPS), Joe Olsavsky (.565 OPS), Dalton McIntyre (.862 OPS in 115 PA), and Hayden Friese (.561 OPS).
Pitching
Polo and Bagwell weren’t the only pitchers to stand out for Augusta. Daniel Brooks opened in the FCL, moved here to pitch out of the pen, and eventually moved into the rotation before being promoted. In 27.2 innings he recorded a 0.65 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, and 46 strikeouts with a dominant slider and fastball that also gets whiffs. Derek Vartanian, who like Polo missed last year, posted a 4.20 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and 105 strikeouts in 113.2 innings, while Zach Royse had a 4.42 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and 62 strikeouts in 59 innings in his first year as a professional.
In the bullpen Logan Forsythe, Adiel Melendez, Carter Lovasz, Aiven Cabral, and Cristobal Abreu were the top performers. Forsythe went 56 innings with a 4.02 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, and 63 strikeouts. Melendez, an undrafted first year lefty, had a 2.42 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and 61 strikeouts in 52 innings. Lovasz split time between the pen and rotation before a promotion, posting 2.54 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 41 strikeouts in 49.2 innings. Cabral also got promoted in season after posting a 3.56 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and 55 strikeouts over 48 innings. Abreu had a 3.00 ERA, 2.20 WHIP, and 22 strikeouts in 30 innings, showing both electric stuff and a rough feel for command.
Three more pitchers played big roles in this Augusta season. Landon Beidelschies posted a 5.97 ERA, 1.77 WHIP, and 79 strikeouts over 86 innings after being the team’s sixth round pick last year. Luis Arestigueta struggled early on to earn a demotion to the FCL, but did pitch better towards the end of the season and posted a 6.50 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, and 60 strikeouts in 62.1 innings. Kendy Richard had a 6.40 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, and 41 strikeouts over 57.2 innings.
Excluding a rehabbing AJ Smith-Shawver and Herick Hernandez, as well as a since traded Carter Holton, the other prospects of note who appeared for Augusta this season are led by Briggs McKenzie, who struck out eight over five scoreless innings in his lone appearance before promotion. Recent third round pick Wil Libbert had a two good appearances totaling 6.2 innings, while John Damozonio made one and undrafted Will Holmes made two appearances. Jeremy Reyes struggled for 10 innings here after a demotion, before ending up injured.
Other pitchers to hit 20 innings for Augusta includes Styven Paez (5.49 ERA), Lewis Sifontes (5.06 ERA), Kade Woods (6.46 ERA), Ryan Heppner (7.65 ERA), and Brody Fowler (6.41 ERA).
