The DSL Braves season has come to a close. On paper it wasn’t a good year at just 16-39, but this was the strongest DSL Braves roster we have seen in at least a decade – particularly on the hitter side of things. 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.
DSL Hitter of the Year: Sherrintely Da Costa Gomez, OF
This ended up being a pretty easy choice after Sherrintely Da Costa Gomez slashed .248/.409/.440
with five homers and seven steals over 44 games played in his age-17 season. The main competitors for this were Jorwin Pulido (promoted after 22 games), Starlyn De La Cruz (injured after 16 games), and Edelson Cabral (his stat line fell off a bit towards the end of his first professional season). SDCG filled the box score all year, recording five doubles, two triples, 30 RBI, and 33 walks, which helped him be selected to the All Star Game. Really the only area of question was the fact he struck out 56 times over 164 plate appearances. He led the Braves in homers, RBI, and slugging percentage among qualified players. Sherrintely is looking like a possible steal, signing for just $250k this year – making him the 8th most expensive signing in this year’s Braves class.
DSL Pitcher of the Year: Martires Polanco, RHP
While the DSL pitching staff struggled this year, to put it mildly, Martires Polanco was a revelation. Sure he is already 19-years-old and pitching in the DSL, but this kid has potentially plus grades on both his fastball and slider, and he is only in his first professional season – so I wouldn’t look at him in the same lens as an older player who puts up big DSL stats while repeating the league. Polanco posted a 2.89 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 14.0 K/9, and 4.3 H/9 over 37.1 innings in his 10 starts and made the All Star Game. The only red flag with him is he also walked 6.8 per nine innings, suggesting that the control is going to need to be worked on as he moves up. Polanco did have some competition for this spot, as 17-year-old Cesar Navarro posted a slightly better ERA (2.47) and WHIP (1.20) over more innings (47.1) – though he only struck out 6.8 per nine. Polanco technically signed last year, but not until mid-December, for an undisclosed amount – which usually means a smaller sized bonus, while Navarro cost $80k.
Hitting
This was one of the most fun DSL lineups we have seen in a long time, though the lineup looked very different at the end of the season as injuries started to add up and a promotion occurred. Still it was a positive year for most of the Braves top international signees. We already got into Sherrintely Da Costa Gomez, but the top three signings this year were shortstop Jose Manon ($1.5M), outfielder Starlyn De La Cruz ($1.2M), and infielder Edelson Cabral ($600k). Manon slashed .302/.400/.396 with one homer, seven doubles, and 19 steals as he walked 14 times to 22 strikeouts over 125 plate appearances – but his season ended on July 16th due to injury. Starlyn was off to an insane start, slashing .300/.500/.560 with two doubles, a triple, two homers, and nine steals to go with his 14 walks and 14 strikeouts in 64 plate appearances – but his season ended due to injury on June 23rd. Cabral made it the whole season and hit .236/.397/.344 with three doubles, four triples, two homers, 13 steals, and 39 walks to 41 strikeouts over 204 plate appearances. Though Cabral actually saw his numbers dip from an .849 OPS on July 27th after slashing just .036/.333/.107 over his last 42 plate appearances. It’s less of a concern and probably more of a 17-year-old in hitting a wall in his first professional season, especially considering he didn’t even turn 17 until July.
Beyond the big three signees and the emergence of Sherrintely, a couple more first year guys stood out. Catcher Jorwin Pulido hit .324/.402/.437 with six doubles and a triple with 10 walks to only five strikeouts in 87 plate appearances. His time here was cut short because he earned a promotion to the FCL, something the Braves almost never do for a player in his first pro season, let alone for a 17-year-old. Then there was catcher Jose Nelo, who came on late and slashed .296/.392/.428 with 12 doubles and three homers to go with 25 walks and 37 strikeouts in his 189 plate appearances. Pulido was signed for $350k, while Nelo was a $50k signing this year.
Among the other six-figure bonus players were Osmar Torrealba ($400k), Durban Arnedo ($275k), Elioberto Mondesir ($197.5k), and Luis Fortunato ($150k). Fortunato had the best year of this group, slashing .265/.392/.302 with four extra base hits, followed by Mondesir’s .221/.345/.287 with seven extra base hits. Torrealba (.449 OPS) and Arnedo (.468 OPS) both struggled in their pro debuts, but Arnedo did reportedly have some flashes of his talent.
In terms of guys repeating the league the Braves third, fourth, and fifth most expensive signings from the 2025 class were all back. Angel Carmona, who received $447.5k last year, was the most anticipated, but he didn’t see game action as he spent the entire season on the restricted list after a .827 OPS in 20 games here last year. Outfielder Elias Reyno, a $297.5k signing, went from slashing .178/.397/.271 here last year to posting a line of .208/.406/.292 in 10 games before being promoted to the FCL. The former Yassel Garcia, now Yassel Pena, who signed for $247.5k and posted a .686 OPS here a year ago would slash .246/.424/.336 with a homer among his eight extra base hits. It is worth noting that Pena played exclusively at third last year, and this year he played mostly first base with five games at third and one in left field – though he still had the speed to steal 13 bags in 17 attempts.
Among other players who flashed something were 17-year-old outfielder Luis Consoro (.665 OPS), and 18-year-old outfielder Elisandro Ramirez, who was repeating the league. Ramirez saw his OPS jump from .663 to .836 this year, posting an OPS mark above .915 in both July and August, though he played only 20 combined games in those months. Consoro didn’t sign and make his debut until mid-July, but did show some speed and on base ability in the 19 games he spent here.
Pitching
It’s safe to say that things were a mess here, as the 23 pitchers and three position players used this year combined to pitch to an 7.41 ERA and 1.90 WHIP. Out of the 13 guys who pitched 10+ innings, only five had an ERA below 5.04 – a number that includes one 21-year-old in a league that is filled with 16-18 year-olds. Things are usually bleak in terms of the quality of DSL pitching, but this staff struggled more than most. Polanco and Navarro were the two most productive arms, but two more first year pitchers also had good seasons. Jesus Cova, an 18-year-old, pitched to a 3.07 ERA and 0.96 WHIP with 7.7 K/9 over 29.1 innings, while 17-year-old Geowin Gomez had a 3.09 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and 7.9 K/9 over 32 innings. Gomez was actually a reliever who only made two starts among his 11 appearances, but based on his innings total might get a shot at starting in the future. The fifth guy with a strong year was Charlis Medina, who while also in his first year is a 21-year-old. Medina put up a 3.76 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and 10.6 K/9 over 40.2 innings.
Among the other players who posted a strikeout rate of better than 9.0 per nine were three relievers in 17-year-old Giovanni Medina (6.08 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 10.6 K/9), 17-year-old Diego Ramirez (9.49 ERA, 2.51 WHIP, 9.5 K/9), and 18-year-old league repeater Ernesto Meza (5.04 ERA, 1.76 WHIP, 9.4 K/9).
The only two pitchers who signed for $100K+ this year were Jonathan Hechavarria and Efrailin Caminero, and neither was able to do much. Hechavarria, who signed for $340k, didn’t pitch at all this year due to injury, while Caminero, who got $150k, went 0.2 innings over three relief appearances and walked eight guys.
