Minor League Preview - May 8

The Braves Show's Bill Shanks has today's look around the Braves' farm system.

RICHMOND

The Braves close out their series against Indianapolis Thursday afternoon at 1:00 pm at the Diamond. Charlie Morton (1-0, 2.14) will pitch for the Braves against Pirates' prospect Bryan Bullington (0-5, 8.04). Morton allowed only one run in seven innings in his last outing on Saturday. Morton has been awesome in his previous two day games, allowing only one earned run in 10.1 innings pitched. We'll see if the Braves have Scott Thorman at third base again this afternoon. Thorman made his first start there Wednesday. He was a third baseman in high school but the Braves moved him to first when he was in the Gulf Coast League due to the presence of Andy Marte. Thorman is getting on track with the bat, however. He has a six-game hitting streak (10-23, .435) and his average is up to .231. Before this streak, Thorman was hitting .176. The Braves ar now 19-13 on the season and remain in first place in the International League's South Division.


MISSISSIPPI

Right-hander Brad Nelson makes his first start of the season tonight when the Braves face West Tennessee in game four of the five-game set. Nelson has a 3.06 ERA so far this season. He'll face lefty Justin Thomas, who is 1-2 for the Diamond Jaxx and has an ERA of 3.72. The Braves have the worst team batting average (.222) and the worst team ERA in the league (5.43). Mississippi is now 10-23 on the season, seven games out of first place in the Southern League's South Division.


MYRTLE BEACH

The Pelicans take the day off before starting a three-game weekend series in Wilmington against the Blue Rocks. Myrtle Beach is 20-13 on the season and remain in first place in the Carolina League's Southern Division. The Pelicans have a 2.79 ERA, best in the league, and on the offense side they also lead the Carolina League with 30 home runs.


ROME

The Braves finally got Manager Randy Ingle his 1000th career win on Thursday, and tonight they'll play game two of the series in Greenville. First pitch is slated for 7:00. Eric Barrett is scheduled to go for Rome. The lefty has a 1.71 ERA in six starts this season. Barrett has 33 strikeouts in 31.2 innings pitched. The Braves are now 12-21 on the season, 12 games out of first place.



Bill Shanks is the author of Scout's Honor: The Bravest Way To Build A Winning Team, a look inside the Braves‘ traditional scouting and player development philosophies. He can be heard on 680 the Fan in Atlanta and 105.5 the Fan in Macon. Email Bill at .