Minor League Notes

Here are some notes from around the Atlanta Braves' farm system.

Chris Masters won his fifth game of the season Thursday night as the Danville Braves won 5-2 over Burlington. Masters allowed only an unearned run on three hits in seven innings of work, with no walks, and eight strikeouts. Masters lowered his ERA to 1.68. In ten games, Masters now has allowed only 40 hits in 53.2 innings, with four walks, and 64 strikeouts. Masters leads the Appalachian League in ERA and strikeout and is second in wins.

The Braves have sent catcher Christian Bethancourt to Danville of the Appalachian League. Bethancourt was hitting .284 with two home runs and 19 RBI in 116 at bats, with a .344 on base percentage. Bethancourt turns 18 years old on September 2. The right-handed hitter is now up to 6’2”, 200 pounds. Scouts have lauded his defense this season. With this promotion, there is a great chance Bethancourt will be in Rome next year.

Rome right-hander Randall Delgado gave up an unearned run on three hits in five innings Thursday night in Hagerstown. Delgado walked only one batter and struck out nine. He lowered his ERA to 4.21. Delgado now has allowed 101 hits in 107 innings, with 46 walks, and 121 strikeouts. Delgado, who was signed out of Panama in 2006, has now allowed 11 earned runs on 34 hits in 45 innings since July 1, with 17 walks, and 53 strikeouts. His ERA in those eight starts is 2.20.

GCL Braves center fielder Kyle Rose was 3-5 Thursday to increase his average to .313. Rose had a stolen base in the game and now has 21 on the season. His OBP is .415, and he has a home run and eight runs batted in. The Braves love Rose’s stolen base potential.

Rome left fielder Adam Milligan was 4-7 Thursday night in the extra-inning win over Hagerstown. He was a double away from the cycle, as he had a three-run home run (his ninth in Rome), a triple, and two singles. Milligan had five RBIs on the night to now have 26 in Rome and 36 on the season. Milligan now has a .385 combined batting average this season in 174 at bats between Danville and Rome, and 11 home runs.

Mississippi left-hander Scott Diamond had another impressive start Thursday. Diamond allowed one unearned run on six hits in 6.2 innings, with two walks, and seven strikeouts. He lowered his season ERA to 3.38, with 145 hits allowed in 125 innings, 49 walks, and 108 strikeouts. Since May, Diamond has an ERA of 3.06 in 18 starts.


Bill Shanks hosts The Bill Shanks Show on WFSM Fox Sports 1670 in Macon, Georgia and The Braves Show Talk Show. Shanks writes a weekly baseball column for The Macon Telegraph and is the author of Scout's Honor: The Bravest Way To Build A Winning Team. You can email Bill at and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/billshanks.