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Braves Open 2021 Season with 17 Gwinnett Alums

Seven of Atlanta’s nine Opening Day starters previously played with Gwinnett
Max Fried will be the 10th consecutive Braves Opening Day starter to have previously pitched for Gwinnett. (Will Fagan / Gwinnett Stripers)
By Dave Lezotte
April 1, 2021

When the Atlanta Braves assemble on the third base foul line for ceremonial Opening Day introductions today at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park, seventeen former Gwinnett players will be represented on the team’s 26-man roster. The group of G-Braves and Stripers alums, led by former Gwinnett manager Brian Snitker (2014-16), includes:

When the Atlanta Braves assemble on the third base foul line for ceremonial Opening Day introductions today at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park, seventeen former Gwinnett players will be represented on the team’s 26-man roster.

The group of G-Braves and Stripers alums, led by former Gwinnett manager Brian Snitker (2014-16), includes:

Catcher (1):

Alex Jackson (2018-19)

Infielders (4):

Ozzie Albies (2016-17), Freddie Freeman (2010, 2013, 2015, 2017), Austin Riley (2018-19), Dansby Swanson (2017)

Outfielders (3):

Ronald Acuña Jr. (2017-18), Ender Inciarte (2016, 2019), Cristian Pache (2019)

Starting Pitchers (3):

Ian Anderson (2019), Max Fried (2017-18), Charlie Morton (2009)

Relief Pitchers (6):

Grant Dayton (2019), Luke Jackson (2017-18), Tyler Matzek (2019), AJ Minter (2017, 2019), Sean Newcomb (2017, 2019), Huascar Ynoa (2019)

Of the 17 players…

Seven are listed in the Braves’ Opening Day starting lineup: Acuña Jr., Albies, Freeman, Swanson, Riley, Pache, and Fried. Fried makes his first career Opening Day start after going 7-0 with a 2.25 ERA in 11 dominant starts last year. He will be the 10th consecutive Braves Opening Day starter to have previously worn a Gwinnett uniform, joining Tommy Hanson (2012), Tim Hudson (2013), Julio Teheran (2014-19), and Mike Soroka (2020). Freeman makes his 11th consecutive Opening Day roster a year removed from becoming the first Gwinnett alum ever to win the National League Most Valuable Player award.

Three are slated to be in Atlanta’s starting rotation to begin the year: Fried, Anderson, and Morton. Before turning into the Braves’ left-handed ace, Fried went 2-6 with a 4.23 ERA in 15 starts with the Stripers from 2017-18. Anderson had a brief Triple-A debut at the end of 2019, going 1-2 with a 6.57 ERA in five regular-season starts and 0-1 with an 8.44 ERA in one playoff start. The 37-year-old Morton was a member of Gwinnett’s inaugural 2009 club during his first stint in the Braves organization, going 7-2 with a 2.51 ERA in 10 starts before being traded to Pittsburgh on June 3 that year.

Ten players suited up for the Stripers in the team’s most recent season of 2019: Anderson, Dayton (0-1, 3.04 ERA in 22 games), Inciarte (.231 in six rehab games), A. Jackson (.229, 28 homers, 65 RBIs, .846 OPS in 85 games), Matzek (0-0, 9.00 ERA in five games), Minter (2-2, 3.57 ERA, five saves in 20 games), Newcomb (2-1, 2.18 ERA in four games, three starts), Pache (.274, one homer, eight RBIs in 26 games), Riley (.293, 15 homers, 41 RBIs, .992 OPS in 44 games), and Ynoa (3-5, 5.33 ERA in 17 games, 14 starts). Anderson, Dayton, Matzek, Pache, and Riley also appeared for the Stripers in the playoffs during the Governors’ Cup Semifinals.

Twelve made their Triple-A debuts with Gwinnett: Acuña Jr. (2017), Anderson (2019), Albies (2016), Freeman (2010), Fried (2017), A. Jackson (2018), Minter (2017), Newcomb (2017), Pache (2019), Riley (2018), Swanson (2017), and Ynoa (2019). Of that group, only Swanson made his MLB debut with the Braves before ever playing in Triple-A.

Two have won International League Postseason All-Star awards while with Gwinnett: Freeman at first base in 2010 (also named IL Rookie of the Year after hitting .319/.378/.521 with 35 doubles, 18 homers, and 87 RBIs in 124 games), and Albies at second base in 2017 (.285/.330/.440, 38 extra-base hits, 41 RBIs, 67 runs, 21 stolen bases in 97 games). Acuña Jr. didn’t spend enough time with Gwinnett to qualify for an IL award in 2017, but rode his red-hot finish (.344, nine homers, 33 RBIs, 11 stolen bases, .940 OPS in 54 Triple-A games) to the Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year award.

While none on Atlanta’s Opening Day roster are poised to make their Major League debuts in 2021, three remain on the Braves Top 30 Prospects List according to MLB.com: Pache (No. 1), Anderson (No. 2), and A. Jackson (No. 16). Pache (No. 12) and Anderson (No. 18) also begin the year on the prestigious MLB.com Top 100 Prospects List.

The Atlanta Braves open the Major League season today with a 3:05 p.m. game at the Philadelphia Phillies. Meanwhile, Coolray Field – home of the Stripers – will host the Braves Alternate Training Site throughout April. Members of Atlanta’s 40-man roster expected to start the year at the Alternate Training Site include pitchers Victor Arano, Tucker Davidson, Jasseel De La Cruz, Kyle Muller, Chad Sobotka, Jacob Webb, Patrick Weigel, Bryse Wilson, and Kyle Wright, catcher William Contreras, infielder Johan Camargo, and outfielder Guillermo Heredia.

The Stripers will begin the Triple-A East campaign on Tuesday, May 4 at Charlotte and host Opening Night at Coolray Field on Thursday, May 11 vs. Louisville.