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Wren nearly perfect in Rome debut

Braves' eighth-round pick doubles twice, draws pair of walks
June 27, 2013

It's not often a recent pick can cross a goal off his list three weeks after being drafted. Kyle Wren did that the minute he stepped into the batter's box Thursday.

The Braves outfield prospect smacked a pair of doubles, walked twice and scored a run in his Class A debut as Rome fell to Savannah, 10-3.

Hitting out of the leadoff spot for the Braves, Wren opened the game with a double, but was picked off of second by Savannah hurler Logan Taylor. The Georgia Tech product doubled in the third and walked and scored in the sixth. After drawing a base on balls in the seventh, Wren grounded into a forceout in the ninth.

"I just felt like I was seeing the ball well, trying to be aggressive in hitter's counts. If I fell behind, I'd foul some pitches off," Wren said. "In the last three or four games going back to Danville, I feel like I've been seeing the ball well and I'm just glad it continued."

Wren, son of Atlanta general manager Frank, moved up to the South Atlantic League after a scorching start with Danville in the Appalachian League. The 22-year-old outfielder was batting .409 (9-for-22) with six runs and three stolen bases in five games for the Braves. While Wren knew a promotion to Rome was likely to come this year, it came sooner than he expected.

"When I was drafted, Tony DeMarcio, the scouting director, told me you have a good few weeks in Danville and then you'll probably come to Rome," Wren said. "When my manager in Danville [Jonathan Schuerholz] called me into his office, I was definitely shocked because it had only been six or seven games. I was expecting that if I continued to play well it would come a week or two later."

Being from Georgia, getting the chance to play in Rome is something Wren looked forward to.

"Being able to play in Rome is going to be awesome, I'm so close to family and friends," he said. "It's a park I went to with my dad in their inaugural season. It's an awesome feeling. It's great that was my goal after signing to play well enough in Danville to be promoted to Rome."

Ross Heffley and Chris Edmondson drove in a run apiece for the Braves.

Williams Perez struck out seven and gave up a run on five hits over five innings, but did not figure into the decision for Rome.

Mets' No. 19 prospect Phillip Evans had three RBIs and No. 4 prospect Brandon Nimmo reached base three times and scored twice for the Sand Gnats.

Robert Emrich is a contributor to MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobertEmrich