Braves promote first-round pick Braden Shewmake to M-Braves from Low-A Rome

LHP Tyler Matzek signed to a minor league contract and assigned to Mississippi

BATON ROUGE, LA - APRIL 01: Texas A&M infielder Braden Shewmake (8) during the game between Texas A&M and LSU on April 01, 2017 at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA. (Photo by Stephen Lew/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images (Getty Images)

By Justin Bush

August 16, 2019

PEARL, MS - The Atlanta Braves made the following roster moves before tonight's game against the Birmingham Barons, which affects the Mississippi Braves roster. LHP Tyler Matzek  has been signed to a minor league contract and activated to the Mississippi Braves roster, INF Braden Shewmake has been promoted to Mississippi from Low-A Rome, RHP Jonathan

PEARL, MS - The Atlanta Braves made the following roster moves before tonight's game against the Birmingham Barons, which affects the Mississippi Braves roster. LHP Tyler Matzek has been signed to a minor league contract and activated to the Mississippi Braves roster, INF Braden Shewmake has been promoted to Mississippi from Low-A Rome, RHP Jonathan Aro and LHP Jordan Harrison has been placed on the 7-Day Injured List.

Shewmake, 21, the Atlanta Braves' No. 9 prospect began his minor league career with the Rome Braves this season where he has played in 51 games and is hitting .318 with 37 runs, 18 doubles, two triples, three home runs, 39 RBI, 21 walks, 11 stolen bases, and an on-base percentage of .389.
The Wylie, Texas native finished his junior year at Texas A&M starting in all 63 games hitting .313 (78-for-249) with 45 runs, 14 doubles, four triples, six home runs, 47 RBI, 25 walks, nine stolen bases, and an on-base percentage of .374. In his collegiate career, Shewmake has hit .323 (248-for-768) with 40 doubles, 10 triples, 22 home runs, 161 RBI and 32 stolen bases.
Shewmake was an All-SEC First Team selection in each of his first two years with the Aggies. In 2017, his freshman campaign, Shewmake led all Division I freshman with 90 hits and 69 RBI. The left-handed hitter, right-handed thrower was also recognized in 2017 as an All-America First Team by Baseball America and the National Freshman of the Year by Collegiate Baseball.
The Texas A&M product is the first player of the 2019 draft to reach the Double-A level, and he was the highest drafted shortstop by the Braves since Atlanta selected Hall-of-Famer Chipper Jones with the first overall pick in 1990.
Matzek, 28, the former Colorado Rockies starting pitcher, was signed by the Atlanta Braves and has been activated to Mississippi's roster. Matzek holds a career MLB record of 8-12 and a career ERA of 4.06 (63 ER/139.2 IP) with 106 career MLB strikeouts. Over seven seasons in minor league baseball, he is 29-35 with an ERA 4.62 (298 ER/580.2 IP).
The Mission Viejo, California native made his MLB debut in 2014 where he made 20 appearances and 19 starts for the Rockies during the 2014 season with a record of 6-11 with a 4.05 ERA (53 ER/117.2 IP) where he struck out 91 while walking 44 batters. Matzek pitched for the Rockies again in the 2015 season where he made five starts with a record of 2-1 with a 4.09 ERA (10 ER/22.0 IP).
Matzek was drafted in the 1st round (11th overall pick) by the Colorado Rockies in the 2009 draft out of Capistrano Valley High School in Mission Viejo, California. The Arizona Diamondbacks signed Matzek as a free agent to a minor league contract in January 2019 and was released from the organization in May 2019. The Atlanta Braves signed Matzek in August 2019 to a minor league contract.