Mississippi Braves Announce Opening Day Roster
PEARL – The Atlanta Braves and their Double-A Affiliate, the Mississippi Braves, announced the 2023 opening day roster. The squad includes six MLB Pipeline Top-30 Prospects and 16 players who made at least one appearance for the M-Braves last season. The Top 30 prospects include RHP Victor Vodnik (No. 11),
PEARL – The Atlanta Braves and their Double-A Affiliate, the Mississippi Braves, announced the 2023 opening day roster. The squad includes six MLB Pipeline Top-30 Prospects and 16 players who made at least one appearance for the M-Braves last season.
The Top 30 prospects include RHP Victor Vodnik (No. 11), INF Cal Conley (No. 14), RHP Roddery Muñoz (No. 21), RHP Alan Rangel (No. 26), RHP Tanner Gordon (No. 28), and LHP Luis De Avila (No. 30). Muñoz will be the Opening Night starter with Gordon and Rangel to follow.
Conley opens the season as the M-Braves highest ranked prospect (BA/MLB) and will make his first appearance in Double-A. In 2022, the infielder split time between Single-A Augusta and High-A Rome. After being promoted to Rome on July 12, he hit .260 with six home runs and 25 RBI in 44 games for the High-A club. Conley recorded the South Atlantic’s longest hitting streak, hitting in 18 consecutive games from July 15 to August 7.
Drew Lugbauer, the M-Braves all-time and single-season home run leader, returns for a third season. Lugbauer has hit a club record 46 home runs over two seasons. He hit 18 home runs in 2021 and led the Southern League and Braves minor league system with 28 homers in 2022. On September 9, 2022, he surpassed Ernesto Mejia’s (2011) and Mike Hessman’s (2001) single-season M-Braves franchise record (26). The first baseman currently ranks as Atlanta’s No. 29 prospect in Baseball America.
Other returning M-Braves position players include C Hendrik Clementina, C Javier Valdes, INF Cade Bunnell, INF Luke Waddell, OF Cody Milligan, OF Jacob Pearson, and OF Landon Stephens.
Clementina was promoted to Triple-A Gwinnett on August 9 after 69 games with the M-Braves last season. In Double-A, the catcher hit .243 with 11 homers and 43 RBI.
Bunnell had three different stints with the M-Braves in 2022 (May 12-17, June 28-July 12, and August 10-End of season). In 43 games for Mississippi, he batted .301 with eight home runs, 11 doubles, two triples, 32 RBI, 31 walks, and .989 OPS. Bunnell was a 40th-round pick in 2019 by Atlanta.
Milligan was promoted to the M-Braves on June 21. The versatile INF/OF hit .271 with a .345 OBP and went 14-for-14 in stolen base attempts over 68 games as the M-Braves leadoff hitter. He had a 10-game hit streak from 8/10-21, batting .415 with 18 hits, four doubles, and two RBI over the streak. Milligan’s best month was August, where he batted .318 with a .388 OBP in 21 games.
Waddell became the first Atlanta 2021 draft pick to reach Double-A after being promoted on September 3, 2021. In 2022, the infielder hit .272 with a .364 OBP, ten doubles, two home runs, and 29 RBI in 41 games for the M-Braves. He had a 12-game hitting streak from April 30 to May 14.
Returning M-Braves pitchers include LHP Hayden Deal, RHP Tanner Gordon, RHP Coleman Huntley III, RHP Roddery Muñoz, RHP Alan Rangel, RHP Trey Riley, RHP Victor Vodnik, and RHP Kyle Wilcox.
Rangel’s 139 strikeouts led the Southern League last season. He finished among the league leaders in ERA (5.26, 5th), starts (26, 2nd), innings pitched (114.2, 4th), and WHIP (1.50, 5th). Rangel was activated to the Atlanta major league roster on October 16 but did not debut.
Gordon was promoted to the M-Braves at the beginning of May last season. After initially struggling, the right-hander went 4-2 with a 3.00 ERA (11 ER/33.0 IP) over his last six starts with the M-Braves.
The M-Braves will be managed by Kanekoa Texeira, who comes to Mississippi after leading High-A Rome to the South Atlantic Championship Series last season. The rest of the staff includes pitching coach Bo Henning, hitting coach Danny Santiesteban, and coach Jefferson Romero.
2023 Mississippi Braves Opening Day Roster:
Pitchers (14): Alec Barger, Luis De Avila, Hayden Deal, Domingo Gonzalez, Tanner Gordon, Coleman Huntley III, Jake McSteen, José Montilla, Roddery Muñoz, Alan Rangel, Trey Riley, Alex Segal, Victor Vodnik, Kyle Wilcox
Catchers (2): Hendrik Clementina, Javier Valdes
Infielders (7): Cade Bunnell, Cal Conley, Drew Lugbauer, Beau Philip, Hudson Potts, Mitchell Tolman, Luke Waddell
Outfielders (4): Drew Campbell, Cody Milligan, Jacob Pearson, Landon Stephens
Opening Night for the Mississippi Braves is Friday against the Biloxi Shuckers at Trustmark Park, with the first pitch at 6:35 pm. The Opening Homestand continues through Sunday. Tickets are now available by visiting mississippibraves.com or the Trustmark Park box office.