Salazar, Muller named Farm Bureau Players of the Week
PEARL, MS - Mississippi Braves infielder Alejandro Salzar and left-handed pitcher Kyle Muller have been named this week's Farm Bureau Player and Pitcher of the Week. The awards were given for their performances for the M-Braves from May 6-13.
PEARL, MS - Mississippi Braves infielder Alejandro Salzar and left-handed pitcher
Salazar, 22, led the club batting .310 (9-for-29) in eight games during the week with one double, two home runs, three runs scored and 16 total bases. Salazar slashed .310/.333/.552 and capped his week with home runs in back-to-back days on Saturday and Sunday in Montgomery.
The Maracaibo, Venezuela native is currently batting .364 (9-for-25) over a seven-game hitting streak with the two homers, three runs, a walk, stolen base, and 1.025 OPS.
Before Salazar's fifth-inning home run on Saturday, the 22-year-old's last long ball was on June 22, 2018, while with the High-A Florida FireFrogs. After a slow start offensively, Salazar is currently batting .262 in 34 games with four doubles, two home runs, five RBI, four stolen bases and a .642 OPS.
Last season, Salazar had the second-highest batting average in the Southern League, from July 4 through the end of the season at .299. The Atlanta Braves signed Salazar as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2013.
Muller, 21, made just one start last week, but the Atlanta Braves No. 12 overall prospect delivered 7.0 innings of one-run baseball in Mississippi's 4-1 victory over Pensacola on Friday night. Muller scattered five hits and struck out six, walking two in his first win of the 2019 season. The start marked his second-straight 7.0 inning performance, putting together a solid start to begin the month of May. In two starts, Muller has given up just one run on 10 hits over 14.0 innings with five walks and 10 strikeouts.
Overall this season, the Dallas, Texas native is 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA (9 ER/33.0 IP), 26 walks, 34 strikeouts, and a 1.39 WHIP. Muller ranks ninth in the Southern League in ERA and eighth with a .189 opponent's batting average.
Muller made 25 starts between Low-A Rome, High-A Florida and Mississippi in 2018 and went 11-3 with a 3.03 ERA (47 ER/139.2 IP). He led the Atlanta Braves farm system with 11 wins and ranked second in innings pitched, eighth in starter's ERA and eighth in strikeouts with 129. The Atlanta Braves selected Muller with their second-round selection (44th overall) in the 2016 draft.