Anderson, Davidson, Pache, Waters promoted to Gwinnett among changes on Monday
PEARL, MS - The Atlanta Braves made the following roster moves before tonight's 4:05 pm game against the Tennessee Smokies, which affects the Mississippi Braves roster. OF Cristian Pache, OF Drew Waters, RHP Ian Anderson and LHP Tucker Davidson have been promoted to Triple-A Gwinnett from Mississippi. LHP Thomas Burrows
PEARL, MS - The Atlanta Braves made the following roster moves before tonight's 4:05 pm game against the Tennessee Smokies, which affects the Mississippi Braves roster. OF
The M-Braves and Smokies will pick up last night's suspended game in the bottom of the second inning with Mississippi leading 2-0. The series finale will be a seven-inning contest and be played 30-minutes after the conclusion of the nine-inning contest.
Pache, 20, the Atlanta Braves' No. 1 prospect, has spent the 2019 season at Mississippi where he has played in 104 games. Across his 392 at-bats, Pache has recorded 50 runs on 109 hits with 28 doubles, eight triples, 11 home runs, 53 RBIs, eight stolen bases, and was hitting .278.
The Santo Domingo Centro, Dominican Republic native ranks among the Southern League in nine different offensive categories: AVG (.278, 9th), hits (109, 3rd), doubles (28, 2nd), triples (8, T-2nd), XBH (47, 2nd), TB (186, 2nd), slugging (.474, 6th), OPS (.814, 7th) and RBI (53, 7th).
Pache was named to the All-Star Futures Game Roster where he started in center field and was the leadoff batter. The Atlanta Braves signed Pache as a free agent to a minor league contract on July 4, 2015.
Waters, 20, the Atlanta Braves' No. 2 prospect, has played in 108 games for Mississippi this season. Across his 420 at-bats, Waters has recorded 63 runs on 134 hits, with 35 doubles, nine triples, five home runs, 41 RBIs, 13 stolen bases, and was hitting .319.
The Woodstock, Georgia native became the first player in the Southern League and Double-A baseball to the 100-hit mark on June 30 and the first player in MLB and MiLB to 120 hits on July 13 in his 89th game. Waters lead all Double-A baseball in hits with the next closest at 117 and leads the Southern League in eight categories, AVG (.319, by .15 points), hits (134), doubles (35), triples (9), XBH, (49), TB (202), and runs (63). Waters ranks 2nd in OPS (.847), 4th in OBP (.366) and 4th in slugging (.481).
The Atlanta Braves drafted Waters in the 2nd round of the 2017 draft out of Etowah High School in Woodstock, Georgia. Waters held the longest hitting streak and on-base streak in the Southern League this season with an 18-game hitting streak and a 30-game on-base streak.
Anderson, 21, the Atlanta Braves' No. 3 prospect, has started for Mississippi in 21 games this season for a record of 7-5 with an ERA of 2.68 (33 ER/111.0 IP). This season, Anderson has allowed 38 runs on 82 hits and is tied for 2nd in all Minor League Baseball for strikeouts with 147, averaging 11.9 SO/9 IP.
The Rexford, New York native leads the league in strikeouts and ranks 2nd in opponents' AVG (.202), is T-5th in wins (7), 4th in ERA (2.68), 8th in innings pitched (111.0) and 6th in WHIP (1.16). Since June 28, Anderson is 2-0 with a league-best 1.39 ERA (5 ER/32.1 IP), six walks, 48 strikeouts, .185 BAA and 0.87 WHIP.
The Atlanta Braves drafted Anderson in the 1st round of the 2016 draft and was the 3rd overall pick out of Shenendehowa High School in Clifton Park, New York. Anderson was named to the All-Star Futures Game Roster where he was the starting pitcher and recorded the first strikeout for the National League team. On June 28, Anderson recorded Mississippi's third no-hitter, second combined no-hitter, in team history where he struck out 14 batters, matching the late Tommy Hanson's record for most strikeouts in a game.
Davidson, 23, the Atlanta Braves' No. 13 prospect, has started in 21 games for Mississippi this season for a record of 7-6 leading all Double-A with an ERA of 2.03 (25 ER/110.2 IP). Davidson has allowed 34 runs on 88 hits this season, recording 122 strikeouts while only walking 45.
The Amarillo, Texas native ranks 5th in strikeouts (122), 6th in opponents' batting average (.224), 7th in WHIP (1.20) and 9th in IP (110.2) in the Southern League. Davidson had a four-game winning streak on the mound with a 1.38 ERA, allowing just four runs in 26.0 innings, 27 strikeouts, six walks.
The Atlanta Braves drafted Davidson in the 19th round of the 2016 draft out of Tascosa High School in Amarillo, Texas.
Burrows, 24, the Atlanta Braves' No. 16 prospect, has split the 2019 season between Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett. At Mississippi, Burrows pitched in eight games recording one save for an ERA of 1.59 (2 ER/11.1 IP) allowing six hits and striking out 13 batters without giving up a walk.
The Florence, Alabama native pitched in 27 games for Gwinnett for a record of 1-1 with six saves, posting an ERA of 4.75 (19 ER/36.0 IP) allowing 21 runs on 31 hits. Burrows has struck out 39 batters and walked 18 with opposing batters hitting .230 for a WHIP of 1.36.
The Seattle Mariners drafted Burrows in the 4th round of the 2016 draft out of the University of Alabama and was traded to the Atlanta Braves along with LHP
Kingham, 22, a Las Vegas, Nevada native has split the 2019 season between Low-A Rome and High-A Florida. While in Rome, Kingham had a record of 1-1 across three starts posting an ERA of 0.56 (1 ER/16.0 IP) where he allowed two runs on 12 hits while striking out seven and walking only one batter.
The University of Texas product started in 18 games for High-A Florida with a record of 4-8 with an ERA of 4.43 (56 ER/113.2 IP) while recording three complete games and three shutouts. At Florida, Kingham allowed 63 runs on 120 hits while recording 84 strikeouts and 25 walks with opposing batters hitting .274 for a WHIP of 1.28.
The Atlanta Braves drafted Kingham in the 12th round of the 2018 draft out of the University of Texas. Kingham was named Pitcher of the Week in June this season for Florida.
Lien, 25, has split the 2019 season between Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett. For Mississippi, Lien played in 38 games where he was hitting .193 (21 H/109 AB) with five doubles, two triples, and five home runs with 13 RBIs.
The Orlando, Florida native played in 24 games for Gwinnett with an average of .167 (6 H/36 AB) with two home runs, eight runs, and six RBIs. The Atlanta Braves drafted Lien in the 12th round of the 2012 draft out of Olympia High School in Orlando, Florida.
Unroe, 23, has split the 2019 season between High-A Florida, Double-A Mississippi, and Triple-A Gwinnett. At Mississippi, Unroe played in 52 games and had an average of .290 (54 H/186 AB) with 18 runs, 72 total bases, ten doubles, one triple, two home runs, and 25 RBI. Unroe played in 13 games for Gwinnett and had an average of .171 (7 H/41) with seven runs, one double, one home run, and three RBIs.
The New Orleans, Louisiana native, has played for three teams in the Southern League over the course of his minor league career. His first Southern League team was the Montgomery Biscuits, who he played for in the 2017 season. Unroe then played for the Mobile BayBears in the 2018 season and has played for the Mississippi Braves this season.
Unroe was originally selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the second round in the 2013 Draft (60th overall) out of Desert Ridge High School in Meza, Arizona. Unroe was transferred to the Los Angeles Angels during the 2018 season where he played for the Mobile BayBears. The Atlanta Braves then acquired Unroe off waivers from the Mobile BayBears in December 2018.
Morales, 24, has split the 2019 season between Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett. For Mississippi, Morales played in 37 games where he was hitting .206 (26 H/126 AB) with six doubles, nine runs, and 11 RBIs with an OBP of .285.
The Arroyo, Puerto Rico native, played in 28 games for Gwinnett with an average of .272 (28 H/103 AB) with 15 runs, five doubles, and two home runs with 11 RBIs and OBP of .333. The Atlanta Braves drafted Morales in the 25th round of the 2015 draft out of Miami Dade Community College.
Valenzuela, 25, a Laguna Salada, Dominican Republic native has been released from the Atlanta Braves organization. This season, Valenzuela was hitting .194 (48 H/247 AB) across 79 games with 22 runs, 12 doubles, two triples, two home runs, and 24 RBIs.
The Atlanta Braves acquired Valenzuela from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for OF Jonny Gomes and cash considerations in August 2015.