M-Braves announce 2024 Opening Day Roster
PEARL - The Atlanta Braves and their Double-A Affiliate, the Mississippi Braves, announced the 2024 opening-day roster. The squad includes four MLB Pipeline Top-20 Prospects and 17 players who made at least one appearance for the M-Braves last season. The Top 30 prospects include RHP Hurston Waldrep (No. 2), INF
PEARL - The Atlanta Braves and their Double-A Affiliate, the Mississippi Braves, announced the 2024 opening-day roster. The squad includes four MLB Pipeline Top-20 Prospects and 17 players who made at least one appearance for the M-Braves last season.
The Top 30 prospects include RHP Hurston Waldrep (No. 2), INF Nacho Alvarez Jr. (No. 6), C Drake Baldwin (No. 11), and LHP Luis De Avila (No. 20).
Waldrep, set to make his first start on Sunday in Pensacola, was Atlanta's first-round selection (24th overall) in 2023 out of the University of Florida. In his first season in the Braves system, Waldrep rose four levels, posting a 1.53 ERA (5 ER/29.1 IP) in eight starts. His 41 strikeouts were more than any other 2023 MLB Draft class hurler.
Alvarez is set to make his Double-A debut in 2024. In 2023, The youngest member of the 2024 club at 20 years old, Alvarez, spent the entire season with High-A Rome, slashing .284/.395/.391 (119-for-419) in 116 games. He hit seven home runs and logged 24 doubles while recording 66 RBI and 62 runs. The Fontana, CA native led all South Atlantic Leaguers in hits, ranked third in games played; tied for third in walks (66); fourth in batting average and on-base percentage - among qualifiers; tied for sixth in RBI; seventh in doubles; eighth in at-bats and had 31 multi-hit games.
Baldwin was named the 2023 Hank Aaron Award recipient given annually to the top offensive performer in the Braves’ minor league system. The Madison, WI native slashed .270/.385/.460 (108-for-400) in 109 games - 92 with High-A Rome, 14 with Double-A Mississippi, and three with Triple-A Gwinnett. He hit 16 home runs, 26 doubles, and one triple while recording 61 RBI and 63 runs.
De Avila was a two-time Southern League Pitcher of the Week last season. The 22-year-old made a career-high 26 starts, going 6-10 with a 3.28 ERA over 123.1 innings with 125 strikeouts to 61 walks in 25 M-Braves starts. De Avila made one start for Gwinnett at the end of the season. The Southern League postseason All-Star finished among the leaders in ERA (2nd), starts (4th), innings pitched (5th), opponents average (3rd, .223), strikeouts (8th), and WHIP (8th) ... Ranked among the top 10 Atlanta farmhands in starts (1st, 26), ERA (2nd, 3.26), innings (T-2nd, 127.0), BAA (2nd, .224), strikeouts (3rd, 128), and WHIP (8th, 1.32) ... Over his final three starts with the M-Braves, he threw 14.0 scoreless innings, striking out 16 and walking just four.
2024 Mississippi Braves Opening Day Roster:
Pitchers (15): LHP Luis De Avila, RHP Parker Dunshee, RHP Domingo Gonzalez, RHP Patrick Halligan, LHP Hayden Harris, RHP Jonathan Hughes, RHP Jorge Juan, RHP Zach Logue, LHP Jake McSteen, RHP Ian Mejia, RHP JJ Niekro, LHP Drew Parrish, RHP Trey Riley, RHP Hurston Waldrep, RHP Peyton Williams
Catchers (3): Drake Baldwin, Tyler Tolve, Javier Valdes
Infielders (7): Nacho Alavarez Jr., Cade Bunnell, Cal Conley, Bryson Horne, Keshawn Ogans, Geraldo Quintero, Yolbert Sanchez
Outfielders (3): Justin Dean, Cody Milligan, Brandon Parker
See the PDF Roster HERE.
The Mississippi Braves begin the 2024 season on the road tonight in Pensacola, FL. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:05 pm at Blue Wahoos Stadium with coverage on 102.1 The Box, MiLB.tv, and Bally Live. RHP Ian Mejia will start the opening night for the M-Braves against Pensacola RHP Evan Fitterer. The M-Braves will open their 20th and final year at Trustmark Park on Tuesday, April 9, at 6:05 pm against the Biloxi Shuckers.
Phillies' Moore, Fausnaught join MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Red Sox prospect rips double THROUGH Fenway-esque scoreboard
Red Sox No. 4 prospect Franklin Arias, an infielder for High-A Greenville, REALLY didn’t want to let visiting Asheville score any runs in the top of the eighth inning on Friday night. With runners on first and second base in the bottom of the fourth, Arias showed he apparently held
April's hottest hitting prospects -- one for each organization
The Minor League season is a month old and several of the game's best hitting prospects are off to fast starts. Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony is tearing up Triple-A (just like he did at the end of last year), Padres shortstop Leo De Vries is leading the High-A Midwest
Check out the best -- and wackiest -- Minor League promos happening in May
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Orioles' Honeycutt joins The Show Before the Show
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
MiLB podcast coming LIVE to a Somerset this June
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
New ballparks highlight 2025 MiLB road trip stops
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Minor League Baseball partners with TruGreen
FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- TruGreen, the nation's leading lawn care treatment provider, is proud to announce a groundbreaking partnership with Minor League Baseball that includes activations across all 120 clubs, a makeover of the home dugout in each market, sponsorship of select MiLB team grounds crews, and a new initiative called
Podcast explains why the Syracuse Mets are looking for Jim Morrison
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Dash im-prom-tu promo and Mets' Suero joins the podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Minor League Baseball partners with Circle K
Minor League Baseball announced a new national partnership with Circle K, which will see the convenience store giant become the “Official Convenience Store of Minor League Baseball.” During the 2025 season, the Circle K brand will be integrated into the MiLB in-stadium experience through in-game video board assets at most
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”