Stock Up, Stock Down for Atlanta Braves' Top 10 Prospects for Week 15

It was an average week for the Braves prospects we’re watching. There were some good performances and some not-so-good performances. Such are the ups and downs of the minor league season.

As we have since he was drafted and added to the list, we’ll leave No. 6 prospect Braxton Davidson off the list, as he is still at complex ball in Orlando.

We’re also removing No. 2 prospect Christian Bethancourt from the list, as he is currently in the majors, filling in for Evan Gattis.

No. 3 prospect J.R. Graham is currently on the disabled list with a right triceps injury.

Season stats are courtesy of FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference.com and accurate as of July 13. Weekly stats run from July 6 through July 13 and are taken from Minor League Central.

No. 12 Prospect: 3B Kyle Kubitza

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

Last Week’s Stats at Double-A Mississippi 

5-for-21 (.238), 2 2B, 5 BB, 10 K, 2 SB, CS

Overview 

It was a rough week for Kubitza. He struck out 10 times, but he also walked five times. That’s been the pattern in his career. He’ll strike out a lot, and this week was especially bad, but he’ll also walk a bunch.

2014 Stats 

.307/.405/.476, .417 BABIP, 24.8 K%, 13.4 BB%

Stock 

Even

No. 11 Prospect: Outfielder Victor Reyes

CB Wilkins

Last Week’s Stats at Low-A Rome 

4-for-27 (.148), 4 K

Overview 

It was another slow week for Reyes. He didn’t get any extra-base hits this week and barely got any hits at all. There’s still a lot of improvement needed here.

2014 Stats 

.260/.311/.302, .311 BABIP, 15.5 K%, 6.7 BB%

Stock 

Down

No. 10 Prospect: SP Aaron Northcraft

USA TODAY Sports

Last Week’s Stats at Triple-A Gwinnett 

0-1 in 1 start, 5 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 0 BB, 4 K

Overview 

Triple-A is still not treating Northcraft well. While he had a 2.88 ERA in 12 starts at Double-A, his first four starts at the minors' most advanced level has produced an unflattering 7.04 ERA.

2014 Stats

7-5 in 16 starts, 3.67 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 3.35 FIP, .251 BAA

Stock 

Even

No. 9 Prospect: SP Wes Parsons

CB Wilkins

Last Week’s Stats at High-A Lynchburg

No record in 1 start, 4 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

Overview 

This week’s start was Parsons’ third bad start in a row. Of even greater concern, Parsons left the mound in the fifth inning on his start.

Hillcats’ beat writer Damien Sordelett reports in The News and Advance that Parsons signaled to the dugout that he felt discomfort in his throwing arm and was removed as a precaution.

2014 Stats 

4-5 in 17 starts, 4.70 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 3.89 FIP, .265 BAA

Stock 

Down

No. 8 Prospect: SP Mauricio Cabrera

CB Wilkins

Last Week’s Stats at High-A Lynchburg 

No record in 3 relief appearances, 4.1 IP, 2 H, 2 K

Overview 

Cabrera continues his comeback from an injury that kept him out for two months. All of his appearances since rejoining the Hillcats have been in relief.

2014 Stats 

0-0 in 7 games, 1.72 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 4.09 FIP, .204 BAA

Stock 

Up

No. 7 Prospect: C/3B Victor Caratini

CB Wilkins

Last Week’s Stats at Low-A Rome 

5-for-17 (.294), 2 2B, 3 BB, 3 K

Overview 

It was a decent week for Caratini, who produced good power and on-base skills. He needs to keep improving on this approach.

2014 Stats 

.280/.346/.402, .333 BABIP, 17.6 K%, 8.2 BB%

Stock 

Up

No. 5 Prospect: 2B Jose Peraza

Elsa/Getty Images

Last Week’s Stats at Double-A Mississippi 

9-for-19 (.474), 2 2B, 1 SB, 2 CS

Overview 

The big news this week was that Peraza had changed his stance after working with the M-Braves hitting coach. I have an extensive story on this development on my blog. 

The results of the new stance have been good so far, as his weekly numbers above will attest.

Peraza also participated in the 2014 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at Target Field in Minneapolis on July 13. He went 1-for-2 with an infield hit and a strikeout.

2014 Stats 

.347/.372/.461, .380 BABIP, 9.9 K%, 3.6 BB%

Stock 

Up

No. 4 Prospect: SP Jason Hursh

Dave Tulis/Associated Press

Last Week’s Stats at Double-A Mississippi 

No record in 1 start, 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K

Overview 

It was a good start this week for Hursh, pretty similar to his previous start. His walk rate this season is pretty good at 2.6 BB/9, which is down from last season’s 3.3 BB/9. That 2.6 is below the MLB average of 3.0 BB/9.

2014 Stats 

6-6 in 18 starts, 3.88 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 3.63 FIP, .267 BAA

Stock 

Even

No. 1 Prospect: SP Lucas Sims

Dave Tulis/Associated Press

Last Week’s Stats at High-A Lynchburg 

0-2 in 2 starts, 13.1 IP, 13 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 11 K

Overview 

Sims didn’t pick up a win this week, but he pitched better than his 0-2 record suggests. He went 6.2 innings in each start, allowing four earned runs in the first start and one earned run in his second start.

His strikeout numbers were good, and he limited his walks. He needs to keep building on starts like this with better and better starts.

I came across an interesting split on Sims. On Sims' Baseball-Reference split page, it shows that he has faced batters older than he is in all but three at-bats this season. That’s a good reminder that Sims is playing at a very advanced level for his age (20 years old).

2014 Stats 

6-8 in 19 starts, 4.97 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 5.18 FIP, .245 BAA

Stock

Even

Season stats are courtesy of FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference.com and accurate as of July 13. Weekly stats run from July 6 through July 13 and are taken from Minor League Central.