The Atlanta Braves Minor League Roster Report: Mississippi

Gorkys Hernandez Highlights the Roster for the 2009 Mississippi Braves

The 2009 Roster for the Mississippi Braves is out.

The pitchers will be: Brett Butts, Kyle Cofield, Rafael Cruz, Rudy Darrow, Scott Diamond, Brian Dumesnil, Jerome Gamble, Deunte Heath, Jeff Lyman, Steve Marek, Ryne Reynoso, and Johnny Venters.

Steven Marek came to the Atlanta org as a part of the Mark Teixeira trade.  He features a big hook with a low 90 mph fastball that he locates well.  Marek is excellent at pounding the strike zone low and getting ground ball outs.  He will work out of the bullpen.

The infielders will be:  Phillip Britton, Jose Camarena, Eric Campbell, Javier Guzman, Brandon Hicks, Travis Jones, Kala Ka'aihue, and Kody Kirkland.

Brandon Hicks is a slugging short stop drafted out of Texas A&M.  In Myrtle Beach, where Hicks played last year, hitters typically put up bad stat lines as far as power is concerned.  The 19 homers he hit there were definitely welcome news, as pop like that is a big deal for middle infielders. 

Hicks also won the Defensive Player of the Year for his league, and is thought of as one of the best fielders in the minors.  He was able to turn a few heads this spring, including that of skipper Bobby Cox, who said he carried himself like a big leaguer.

Eric Campbell is a former premier talent who has seen many struggles in his short minor league career.  Discipline problems have set him back more than once.  However, last year he saw some life offensively, and it will be interesting to see if he can be consistent and keep it rolling.

The outfielders will be:  Willie Cabrera, Gorkys Hernandez, Concepcion Rodriguez and Matt Young.

Gorkys Hernandez is the big prospect on this team.  Blazing speed, surprising pop, and wonderful in game instincts have his prospect status pretty high.  According to Baseball America, he is the No. 4 talent in the system. He appears to be healthy this year, as last year he was plagued by a lingering hamstring problem that can cause speed guys to suffer more than most.

The disabled list:  Dustin Evans, Moises Hernandez, Greg Creek, Ernesto Mejia, and Jon Mark Owings.

Ernesto Mejia and Jon Mark Owings are two premium bats, that could contribute once their rehab is done.