Braves Minor League Recap: Spencer Strider, Tate Southisene stand out

(12-9) Columbus Clingstones 5, (9-12) Birmingham Barons 8

• Lizandro Espinoza, SS: 2-for-4, 2B, 3B, R, RBI, .283/.408/.567
• Cal Conley, 2B: 1-for-4, 2 RBI, R, .341/.426/.585
• Owen Murphy, SP: 4.2IP 4H 1ER 4BB 9K, 6.10 ERA
• Jhancarlos Lara, RP: 0.0IP 0H 4ER 4BB, 13.50 ERA Box Score A somewhat return to form for Owen Murphy who struck out nine with 15 whiffs over 4.2 innings of work. The arsenal played up well today but the command was still just a bit off on Owen standards. A microcosm of that exact type of play was seen in the second inning when Owen walks the first two batters of the inning and then strikes out the next two before getting the final batter on a fly out. He would allow a leadoff walk in the following inning and then strike out the next two batters. The only run he surrendered occurred in the fourth inning when he gave up a leadoff homer but the back and forth with the control is something we haven’t seen in Owen in a while. Even further on that spectrum of control issues is Jhancarlos Lara who came into the game in the seventh inning with a 5-1 lead and would subsequently walk the first four hitters of the inning, walking in a run, on 20 pitches while only getting 4 strikes. This season so far has been a massive disappointment for Lara with severe regression in his already shaky command. He has a career high walk rate of 16.2 BB/9 – a rate that simply isn’t excusable and it might be time for a trip to the developmental list to work out some of the mechanical issues he is having. Samuel Strickland (1IP 4H 2ER 0BB 1K), and Elison Joseph (1IP 1H 1ER 1BB 0K) would pitch the final two innings and surrender three earned runs between the two. Offensively, the offense was carried by the hot hitting Lizandro Espinoza who doubled in the first, and tripled in the fourth before coming around to score the Clingstones first run. The Clingstones would collect another four runs in the seventh inning with back-to-back-to-back run scoring singles from Ethan Workinger, Cal Conley, and Patrick Clohisy would score four runs. That man Lizandro Espinoza would add a sacrifice fly to give the Clingstones a 5-1 lead…before Lara would fall apart in the bottom half of the inning.

(10-10) Rome Emperors 4, (12-8) Greensboro Grasshoppers 0 – F/7

• John Gil, SS: 1-for-2, 2R, BB, .296/.388/.493
• Mason Guerra, 1B: 1-for-3, HR, 3 RBI, R, .250/.368/.411
• Eric Hartman, CF: 1-for-3, R, .316/.388/.711
• Jeremy Reyes, SP: 5IP 1H 0ER 5BB 5K, 4.67 ERA
• Riley Frey, RP: 1IP 0H 0R 0BB 1K, 0.00 ERA Box Sore The enigma that is Jeremy Reyes continued to answer questions while still leaving you wanting more as he was dominant across five innings yet still walked five. In a game that lasted a mere 1 hour and 38 minute game Reyes had random fits of control issues across random hitters, but otherwise was in control – allowing weak contact and generating whiffs. The line looks a lot worse than how he actually looked. Following those five solid innings, Riley Frey and Isaac Gallegos (1IP 1H 0R 0BB 2K) pitched the games final two innings and continued the theme of strong pitching – allowing just one total runner on base across the games final two innings. Offensively, most of the damage came in a single inning as the Emperors only collected four total hits. In the fourth, Mason Guerra hit a 112 MPH three run homer to give Rome the 3-0 lead. It’s been a strong season for Mason Guerra, the once highly recruited prep player. While this is just the second homer of the season, Mason has done a much better job at getting on base – seen by his .368 on-base percentage. They would add their final run of the game in the sixth inning when John Gil singled with one out, before going to third on a Cody Miller double. Gil would then come in to score on a passed ball to extend the lead to 4-0. Eric Hartman extended his hitting streak to five games with a fourth inning single – a stretch that has seen him hitting from .245/.298/.528 to .319/.395/.694.

(11-10) Rome Emperors 6, (12-9) Greensboro Grasshoppers 4 – F/7

• Isaiah Drake, CF: 2-for-4, .235/.311/.395
• John Gil, SS: 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 2B, RBI, BB, .296/.388/.493
• Eric Hartman, LF: 1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, R, .316/.388/.711
• Logan Braunschweig, RF: 0-for-1, RBI, 2 BB, .271/.435/.417
• Jacob Kroeger, SP: 2IP 2H 1ER 3BB 3K, 2.61 ERA Box Sore A makeup of a rain postponed game resulted in a bullpen game and another win for the GreenJackets. Jacob Kroger got the start and was a bit erratic – walking three over two innings of work. Control has regressed just a tad for Kroeger as his walk rate (4.35 BB/9) is the highest of his career since debut year in 2024. The run he did give up came in a very busy second inning that included two walks, a hit by pitch, and a run scoring double steal that allowed a runner to steal home. Jacob Kroeger was relieved by Jacob Shafer (3IP 3H 2ER 1BB 5K) who pithed relatively well – giving up an earned run in the third inning, and another one in the fifth inning – just enough to give the Grasshoppers a 3-0 lead heading into sixth inning. Unfortunately for the Grasshoppers, that’s when the tides would shift just a bit. After being held scoreless through the games first five innings, the Emperors started to flex their muscles in the games final two innings. John Gil got things started with a one out double before coming in on a two out run scoring single by Dixon Williams to make the lead 3-1. After walks by Mason Guerra, and Colby Jones the GreenJackets had the bases loaded and two outs for Logan Braunschweig who would draw a bases loaded walk to draw the game closer at 3-2. Justin Long (1IP 1H 1ER 2BB 1K) would come in for Shafer and would hand the momentum right back to the Grasshoppers as he would walk two runners before giving up a two out run scoring single to extend the Grasshoppers lead back to two runs at 4-2 heading into the games final inning. However, the GreenJackets offense wouldn’t be denied. Austin Machado and Isaiah Drake would start the games final inning off with back-to-back singled to setup John Gil who would hit his second double of the game to make it 4-3. The surging Eric Hartman would come to bat and he would hit his eighth homer of the season to give the Emperors the lead, and the eventual win.

(11-9) Augusta GreenJackets 2, (11-9) Columbia Fireflies 6 – F/7

• Tate Southiesene, SS: 1-for-3, HR, RBI, BB, R, 2 SB, .270/.444/.527
• Zach Royse, SP: 4IP 6H 3ER 2BB 3K, 4.67 ERA
• Kendy Richard, RP: 2IP 5H 3ER 1BB 0K, 13.50 ERA
• Luis Guanipa, CF: 0-for-2, BB, .320/.337/.493 Box Score The GreenJackets would fall in the first game of their double header as the offense just couldn’t really get it started and Kendy Richard faltered in the back half of the game. Another inning shortened double header caused by the rain on the 25th. Zach Royse got the started and was OK, allowing six hits over four innings of work while allowing three earned runs. He allowed runs in the first, second, and the fourth innings – but just one each inning to keep the GreenJackets in the game. Royse pitched backwards, heavily leaning on his slider that he threw 41% of the time. Royse would leave the game with the score 3-1 before being relieved by Kendry Richard who continued to struggle this season. The Richard primary two pitch mix has struggled to generate whiffs, and avoid hard contact which has resulted in him coming out of the bullpen. Unfortunately that decision still hasn’t paid dividends as Richard has now struggled coming out of the bullpen – allowing lots of hard contact, and still struggling to generate whiffs. As a result, he gave up three earned runs with zero strikeouts over the games final two innings – pushing the FireFlies run total to six. Unfortunately the GreenJackets offense struggled mightily against the trio of FireFlies pitchers as the GreenJackets collected just a single hit. They threatened in the first inning with walks by Tate Southisene and Luis Guanipa with just one out. They would execute the perfect double steal to put runners on second and third, but they were both stranded there by Nick Montgomery and Caden Merritt. The lone run scored was by Tate Southisene who hit the second pitch he saw to right field to give the GreenJackets their lone run. The homer would extend Tate’s hitting streak to seven games where he’s collected three doubles, and three homers.

(12-9) Augusta GreenJackets 4, (11-10) Columbia Fireflies 0 – F/7

• Tate Southiesene, 2B: 1-for-3, RBI, .270/.444/.527
• Luis Guanipa, DH: 1-for-4, HR, RBI, R, .320/.337/.493
• Tanner Smith, C: 1-for-3, 2B, R, .295/.340/.614
• Dalton McIntyre, RF: 1-for-3, BB, R, .367/.441/.633
• Davis Polo, SP: 5IP 1H 0R 3BB 4K, 1.13 ERA Box Score After dropping game 1 – Davis Polo made sure to turn the fortune around for the GreenJackets – registering five shutout innings. After missing all of 2025, Davis has returned to baseball on a bit of a heater – utilizing a three pitch mix. He’s gotten a bit lucky – seen by his paltry .143 BABIP, however he has settled in nicely in the GreenJackets rotation and now has a 1.13 ERA in his four appearances. The walk rate is too high, sitting at 5.06 BB/9, however it is nice to have him fully healthy and back out on the mound. With the game being shortened – they had to turn to the bullpen for two innings and Adiel Melendez (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 1K), and Drew Christo (1IP 0H 0R 1BB 1K) who registered a pair of zeroes. Offensively, the GreenJackets got enough done. They went up 1-0 in the first inning on a Luis Guanipa 99 MPH homer, his third of the season. Guanipa is off to a great start to the season, hitting .320, with the power starting to show up more regularly. The GreenJackets would score three more in the fourth inning – taking advantage of some poor pitching. Tanner Smith would lead off the inning with a double, and come into score on a fielders choice by the third baseman. They would then load the bases on back-to-back walks by Dalton McIntyre and Joe Olsavsky. The fun wouldn’t stop there as Dallas Macias drew a four pitch watch to push the lead to 3-0. Tate Southisene would follow that up with a sacrifice fly to push it to 4-0. They would threaten again in the seventh after Tate and Alex Lodise would start the inning off with back-to-back innings but would ultimately fail to score. Drew Christo would come in and finish off the Fireflies for the win.