Apr 14, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; A general view of a basket of baseballs before a game between the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta Braves are about to see big changes from a division rival

Atlanta Braves are about to see big changes from a division rival by Alan Carpenter

Picking right back up where the team left off last season, Atlanta’s low-A affiliate Rome is once again dominating the South Atlantic League with its arms.

The Rome Braves (14-6) are in first place in the SAL Southern with the best overall record in the league and are doing it without home runs, but with solid pitching.

During their 2016 SAL Championship run, Rome got plenty of productivity from the bats of Austin Riley, Carlos Castro, Ray-Patrick Didder, Ronald Acuna and others, but also relied heavily on solid starts and bullpen reliability.

Rome brought home the hardware last season, but didn’t lead the South Atlantic League in any team pitching categories in the process. Even with the arms of Mike Soroka, Kolby Allard, Touki Toussaint, Max Fried and Patrick Weigel, the Braves were collectively near the middle of the pack, statistically speaking.

Even without the homer to lean on in 2017 the Rome Braves have gotten off to an impressive start and are at or near the top of every major pitching statistical category in their league.

The Braves lead the Sally League in team wins (14), ERA (2.15), fewest runs allowed (59), fewest home runs allowed (4), and fewest hit batters (7). Rome is also second is saves (7), fifth in fewest hits allowed (149), third in strikeouts (195), and fourth in WHIP (1.19).

It’s not just starters like Ian Anderson, Bryse Wilson, Jeremy Walker, Ryan Lawlor, Ryan Lawlor, Joey Wentz and Oriel L Caicedo padding the stats so far this season, but the Rome bullpen.

Bladimir Matos is the “worst” performer on Rome’s entire pitching staff so far this season with a respectable 4.00 ERA out of the pen. Some of the other top ERA performing relievers for the Braves include Jon Kennedy (0.82/11IP), Matt Custred (0.84/10.2IP), Tucker Davidson (1.64/11IP), Brandon White (2.31/11.2IP), Adam McCreery (1.93/9.1IP) and Thomas Burrows (0.00/8.2IP).

In an 18 inning 7-4 Rome win on the road at Greenville last week, the Braves didn’t allow a run past the third inning for 15 scoreless. 13 of those shutout innings were a combined effort from the bullpen, which ranks among the top relief performances in team history.

Back to the starting rotation, Ian Anderson (2-1) is carrying a 1.93 ERA through four starts. He has struggled at times with wild pitches and hit batters, but Atlanta’s top 2016 pick has worked out of jams with speed and the ability to locate his other pitches, and already has 29 strikeouts.

In a dual roll as both starter and reliever, Oriel Caicedo leads Rome in innings pitched (19.2) and wins (4). He has a 1.37 ERA in five games (2 starts).

Other starters carrying respectable earned run averages are Wilson (2.55) and Lawlor (2.51). Each has 18 strikeouts on the year, followed by 17 put outs from reliever McCreery.

All this being said, Rome is still finding ways to produce runs with guys hitting for average and lightning fast speed on the bases. If any power bats emerge throughout the season, it could be game over once again in the South Atlantic.

Especially at the low-A level, call ups, trades, roster cuts and position changes can greatly affect the flow of a minor league season, but if the core of this Rome Braves pitching staff stays largely in tact, a South Atlantic League title repeat could be well within reach.