Glendale didn’t need a fireworks show to get the job done. In a low-scoring game defined by pitching, the Braves prospects who did make noise were mostly doing it with contact, not loud offensive bursts.
Isaiah Drake provided the biggest swing of the afternoon for the Desert Dogs, snapping out of his quiet fall with a double that rolled into left field. It was his first extra-base hit of the fall and the only one Glendale got in the game. Drake finished with one of the team’s two hits, though his only impact on the run-scoring second inning came when he grounded into an inning-ending double play as the go-ahead and eventual winning run crossed.
Drake hasn’t lit up the fall so far, but he has been putting the bat on the ball. The issue has been turning that contact into harder contact on a consistent basis.
Tate Southisene, meanwhile, didn’t collect a hit, but the day was far from empty. He turned in a solid flyout and also put two other balls in play at more than 100 mph.
He wasn’t able to square one up and build on his breakout performance for Glendale, but the underlying contact was still there. Southisene has looked excellent with his swing decisions and his ability to cover the strike zone, and there hasn’t been much in this fall to knock.
The pitching side belonged to Glendale, and two Braves relievers played major roles in keeping it that way. Logan Samuels entered with a runner at second in the sixth and immediately ended the threat by retiring the first hitter he saw. He then came back for a scoreless seventh, with only a hit batter interrupting the frame.
Owen Hackman finished it off with a scoreless save, continuing his strong fall run. He gave up a one-out single, but answered with a strikeout in a big spot before inducing a weak ground ball to close it out. Hackman has done a nice job working the zone this fall, even if the swing-and-miss off his secondaries hasn’t been as consistent.
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Braves Fans Will Instantly Recognize This World Series Parallel
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Milwaukee got the kind of lift that usually becomes a postseason legend, only for the Tampa Bay Rays to answer in the bottom half and flip the night back the other way. It is the sort of sequence Atlanta followers know too well from a recent October heartbreak, when a huge swing seemed to set one path in motion before the other dug in and changed the outcome. For Braves fans, the parallel is hard to miss, and it leaves plenty of room to wonder whether this latest version ends the same way or breaks the pattern instead. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Suddenly Face A Tough Jurickson Profar Decision
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Alex Anthopoulos has said the organization plans to have internal discussions about Profars future, which puts the Braves in an awkward spot after a season lost to suspension. Ronald Acua Jr. has also said Profar distanced himself from the team after the ban, adding another layer to a situation that is still very much unresolved as Atlanta weighs how to handle one of its more complicated offseason questions. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Face Tough Price Decision On Two Key Free Agents
Jim Bowdens free-agent projections put the Braves in a familiar winter spot, trying to weigh fit against price on two players who matter in very different ways. Mauricio Dubon brings the kind of defensive versatility teams value when the market gets thin, and the Athletic piece suggests there may not be much competition at shortstop if clubs start circling. For Atlanta, that can turn a reasonable ask into a tougher one, especially if other teams decide they need a glove-first option who can move around the diamond.
Raisel Iglesias is the more straightforward name, but not necessarily the easier call. Bowden projected the veteran closer at one year and $17 million after another All-Star-level season, yet the Braves may pause before going that high with a reliever on the roster already and some age-related caution attached to the deal. It leaves Atlanta staring at two free agents who could help right away, while also forcing a decision on how much certainty they want to buy this offseason. [Read more 🡒]