The Atlanta Braves’ High-A affiliate put on a full-blown show over the weekend, piling up 33 runs in two days and riding a massive surge from Dixon Williams.
Williams, one of Atlanta’s fourth-round picks in the 2025 MLB Draft, was at the center of it all. The 22-year-old opened with a jaw-dropping Saturday line, going 4-for-5 with two home runs and 10 RBIs in Rome’s 19-6 win over the Asheville Tourists, the Houston Astros’ High-A club. He came back on Sunday and somehow topped the power display, finishing 4-for-6 with three homers and six RBIs in a 16-14 loss.
That kind of production is rare anywhere, and it put Williams in a special place in Rome history. He became the first Rome Emperors player to post a 10-RBI game and only the third prospect in franchise history to hit three home runs in a game. For the effort, the East Carolina University product was named the latest South Atlantic League Player of the Week after a five-homer, 16-RBI weekend.
Williams’ rise has come fast. As a 2025 draft pick, he played only 28 Single-A games last year, making the 2026 season his first full year in the minors.
Through 92 High-A games this year, he’s batting .235 with a .337 on-base percentage and an .803 OPS, along with 19 home runs, 76 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. He’s also bounced around the field for Rome, seeing time at first base, second base, left field and center field.
Williams wasn’t the only Braves prospect lighting up the box score. Shortstop Alex Lodise, Atlanta’s No. 5 prospect for 2026 on MLB Pipeline, stacked back-to-back four-hit games of his own.
The 2025 second-round pick went 8-for-12 over the last two days with a homer, two doubles, four RBIs and nine runs scored. Since joining High-A at the end of July, the 22-year-old is hitting .343 with four homers, 13 RBIs and 19 runs scored in 17 games.
After a weekend like that, Rome’s lineup has given Braves fans plenty to keep an eye on as the 2026 regular season rolls on.
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