As red-hot as Barbaro Canizares is for the Gwinnett Braves, that doesn’t mean that he has clear sailing to the International League batting title.

The IL leaderboard shows Canizares with a hefty lead in the batting race, but that really isn’t true. In fact, he isn’t ahead at all.

Buffalo outfielder Jesus Feliciano, who was sent back down by the Mets on Aug. 9, was hitting .341 to Canizares’ .333 through Sunday. He just didn’t have quite enough plate appearances to be listed again yet.

The way that Canizares is hitting, though, he may catch Feliciano soon. Felciano’s average has dropped slightly since his return to Buffalo, while Canizares has continued his tear.

The G-Braves first baseman and DH is hitting .429 in August. That is a blistering continuation from July, when he hit .350 and drove in 23 runs in 25 games.

The veteran from Havana has been on the upswing since hitting only .258 in April. He batted .346 in May and .325 in June.

Of course, Canizares has always hit. He batted .344 in 49 games with Richmond in 2007 in his first taste of Triple-A after defecting from Cuba.

Canizares batted .300 with Richmond in 2008 and .294 with the G-Braves in 2009. This was the third straight year that he played in the Triple-A All-Star Game.

The right-handed hitter has made it to the Majors just briefly, though. He got into five games with the Braves last season, going 4-for-21.

Winning a batting title would be a rarity for a Braves Triple-A player. The last to do it was Tommy Gregg, who hit .332 in 1997 for Richmond. No one had done it before that since Ralph Garr won his second of two IL batting titles with a .386 average for Richmond in 1970.

            Mike Minor is ranked as the top left-handed pitching prospect in the Atlanta organization and G-Braves fans have certainly seen why the past month. 

            Next season, it could be Julio Teheran’s time to turn heads at Coolray Field.

            The 19-year-old native of Colombia is rated as the Braves’ top right-handed pitching prospect and he dazzled Monday night in his second start for Double-A Mississippi.

            Teheran combined with reliever Tyrelle Harris on a no-hitter as the M-Braves beat visiting Mobile 2-0. He worked 5 2/3 innings before reaching his limit of 95 pitches and Harris completed Mississippi’s second no-hitter in his first appearance for the team.

            Tommy Hanson threw the first no-hitter for Mississippi in 2008, so Teheran has good company.

            Teheran struck out seven and walked three, throwing 60 pitches for strikes. Harris, 23, struck out six and walked one. Two Mobile players reached on errors.

            A slender 6 foot 2, Teheran pitched at Rome and Myrtle Beach in Class A before being promoted to the Southern League and has a 2.47 ERA in 19 starts overall. His 7-7 record may not be that impressive, but his 131 strikeouts to 32 walks in 113 innings certainly are attention getting.

            The Braves signed Teheran in July of 2007 to an $850,000 bonus after he reached 16 and this is his third season. He was limited because of shoulder tendonitis in 2008, but was named the top prospect in the rookie Appalachian League last season before getting a promotion to Rome. His fastball reaches 96 mph and he has a sharp breaking curveball.

            In Minor, Teheran, Arodys Vizcaino and Randall Delgado, the Braves have four of the top young pitching prospects in the Minors. Delgado was also recently promoted to Mississippi from Myrtle Beach.           

            As disappointing a season as it’s been for the Gwinnett Braves, it’s been even worse for Clint Sammons.

            The personable former Parkview and Georgia standout had a pinch-hit homer on Sunday in the loss to Louisville, but it was one of the catcher’s few high points this season.

            Sammons has a .168 average and his long-term future in the Braves organization – once a given — now has to be in doubt.

            When Atlanta gave veteran catcher David Ross a two-year contract before last season to serve as Brian McCann’s backup, it appeared that Sammons’ time in the Major Leagues was just being delayed a little while.

            But now Sammons isn’t even on Atlanta’s 40-man roster after being dropped in June and it appears that Ross will likely be re-signed. At 27, Sammons’ career is at a crossroads. He could qualify as a six-year Minor League free agent after the season and be with another organization by next Spring Training.

            It wasn’t projected to be like this, with Gwinnett County products McCann and Sammons seeming like a perfect local catching combination for the Braves for years to come. But Sammons just hasn’t hit like hoped.

            J.C. Boscan, who shares catching for the G-Braves with Sammons, hasn’t made it to the Majors because of his struggles at the plate, but he is hitting .236. That’s 68 points better than Sammons.

            Boscan and Sammons are both outstanding catch-and-throw players. But you have to hit a little bit, as both know all too well.

            How bad has it been for Sammons this season? Even ahead in the count he is hitting just .205. His average with runners in scoring position is .117 and he has only 12 hits overall since the start of June.

            Maybe the pinch homer will finally get him started. Let’s hope so. The season has been a nightmare for Sammons so far.            

            Freddie Freeman wasn’t selected for the Futures Game or the Triple-A All-Star Game, meaning that he has flown a little under the radar as a top prospect this year on the national level.

            But anyone who thinks that the Gwinnett first baseman hasn’t had an impressive season for a 20-year-old in Triple-A needs to check out Freeman’s stats.

            The Californian’s average is at .290 and he has 37 extra-base hits and 56 RBIs in 86 games. His slugging mark is .489 and he has struck out a modest 57 times while drawing 29 walks. That gives him a solid on-base percentage of .351.

            Yes, Freeman struggled a little at times early in the season. And, yes, he does need to drive the ball more. But he’s right on schedule as far as the Atlanta Braves are concerned.

            Freeman, who turns 21 on Sept. 12, still figures to be a candidate for Major League playing time next season. How much of an opportunity there will be will depend of whether Troy Glaus returns to the team.

            Freeman hit .318 with three homers and 17 RBIs for the G-Braves in June and is batting .328 with four homers and 15 RBIs during his first 17 games in July. His homer total for the season of 12 may not be eye-popping, but Freeman has never been projected as a potential 40-homer man.

            Freeman is a more of a line-driving hitter with gap power, as shown by his 23 doubles. As he continues to mature into his 6-foot-5 frame, more home runs will likely come.

            Meanwhile, he uses his height and quick reflexes to shine at first base defensively. He has saved many a potential throwing error.

            Freeman is still a work in progress against left-handed pitchers, but there is no denying his overall progress this season. Maybe it is time for the hype machine to build up again.      

 Yunel Escobar and Alex Gonzalez aren’t equal talents, but the Braves feel that they can count on the veteran Gonzalez more then they could the enigmatic Escobar.

 Atlanta is determined to send manager Bobby Cox out a winner and that means putting a priority on this season over the future. Escobar may yet grow up, but the Braves were tired of waiting.

Gonzalez won’t make the spectacular play, like Escobar often did. But he won’t boot the easy ones, either. That was often Escobar’s failing.

 The well-traveled Gonzalez also comes to the Braves in the middle of a productive season at the plate, while Escobar was mired in a season-long slump.

By picking up a team option, the Braves have the 33-year-old Gonzalez at a reasonable salary for next season as well as this one. Then they’ll worry about replacing Escobar for the longer term. 

The Braves are very high on Edward Salcedo, but the Dominican is just 18 and in his first Minor League season. That means that Brandon Hicks or Diory Hernandez could be a stop-gap solution at shortstop.

 Going along to Toronto with Escobar was Gwinnett left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes, who needed a change of scenery after never living up to expectations. Reyes, plagued by leg injuries in recent years, was 1-5 and had a 5.70 ERA for the G-Braves.

 The Braves got two prospects back from the Blue Jays to complete the deal and both were assigned to Double-A Mississippi. One is a Tyler Pastornicky, a 20-year-old shortstop who had 34 stolen bases for Dunedin in the Class A-Advanced Florida State League. The other is 20-year-old left-handed reliever Tim Collins, who had an impressive strikeout ratio with Double-A New Hampshire in the Eastern League.

To replace Reyes in the G-Braves rotation, left-hander Scott Diamond was moved up from Double-A Mississippi, where the Canadian was a Southern League All-Star pick a year ago and 4-6 with a 3.52 ERA this year.

Just last season, it looked Escobar was ready to become a perennial National League All-Star. Now he’s gone. At least on the short term, the Braves are probably better for it. The team kept waiting for the 27-year-old Cuban to fit in and he never really did.               

As impressive as Mike Minor has been in his first two Triple-A starts for Gwinnett, he may not be Atlanta’s top starting pitching prospect.

That shows just how loaded with prospects the Braves are right now.

Joining the talented Minor atop the list of upcoming potential Major League starters are Julio Teheran, Aroyds Vizcanio and Randall Delgado. That’s a group that few if any other franchise can match.

All except the 22-year-old Minor are 20 or under. Fans at Coolray Field can enjoy Minor this season and the others in the future as they pass through the Minor Leagues en route to Atlanta.

Vizcaino, obtained from the Yankees in the Javier Vazquez trade, may miss most of the rest of the season with an elbow problem, but he was dazzling in Class A before going on the disabled list. Teheran and Delgado continue to shine with Myrtle Beach in the Carolina League.

Minor led the Double-A Southern League in strikeouts before being promoted to Gwinnett and he has 15 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings since joining the G-Braves. The left-hander was doing everything except win at Mississippi, going 2-6. But he has won both his Triple-A starts.

The former Vanderbilt standout allowed three hits and a run over 7 2/3 innings in his Gwinnett debut on July 1 at Toledo, striking out nine and walking three. Then he won his first start at Coolray Field on Tuesday, limiting Norfolk to a run and five hits over five innings while striking out six and walking two.

The Braves gave Minor a team-record bonus of $2.42 million after taking him with the seventh pick in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft and certainly haven’t regretted the choice.

Minor, considered more of a finesse pitcher by some in college, has maintained his fastball in the low mid-90s and shown the advanced feel for pitching that the Braves expected. 

Atlanta may not need another starter next season, but Minor will likely be ready if they do. That’s why Gwinnett fans should enjoy watching him while they can.

Just like Tommy Hanson and Kris Medlen when they were in Gwinnett last season, watching Minor work is usually a treat.      

Do you have a Braves or baseball question for the Answer Guy? E-mail Guy at gwinnettinfo@braves.com.  

Matt Young is generously listed at 5 foot 8. In fact, the Gwinnett outfielder may he as much as four inches shorter than that.

Unfortunately for the Texan, size does matter in the eyes of baseball scouts. That’s why Young went undrafted out of college.

The scrappy left-handed hitter, though, has been proving his doubters wrong ever since he signed with the Braves and his first season in Triple-A is no exception.

Young hit just .237 in April and his average slipped below that in early May. But he has been on fire at the plate ever since and given the G-Braves one of the top leadoff hitters in the International League.

How hot has Young been while lifting his average over .300?

The 27-year-old was 13-for-22 over a five-game stretch to cap a spree that resulted in his being named IL Player of the Week. He followed three straight three-hit games with back-to-back two-hit efforts. Included were three doubles and a triple, and he also had two walks.

Young still wasn’t walking at the rate he did in Double-A, when he led the Southern League with 94 last season. But he had 23 walks compared to 25 strikeouts and a .365 on-base percentage to go with his .304 batting average.

Young was also making his presence known on the bases, with 13 steals in 16 attempts. He led the Southern League with 42 stolen bases for Mississippi last season, although he was caught a league-high 16 times.

Invited to Major League Spring Training for the first time, Young impressed Braves manager Bobby Cox with his hustle. Can he beat the odds and barge into the Braves’ future plans?

In the meantime, Young has already hit his way into consideration for a spot in the Triple-A All-Star Game with his recent surge. No one has been hotter.   

Do you have a Braves or baseball question for the Answer Guy? E-mail Guy at gwinnettinfo@braves.com.  

Gwinnett had two players in the Triple-A All-Star Game a year ago. If it’s just one this season, Mike Dunn appears to be the leading candidate of the current G-Braves.

Dunn probably deserves to be in the Major Leagues himself, but Atlanta is already stacked with three left-handed relievers. His International League stats certainly look worthy of a call-up.

Dunn has a 0.84 ERA in 24 relief appearances, striking out 44 while walking 13 in 32 1/3 innings. He is 2-0 with five saves and six holds.

The G-Braves’ representatives for the Triple-A All-Star Game in Portland a year ago were Barbaro Canizares and Wes Timmons. This season’s game is in Lehigh Valley on July 14 as the International League gets its turn to host the Pacific Coast League.

Timmons, who has committed just two errors at third base and has been hot at the plate recently, deserves consideration again this year. Canizares’ declining power numbers work against him repeating.

As was the case a year ago, many of the top players in the International League and Pacific Coast League are now up in the Majors. Starter Chris Resop and reliever Craig Kimbrel would certainly be All-Star candidates if still with the G-Braves.

Because of his no-hitter for Gwinnett, Todd Redmond could figure in the pitching selections for the International League. And with his high prospect status, Freddie Freeman could get consideration.

In many ways, who makes the Triple-A All-Star Game depends on which players are still around and not in the Majors. That’s the way of life in Triple-A.  

Do you have a Braves or baseball question for the Answer Guy? E-mail Guy at gwinnettinfo@braves.com.  

After the Atlanta Braves’ stretch of 20 games in 20 days, you’d think that Jonny Venters would have been determined to not spend any time in a ballpark on Monday. That wasn’t the case, though.

With his wife working and the heat making fishing unappealing, the Braves reliever paid a visit to Coolray Field to see his former Gwinnett teammates. “I had to see my buddies,” Venters said.

The G-Braves players and staff have been relishing Venters’ performance in Atlanta after watching him have so-so success as a starter in the Minor Leagues. The left-hander is 2-0 with a 0.98 ERA in 23 relief appearances, striking out 31 in 27 2/3 innings.

“You saw flashes when he was with us last year,” Gwinnett manager Dave Brundage said. “But he couldn’t sustain it. I think we all thought the best place for him down the road would be in the bullpen.”

Venters’ sinking fastball caught the eye of Braves manager Bobby Cox during Spring Training and the 25-year-old has flourished pitching in relief.

“He used to have it backwards,” Brundage said. “He’d start hitters off with the four-seamer, then be afraid to throw the two-seamer if he fell behind in the count. Now he has confidence in the pitch. His velocity is up and he’s throwing balls by hitters.”

When players like Tommy Hanson, Kris Medlen, Jason Heyward and Craig Kimbrel pass through Gwinnett, you know that Major League success lies ahead. That makes players like Venters and Brooks Conrad more the feel-good stories to embrace.

When Conrad hit that walk-off grand slam for the Braves against Cincinnati at Turner Field, it was a moment for all veteran Minor Leagues to take hope in. Venters’ success is doing the same for all young marginal prospects struggling to find their niche. 

(Photo courtesy of the Gwinnett Daily Post)

Do you have a Braves or baseball question for the Answer Guy? E-mail Guy at gwinnettinfo@braves.com.       

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