Empire State Braves Prospects: 6/7/11

As the 2011 Amateur Draft kicks off, the Braves picked a Californian from Florida State in Sean Gilmartin with their first round selection. Atlanta will make a couple dozen more picks over the next few days, so, for the sake of more content in these posts (that's not at all selfish, right?), let's hope to see some New Yorkers! In the meantime, there were a handful of notable developments with Atlanta's current crop of Empire State prospects. So let's take a look at the highlights over the past week (5/31-6/6)....

Anthony Varvaro, RHP (Triple A - Gwinnett)
The Staten Island-native continues to quietly put together an impressive season. After two more scoreless appearances this past week, Varvaro is now up to 9 consecutive innings without surrendering a run, a streak running his past 5 games. In fact, he hasn't even allowed a hit over his past 7 innings (4 games). His walk rate is really the only thing keeping him from being a solid major league-level reliever.

This Week: 2 G (1-0), 5 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 6 K, 3 BB
Season: 18 G (1-5), 1 SV, 29.1 IP, 2.76 ERA, 32 K, 19 BB

Dan Jurik, RHP, (Low A - Rome)
The good news for Jurik: he was given another start this past Wednesday. The bad news for Jurik: he had his first real poor outing this season. He issued 4 walks in the start, a problem we haven't seen at all from him this season. That ineffective start turned into a trip down to Low A Rome for Dan, although it may not entirely be a demotion. With a starting spot opening up at Rome (see below), perhaps Braves officials would like to see Jurik start on a regular basis. If so, it makes sense to start him at Rome instead of High A Lynchburg, as he's mainly been used out of the bullpen this year. I fully expect him to handle those Low A hitters pretty well, resulting in a move back to High A before the season's over.

This Week: 1 G (0-0), 2.2 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 2K, 4 BB
Season (Rome and Lynchburg): 9 G (0-0), 1 SV, 20.1 IP, 2.66 ERA, 20 K, 10 BB

Cory Brownsten, C (Low A - Rome)
Brownsten remains on the DL with a left oblique strain.

This Week: DNP
Season: 3 G, .182/.250/.273, 0 HR, 0 RBI

Dave Filak, RHP (Extended Spring Training)
Unfortunately, the bad news continues for the Albany-area native. After two more treacherous starts, Filak was sent to Extended Spring Training in Orlando, where he'll have a lot to work on. He surrendered at least 3 ER in 6 consecutive starts and 8 out of his past 10. Filak's either walked too many, been hit too hard or both. It wouldn't be surprising to see him assigned to Rookie-level Danville when their season opens up later this month.

This Week: 2 G (0-2), 8.1 IP, 11 R (10 ER), 11 H, 2 HR, 4 K, 6 BB
Season: 11 G (2-5), 45.1 IP, 7.54 ERA, 32 K, 33 BB

Brendan Rowland, C/OF (Gulf Coast League)

Season Has Not Yet Begun