Empire State Braves Prospects: 8/2/11

Lots of news in this week's Empire State Braves Prospects edition! The Atlanta organization added a new Empire Stater in LHP Chris Cody and one 'graduated' (at least temporarily) to the major league Braves in Anthony Varvaro. Here's a review of how the group performed over the past week (7/26-8/1), including a brief bio on Cody.

Courtesy: milb.com

Anthony Varvaro, RHP (Triple A - Gwinnett/MLB - Atlanta)
On July 28th, Varvaro got the call that he undoubtedly has been waiting on for at least the past four months. With Atlanta pitchers seeing plenty of work during the Pittsburgh series, the team optioned Wilkin Ramirez to Gwinnett and brought up Varvaro to serve as the club's thirteenth pitcher. In two appearances with the major league team, he pitched exactly as advertised...extremely unhittable, high strikeout totals and issues with command. Though in just two games, it's already pretty clear he's more effective than Scott Proctor.

This Week (Atlanta): 2 G (0-0), 4 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 8 K, 3 BB
Season (MLB): 2 G (0-0), 4 IP, 0.00 ERA, 8 K, 3 BB
Season (MiLB): 33 G (2-6), 1 SV, 50.2 IP, 2.66 ERA, 59 K, 30 BB

Cory Brownsten, C (Low A - Rome)
Brownsten's been on the DL since July 16th with a broken thumb.

This Week: DL
Season (Rome and Lynchburg): 13 G, .163/.234/.209, 0 HR, 0 RBI

Dan Jurik, RHP (Rookie - Danville)
Two more relief appearances for Jurik, who's obviously not being challenged at Danville. While it's a small sample size, he has a sub-1.00 ERA in 9+ innings for the rookie level team while posting just a .129 BAA. Jurik's a 24-year-old college arm and probably should be at High-A Lynchburg, where he was earlier this year. With the Michael Bourn trade creating openings within the organization's minor league pitching staffs, it would make sense to see Jurik move up a level or two.

This Week: 2 G (0-0), 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 K, 0 BB
Season (Danville, Rome & Lynchburg): 23 G (0-2), 2 SV, 49 IP, 2.94 ERA, 41 K, 21 BB

Dave Filak, RHP (Rookie - Danville)
This past week represented some definitive progress for Filak. His 5 IP/1 ER start was his best in seven games for the rookie level team and while he's still being hit fairly hard, his K/BB suggests he's starting to figure things out. A 2.70 ERA and 10/1 K/BB rate in his past two Danville starts looks a lot better than the 7.54 ERA and 32/33 K/BB he put up at Rome earlier in the year.

This Week: 1 G (0-0), 5 IP, 3 R (1 ER), 3 H, 5 K, 1 BB
Season (Danville & Rome): 18 G (2-8), 75.2 IP, 7.49 ERA, 57 K, 42 BB

Chris Cody, LHP
Cody is the Atlanta organization's new Empire Stater. Signed by the Braves on July 31st, Cody had been dominating the Independent League with the York Revolution. He was originally drafted in the 8th round in 2006 by the Detroit Tigers and was traded to the Brewers the following year. He peaked at Triple A - Nashville in 2009 before ending his time with the Milwaukee system after the 2010 season. Cody went to high school in Brewster, NY (about an hour north of NYC) and played four years of college for Manhattan College (which is actually in the Bronx, not Manhattan). He's yet to be assigned to a minor league team, but Double A - Mississippi looks to be the natural spot...though a quick beginning stint at High A - Lynchburg wouldn't be out of the question. (UPDATE: Cody was assigned to Double A - Mississippi on August 2nd.) Welcome to the Empire Staters, Cody!