Signature day for Braves organization

Mark it down. In this process the Atlanta Braves are going through to rebuild the organization, Saturday was a signature day.

Sept. 10, 2016 may be looked at as when the tide turned, when the retooling effort went to the next level.

You could say it was a good day for the Atlanta Braves Saturday. And for fans searching for something special to cling onto for hope for the future, this may be exactly what is needed.

First, let’s start in Atlanta. With one of the best crowds of the season on hand at Turner Field, the Braves had one of the best wins of the season. It was a good baseball game, and it was thrilling at the end — just what a good crowd wants to see.

The pitching was solid. The Braves got home runs from Nick Markakis and Matt Kemp. The rookie sensation, Dansby Swanson, had another big game at the plate with two hits. And Adonis Garcia got the clutch walk-off hit to score Swanson for the winning run in the 10th inning.

But that was only part of it. The Braves’ three minor league affiliates participating in the postseason all won Saturday night to advance to the next round of their league’s playoffs. Gwinnett, Mississippi and Rome all had locker room celebrations with huge wins.

Winning is just a part of player development. Sure, teams want to win, but development is most important. Each individual player needs to get better every day to prepare for a possible major league career.

There can be a game in the minor leagues when a team may lose, but if some of the players on that team do something to get better, then who cares about the score. If progress is made with the prospects, the final score is not always relevant.

However, winning is important to allow prospects to understand what it takes to win, to comprehend the importance of being in a winning environment. You want to breed that in the minor leagues, so they’ll want to experience the same thing when they get to Atlanta.

Think about the 1992 Greenville Braves. That team won the Southern League title after winning 100 regular season games. That team featured 20 players who made it to the majors, including Chipper Jones and Javy Lopez.

Jones and Lopez became stars for the Braves just a few years later, and in 1995 they were integral parts of Atlanta’s World Series championship team.

In 2003, the Rome Braves won the South Atlantic League championship. That team featured Brian McCann, Jeff Francoeur and seven others who made it to the major leagues.

Winning aids in the development of prospects, so to see three Braves affiliates win the first-round series in the postseason is a really big deal. It’s a really big part of the rebuilding process going on with this organization.

For the Gwinnett Braves to do this is incredible, considering the constant roster shuffling that has been going on all season. While the current roster may not be full of true prospects, those who are there that might make it (Rio Ruiz and Chris Ellis to name two) will benefit from this experience.

Gwinnett will now play North Division winner Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for the Governor’s Cup Championship. Game one will be Tuesday in Moosic, Pennsylvania, with the series shifting back to Gwinnett for the last three games of the best-of-five series.

Saturday in Pearl, Mississippi, the Mississippi Braves beat Pensacola 4-2 to advance to the Southern League championship series for the first time since 2008. They’ll now face Jackson, with the first two games on the road before returning to Trustmark Park for the final three games.

The M-Braves got big hits from Connor Lien, Carlos Franco and the rehabbing Mallex Smith to clinch the series. Lucas Sims pitched five solid innings for the victory.

And in Rome, left-hander Max Fried continued his masterful work with a tremendous performance to help the Braves beat Charleston 4-1. Fried allowed one run on three hits in 7 2/3 innings, with one walk and 11 strikeouts.

Reports had Fried’s fastball in the 92-97 mph range, with his outstanding curve ball helping him get the career-high 11 strikeouts.

Fried is the last part of this story. He may be becoming Atlanta’s top pitching prospect. In Fried’s last 12 games, he’s 7-3 with a 2.60 ERA, 47 hits allowed in 62 1/3 innings pitched, 20 walks and 83 strikeouts. And in his last three starts, Fried has 31 strikeouts in 18 1/3 innings.

The Braves acquired Fried, along with Mallex Smith, Jace Peterson and Dustin Peterson in the trade with the Padres in which Justin Upton went to San Diego. That trade may turn out to be a huge piece of Atlanta’s rebuilding effort.

Austin Riley, another top prospect, had a big night for Rome. He was 2-4 with three RBI.

Rome will now play Lakewood for the Sally League Championship. Games one and two will be at State Mutual Stadium in Rome Monday and Tuesday, with the final three games up north.

It will be an even greater story if any of the three minor league teams win their league championships. But to see all three advance on the same night, that was special.

The Braves won. Three affiliates advanced to the next round of the minor league postseason. And we saw top prospects do well. Yeah, that’s what you call a good night for the Atlanta Braves organization.

This story was originally published September 11, 2016 at 3:59 PM with the headline "Signature day for Braves organization."