Rome Braves named Minors Team of Year
From RN-T reports
A championship and a team boasting some of the best young talent in the minor leagues gave the Rome Braves a season to remember.
The rest of the baseball world is going to remember it, too.
The Rome Braves were announced as Baseball America’s Minor League Team of the Year on Wednesday, capping off a year that saw the team go from struggling to winning the 2016 South Atlantic League title.
“We’re honored to receive this award from Baseball America as it recognizes the hard work of many people,” Rome Braves General Manger Michael Dunn said in a release. “Congratulations to the coaching staff and players for bringing home the trophy and to all of the people who dedicate themselves to making State Mutual Stadium a great place for baseball. It’s an honor for all.”
Rome manager Randy Ingle said the unselfishness displayed by the players each day was a joy to see throughout the season.
“It’s amazing. It’s beyond words really,” Ingle said about the honor, a first for an Atlanta Braves farm team since the award’s inception in 1993.
“It says a lot about the team we had this year, the guys we had on the club, and the coaching staff. What a great star to put into the Braves organization.”
The award is based on a team’s success combined with the team’s talent, and with so many top prospects part of Rome’s roster, success was on the horizon for the Braves’ Class A affiliate.
“It’s not often the youngest team in the league wins the league, but in Rome’s case, the youngest team in the Sally League in over a decade ended up as the league’s best,” J.J. Cooper, managing editor of Baseball America said.
“It was extremely impressive how Rome’s young players caught up to the league in an up-and-down first half of the season, then surged ahead of everyone else in the second half.”
Rome was 27-42 at the all-star break, but put together a second half that saw them lead the SAL Southern Division most of the time and clinch a spot in the playoffs with a 43-27 record.
A big reason for the surge was the development and promotion of a stable of starting pitchers, including Patrick Weigel, Mike Soroka, Max Fried, Touki Toussaint, and Kolby Allard.
“A minor league team with two or three top pitching prospects in a rotation is notable,” Cooper said. “Rome had six legitimate starting pitching prospects in its rotation. That could make this a team that is remembered for years to come.”