Braves Minor League Recap: Essenburg Hits 10th Homer

Matt PowersSun, July 26, 2026 at 2:00 PM UTC·10 min read

It’s almost fitting that I write today’s recap of the action in the Atlanta Braves minor league system on the day when the first prospect I began to follow gets inducted into the Hall of Fame in Andruw Jones. It was an interesting day in the Braves system as Ronald Acuna Jr. was among three guys rehabbing in Gwinnett while Owen Murphy pitched in part of a combined shutout. Brett Sears, Cam Caminiti, and Zach Royse all made strong starts, Conor Essenburg had a huge evening that included his 10th homer, Andrew McCutchen had a couple of extra base hits, and both Tate Southisene and John Gil stood out during their doubleheader.

Gwinnett Stripers 8, Iowa Cubs 0

Box Score

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• Ronald Acuna Jr., RF: 1-3, BB, .263/.375/.263

• Ha-Seong Kim, SS: 1-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI, .256/.360/.372

• Owen Murphy, SP: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 3.66 ERA

• Lucas Braun, RP: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 3.82 ERA

The first game of the doubleheader saw three prospects combine on a shutout of Iowa. Owen Murphy started and allowed three hits and a walk over three and two thirds, striking out five and getting 11 whiffs on 71 pitches. Hayden Harris came in for the final out of the fourth inning and picked up a strikeout. Lucas Braun went the final three innings to pick up the win, allowing one hit and one walk – though he had just one strikeout and two whiffs on 47 pitches.

Perhaps a story just as big was that three key players in the Braves lineup were here rehabbing. Ronald Acuna Jr. was one for three with a walk while playing right field. At shortstop Ha-Seong Kim doubled, scored a run, and batted in two in his four at bats. Finally Sean Murphy caught and was hitless in three at bats, though he did draw a walk. The offensive star was Luke Williams, who was three for three with a pair of doubles, two runs scored, and two batted in plus two steals. Carlos Santana also had a two-hit game and even stole a base, while Andrew McCutchen had one hit. Cal Conley (double, walk) and Aaron Schunk (two walks) also reached base multiple times in the win.

Gwinnett Stripers 5, Iowa Cubs 3

The second game of the doubleheader saw Cedric De Grandpre start and go four innings. Cedric allowed three runs on three hits and three walks, striking out four and whiffing five. The game started out better for him than the line would indicate, as a three-run third inning hurt his final numbers – though he did get saved from giving up another run in the fourth after a leadoff double by having a runner thrown out at the plate. Scoreless innings from Austin Gomber, Blake Burkhalter, and Ian Hamilton finished off this game, with Burkhalter picking up the win and Hamilton the save.

In the second game the three rehabbing players sat out, but the two former big league All Stars continued to have big days. After a hit in the first game, Andrew McCutchen homered and doubled, while Carlos Santana followed up his two-hit game with a homer. Patrick Clohisy also continued his red hot 10 game stretch to start out his time in Gwinnett by doubling and walking in four trips to the plate. Rowdy Tellez also had a two-hit game that included a double in the win.

Pensacola Blue Wahoos 2, Columbus Clingstones 0

Brett Sears pitched a gem, unfortunately he made two mistakes – and those mistakes got punished. Sears went seven innings, allowing just five hits and one walk as he struck out seven and whiffed 13. Unfortunately two of those hits were solo homers, including one to Brandon Compton – a Top 50 pick from last year’s draft who had already hit 10 homers in his first 19 games at Double-A. Luis Vargas pitched a scoreless eighth inning and picked up a pair of strikeouts along with four whiffs.

Also unfortunate for Sears was the fact the offense completely failed to show up. Dalton McIntyre singled and got hit by a pitch in his four plate appearances and Ambioris Tavarez had a single. That was it. Columbus managed just two singles and a hit by pitch as their only base runners in this loss against three different Pensacola pitchers – none of whom had an ERA under 4.08, and two of them had ERA’s above 5.80.

Rome Emperors 10, Frederick Keys 1

Zach Royse started and went six very strong innings, allowing a run on five hits and two walks. Royse also struck out five, while whiffing 11 in his 93 pitch outing in the first half of a doubleheader. Justin Long came in for the final inning, and pitched a scoreless inning with a strikeout while walking one hitter in the process.

The offense had a big day, and to no one’s surprise the prospects led the way. Tate Southisene had two hits and a walk in four plate appearances, scoring two runs, batting in one, and stealing a base as he brings his Rome OPS up to .823. Eric Hartman walked and singled in four trips to the plate, scoring two runs, while Owen Carey walked and tripled in three trips, scoring twice and batting in one. John Gil reached with a walk, Dixon Williams had two walks and two steals, while Mason Guerra added a pair of singles in the win.

Frederick Keys 3, Rome Emperors 2

This is a good example of the boxscore not telling the whole story, especially for Cam Caminiti. Caminiti had a very solid line, but he actually hadn’t allowed a hit or run through four innings – only to give up three hits and a pair of runs in his fifth and final inning. He finished with two runs allowed on three hits and a walk over five innings, with five strikeouts and nine whiffs, but looked especially strong until the end. Jacob Shafer followed with two scoreless innings, though he did get into a little trouble in each of those innings only to get out of it. Mathieu Curtis pitched the eighth inning and did allow the extra inning ghost runner to score, which gave him the loss.

This game was a tale of base running mistakes, as Rome had three runners thrown out on the bases fairly early in this game. Dixon Williams had the most notable game, going two for three plus a walk and a stolen base, while playing in center defensively. John Gil also had an impact in this one, going one for three with an impressive double, walked, stole a base, scored a run, and batted one in. Tate Southisene had a single in four at bats and scored a run, while Eric Hartman had a walk in four plate appearances and Owen Carey failed to reach base in his four trips. Mason Guerra also doubled and walked in the loss.

On the day Southisene was three for seven with a walk, Hartman went one for six with a pair of walks, Carey was one for six with a triple and a walk, and Gil was one for six with a double and a pair of walks.

Augusta GreenJackets 6, Salem RidgeYaks 4

Derek Vartanian started and went six quality innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on eight hits and one walk as he struck out three with 14 whiffs. Styven Paez followed with two scoreless innings, which included two strikeouts and seven whiffs. Daniel Brooks pitched the next two innings, allowing only the inherited ghost runner in the 10th to score, and struck out three with six whiffs. Combined the trio allowed just two earned runs on 11 hits, one walk, eight strikeouts, and 27 whiffs.

Conor Essenburg led the way offensively, going three for six with his 10th homer of the season plus a stolen base. With this game he brings his OBP back over .400 for his time in Augusta, showing an even more advanced approach than we had expected for a player who only focused on hitting full time within the last year. Luis Guanipa also had a multi-hit game, going two for five with a walk, run scored, and two batted in, while Nick Montgomery had a single and two walks in five trips to the plate. Hayden Friese also played a big part as he hit his second homer of the season and drew a walk. They weren’t the only GreenJackets to reach multiple times, as Caden Merritt had a two-hit day, while Cooper McMurray had two walks. Among the other prospects Alex Lodise drew a walk during his five plate appearances, while Cody Miller doubled in his five trips to the dish.

DSL Astros Orange 7, DSL Braves 3

Martires Polanco turned in his worst start of the season in his seventh start, allowing six runs on three hits and three walks over two and a third innings. His ERA jumped nearly two runs from 1.54 to 3.51, while the WHIP went from 1.11 to 1.25 in this outing. Darren Pereira allowed the other run to score during his third of an inning, while Josue Castro, Abraham Prado, and Yostin Pinales each had scoreless outings – one inning apiece for Prado and Pinales, with Castro going one and a third.

The offense didn’t do a ton, outside of Edelson Cabral that is. Cabral reached base three times in four trips to the plate, walking twice, hitting a single, and batting in a run. Catcher Angelo Neira was the only other player to reach base multiple times, as he walked and singled in three plate appearances and also added a stolen base. Elioberto Mondesir, Luis Consoro, and Jose Nelo singles accounted for the remainder of the base runners for the Braves in this loss.

Sean Murphy, C: 0-3, BB