It's a reasonable question to ask: could Tommy La Stella help the Braves in September?
The injury prone second baseman is indeed alive and well and owner of a 17-game hitting streak currently in Mississippi. He is hitting .347 for the month after having his .400-plus June cut short due to a lingering hamstring problem
The onetime eighth round pick (2011) out of Coastal Carolina has done two things with remarkable consistency since the Braves signed him: getting hits and getting hurt.
And not just aches and pains -- La Stella has already had to regoup after a serious beaning AND a broken leg!
This year, it's been an inflammed elbow (more scary than serious), then a lingering hamstring concern. All told, he's played in 56 games, including seven in Lynchburg as he rehabbed the elbow and half-a-hundred with the M-Braves. He's hitting a collective .354 with 68 hits and only 17 strikeouts.
Strictly a lefty hitter, the second baseman has only 11 doubles and a pair of homers, but his consistency at the plate is unmistakable. His final year at Coastal saw him hit .398, and his entire pro career looks like this: in 209 games, he's hit .322 (237 hits) with 46 doubles, 17 homers, 93 walks and only 70 strikeouts.
Can a left-handed bat like that help off the bench in September. I believe the answer is, "Of course."
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Two pitching performances to file away. Lynchburg's Jarrett Miller: six innings, one hit, no runs, six strikeouts in the Hillcats' 3-1 win. Miller now has eight wins.
So, too, does our Mexican of Mystery, Felix Falcon. His Tuesday start (six innings, three hits, no runs) raised his record to 8-0 for the DSL team. We demand a full accounting of this pitcher, whose bio is still incomplete on every Web site we can find.
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TUESDAY'S SCORES
CLASS AAA
Gwinnett (47-63), idle.
CLASS AA
Mississippi (19-16) 7, Montgomery 4
WP: Atkins (3-1) 5.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 4 K.
Jaime 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K. Egan (Save, 1) 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R.
Salcedo 3-4, R, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI; Marrero 1-3, HR (6th), RBI; La Stella 1-4, R, RBI, SB (.330); Hefflinger 1-4, R; Kleinknecht 1-4, HR (6th), RBI; M.Jones 1-3, 2 R, 2 SB.
ADVANCED CLASS A
Lynchburg (13-21) 3, Frederick 1
WP: J. Miller (8-6) 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K. Cornely (Save, 3) 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R.
Hyams 1-5, HR (2nd), RBI; Moses 2-4, 2B, R, RBI; E. Reyes 1-3, RBI; Kubitza 1-3, 2B. .
CLASS A
Augusta 2, Rome (16-21) 1
SP: Parsons (3-6) 7 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K.
Peraza 1-4, R; Sanchez 3-4, 2B, RBI; Marte 1-3; Tewell 0-4, 3 K.
SHORT-SEASON
DSL Braves (21-26) 4, DSL Blue Jays 0
WP: Falcon (8-0) 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K. (1.70).
Grullon 2-4, SB; Estevez 2-3, 2B, R, RBI, SB; Castro 1-4, RBI.
GCL Braves (13-19) 3, GCL Tigers 1
WP: Gonzalez (4-2) 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER(1R), 0 BB, 3 K.
Vail (Save, 2) 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K.
V. Reyes 2-4 (.361); Reed Harper 2-4, 2B, HR (1st), RBI; Sanchez 2-3, 2B, RBI; Sears 1-2, 2B, 2 R.
Bluefield 5, Danville (19-17) 0
LP: Waszak (1-3) 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K. (1.01)
Kimbrel 1 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K. 1 HR. (9.50)
Camargo 2-4, 3B; Reynolds 1-3; Schrader 1-4. .