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While the ranks of Mississippi Braves alumni playing for Atlanta has thinned considerably of late, there are still a few making an impact for Brian Snitker’s crew. Take Wednesday night’s game. Freddie Freeman, an M-Braves star from way back in 2009, hit the walk-off home run to beat San Francisco 5-4 in 11 innings. Starter Williams Perez wasn’t particularly sharp but battled for 5 2/3 innings, allowing three earned runs and keeping the Braves in the fight. Mallex Smith had an RBI triple and scored a run. Batting just .240, he has three homers, four triples, 19 RBIs, 18 runs and six stolen bases in 44 games. Arodys Vizcaino and Hunter Cervenka pitched well in relief. Jeff Francoeur, who played for Snitker on the original M-Braves club of 2005, had a pinch hit. Those connections aren’t insignificant. The Braves were 9-28 and almost unwatchable when Snitker took the reins as interim manager on May 17. They are 16-36 today, with four wins in their last six games. This team isn’t going to make any bold charge in the standings, but as we’ve seen lately it can be competitive, maybe even entertaining. Smith, Perez and Vizcaino, along with Julio Teheran and Daniel Castro, are among the building blocks for 2017 and beyond. More M-Braves alums – Tyrell Jenkins, Rio Ruiz, Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson, Chris Ellis? – could arrive in the ATL this season, providing more glimpses of that bright future we keep hearing about.