the arms keep coming

It is often said that the Atlanta Braves do a great job of drafting and developing quality arms. We’ve seen the evidence flowing through the pipeline at Trustmark Park since 2005. Consider a few of the stalwarts who’ve passed through with the Double-A Mississippi Braves: Blaine Boyer, Macay McBride, Chuck James, Jo-Jo Reyes, Charlie Morton, Matt Harrison, Kris Medlen, Tommy Hanson, Craig Kimbrel, Mike Minor, Brandon Beachy and Scott Diamond. On the cusp of breaking out are the likes of Randall Delgado, Julio Teheran, Arodys Vizcaino, J.J. Hoover, Luis Avilan, Paul Clemens and Brett Oberholtzer. The latest to reach the Double-A stage is J.R. Graham, who sparkled in his TeePee debut on Thursday night: five innings, two hits, no runs, eight strikeouts. (As if he needs something more to stand out, he sports old-school stirrups.) A 6-foot right-hander drafted just last summer out of Santa Clara, Graham hits the mid-90s with his fastball and displays great control. In 170 1/3 pro innings, he has walked just 32 batters while fanning 132. He went 9-1 with a 2.63 ERA at Class A Lynchburg to earn the promotion to Mississippi last week. He joins a rotation already bubbling with big league prospects: Zeke Spruill, Sean Gilmartin, David Hale and Gary Moran. If nothing else, Atlanta has pieces to offer in a trade. P.S. The more you see of Todd Cunningham, the more you have to be impressed. The M-Braves’ leadoff batter scored the game’s only run in the eighth inning Thursday night when he raced around from first base on an infield hit and throwing error. Cunningham, hitting .317, had reached on a two-out infield single to extend his latest hit streak to six games.