Braves reassign Soroka, Allard to Minors camp

It won't be long before Mike Soroka and Kolby Allard take their first turns in the Braves rotation. In the meantime, however, the talented duo will not break camp with the big league team heading into the 2018 season. 
Atlanta reassigned both Soroka and Allard, the organization's No. 3 and No. 6 prospects, respectively, to Minor League camp on Friday. Both pitchers gave the Braves reason to be optimistic about their future, however.

Soroka, MLB.com's No. 31 overall prospect, pitched five innings across three appearances this spring, allowing one run on two hits. The 2015 first-round pick (No. 28 overall) did not walk a batter and struck out five. Allard, the 58th-ranked overall prospect, fared just as well, firing three scoreless innings over two appearances, walking one and striking out one.

Both will look to build on successful 2017 campaigns at Double-A Mississippi. Soroka, a right-hander, went 11-8 with a 2.75 ERA over 26 starts (153 2/3 innings) in Double-A last season, while the left-handed Allard posted a 3.18 ERA with an 8-11 mark (150 innings over 27 starts). If they can match those numbers at Triple-A, they'll be well-positioned for a promotion to the Majors this summer.
The Braves have been aggressive with their young pitching talent, so having the pair of 20-year-olds begin 2018 with Triple-A Gwinnett is very much in character. Allard and Soroka will both turn 21 in August.
Outfielder Cristian Pache, the Braves' ninth-ranked prospect, was also reassigned to Minor League camp. Left-hander Ricardo Sánchez, Atlanta's 27th-ranked prospect, was sent to Double-A Mississippi. Pache was 2-for-10 in Grapefruit League action with one RBI and four strikeouts. In his first full season in the Minors last year, Pache hit .281 with no home runs and 42 RBIs. 
In 100 innings last season, Sanchez was 8-12 with a 4.95 ERA for Class A Advanced Florida.