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2024 Gwinnett Stripers: Year in Review

Top Braves' prospects Alvarez Jr., Baldwin, Smith-Shawver, Waldrep, others play big role during Gwinnett's memorable 15th season
Left to right: Alejo Lopez, Parker Dunshee, Luke Waddell, Allan Winans, and manager Kanekoa Texeira during the 2024 Team Awards in September. (Matthew Caldwell)
By Jack Johnson (@jackjohnson25)
September 30, 2024

The 15th season of Triple-A baseball in Gwinnett County has officially concluded with the Gwinnett Stripers finishing the 2024 campaign with a 72-78 record. Although the Stripers were unable to secure a Triple-A championship, they played an indispensable role for the Atlanta Braves as the parent club navigated a challenging

The 15th season of Triple-A baseball in Gwinnett County has officially concluded with the Gwinnett Stripers finishing the 2024 campaign with a 72-78 record.

Although the Stripers were unable to secure a Triple-A championship, they played an indispensable role for the Atlanta Braves as the parent club navigated a challenging season marked by injuries and tribulations.

Under the leadership of first-year manager Kanekoa Texeira, the Stripers opened their season on the road in Jacksonville and concluded it at the same venue. Throughout the season, the Stripers provided crucial support for the Braves, as 31 players shuttled between Gwinnett and Atlanta.

Whether it was emerging prospects, seasoned veterans, versatile journeymen, or rehabbing stars, each player played a pivotal role in keeping the Braves’ postseason hopes alive.

Under the direction of Texeira, the Stripers set a new Atlanta Braves Triple-A record for stolen bases (217) and finished as the top-ranked defense in the International League (.984 fielding percentage).

During the final series of the year in Jacksonville, Texeira sat down with the Voice of the Stripers, Dave Lezotte, to reflect on the 2024 season.

Manager Kanekoa Texeira (right) congratulates Drake Baldwin after his home run against Nashville on June 14.Jamie Spaar

Player Movement

One of the fundamental and inherent aspects of Triple-A baseball is roster volatility. Texeira was confronted with that early and often in the 2024 season.

“It’s expected,” Texeira said of the roster fluctuations. “There was going to be a lot of movement, a lot of phone calls, talking to everybody the whole season.”

The Braves did not make it through Opening Day unscathed, as All-Star catcher Sean Murphy suffered an oblique injury in Philadelphia. One injury can cause a ripple effect around an organization and throughout the baseball world, and this case was no different.

Three roster moves in Gwinnett coincided with Murphy joining the Braves’ injured list.

First, Stripers’ catcher Chadwick Tromp was selected to the Braves’ roster on March 30. Second, veteran catcher Ryan Casteel was reinstated from the development list. Third, the Stripers gained veteran catcher and World Series champion Sandy Leon, who would become an integral part of the Gwinnett team in 2024.

Those three moves in the first week of the season set the stage for another year of constant flow of players between Gwinnett and Atlanta, and from around baseball into and out of the Braves’ organization.

In total, the Stripers made over 250 roster moves and utilized 66 players in 2024. A high total, but still less than the record-setting 315 roster moves and 83 total players in 2023.

Rehabbing Stars

On top of the frequent roster adjustments, Texeira adjusted his lineup and pitching staff for nine players on Major League rehab.

Sean Murphy was the first familiar face in Braves country to play for the Stripers on a rehab assignment, joining the club on May 20. It did not take him long to make an impact.

On the third pitch of his rehab stint, Murphy clobbered a towering, 449-foot home run to center field.

The home run was the longest hit by a Striper at Coolray Field this season, and third longest by a Gwinnett player in 2024. The leading two occurred in the same game on June 4 at Durham, with Ramon Laureano recording a 463-foot home run and Eli White blasting a 455-foot homer off Bulls’ pitcher Joe Rock.

Outside of Murphy, there were several other notable players to join the Stripers on a rehab assignment.

Braves’ relief pitcher A.J. Minter joined Gwinnett in late June and worked 2.0 innings in two rehab outings. 2022 National League Rookie of the Year and Braves’ center fielder Michael Harris II began his second career rehab stint with Gwinnett in August, batting .435 (10-for-23), with one home run and two RBIs in six games.

Braves’ second baseman Ozzie Albies joined Gwinnett in the final series of the season, batting .500 (4-for-8) with a home run and three RBIs in two games.

Rotation Fluctuation

Another key injury to the Braves early in the season created a months-long ripple effect for the Gwinnett Stripers pitching staff. On April 5, Braves’ ace pitcher Spencer Strider suffered an elbow injury that ended his season.

In the hours and days that followed, the Stripers' ability to supplement the Braves was immediately tested. Gwinnett ace Allan Winans was recalled to Atlanta on April 7 to join the starting rotation.

In his place, veteran reliever Brian Moran was tabbed by Texeira to make just his third career professional start on April 7 vs. Louisville.

Moran, the 35-year-old left-hander from Rye, New York, worked 3.0 innings and allowed one earned run to Louisville that Sunday.

Winans made his first start of the year with the Braves at Truist Park on April 11 against the New York Mets, allowing six earned runs over 5.0 innings. He would be the first of several Gwinnett pitchers summoned to Atlanta to fill the void left by Strider’s injury.

Elder’s Electric Season

Of those several pitchers, none were called upon as frequently as Bryce Elder, who made 10 of his 27 starts in 2024 with Atlanta. The 2023 National League All-Star had some struggles in the Majors but overall was solid, going 2-5 with a 6.52 ERA and three quality starts.

Though he was oftentimes dependable for Atlanta, he was mostly dominant for Gwinnett. Over 17 starts with the Stripers, Elder went 10-6 with a 3.73 ERA and a team-high 11 quality starts.

He won three consecutive starts from June 1-20 and four consecutive starts from July 13-25 on the way to becoming the first 10-game winner for Gwinnett since Kyle Wright in 2021 (10-5, 3.02 ERA in 24 starts) and the ace of a Stripers’ staff that finished second in ERA in the International League.

“I can’t complain about the starters we had this year and the bullpen we had,” Texeira said. “It was a fun season.”

In total, 21 pitchers made starts for the Stripers in 2024, with those pitchers combining for a 32-43 record and league-leading 4.28 ERA.

Strong Defense and Stellar Speed

The identity of the Gwinnett Stripers in 2024 took shape before the Triple-A season even began. Braves’ General Manager Alex Anthopoulos wanted to stock his organization with speed and defensive versatility, and his additions to the Stripers roster fit the description.

“We saw it in the spring,” Texeira said. “You saw the guys on the roster, so it gave us an idea of what we were going to be about. Defense was going to be one thing that Alex wanted.”

Defense was what the Stripers got. The Stripers finished the season as the top-ranked defense in the International League with a .984 fielding percentage. It was Gwinnett’s best-ever finish in fielding, beating a previous high of 2nd place in 2023 at a .984 fielding percentage.

One of the top stars on defense for Gwinnett all season was infielder Luke Waddell. The 26-year-old from Georgia Tech University played three different positions (3B, 2B, SS) for Gwinnett, and factored in on 47 double plays.

“Waddell, defensively, some people see him on the field and don’t realize, he’s pretty good with the glove,” Texeira said. “He’s a pretty good defender here.”

Gwinnett was at its best in 2024 on the basepath, recording 217 stolen bases to set a new Atlanta Braves Triple-A record, surpassing the previous record of 195 steals set by Triple-A Richmond in 1986. The team finished second in the International League behind Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, which stole 251 bases in 2024.

Two Stripers finished the season with 30-plus steals. J.P. Martinez went 37-for-45 in stolen base attempts, good for fourth place in the International League, and Andrew Velazquez went 33-for-34, placing him in a tie for eighth place.

Justin Dean, who recorded Gwinnett’s 217th stolen base of the year, went 61-for-69 between Gwinnett and Double-A Mississippi to finish sixth in all of Minor League Baseball in steals.

The Kids Make Key Additions

If there was a seminal day in the Stripers’ season, it was June 12. That afternoon the Stripers welcomed Nacho Alvarez Jr., then the Braves’ No. 6 prospect, and Drake Baldwin, then the Braves’ No. 11 prospect, to the roster from Double-A.

Though the Stripers lost 4-2 to Nashville, the performance that day from the 21-year-old Alvarez Jr. and the 23-year-old Baldwin was a harbinger of things to come. Alvarez Jr. went 1-for-4 and collected his first career Triple-A RBI, while Baldwin went 2-for-2 with two singles and two walks.

Both were exceptional down the stretch for the Stripers.

Baldwin hit safely in 53 of 72 games with Gwinnett, batting .298 with 13 doubles, 12 home runs, and 55 RBIs. From his season debut on June 12 to the end of the season, he ranked amongst the top 10 in qualified IL leaders in RBIs (2nd, 55), walks (2nd, 52), hits (6th, 82), and on-base percentage (7th, .407).

Alvarez, meanwhile, hit safely in 46 of 64 Triple-A games, batting .297 with nine doubles, 10 home runs, 42 RBIs and 10 steals. From June 12 to the end of the season, he ranked 12th in the circuit in on-base percentage (.398) and runs (47).

Gwinnett went a combined 17-6 when either Alvarez Jr. or Baldwin homered, perhaps the best indicator of the impact on the team.

Major League Debuts

Alvarez Jr. opened his Triple-A career with a six-game hitting streak, batting .464 (13-for-28) with three doubles, three home runs, eight RBIs and a 1.376 OPS. His torrential start continued into late July and featured a doubleheader on July 20 against Charlotte in which he combined to go 5-for-7 with a double, a home run, and two RBIs.

One day later, Texeira made his way into the Stripers’ clubhouse and informed Alvarez Jr. he was headed to Atlanta to make his Major League debut. It was an emotional moment for the Stripers manager.

“The most emotional one I had was Nacho,” Texeira said. “It was hard for me to get the words out of my mouth because I was just so proud of the kid and the person he is and the way he goes about his business. Knowing he was going to fulfill his dream, that was a hard one for me to say.”

Alvarez Jr. would bat .100 (3-for-30) over eight games with Atlanta from July 22-30. Though it wasn’t a spectacular debut, it did nothing to dim the star potential the young infielder possesses in his Triple-A manager’s eyes.

“I know there is going to be more to come,” Texeira said. “Atlanta is going to have a bright future with him.”

There were three other Stripers that made their Major League debut with Atlanta in 2024. Braves’ No. 3 prospect Hurston Waldrep got the call on June 9, and made two starts with Atlanta. On August 8, relief pitcher Parker Dunshee got the call and made his MLB debut that afternoon against Milwaukee.

One of the most remarkable debuts across Major League Baseball in 2024 came when Stripers’ pitcher Grant Holmes had his contract selected by Atlanta on June 16. The 28-year-old made his debut that day, firing 3.0 scoreless innings of relief against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Holmes, who waited 10 years to make his MLB debut, was outstanding to begin his second season with Gwinnett, going 3-2 with four saves (4-for-4), a 2.63 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and .225 BAA over 18 games (3 starts) in 2024.

“Grant Holmes was special for me,” Texeira said. “I had him in 2022, he came to us in Rome for the playoffs. The type of person he is, you knew he was special and just needed a shot.”

Holmes made the most of his chance, becoming a fixture in the Braves’ pitching staff this season.

Other Promising Prospects

While Alvarez Jr. and Baldwin gave the Stripers’ offense a tremendous lift over the second half of 2024, Gwinnett received terrific performances from several other Atlanta Braves’ prospects.

AJ Smith-Shawver, who opened the season as the Braves’ No. 1 prospect, made 20 starts with the Stripers in 2024, going 3-7 with a 4.86 ERA and 104 strikeouts. The hard-throwing right-hander recorded two of the top five fastest pitches by a Striper this season, including a 100.0 mph fastball against Durham on May 1.

He finished the season strong with a 2-2 record, 3.79 ERA and three quality starts over his final six outings with Gwinnett.

Waldrep, who made his Triple-A debut in September 2023 and opened the 2024 season with Double-A Mississippi, joined Gwinnett in June and set a new career high with 11 strikeouts on June 2 at Norfolk.

Shortly after his Major League debut on June 9 at Washington, Waldrep hit the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation on June 17. After several rehab starts in the lower levels, he rejoined the Stripers on August 3 against Nashville.

Waldrep was a central figure in the Stripers rotation for the remainder of the season, going 2-2 with a 3.38 ERA and three quality starts over eight starts with Gwinnett.

Late in the season, the Stripers were bolstered by the arrival of Braves’ No. 9 prospect Drue Hackenberg, who was tremendous during his brief stint.

Hackenberg, the younger brother of former NFL quarterback Christian Hackenberg and current White Sox minor leaguer Adam Hackenberg, allowed just four earned runs across his first four career Triple-A starts. He finished the season with a 1-0 record and an impressive 1.52 ERA. Notably, three of the Stripers' nine quality starts in September were credited to Hackenberg, showcasing his strong performance down the stretch.

Summer Surge

On June 1, the Stripers entered game five of a six-game series at Norfolk with a 26-29 record. Pitching had been the strongest point for Gwinnett through two months, with the staff boasting a top five ranking in ERA, BAA, and WHIP.

But the offense had lagged, entering the game with the 16th-best team batting average and worst scoring offense in the league.

That evening, the Stripers offense erupted for 10 runs and three home runs in a 10-2 blowout of Norfolk, the top-ranked scoring offense in the league at the time.

It was the third time Gwinnett had scored 10 or more runs in a game through the first 46 games of the season. The Stripers would do so 16 more times in 2024.

From June 1 until September 1, the Stripers offense rocketed from the 16th-best batting average in the league to the top-ranked team batting average in the IL.

Gwinnett’s lineup began firing on all cylinders, fueled by the key additions of young hitting prospects and the resurgence of veteran players who sustained their strong performance through the middle of the season.

Trompical Storm

Chadwick Tromp was with Atlanta for much of the first half of the season, filling in for the injured Murphy. He returned to Gwinnett on June 2 and played a huge role in the Stripers’ offensive success down the stretch.

From June 20 until September 1, Tromp hit safely in 31 of 38 games, batting .355 (54-for-152) with 10 doubles, six home runs, 38 RBIs, and 15 multi-hit games. The longtime Striper also advanced to ninth place on the Gwinnett career home run list with 29, passing Austin Riley and finishing just three home runs shy of Adam Duvall in eighth place.

“I wouldn’t say it was a surprise to me,” Texeira said of Tromp’s offensive success this season. “He held his own at the plate.”

Lopez Locked In

Another member of the Stripers’ Opening Night roster, Lopez caught fire over the summer. Though his season was cut short by an injury in September, Lopez would raise his batting average from .273 (44-for-161) on June 1 to .307 (126-for-411) by his final game of the year on September 11.

Over a 12-game stretch from August 11-27, Lopez batted .451 (23-for-51) to assume the top average in the International League at .313 (117-for-374). Though his injury clipped his chances at a batting title, he finished the season as the team leader in qualifying batting average (.307) and OPS (.789). He also led the team with 32 multi-hit efforts.

Award Tour

The tremendous August stretch for Lopez earned him International League Player of the Week honors for August 12-18, as the switch hitter batted .542 (13-for-24) with three doubles, two triples, and 12 RBIs.

The award was the last of four league honors collected by a Stripers player in 2024.

Zach Logue won International League Pitcher of the Week for May 13-19. The left-handed swingman fired a complete-game shutout in the second leg of a doubleheader at Memphis on May 14, nearly no-hitting the Redbirds over 7.0 innings in a 1-0 win for Gwinnett.

Allan Winans collected two awards in June. First, he claimed International League Pitcher of the Week honors for June 3-9 after turning in a 6.0-inning scoreless start on June 5 at Durham. He would continue an impressive June and secure IL Pitcher of the Month honors after going 1-0 with a 1.16 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, .221 BAA and five quality starts.

It was another impressive season for Winans in his third year with Gwinnett. The 29-year-old from Bakersfield, California went 7-5 with a 3.30 ERA over 24 games (16 starts) overall.

“Winans continued to do what he did last year,” Texeira said. “He was as advertised. He just keeps doing what he does, and he doesn’t have the electric stuff that these other guys do. That just tells you the type of guy that he is.”

Record Setting Night in St. Paul

For a suddenly high-octane Stripers offense, the fireworks were never bigger in 2024 than the night before Independence Day on July 3 at St. Paul. Gwinnett routed the St. Paul Saints 21-6 that evening, setting club records for runs (21) and hits (24), as well as tying a record for extra-base hits (10).

Four of the 10 extra-base hits belonged to outfielder Eli White, who went 6-for-7 with two doubles, two home runs, and seven RBIs. He became the first Gwinnett player to record a six-hit game and tally 14 total bases in a single game. His seven RBIs finished just one shy of the all-time single-game record for a Gwinnett player.

White would join the Atlanta Braves for their postseason push in September. He concluded his season with Gwinnett batting .294 (86-for-293) with 17 doubles, two triples, eight home runs, 40 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases.

Late Contention

By late August, the Stripers had transformed from a middling club with strong pitching and an average offense into one of the most complete units in the International League.

The overall improvement had translated into wins. Gwinnett was 15-7 in August entering a six-game series against the Columbus Clippers at Coolray Field on August 27. The team boasted a +60-run differential (145-85) since the beginning of the month and led the league in several offensive categories.

The Stripers were also peaking at the right time. With 24 games remaining in the second half, Gwinnett entered the series with wins in 12 of its last 13 games to move within 4.5 games of the first-place Clippers.

All six games during the week went down to the ninth inning and were decided by two runs or less. The Stripers won 2-1 on August 30 on a walk-off single by Brian Anderson and 1-0 on September 1 on Anderson’s game-ending outfield assist to home plate, but Columbus claimed the other four games to nearly end Gwinnett’s playoff hopes.

“That was a heck of a series and a heck of a week,” Texeira said. “It was a week I won’t forget because we played six amazing baseball games, and it was like playoff baseball. The guys were in it, they wanted to win. Obviously, we didn’t win that series, but for me that memory was big. We saw some good baseball that week.”

Columbus would go on to clinch the second half International League title.

Out of contention for a Triple-A championship, the Stripers relied on solid pitching in September, as five different pitchers turned in nine quality starts down the stretch.

Though Gwinnett could not finish at .500 by the end of the season, there were many bright moments along the way. Perhaps the defining moment of the 2024 season came on July 12 at Coolray Field.

Subbing in for the injured Nacho Alvarez Jr. in the fifth inning, veteran catcher Ryan Casteel stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with the Stripers trailing 6-5. He launched a dramatic two-run walk-off home run, securing a thrilling victory for Gwinnett.

It was one of eight walk-off victories for the Stripers in 2024. Less than a week later, Casteel retired and joined the Stripers’ coaching staff, further cementing his legacy with the organization.

Texeira, a former Gwinnett player himself, has seen baseball from many different angles at Coolray Field. He wrapped up his first season as the Stripers’ manager with plenty of lessons learned, and optimism for next year.

“I learned a lot of things,” Texeira said. “I learned a lot of guys’ personalities and how to deal with that. Next year should be fun.”

On to 2025

The Gwinnett Stripers’ 2025 season will begin on March 28, 2025, at Truist Field in Charlotte, North Carolina. For a full season schedule and updates on the 2025 season, visit GoStripers.com.