21-year old righty swinging shortstop Andrelton Simmons came into this season as the Braves’ #15 prospect according to Baseball America. Simmons has played in 111 games in A-ball so far this year for the Braves and he is 130 for 435 (.299 avg, .721 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 0 homers, 48 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. He has now played in 173 games in his first two years in the minors and he is 196 for 674 (.291 avg, .712 OPS) with 89 runs scored, 2 homers, 74 RBIs and 37 stolen bases. Simmons likely has a bright future with the Braves down the road.

The Braves have placed 29-year old lefty swinging CF Nate McLouth on the 15-day disabled list due to a lower abdominal strain. McLouth has played in 81 games for the Braves this year and he is 61 for 267 (.228 avg, .677 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 4 homers, 16 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. The Braves have called up 27-year old lefty swinging CF Jose Constanza to replace McLouth on the active roster. Constanza has played in 86 games in AAA-ball this year and he is 104 for 333 (.312 avg, .712 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 1 homer, 25 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. He has now played in 743 games in his first 7 years in the minors and he is 808 for 2,782 (.290 avg, .720 OPS) with 454 runs scored, 6 homers, 231 RBIs and 233 stolen bases. This is Constanza’s first shot at the majors and the Braves hope he takes advantage of it.

UPDATE: (8/5/2011) - The Braves will be without Nate McLouth for the next six weeks due to surgery to repair a sports hernia. He won’t be back until the last two weeks of the 2011 season.

25-year old righty swinging 1B Ernesto Mejia is having a solid year in AA for the Braves. Mejia has played in 82 games in AA-ball for the Braves so far this year and he is 87 for 288 (.302 avg, .882 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 11 homers, 49 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has whiffed 85 times already this year, so he goes up to the plate hacking. Mejia has now played in 522 games in his first 7 years in the minors and he is 543 for 1,931 (.281 avg, .822 OPS) with 296 runs scored, 72 homers, 323 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. The Braves are loaded at 1B in the organization, so they might use Mejia as trade bait later this month.

27-year old righty swinging outfielder Stefan Gartrell is tying to get to the majors for the first time in 2011 with the Braves. Gartrell has played in 65 games in AAA-ball this year for the White Sox & Braves and he is 69 for 247 (.279 avg, .893 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 16 homers, 54 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 639 games in his first six years in the minors and he is 634 of 2,305 (.275 avg, .823 OPS) with 376 runs scored, 98 homers, 371 RBIs and 37 stolen bases. If the Braves keep having injury problems in the outfield, Gartrell could get his first shot at the majors in 2011.

The Braves are loaded in the minors with pitching and 21-year old righty starting pitcher Randall Delgado came into this season as their #3 prospect according to Baseball America. Delgado has pitched in 12 games (all starts) in AA-ball so far this year and he is 4-3 with 3 saves, a 3.51 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. He has now pitched in 90 games (89 starts) in his first five years in the minors and he is 20-35 with a 3.46 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. The Braves will likely take it slow with Delgado, only promoting him when he deserves it.