Minor League Baseball

Atlanta Braves Prospect Makes Never-Accomplished History For MiLB Affiliate

E.J. Exposito hit for the cycle for High-A Rome on Saturday, marking the first time the feat has happened for the Braves' affiliate.
Brady Farkas|
A detail view of Atlanta Braves hat, sunglasses and glove in the dugout during the fifth inning at CoolToday Park on March 1.
A detail view of Atlanta Braves hat, sunglasses and glove in the dugout during the fifth inning at CoolToday Park on March 1. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

In this story:

Atlanta Braves

Atlanta Braves prospect E.J. Exposito made some history on Saturday, becoming the first player in Rome Emperors history to hit for the cycle.

The Emperors are the High-A afilliate of the Braves. The franchise has seen a cycle as the Rome Braves, but that hadn't happened for a decade.

Exposito, 23, is not listed among the Braves' Top 30 prospects, per MLB Pipeline. He was a 16th-round pick of the Braves in 2022 out of Long Island University.

A switch-hitting shortstop, he's hitting .348 this season (8-for-23) with two homers, five RBIs and one stolen base.

He's spent parts of four seasons in the minor leagues, hitting .228 in all. He hit .238 for Rome last season with 13 homers and 50 RBIs.

At the big-league level, the Braves have been hot of late. After starting out the year at 0-7, Atlanta entered play Sunday at 12-14. They are out of the basement in the National League East, sitting in fourth place.

They'll play the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday afternoon with first pitch coming at 4:10 p.m. ET. Youngster Spencer Schwellenbach will pitch for the Braves while righty Brandon Pfaadt goes for Arizona.

Schwellenbach, who has taken a bigger role in the absence of Spencer Strider, is 1-1 with a 2.56 ERA this season. Pfaadt is 4-1 with a 2.73.

As for Exposito, he and the Emperors will finish a series with the Winston-Salem Dash on Sunday before taking Monday off, as is customary in the minor leagues.

Related MiLB Stories

NOT ALL THE WAY BACK: Samuel Basallo, the top prospect in the Orioles system, is back in the lineup, but isn't ready to catch yet. How long will that take? CLICK HERE:

HIGH PRAISE: Caleb Durbin, acquired from the Yankees this offseason, is drawing rave reviews in the Brewers organization since being called up. CLICK HERE:

NO POSITIONAL CHANGE: The Red Sox are certainly eager to get top prospect Roman Anthony to the big leagues, but they won't move him to first base to make it happen sooner. CLICK HERE:

Published | Modified
Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is the senior writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and the host of “The Payoff Pitch’’ podcast, which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. Follow Brady on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.

Home/NEWS