Former Shawnee Mission East star Joey Wentz is on a roll for Braves’ Double-A team

Left-hander Joey Wentz earned a promotion to the Atlanta Braves’ Double-A team for the 2019 season, but he got off to a rocky start.

Wentz, the former Shawnee Mission East star who was the 40th overall pick in the 2016 Major League Baseball draft, had a 5.51 ERA in his first 14 starts.

Since then?

Wentz is 1-1 with a 1.11 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings over four starts for the Mississippi Braves. In that span, which dates back to June 26, opposing batters are slashing .165/.258/.212.

Earlier this month, Wentz was listed atop Baseball America’s top-10 hottest prospects list.

“While his Mississippi rotationmates have soared, Wentz has found Double-A to be a little more difficult,” JJ Cooper wrote for Baseball America. “But lately there have been some very positive signs. His velocity has ticked back up to the 91-94 mph range, which helps his change-up play as the above-average and even plus pitch it can be at its best. Wentz tied his career high in strikeouts with nine on July 1 and then set a new career high with 10 strikeouts on July 6.”

Wentz is scheduled to make his next start for Mississippi on Saturday night.

This story was originally published July 19, 2019 at 11:39 AM.