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as we all know SBF's Fletcher Proctor is Score Atlanta's Braves beat writer. For more of me, follow my twitter @fproctor or log on to www.scoreatl.com

Braves rookie rightfielder Jason Heyward is continuing to close in on the 2010 National League Rookie of the Year award. After winning NL Rookie of the Month for the first two months of the season, Heyward made the all-star team after being voted in by the fans. Despite a thumb injury that sabotaged his June and caused him to miss the first few weeks of July, Heyward still is the likely leader in the clubhouse for the award based on his recent hot streak. Over the last three weeks, despite the Braves struggling, Heyward has been on fire, batting over .425 with five homers after a long home run drought. Following the recent St. Louis series, Heyward was, according to the Braves team website, leading all qualified rookies in on-base percentage with a .395 mark and slugging with a .476 percentage, and was second in batting average at .286. Heyward is likely competing with Florida’s Mike Stanton, Chicago’s Starlin Castro, San Francisco’s Buster Posey and Washington’s injured Stephen Strasburg. The Braves have not had a rookie of the year since the 2000 season when shortstop Rafael Furcal took home the honors. Recently Tommy Hanson finished just short of the award last season, Jeff Francoeur was beaten out by Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard and Chipper Jones was beaten out by Hideo Nomo in the 1995. David Justice won the award for Atlanta in 1990 and before him Bob Horner claimed the prize in 1978 and Earl Williams in 1971.

The Braves welcomed in the organization’s top minor leaguers last weekend before the series-finale with the St. Louis Cardinals. Nineteen-year-old Julio Teheran was named the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year while recently called-up first baseman Freddie Freeman was tabbed as Minor League Player of the Year on his twenty-first birthday. Teheran split the season between Class-A Rome, Advanced-A Myrtle Beach and Class-AA Mississippi, compiling a 9-8 record with 159 strikeouts to just 40 walks in 142.2 innings of work. The power pitcher secured a 2.59 ERA for the season. Each farm club also named a pitcher of the year and a position player of the year with Gwinnett naming reliever Craig Kimbrel its pitcher of the and infielder Barbaro Canizares its player. Canizares contended for the International League batting title all season in Gwinnett. Willie Cabrera was named Mississippi’s top player with Brandon Beachy its pitcher of the season. Beachy’s 1.73 ERA was the best in all of the minor leagues and the righty was promoted to Gwinnett, where as a starter he went 2-0 in seven starts. Class-A Myrtle Beach named Randall Delgado and Mucal Jones its pitcher and player, respectively, while Class-A Rome tabbed Arodys Vizcaino and Philip Gosselin its standout pitcher and player. Vizcaino was acquired in the trade with the Yankees where New York received starter Javier Vanzquez in exchange for Vizcaino, reliever Mike Dunn and outfielder Melky Cabrera. Danville’s Carlos Perez and Elmer Reyes were honored as pitcher and player for the franchise’s Advanced Rookie-Level team. The Gulf Coast League’s squad named Dan Jurik (pitcher) and Matt Lipka (player) as its honorees and Ignacio Geronimo (pitcher) and Gerrado Reyes (player) were selected from the Dominican Summer League.

Finally, Tim Hudson continued his recent struggles by taking the collar of a 7-3 home loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. After picking up his 15th win of the season on August 28 against the Florida Marlins, his sixth straight victorious decision, Hudson has since dropped three straight decisions to fall to 15-8. Hudson only lasted five innings, allowing six runs on nine hits while giving up two home runs. Hudson had gone 6.1 and 7 innings his last two times out but Hudson is also not getting the runs he was earlier in the season. The Braves score a total of five runs in the last three games Hudson has started. At the end of the day however, Hudson is still the team’s ace this season and, should the team make the playoffs, manager Bobby Cox would likely hand Hudson the ball in game one. Speaking of the playoffs, following the Cardinals series, Atlanta sat one game back of the Philadelphia Phillies for the NL East lead and led the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants by one game in the NL Wild Card standings.