ATLANTA -- The 2013 Class A Rome Braves' pitching staff included an undrafted signee named Wes Parsons alongside Jason Hursh, who was selected in the first round of that summer’s MLB Draft.

Six years later, Hursh is prepping for yet another Minor League season while Parsons is savoring the unexpected chance to be part of Atlanta’s Opening Day roster.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Parsons said. “I looked up to Brandon Beachy and other undrafted guys that got to the big leagues. They gave kids and guys like me ... hope. If you stick around, stay healthy and do your work, hopefully you’re going to get your shot. It’s a lot of hard work.”

Following a 7-5 win over the Reds in Tuesday’s exhibition season finale at SunTrust Park, Braves manager Brian Snitker confirmed he had already enjoyed the chance to inform Parsons he will begin the season in Atlanta’s bullpen.

“That was good to be able to tell him,” Snitker said. “The way he came in so determined, he had just a monster spring.”

Parsons’ smile elicited the excitement you’d expect to see from a 26-year-old pitcher who came to Spring Training without anybody projecting him to begin the season with Atlanta. He was promoted to the Majors three times last year, but his only appearance was a valuable five-inning relief outing necessitated by Anibal Sanchez’s early exit from an Aug. 9 game at Nationals Park.

“I came in open-minded, and here we are,” Parsons said. “I just tried to tried to pitch as well as I can.”

Parsons opened some eyes when he recorded 76 strikeouts and issued 25 walks, posting a 3.27 ERA over 88 innings after being promoted to Triple-A Gwinnett last year. But there was no indication he would come to Spring Training this year and produce a 0.00 ERA while notching 17 strikeouts and issuing just one walk over 15 innings.

Final tuneups
Before he showed enhanced aggression during last week’s start against the Blue Jays, Sean Newcomb was staring at the possibility of beginning this year in the Minors. The results weren’t stellar, as he issued five walks over five innings, but the approach led Snitker to believe the lefty was trending in the right direction.

Snitker’s evaluation gained merit Tuesday, when Newcomb surrendered two runs and three hits to the Reds while recording five strikeouts over four walk-free innings. The erratic southpaw had totaled 12 walks over his previous three starts (12 innings).

“I felt good about him,” Snitker said. “I thought he was very aggressive and the tempo was good. His stuff was good. That was a good ending for him this spring.”

Kyle Wright surrendered five hits and three runs over his four innings in relief of Newcomb. The rookie hurler was perfect in the fifth inning, then allowed four hits during a three-run fifth. But the Reds produced just one more hit over his final two innings.

Wright’s stellar spring has earned him the chance to make his first career start during Sunday night’s game against the Phillies. The highly regarded prospect endured one rough inning in both of his final two starts of the exhibition season. But he and fellow rookie Bryse Wilson were the most impressive pitching prospects during this year’s camp.

Grand finish
Pedro Florimón provided one more solid impression when he ended Tuesday’s exhibition game by drilling a walk-off grand slam against Jimmy Herget. Florimon will begin the season with Triple-A Gwinnett, but his versatility will make him a top candidate if the Braves need an infielder or outfielder at some point this year.

“The reason we wanted to bring him in is he’s experienced and he’s versatile,” Snitker said. “He fits our mold really well. He’ll go to Triple-A, continue to play and I’ll have no problem bringing him in if the need arises.”

Another oppo bop
Dansby Swanson showed more of his improved opposite-field power when he homered off Zach Duke in the sixth inning on Tuesday. Nearly 18 hours earlier, the Braves shortstop had cleared the right-field wall with his first homer of the spring.

When Swanson exited Tuesday’s game, he said that before Monday's homer, he had never hit an opposite-field homer in his life. Per Statcast, 19 of his 23 career homers have been pulled and the other four have been hit to straightaway center.

Up next
Julio Teheran will make his sixth consecutive Opening Day start when the Braves open their season against the Phillies on Thursday at Citizens Bank Park. Teheran will pitch opposite Aaron Nola, with first pitch set for 3:05 p.m. ET. The game will be shown on MLB.TV and Fox Sports South.