MESA, Ariz. -- One thing you can say about Atlanta Braves catching prospect Tyler Flowers, he's not a guy who's content to just sit back and smell the roses.

Unless, of course, they're being carried down the aisle in a bouquet by his new bride.

While most players coming off a full season at catcher in a city known for its heat and humidity would be kicking back watching football in an air-conditioned living room during a break, Flowers was busy preparing for both his Oct. 4 wedding and stint in the Arizona Fall League.

"Everything was kind of focused on that," he said of his so-called "time off" between the regular season and the AFL. "I did a little hitting and throwing, but really I had to take care of helping my wife with all that stuff."

The couple did, however, draw the line at planning an Arizona honeymoon. Flowers is focused solely on his job at hand in Mesa, and their relaxing trip will wait until after the fall ball season ends.

So with that in mind, what is the 33rd-round draft-and-follow pick from 2005 working on? After spending his first full season behind the plate (a knee injury limited him to first base action in 2007 at Class A Rome), he was looking forward to the opportunity to improve all facets of his defensive game.

"Handling the top-quality pitching that's out here, handling the staff and developing more defensively as far as blocking and throwing," Flowers said when asked what he was focusing on with Mesa. "I kind of struggled with that. And also getting more at-bats against the top-quality pitching."

Hitting was not something the 22-year-old struggled with -- he hit .288 with 17 homers and 88 RBIs at Class A Advanced Myrtle Beach and finished second in the Minors with 98 walks. Flowers' .427 on-base average also ranked 11th overall in the Minors. He's kept up the good work with Mesa, hitting .368 with a homer and three RBIs in his first six games.

Overall, the 2008 season was a learning experience in many ways for Flowers, especially in the heat and, more notably, the humidity of Myrtle Beach.

"The physical side was definitely tough, in terms of conditioning and staying hydrated," he said. "I learned a lot from that. It takes a toll on your body, especially late in the season when it gets to you offensively and defensively. You really have to keep yourself going in gear throughout the game to be as good as you can."

RHP Tommy Hanson was the Braves' top pitcher this year, finishing 11-5 with a 2.41 ERA between Myrtle Beach and Double-A Mississippi. He struck out 163 batters, which ranked fourth in the Minors, in 138 innings while scattering just 85 hits. Hanson opened the 2008 season by tossing five innings of no-hit ball with 13 strikeouts on Opening Night for the Pelicans. A few months later, he threw the first no-hitter in Mississippi franchise history, fanning 14. His .175 batting average against led all Minor League starting pitchers, while his 10.63 strikeouts-per-nine ranked second. He's been even more dominant, if that's possible, in the AFL -- he pitched four hitless innings and struck out nine on Oct. 18. In total, he's tallied 8 2/3 innings and allowed one hit with three walks and 14 strikeouts.

RHP Kris Medlen finished 10th in the system with a 3.52 ERA as he went 7-8 at Mississippi, striking out 120 while walking just 27 in 120 1/3 innings. He tossed a five-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts in his lone post-season start. Medlen moved into the M-Braves rotation midway through the season after pitching 19 games in relief and his ERA dipped from 4.70 as a reliever to 3.11 as a starter. In Arizona, he had a 3.00 ERA in his first four appearances out of the 'pen, walking one and fanning four in six innings.

RHP Deunte Heath, an Atlanta native, was drafted in the 19th round of 2006 out of Tennessee. His combined numbers between Myrtle Beach and Mississippi were 13-7 with a 4.19 ERA, as he opened the season going 9-2 with a 3.11 ERA for the Pelicans. Heath, who tied for second in the system in wins, had a 1-0 record and 6.35 ERA in four games with Mesa, striking out four in 5 2/3 innings.

RHP Stephen Marek was picked up from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the midsummer deal for 1B Mark Teixeira, and he put up a 3.21 ERA in 10 games at Mississippi post-trade after having gone 2-6 with a 3.66 ERA in 34 games at Double-A Arkansas. A starter prior to '08, he struck out 68 in 60 innings between the two stops in relief. With Mesa, Marek had yet to allow a run in four games, collecting two saves over four innings.

3B Van Pope was the Braves' fifth-round pick in 2004 out of college in Mississippi. After a breakthrough season in 2006 when he hit .263 with 15 homers and 74 RBIs at Myrtle Beach, he had a rough 2007 at Mississippi, batting just .223. Pope, however, rebounded in '08 to hit .260 at Mississippi. He missed a month on the DL and has made up for lost time with Mesa, where he was hitting .368 with a pair of RBIs in five games.

OF Matt Young, all 5-foot-8 of him, was a late replacement on the Mesa roster for OF Brandon Jones. It says a lot about Young that part of the reason he came was that he called Mesa manager Rocket Wheeler and asked to play. The scrappy Young (aren't all 5-foot-8 players scrappy?) hit a solid .289 with 30 steals at Mississippi this year. He's was batting .391 with seven RBIs in seven games for the Solar Sox.