Under is an evaluation of the prospects within the farm system of the Atlanta Braves. Scouting experiences have been compiled with info supplied by business sources in addition to my very own observations. That is the fourth yr we’re delineating between two anticipated reduction roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see within the “place” column beneath: MIRP for multi-inning reduction pitchers, and SIRP for single-inning reduction pitchers. The ETAs listed typically correspond to the yr a participant needs to be added to the 40-man roster to keep away from being made eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Handbook changes are made the place they appear acceptable, however we use that as a rule of thumb.
A fast overview of what FV (Future Worth) means might be discovered right here. A a lot deeper overview might be discovered right here.
The entire ranked prospects beneath additionally seem on The Board, a useful resource the location gives that includes sortable scouting info for each group. It has extra particulars (and up to date TrackMan information from varied sources) than this text and integrates each workforce’s record so readers can examine prospects throughout farm techniques. It may be discovered right here.
Different Prospects of Be aware
Grouped by sort and listed so as of choice inside every class.
Pitchability Depth
Parker Dunshee, RHP
Darius Vines, RHP
Ian Mejia, RHP
Drew Parrish, LHP
Luis De Avila, LHP
Dunshee has been floating across the backside of prospect lists for a bit of over a half decade now. The 29-year-old is dominating Triple-A this yr by mixing in a number of totally different breaking balls together with his low-90s fastball. Vines is a Day Two draft success story who has made some large league spot begins. He sits about 89 mph and has a four-pitch combine headlined by his changeup. Mejia was a 2022 eleventh rounder out of New Mexico State. The 6-foot-3 righty has been dominating Double-A due to his plus slider; the remainder of his repertoire is beneath common. Parrish and De Avila are soft-tossing lefties with good secondary stuff. Parrish has a plus changeup, whereas De Avila has a extra balanced slider/changeup duo.
Toolsy Children
Luis Parababire, C
Ethan Workinger, OF
John Estevez, LF
John Gil, SS
Isaiah Drake, OF
Parababire is a bodily mature 18-year-old catcher with above-average bat velocity. Workinger was an undrafted JUCO outfielder from San Diego again in 2020. He’s risen to Excessive-A as an explosive rotator with spectacular energy however an ineffectual bat path. Estevez, 18, is a projectable 6-foot-3 nook outfield prospect in Florida rookie ball. His swing is compact nearly to the purpose of missing the oomph needed for an outfield nook. Gil and Drake (whose brother Kenyan is a journeyman NFL working again) are speed-only gamers who I’m skeptical will hit.
One Monster Pitch
Brooks Wilson, RHP
Hayden Harris, LHP
Wilson, 28, is an athletic little righty reliever who was damage for many of 2022 and 2023. He’s again and has been walk-prone at Gwinnett, sitting within the low-90s with upshot angle and a devastating splitter. Harris, 25, is an undrafted free agent from 2022 whose excessive drop-and-drive supply creates vital uphill angle on his fastball, which he throws greater than 80% of the time. He’s paving over Double-A sitting 91-92.
Younger Cannons
Seth Keller, RHP
Edward Cedano, RHP
Luis Arestigueta, RHP
Keller is one other of the numerous athletic former two-way gamers who the Braves draft and attempt to develop as pitchers. He’s listed as energetic on his MiLB participant web page however hasn’t pitched shortly, and regardless of making an effort to determine why, I’ve been unsuccessful thus far. He was a good developmental prospect with low-90s warmth and a superb breaking ball when he was drafted. Cedano, an undersized 18-year-old righty, walked a batter per inning in final yr’s DSL and is again there once more in 2024. Yesterday, he sat 94-97 in his first begin of the yr. Arestigueta is an 18-year-old Venezuelan righty on the advanced in Florida. He has a prototypical 6-foot-3 body and would possibly throw a lot more durable than his present 90-93 down the street, however his arm motion is at the moment tremendous lengthy and inconsistent.
Well-known Fallen
Jesse Franklin V, LF
Ambioris Tavarez, SS
Diego Benitez, 3B
Douglas Glod, CF
Geraldo Quintero, LF
Franklin has at occasions regarded like he’d get to sufficient of his energy to be a part-time nook outfielder, however he hasn’t been capable of keep wholesome lengthy sufficient to place himself on the massive league radar. He hit 15 homers at Double-A final yr however Ok’d practically 30% of the time and is now coping with shoulder tendinitis. Tavarez, 20, signed for $1.5 million in 2021, however he’s had three years in a row of pink flag strikeout charges. He sits close to the highest of this group due to his defensive skill at shortstop. Benitez signed for $2.5 million in 2022 and had two years of practically common offensive efficiency earlier than he began struggling so mightily at Augusta this yr that he was demoted again to the advanced. He didn’t look superb on both facet of the ball after I noticed him in Florida a pair weeks in the past. Glod signed for $1.3 million in 2022 and has crammed out past the purpose of his construct being maxed. He has a late-career Kirby Puckett look to him on the advanced. Little 5-foot-5 Geraldo Quintero is now largely enjoying left subject, whereas he as soon as regarded like a switch-hitting center infield utilityman.
System Overview
That is system has a mean high finish however below-average depth, particularly on the place participant facet of the ledger. Let’s not confuse a mediocre farm system with a mediocre scouting division or participant growth, nevertheless. The Braves are good at this and have a steady contender’s large league roster that’s merely damage and considerably underperforming so far within the 2024 season. So lots of the large league workforce’s place participant spots are going to be manned by inheritor present occupants for the foreseeable future that, except for commerce concerns, it’s positive that the Braves are actually solely set as much as churn out good pitchers within the close to future. The attributes they search for within the draft (athletic two-way gamers or underdeveloped small-school guys) require a cohesive relationship between the groups’ scouting and participant growth departments to facilitate the development we frequently see within the Braves’ pitching prospects.
A typical theme among the many arms on this system is that they’ve laborious fastballs that play down, and Atlanta’s pitchers usually pitch backward off their secondary stuff, even within the decrease minors. There may be much less consistency throughout the org when it comes to launch peak and fastball form than what different analytically inclined groups have a tendency to indicate. That is extra proof that the Braves are inclined to scout the athlete slightly than fixate solely on information, at the very least so far as the newbie draft is worried.
Internationally, issues have fallen off right here. Atlanta’s large cash signees haven’t taken early-career leaps of late, and a few of them have shortly gone stomach up. The choice to push Jose Perdomo to the home advanced immediately may be very unusual (I can’t consider anybody who wasn’t an older signee who skipped the DSL solely) and thrilling, although I used to be bummed he was energetic by the point I swung via the Gulf Coast of Florida to see him and his friends. It’d be fairly shrewd of Atlanta to maintain him out till after the commerce deadline. They arguably have some wants on the large league stage because of their accidents. Taking Perdomo off the desk as a result of golf equipment gained’t have been capable of truly lay eyes on him, particularly should you suppose he’s who groups would covet most, can be a masterclass in scouting gamesmanship. There’s loads of post-deadline time, particularly if the Braves do instructs this yr, for him to get significant enjoying time even when his rehab is dealt with very conservatively.