Under is an evaluation of the prospects within the farm system of the Atlanta Braves. Scouting studies had been compiled with info offered by business sources in addition to my very own observations. That is the fourth 12 months we’re delineating between two anticipated reduction roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see within the “place” column under: MIRP for multi-inning reduction pitchers, and SIRP for single-inning reduction pitchers. The ETAs listed usually correspond to the 12 months a participant must be added to the 40-man roster to keep away from being made eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Guide changes are made the place they appear applicable, however we use that as a rule of thumb.
A fast overview of what FV (Future Worth) means will be discovered right here. A a lot deeper overview will be discovered right here.
The entire ranked prospects under additionally seem on The Board, a useful resource the location presents that includes sortable scouting info for each group. It has extra particulars (and up to date TrackMan information from numerous sources) than this text and integrates each staff’s checklist so readers can evaluate prospects throughout farm methods. It may be discovered right here.
Different Prospects of Notice
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 somewhat over a half decade now. The 29-year-old is dominating Triple-A this 12 months by mixing in a number of completely different breaking balls together with his low-90s fastball. Vines is a Day Two draft success story who has made some huge 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 because of his plus slider; the remainder of his repertoire is under 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 Kids
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 virtually to the purpose of missing the oomph obligatory 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 important 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 lively on his MiLB participant web page however hasn’t pitched shortly, and regardless of making an effort to determine why, I’ve been unsuccessful up to now. He was a good developmental prospect with low-90s warmth and a great breaking ball when he was drafted. Cedano, an undersized 18-year-old righty, walked a batter per inning in final 12 months’s DSL and is again there once more in 2024. Yesterday, he sat 94-97 in his first begin of the 12 months. 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 tougher than his present 90-93 down the highway, however his arm motion is presently 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 instances regarded like he’d get to sufficient of his energy to be a part-time nook outfielder, however he hasn’t been in a position to keep wholesome lengthy sufficient to place himself on the massive league radar. He hit 15 homers at Double-A final 12 months 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 crimson flag strikeout charges. He sits close to the highest of this group due to his defensive means 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 12 months that he was demoted again to the advanced. He didn’t look excellent on both aspect of the ball once I noticed him in Florida a pair weeks in the past. Glod signed for $1.3 million in 2022 and has stuffed 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 taking part in left subject, whereas he as soon as regarded like a switch-hitting center infield utilityman.
System Overview
That is system has a median high finish however below-average depth, particularly on the place participant aspect of the ledger. Let’s not confuse a mediocre farm system with a mediocre scouting division or participant growth, nonetheless. The Braves are good at this and have a steady contender’s huge league roster that’s merely damage and considerably underperforming thus far within the 2024 season. So lots of the huge league staff’s place participant spots are going to be manned by inheritor present occupants for the foreseeable future that, other than commerce issues, it’s fantastic 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 advance we regularly see within the Braves’ pitching prospects.
A typical theme among the many arms on this system is that they’ve onerous 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 by way of launch peak and fastball form than what different analytically inclined groups have a tendency to indicate. That is extra proof that the Braves are likely to scout the athlete relatively than fixate solely on information, not less than so far as the beginner draft is worried.
Internationally, issues have fallen off right here. Atlanta’s huge cash signees haven’t taken early-career leaps of late, and a few of them have rapidly gone stomach up. The choice to push Jose Perdomo to the home advanced instantly may be very unusual (I can’t consider anybody who wasn’t an older signee who skipped the DSL completely) and thrilling, although I used to be bummed he was lively 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 huge league stage on account of their accidents. Taking Perdomo off the desk as a result of golf equipment gained’t have been in a position to really lay eyes on him, particularly should you assume he’s who groups would covet most, could be a masterclass in scouting gamesmanship. There’s loads of post-deadline time, particularly if the Braves do instructs this 12 months, for him to get significant taking part in time even when his rehab is dealt with very conservatively.
