Atlanta Braves Top Prospects – Just Missed Edition

Andrew Thurman, Right Handed Pitcher

From TT writer Benjamin Chase:

Thurman was the third player in the Evan Gattis trade, along with Mike Foltynewicz and Rio Ruiz, who were mentioned in the top 20. He was a 2nd round pick of the Astros in 2013 out of the University of California-Irvine. His profile was as a command-and-control sort of guy who profiled as a 3/4 starter or a middle reliever. Then he showed up to 2014 spring training touching 97 and sat 91-95 in the 2014 season, which has drastically changed his profile. He possesses an above-average slider and changeup, but with the increase in velocity, he seemingly lost the touch on those pitch and struggled with consistency.

At 6’3″ and 225 pounds, Thurman has the frame to support his new velocity. At 23, he’s not got a lot of development time ahead of him by standard development, but he has been noted to increase his off speed offerings each season since high school, when he was a fringe draft prospect.

Thurman spent all last season at low-A, and the Braves will likely send him to full-season ball, either low-A or high-A. If he can maintain his new-found velocity and bring back in his superior command, his upside is truly ace-level. The likelihood of him getting to that level is quite low, but that chance is still there, which makes Thurman a great one to keep an eye on.