Atlanta Braves Top 100 Prospects: Top 20

Mar 2, 2015; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves center fielder Mallex Smith (83) pose for photo day at Wide World of Sports. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta Braves Top 100: 6-10

10.Braxton Davidson, RF, 19 (6/18/96), Rome

Stats: .242/.381/.374, 10 HR, 17% BB, 27.3% K
Braxton absolutely is a “three true outcomes” sort of player. He either hits a monster ball, strikes out, or takes first on a walk. The Braves selected Davidson in the compensatory first round in 2014. Davidson could use some work on his swing as he frequently gets pull happy, trying to yank the ball out of the park and ends up popping the ball up. If he would go with pitches more and use his natural power to drive them to whatever field works, he could quickly be a guy to hit 30 home runs in the major leagues. The thing that really caught my eye this year was Braxton’s defense. Coming into 2015, many of the scouts assumed that Braxton’s displayed defensive deficiencies in 2014 would mean a permanent move to first base is the only place for him to play. Instead, when I saw Braxton on multiple viewings this year, he showed very good athleticism along with a more than solid arm. I’m more than convinced that he can stick in right field and be at least an average defender there long-term.
Professional comparison: The easy comparison is Adam Dunn, even if Braxton doesn’t have quite Dunn’s tremendous size. The thing that brings them closer together is the higher level of athleticism that Braxton showed this year.
Likely 2016 starting destination: high-A Carolina Mudcats
Expected time of arrival: 2017 late season call up

9.Max Fried, LHP, 21 (1/18/94), N/A (low-A)

Stats: No 2015 statistics
The Braves acquired Fried in the Justin Upton trade, and they were unable to see any “return” on their investment in 2015 as Fried continued to recover from his 2014 TJS. Fried is considered an elite arm, drafted #7 overall in 2012. Fried was a top 50 prospect in all of baseball before his surgery, and he has elite comparable names. For now, though, there’s not a ton more to write about him.
Professional comparison: Fried has a young Cole Hamels frame, and he has some similarity in stuff, but we’ll have to see how Fried’s stuff returns.
Likely 2016 starting destination: Fried had just pitched at low-A so far before his injury, so it’s unlikely that he will be moved beyond that to start, but he could move quickly once he gets on his feet.
Expected time of arrival: 2018

8.Austin Riley, 3B, 18 (4/2/97), Danville

Stats: .304/.389/.544, 12 HR, 10.3% BB, 25.8% K
What can be said about Riley that hasn’t been said already? The young man was drafted by the Braves in the first competitive balance round this June, and he bombed his way through the GCL and Danville in one season. Most impressively, Riley also displayed a very solid eye at the plate. Coming into the draft, many were debating whether Riley would be a pitcher or a hitter as a professional. The Braves drafted Riley and played him as a hitter from day one. While he showed a “bad body” in summer and fall show cases in 2014, when he showed up to the Braves, he was in very solid shape and displayed enough agility to think that he could stay at third base or take his arm and move to a corner outfield spot if he couldn’t stick at third. Riley does struggle some with hard breaking stuff, and he does get into streaks where he’ll miss a lot of pitches, which could show that perhaps he presses some when he struggles, but his struggles were so few and far between in 2015 that it’s hard to really get a good gauge on how he mentally handles such things.
Professional comparison: In 2014, Kyle Schwarber was drafted due to his advanced bat with the Cubs basically saying that they would figure out a position for him. I think you could compare Riley adequately to Schwarber or his teammate Kris Bryant in raw hitting ability. The Cubs allowed those two to let their bats determine their advancement, and hopefully the Braves do the same.
Likely 2016 starting destination: I’d love to see Riley pushed to Rome in 2016, but I could also see him sitting in extended spring and starting back with Danville and advancing quickly if he continues to hit.
Expected time of arrival: 2018

7.Touki Toussaint, RHP, 19 (6/20/96), Rome

Stats: 5-7, 87 ⅔ IP, 4.83 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 12.8% BB, 17.8% K
The Braves acquired Toussaint in a trade with the Diamondbacks by taking on Bronson Arroyo’s salary. Toussaint has been considered the best high school pitching prospect from the 2014 draft with his devastating curveball and upper-90s heat. Touki is 6’3 and listed at 185, and he’s got a lean frame with easy velocity, not having to go max effort to hit the high-90s with his fastball. The big issue with Touki is that his motion is seldom repeated, and due to that, he struggles with locating his pitches. With work on consistency in his motion, he could move quickly up the system, regardless of still being a teenager until about the minor league all-star break next season.
Professional comparison: Throughout his minor league career, Corey Kluber struggled to get his pitches over, and it wasn’t until he took a big step forward with his command at age 26 that turned him into the pitcher that won the Cy Young Award in 2014.
Likely 2016 starting destination: high-A Carolina Mudcats
Expected time of arrival: 2017 late season call up

6.Mallex Smith, CF, 22 (5/6/93), AAA

Stats: .306/.373/.386, 8 triples, 57 SB, 10.5% BB, 17.6% K
Smith was acquired by the Braves in the Justin Upton trade after 88 steals in 2014 along with a solid showing in the Arizona Fall League. Smith started off very well in AA Mississippi, earning a promotion to Gwinnett, where he struggled mightily out of the gate, but he worked his way back to a respectable .281/.339/.367 line and finished with a huge flurry of steals to lead the organization in the statistic. Smith caught a lot of eyes among fans as they read about his .340 batting average in Mississippi and his blazing speed. The thing that caught my eye was quite different, and nowhere near a positive. Smith has simply terrible reads off the bat in center field. The Braves reportedly had Todd Cunningham work with him in Gwinnett on just that, but I saw very little progress, especially when tracking down a ball straight at him in center field. Right now, Smith has the blazing speed to cover up some of those terrible routes to balls, but it will get more obvious when he’s on a big stage every night rather than the minor league outfields.
Professional comparison: Michael Bourn was another guy who had tremendous athleticism and had to work to make himself a great defender, and he worked to the point of becoming an elite defender in center field before injuries and age took away his elite speed.
Likely 2016 starting destination: Smith will likely open in Atlanta’s outfield, but whether it’s left or center depends on what moves are made in the offseason.
Expected time of arrival: 2016

Next: Top 5