Tomahawk Take’s 2016 Top 20 Atlanta Braves Prospects: #20-16

18. Ryan Weber

– by Alan Carpenter, Tomahawk Take Editor

Who He Is

We profiled Ryan Weber just a few days ago, in the course of proposing that he might have events converge to allow him to join the Atlanta rotation in April.  For that reason, we’ll defer details to that report and just hit a couple of highlights here.

Want a little nostalgia?  Here’s an interesting video – Ryan Weber as a high school pitcher from 2008.  What’s more interesting is that this video was shot by Kiley McDaniel for SabreScouting.com… yes, the Kiley McDaniel who’s now a member of the Braves Front Office.

A more modern video of Weber’s first start is available to see here.  Great movement, great location, lots of grounders and fooled batters.  This is who Ryan Weber is.

His 2015

When you’re a 22nd round pick, nobody puts you on prospect lists.  When you’re 25 years old and in your seventh professional season – yet still not on the team’s 40-man roster – it almost always means that you aren’t considered a long-term asset to the organization.

All of that changed in 2015 for Ryan Weber.  No, not because he had a breakout year.  Yeah, you could say his ERA dropped noticeably – especially in AAA (2.21 in 73 innings) – but ERA isn’t as significant a stat in the lower minors.

Ryan Weber got to the majors by continuing to consistently do what he’s been doing at every single stop along the way:  by throwing his pitches where he wanted them, keeping hitters from elevating the ball, and by making the hitters hit the ball… usually weakly.

Ryan Weber got to the majors by doing this enough times to get noticed.

2016 Projection and Future

Now the question is whether Weber can stick in the majors.  The Braves have brought in a lengthy list of veteran starters to compete for jobs.  Weber – now that he is on the 40-man roster – should have a better-than-average shot at making the team just on that basis alone.  However, he does have minor league options, so he will have to earn the slot.

Of course, “earning it” is pretty much what he’s had to do since being drafted in 2009.

Of concern:  despite Weber’s seemingly easy throwing motion, he has been sidelined with the dreaded-sounding “elbow strain” injuries:  almost consecutively in 2011 and again in late 2014.  This would tend to explain his lower-than-might-be-expected innings counts.

Next: Prospect Number 17

If Weber does make the rotation, he won’t finish the year:  20-24 starts could be his limit, but that would allow for look-ins with others, and that’s okay.  There’s no reason to push him anywhere near 200 innings this season… or next.