Tomahawk Take’s Top 20 Atlanta Braves Prospects: #5-1
Tomahawk Take’s #5 Atlanta Braves prospect Kolby Allard
– by Jeff Schafer, Tomahawk Take Editor
Who He Is
It’s been documented that the Atlanta Braves may have gotten the steal of the 2015 draft when they selected Kolby Allard with the 14th pick. During his senior year of high school, he suffered a stress reaction in his back and missed the majority of the season. This turned teams away from him and the Braves scooped him up.
Allard has a fastball that sits in the mid-90’s ,has a devastating breaking ball, and a changeup. He’s known for having extremely solid command with his pitches.
His 2015
The 6’1”, 175-pound left-hander was able to appear in three games at the end of the 2015 season in the Gulf Coast League. In six innings (was under a strict innings limit in each start), he struck out 12 batters and didn’t allow a walk.
He’s ranked 84th by Baseball America and 89th by MLB.com heading into the 2016 season.
2016 Projection and Future
The 18-year-old should begin the 2016 season with the Rome Braves…possibly starting in Danville.
Allard has the ability to move quickly through the organization, but the Braves will be cautious with his development. With being so young and extremely limited experience, he may stay all year in Rome.
Next: Prospect Number 4
We at Tomahawk Take and others see Allard has a highly rated prospect with a bright future with the organization. Though youth and inexperience is against him right now, don’t count Allard out for being one of the best pitchers in the Braves minor league organization in 2016.
4. Ozhaino Albies
– by Fred Owens, Tomahawk Take Staff Writer
Scouting Report
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Ozzie is probably the best thing Frank Wren ever did for the Braves farm system; a narrow field to choose from I admit but Albies is special. The young man from Curacao grew up wanting to be Jose Reyes and possessed everything needed to be better than Reyes except size. Teams who couldn’t see past his lack of home run potential and small stature – he’s generously listed as 5’9” and 150 pounds – ignored him and the Braves connection with that small island nation allowed them to snag him for mere $350K.
He was the youngest player in full season Minor league ball in 2014 at age 17 but became the top prospect in the rookie league slashing .356/.429/452/.881 at Danville. In 2015 he moved to Rome and continued to impress earning a selection to the Futures Game at age 18 and making his presence known by singling off of highly touted Reds prospect Amir Garrett. He finished 2015 having appeared in 98 games with a .310/.368/.404/.707 line and stealing 29 bases in 37 attempts.
Scout scores for Albies vary. In general he seems to grade out as a future Hit: 65 – Power: 30 – Run: 65 – Arm: 55 – Field: 65 – Overall: 50
He’s regarded as having great hand-eye-coordination and a short, quick bat with the ability to barrel up the ball giving him a plus hit tool but without much pop. While he might run into one now and then his swing and mechanics are designed to maximize his on speed by getting him on base. Once on base his double-plus speed will give catchers fits and pitcher’s nightmares once he hones his instincts and learns to read pitchers more effectively.
Last year the switch hitting Albies saw 72% of his 439 PA from the right side of the plate where he tends to be a more aggressive hitter. His tendencies are pretty easily seen in his splits.
2016 Projection and Future
Defensively his soft hands, excellent range, plus arm and quick release give him the ability to stick as a major league shortstop or at second base where he’s likely to end up as a double play partner for Dansby Swanson. with plenty of range for second base or shortstop. Albies is a high energy guy with a positive attitude who presence when he arrives will change the lineup significantly. At 19 years old and with only 98 games played above rookie ball he needs to develop and improve in many areas but he has time to do that with Jace Peterson and Gordon Beckham on hand to man the keystone until he arrives.
In an interview with Wayne Cavadi last August he spelled how he hopes his major league debut will go.
“I want to get on base, try to steal second and third, produce runs and help our team win. I want to get on base everyday, hopefully twice.”.
Next: Prospect Number 3
Fans watching spring training will get a taste of Albies this season but barring a setback I expect he’ll spend 2016 exciting the fans at Pearl and at least the first half of 2017 at Gwinnett. ASs it stands today there is absolutely no reason to rush him to the majors making 2018 his most probable arrival as a full-time major leaguer.
3. Aaron Blair
– by Fred Owens, Tomahawk Take Staff Writer
Who He Is
Aaron Blair has always pitched well but in spite of his high school success he was not a hot prospect or even heavily recruited by colleges. Marshall offered him a scholarship after watching him in the WWBA World Championships . That worked out well for both as he led their team with a 2.72 ERA as a freshman and was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman team. As a sophomore he led Marshall with 14 starts, 83 2/3 IP and 82 Ks./
Major league scouts eyes were opened following his sophomore year league when he pitched for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the wooden bat Cape Cod League. He was dominant that summer making six starts and two relief appearances, finishing with a 6-0 record and a league leading 1.17 ERA. In the playoffs he won game two of the three game series going 7 innings while allowing just 2 hits and striking out 10 to force a decisive game three.
The Diamondbacks drafted Blair with their second pick (36th overall) of the 2013 draft, the same year his little league teammate Kris Bryant was selected by the Cubs. Since that time he’s been consistently successful.
He started 2014 with South Bend but six starts later he was promoted to the A+ Visalia Rawhide and 12 starts later he found himself with Mobile in the Southern League where he announced his intentions immediately throwing 13 1/3 innings of 1 run, 8 hit ball, striking out 16 and walking 1 in his first two starts. He finished his 2014 in Mobile with a 4-1 record in his 8 starts allowing only 28 hits while walking just 10 and striking out 39 earning; that earned him D’Backs Minor League Pitcher of the year honors.
Last season saw his rapid rise through the Minors continue as he started with Mobile and made just 13 starts before heading to AAA Reno where he posted a 3.16 ERA and a 7-2 record in 77 IP and was named D’Backs 2015 Organizational Pitcher of the Year.
Scouting and 2016 Projection
Here you pay your money and you make your choice of a few variations. In general the scores look like this:
Fastball 55/60 Curve 45/50 Change 50/55 Command 45/50 Future Value 55
Next: Prospect Number 2
There’s a full scouting report available on site but a few things stand out. Blair doesn’t panic or get emotional. He pitched in big games at the collegiate level and never got flustered. My daddy would have said he’s a big boy at 6’5” and 235 with a sweet easy motion that deceives. He has always had a knack for striking out hitters once he adjusts to each new level even though he has no plus plus pitch. Those traits remind me of a young Aaron Harang or John Lackey. I could see him arriving in Atlanta with the first injury or bad start to the year and staying.
2. Sean Newcomb
– by Jeff Schafer, Tomahawk Take Editor
Who He Is
While attending high school at Middleboro High, he was a three-sport athlete – baseball, basketball and football. During his senior year on the mound, he posted at 0.46 ERA, 9-0 record, three saves and 110 strikeouts in 58 innings.
The Los Angeles Angels drafted Newcomb from the University of Hartford (Connecticut) with the 15th pick in the 1st round of the 2014 MLB draft. After signing with the Angeles, he was able to start six games.
Newcomb has a fastball that usually is around 92-94 and has topped out at 97. He has the sneaky ability with his fastball that has late lift and appears to arrive quicker to the batters eye. He has a 11-5 curveball and an above average slider. Also in his arsenal is a changeup that has good action and sits around the mid 80’s.
His 2015
Heading into the 2015 season, Newcomb was rated the number 70th prospect by Baseball America and the number 67th prospect by MLB.com. In 2015, he didn’t disappoint – he started 27 games and posted a 2.38 ERA while pitching in three different Angels affiliates (Single-A, Double-A, Triple-A) and had a record of 9-3. He captured 168 strikeouts in the 136 innings he pitched compared to only 76 walks.
The Braves acquired Newcomb on November 12, 2015 when they traded Andrelton Simmons to the Angels for Newcomb, Chris Ellis and Erick Aybar.
The Braves, MLB and it seems like all prospect lists are very high on Newcomb. He ranks 24th on Baseball American’s top 100 prospects and 21st on MLB.com’s list.
2016 Projection and Future
He’s been invited to the Braves Spring Training and will likely get some looks. Though he probably won’t stay around long, he’ll be with this team shortly. I’m predicting Newcomb starts the season with the Double-A Mississippi Braves.
Next: Prospect Number 1
I’m extremely high on this lefty as I ranked him number one on my prospect list. The 6’5”, 245-pound hard thrower is going to raise some eyebrows very soon.
Many scouts believe he has a ceiling of a Jon Lester and a floor of Scott Kazmir. That sounds like a pretty solid future ahead of him.
1. Dansby Swanson
– by Fred Owens, Tomahawk Take Staff Writer
Who He Is
When his first grade class was asked who was going to go to college everyone raised their hands except Dansby Swanson. The counselor said he was sure the boy would, Swanson simply said, “I’m going to be the number one draft pick.” Few took him seriously; after all most kids living that close to Atlanta in those days wanted to be major league players for the Braves. On June 8, 2015 however Swanson went 2-4 with a home run, a double, and a stolen base to earn Vanderbilt a trip to the College World Series and an hour later was selected as the first pick in the 2015 MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
That choice was no surprise to his coaches, teammates or anyone who watched him throughout his career. In three seasons with the Commodores he played 154 games and had 579 AB finishing with a.330/.418/.541/.959 line and earning him the title of the “greatest player who’s every played at Vanderbilt.”
He signed with the Diamondbacks on July 17th and was taking part in a simulated game at the D’Backs Arizona training facility when young Cuban fireballer Yoan Lopez hit him in the face with a fastball. Although no bones were broken the injury limited his stay at low A Hillsborough to 22 games with 83 AB to finish with a .289/.390/.482/.872 line.
Before this series all started, Ben reviewed the scouting scale and the 20-80 scores.
Swanson’s scores were: Hit: 60 – Power: 40 – Run: 60 – Arm: 55 – Field: 55 – Overall: 55
He’s been called a patient well-rounded hitter with a quick bat and an easy swing that generates line drives gap to gap. Like all young players he has to gain a better two strike approach but he rarely gives an at bat away. Once on the bases his speed and baseball intellect will turn singles into doubles and double into triples; he also steal 15 or so bases a year. Defensively he plays a solid shortstop with above average positioning skills for his age and an arm that will allow him to stay there throughout his major league career.
2016 Projection and Future
Next: Spring Training TV Schedule
Some compare him to Derek Jeter – not just for the play shown above, though we’ve seen it that somewhere before – but for his work ethic, personal integrity and leadership skills As a college player Swanson should move quickly through the minor league system and could find himself at Pearl by mid-year. Depending on how quickly he adjusts to AA ball a September call-up and a 2017 season debut aren’t unrealistic.
Now that you’ve seen the top 20, we aren’t done! Tomorrow, we’ll highlight 16 more prospects in our “just missed” post, and I think you’ll find all of them to be very important prospects! Let us know what you think!!