Tomahawk Take’s Top 20 Atlanta Braves Prospects: Just Missed

Prospects to Keep An Eye On in 2016

Our second group of guys will be five guys who are in need of making a big move this year, whether it be due to their age, due to performance struggles, or due to a number of other factors.

Andrew Thurman

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Thurman was one of those guys really affected by the Carolina bus crash. I put up a scouting report on him earlier this winter talking more in depth about him. After being acquired from the Astros, he pitched like a guy with a very bright future before that bus crash. At 24 years old, he’s in a rather make or break season for him, not so much in that he’d fail as a prospect because he’d be a tremendous reliever, just that there’s a huge glut of arms above him and below him, and he’s sort of sandwiched in the middle, so if he doesn’t do something to leap forward, he’ll likely get swallowed up by the group behind him.

Dustin Peterson

Peterson was acquired from the Padres in the offseason, and he made a very successful transition to the outfield, where his natural athleticism really was able to flourish. He was another who had a bad reaction to the bus crash of Carolina. He has an incredible amount of athleticism. He’s certainly not by any means in the “break” part of his overall career path as he’s only 21, but he really does need to show some success with the bat this season. He may head back to Carolina to start just to get his feet under him before moving up to AA Mississippi.

Casey Kelly

Kelly was acquired in the trade that sent away Christian Bethancourt, and there are few guys who have had a brighter prospect star over the years than Kelly who have been moved as frequently as he has. He was once a two-way star with a future as a hitter and pitcher, but he’s been a full-time pitcher now. Kelly has a very solid pitch mix that is being overlooked as people plan out the 2016 rotation, both in Atlanta and Gwinnett, but don’t sleep on him! This year could be the last he spends as a starter, however, as he may be at the point where the team moves him to the bullpen to really take advantage of his arm as he could be a dynamite closer in that role.

Robert Whalen

Whalen was simply never fully healthy in 2016, and after a few games with Carolina, he had surgery to correct issues that had been bugging him for nearly two seasons. I wrote about him previously and discussed his excellent pitch mix when he’s healthy, and he has reported via his Twitter account that he is fully healthy now. He’s in a similar spot as Thurman at 22 with a glut ahead and behind him and needing to make a splash this year to establish his position in the Braves future plans.

Next: Young Guys To Know

A.J. Minter

The Braves were overjoyed to get Minter in the 2nd round of the 2015 draft at pick number 75. Minter was a possible top-10 pick before surgery last spring. He is a lefty with a smaller build, but before his surgery, he was throwing in the upper 90s with good secondary pitches. That sort of pitch repertoire could be dynamic in the system. It is possible that the Braves will ease Minter back this season as he is healthy and ready, likely working him in extended spring and then with Danville to begin the season and letting him work his way up from there. If he can regain his previous “stuff”, however, he could be the best lefty in the system, and that’s saying something in a system with Kolby Allard and Sean Newcomb.