Atlanta Braves Midseason Top 50 Prospects: 40-31

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Apr 10, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; A general view of an official base prior to the game between the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /

38. Luis Gamez, RHP, Danville

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Gamez was the 11th round selection of the Braves in 2014 out of high school in Arizona. The 6’2 righty was not highly regarded going into the draft, and many thought this could have been an over-draft by the team. However, Gamez did have big league bloodlines as his father was a major leaguer, and he had been clocked as high as 97 going into the draft.

Gamez pitched a total of 15 innings his senior year, and he really didn’t play much until his junior year, so he is still quite raw. So when he struggled some in his first two seasons, it was not entirely surprising, especially when he struggled with his control of his stuff.

This year has been much different. Gamez has not exactly had the best results with walks, but he has been able to keep the ball down in the zone much better this year, and his heavy fastball along with better movement on his breaking stuff has allowed Gamez to limit solid contact thus far, resulting in a 0.86 WHIP. If Gamez can continue the progress he’s made in his control and just take the next step of commanding his pitches just a touch better, he’ll rocket up the system.

37. Connor Lien, OF, AA Mississippi

The Braves drafted Lien out of high school in Florida with their 12th round selection in the 2012 draft. He was a tremendous athlete coming out of high school more than he was a baseball player, and at 6’3, 225, he may remind many of a linebacker getting off the team bus. His initial two seasons in the system exhibited that raw athleticism, as he hit for a low average with quite a few strikeouts, but blazed a path on the bases, stealing 25 in 31 attempts, and he also flashed power, hitting 6 home runs, 6 triples, and 15 doubles between the two seasons at the two rookie levels.

In 2014, he started to show some of the baseball maturity that the team was hoping would come, hitting .275/.337/.398 with 25 extra base hits and 16 steals in only 85 games with low-A Rome. His 21/84 BB/K ratio was not what you would want, but he did flash ridiculously good outfield defense that would become his calling card.

Last season, Lien had a season where all of that promise came together. He flashed power with 9 home runs and 5 triples. He definitely showed off his speed with 34 stolen bases. He even showed a more controlled swing that allowed him to get to breaking pitches better, even though he still had a tendency to go into slumps where he pulled his head off the ball and ended up tallying up loads of strikeouts in a hurry, finishing with a 33/129 BB/K ratio. On top of that, Lien showed off amazing defense. One scout told me that Lien’s arm could be the best in the entire Braves system from the outfield, and his range plus arm makes him the definite best defensive outfielder in the whole system.

Lien was injured in the first game of the season this year, and he’s taken time to get his feet under him in his return, but his numbers are starting to look a lot like last year’s, and that defense is still present. Lien is still raw in his approach, and that will have to change if he hopes to succeed at the major league level, but Lien absolutely has the upside of a guy like a

Brett Gardner

as he moves through the system, and remember Gardner was also quite raw and didn’t become a full-time player in the majors until he was 26. Lien is only 22.

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