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TomahawkTake’s Mid-Season Top 30 Atlanta Braves Prospects – the Ranked List

By Alan Carpenter

Feb 22, 2016; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Akeel Morris (64) throws during spring training work out drills at Tradition Field. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 22, 2016; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Akeel Morris (64) throws during spring training work out drills at Tradition Field. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 7, 2016; Dunedin, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson (80) talks with shortstop Ozzie Albies (87) prior to the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 7, 2016; Dunedin, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson (80) talks with shortstop Ozzie Albies (87) prior to the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Prospect Rankings 1-10

10. DUSTIN PETERSON

  • Turns 22 years old in less than a month; 6-2/210, corner OF.
  • Round 2 draft pick of San Diego in 2013 from Gilbert HS (AZ).
  • Acquired in the Justin Upton deal that also brought Jace Peterson, Mallex Smith, and Max Fried to the Braves.  Heck of a trade, that was.
  • Younger brother of D.J. Peterson (1st rounder of Seattle, same draft).
  • AA/Mississippi
  • In the midst of a breakout year, Dustin appears on the verge of getting past that ‘younger brother’ thing.
  • 2016:  111 games, 439 AB.  .296/.356/.446/.802.  46 XBH out of 130 overall, which leads (or nearly leads, depending on when you read this) all Braves’ farmhands.
  • Depending on a number of circumstances, could have a shot at Atlanta come next Spring.
  • Still some mixed thoughts on Peterson from our writers as he got votes everywhere from 3rd to 21st best prospect.  Most voted him in the 7-9 range.

9. MAX FRIED

  • Age 22, 6-4/185, LHP.
  • 1st Round draft pick of the Padres in 2012 from Harvard-Westlake HS in North Hollywood, CA.
  • As mentioned above, part of the Justin Upton trade; was rehabbing a Tommy John surgery at the time.  Now pitching again after a lengthy layoff.
  • A/Rome
  • Fangraphs likes his fastball and curve (plus pitches) with changeup right behind both.  55 total future grade, which is equivalent to most of Atlanta’s starters on this list.
  • 2016:  82 innings, 3.50 ERA, 84 K, 39 BB, 1.29 WHIP, .233 BAA in 16 starts, 17 apps.  Pretty decent after sitting out for around 21 months.

8. IAN ANDERSON

  • 18 years young, 6-3/170, RHP.
  • 3rd overall pick in the 2016 draft from Shenendehowa HS, Clifton Park NY.
  • Rated as #1 on the Braves’ draft board for this year.
  • R/Danville
  • Like most of the other pitching draftees, Ian was given a chance to get his feet wet in the GCL, then bumped to Danville.
  • GCL:  5 starts totaling 18 innings.  14 hits, 2 unearned runs, 0.00 ERA, 4 BB, 18 K, 1.00 WHIP, .222 BAA.
  • Danville:  1 start, 3.2 innings.  1 earned run that scored after he was done; 2 BB, 2K, 2 hits, .167 BAA, 1.09 WHIP, 2.45 ERA.
  • BaseballAmerica has an in-depth game report on Anderson this week (the Danville start).  They like him, too.

7 . MIKE SOROKA

  • 19 years old less than 2 weeks ago; 6-4/195, RHP.
  • The second 1st Round pick of the Braves in 2015 out of Bishop Carroll HS, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
  • Yeah, Brian Bridges probably gets first class upgrades on every flight – and this is one reason why.
  • A/Rome
  • 123 innings in his first full-season pro league… and the numbers are impressive… only 1 outing under 4 innings for the year… almost always goes 5-6.
  • In 21 starts (22 appearances) 3.07 ERA, 102K, 30BB, 1.18 WHIP, .251 BAA.  I’ll take that 3.4K/BB ratio.

6. TOUKI TOUSSAINT

  • Age 20, 6-3/185 RHP.
  • Full name:  Dany Gilbert Kiti Toussaint (I’ll give that a ’70’).  Born in Florida.
  • 1st Round draft pick of the Diamondbacks in 2014 from Coral Springs Christian Academy (FL).
  • Acquired along with Bronson Arroyo‘s contract in the trade that also sent Phil Gosselin to Arizona.
  • A/Rome
  • Rome is loaded with pitching… and Touki has what’s probably the nastiest curve of the bunch.  Consistency and command will be his watch-words, though this time through Rome is showing movement in the right direction.
  • We do have a couple of voters who seem concerned that the command will not fully come around… and that’s fair, because often it doesn’t happen.  So this ranking seems a fair positioning.
  • 115 innings, 4.24 ERA in 21 starts (23 G).  104K/60BB, .218 BAA, 1.32 WHIP.

5. KEVIN MAITAN

  • 16 years old, 6-1/180 (est.).  SS -> 3B
  • The 2016 #1 ranked International signee; Venezuela.
  • Has not been added to a roster; will likely be held out until next season.
  • No stats yet as a result.
  • Our ranking is strictly a guess based on the scouting reports.  Our voters had him everywhere from the 1st overall prospect (that was me) to #20.  Certainly the Braves believe in him – he got at least $4 million to sign (a record amount for his country and for the Braves).
  • Braves’ International scouting director has publicly comp’d Maitan to both Chipper Jones and Bryce Harper (radio interview), having watched him for at least 18 months leading up to his signing.  Others have suggested Miguel Cabrera.  If that turns out to be close, then yes – he will be the #1 prospect.
  • We should get our first indications next Summer if he follows the same path as Pache, Cruz and others… a quick bump to the US mainland.

4. SEAN NEWCOMB

  • 23 years old, 6-5/255, LHP.
  • 1st Round pick of the Angels in 2014, Hartford Univ., CT
  • Acquired by Braves with Chris Ellis in the Andrelton Simmons trade
  • AA/Mississippi
  • The knock on Newcomb has always been command – harness that and he has top-of-the-rotation stuff, scouts say.  That’s starting to happen.
  • A report of his latest start is here… noting ‘third straight dominant start’… 25K in 17-2/3 innings, allowing 2 runs in those appearances.
  • 4.04 ERA (going down) in 118 innings.  63 walks, 126K, .231 BAA, 1.36 WHIP.

A note about the pitching at AA Mississippi – despite having lost Robert Whalen to the majors.  Here’s the scores of the games during their 8-game win streak (through Friday 12th):  3-2, 10-2, 3-2, 5-1, 3-2, 2-1, 2-0, 2-1.  8 games giving up 2 runs or less.

3. KOLBY ALLARD

  • As I type this (Saturday, August 13), Kolby is starting to celebrate his 19th birthday.  6-1/180
  • 1st Round pick of the Braves in 2015, 14th overall.
  • Been treated with utmost caution as he recovered from a back ailment and surgery.  Now pitching regularly.
  • A/Rome
  • Tore through Danville: in 27 innings, 1.32 ERA, 33K, 5 walks. Five.
  • Now has 35 innings at Rome (7 starts).  4.84 ERA with 36K, 13BB, 1.27 WHIP, .248 BAA.
  • Most of that ERA damage was caused from his 1st 2 Rome starts to open his season in June.  Went to Danville, now back in Ga.  One hiccup there since.
  • August 3rd start featured an 11K, 1BB, 3 hits performance into the 7th inning.

In our voting, Newcomb and Allard were among the most consistently ranked among our writers… that is, until these guys…

TIE: 1/2 – OZZIE ALBIES AND DANSBY SWANSON

I admit it:  I’m not sure how Mississippi ever loses a game these days… and lately, they haven’t.  This pair of players constitutes one big reason.  In the previously noted story on Sean Newcomb, he said this about having given up a weak infield hit:

"“I was just trying to attack the zone. If [Riddle] hits a ground ball, it’s OK,” … “He just hit it to the six-hole. I wasn’t too worried about it.” Newcomb admitted he’s seen [Dansby] Swanson (Atlanta’s No. 1 prospect) and second baseman Ozzie Albies (No. 2) make enough spectacular plays that he was probably due to give up an infield hit. “It’s awesome having him and Ozzie, too,” he said. “They always get anything hit out there. It’s definitely good having people like Dansby playing behind me.”"

Albies and Swanson probably should be tied in our rankings… they seem to be tied together in their development progress as well.  As it appears that Atlanta has settled with their positions, their defense has been every bit as important as their offensive contributions… maybe more so.

SWANSON:

  • 22 years old, 6-1/190; SS.
  • 1st round pick – 1st overall – of the Diamondbacks in 2015.  Hails from Kennesaw, GA via Vanderbilt University.
  • Acquired by trade in the infamous Shelby Miller Heist of 2015, along with Ender Inciarte and Aaron Blair.
  • AA/Mississippi
  • Hit .333/.441/.526/.967 at Carolina in 21 games.
  • .262/.345/.407/.753 at Mississippi in 82 games with 13 doubles, 5 triples, 8 HR, 35 BB, and 69 K in 324 AB.

ALBIES:

  • 19 years old, 5-9 (maybe)/160; 2B.
  • International signee of Braves from Curacao on July 2, 2013.  That place sound familiar?
  • AA/Mississippi
  • Has almost always been the youngest player at his level.  70 grade speed with excellent defense.
  • Had 56 games at AAA Gwinnett, hitting .248/307/.351/.659 with 222 AB, 11 doubles, 3 triples, and 2 HR.
  • Better when paired with his soulmate:  in 60 AA games (including those prior to his AAA stint), .326/.400/.444/.844 with 14 doubles, 4 triples, 2 HR.

A roster crunch and the Southern League playoffs will likely keep these two away from Atlanta through the end of the year.  However, that probably won’t be the case come next Spring.

Next: The Full List With Links and Resouces

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