Atlanta Braves Top 100 Prospects: A Review Of Last Year’s 100
The Atlanta Braves Top 100 Prospect series last season was the first time I had seen a list of that depth posted within one organization. Let’s take a look at the guys highlighted in that list!
I figured it’s about time to get everyone ready for the upcoming top 100 that releases next week by reviewing last year’s list. When I put together the contacts I had at that time and made last year’s list, it was the first time I’d ever seen a single team’s prospect list go to 100 deep anywhere online. I’ve since see a few attempts to go there from other blogs, but typically just in a list format, not really in any sort of descriptive information on the player.
I updated the list in January, and that is the final list that we will be going from for this review. Enjoy this review, and I hope you get all your Braves fan friends to come on over for the top 100 to come out starting Monday, October 17th!!
Once again, this is not a NEW list. This is a review of the previous list that was posted in January of 2016.
The Review: 76-100
100. Trey Keegan – 2015 14th round selection that repeated Danville, hitting .200/.313/.236. Still good walk rate, but looking more like an org guy.
99. Zach Quintana – Spent the season in Carolina as a long man before getting dinged up and spending the rest of the season on the DL. Stuff may be too “average” to stick out in system and could end up as org arm.
98. Jorge Zavala – Breakout relief season in 2015 on deception with slower fastball than most. Released in spring training. Picked up by Brewers and assigned to their advanced rookie league team, but never made it out of extended spring before they also released him.
97. Bradley Roney – Pop-up reliever in 2015 continued progress, blowing through AA and having a positive season in AAA. Walks will be the only thing that keeps him from getting a big league shot in the bullpen. Stock is up among relievers, though that’s a very loaded crop now.
96. Luis Gamez – Up and down results at Danville for the 20 year-old as he had a 2.93 ERA, but also continued control issues, walking 15 to 16 strikeouts.
95. Jose Pina – Broke extended spring with Danville, but released a week later due to numbers crunch.
94. Gilbert Suarez – Repeated GCL and threw very well out of the bullpen with a 0.76 ERA and 0.85 WHIP, but has not refined secondary stuff and may end up remaining a reliever.
93. Alex Aquino – Moved up from DSL to GCL and still hit while showing solid defense. Empty batting average with minimal power, but very solid glove.
92. Ryan Lawlor – Drafted out of Georgia in the 8th round in 2015, Lawlor moved to the bullpen in 2016 after getting injured in early May. He threw well in the bullpen, but the lefty has much more value in the rotation if he can get back there.
91. Luis Barrios – Colombian native repeated GCL and was simply not any better than the previous year and was released on July 21st.
90. Jose Ramirez – Big velocity guy who ended up traded to the Braves as he was out of options, Ramirez threw very well with Gwinnett before having a fine season in the big league bullpen. Control may limit him to a 7th inning role as a ceiling, but a 7th inning guy with high-90s velocity and some idea where it’s going is a weapon.
89. Jake Lanning – Showed good OBP and defense at 3B after 24th round selection in 2015, but was released March 21st during spring training and never caught on with another major league club affiliate.
88. Sean McLaughlin – Drafted out of Georgia in 2015, reliever spent the entire year at Carolina, taking some reps as closer, but also throwing 61 1/3 innings in 41 games, so he was trusted with multiple innings as well. Heavy sinker/slider combo keeps K-rate lower than most, but has a chance to make it as a grounder-inducing reliever.
87. Anthony Guardado – Has yet to eclipse 9 innings thrown as a pro since being drafted in the 3rd round in 2015 out of high school. Still just 18 until mid-November, but has an 8/5 BB/K ratio so far in his limited innings.
86. Evan Rutckyj – Rule 5 pick was returned to the Yankees, where he was banged up most of the year and only threw 10 innings on the year.
85. Alec Grosser – Unknown part of the Bud Norris trade with the Dodgers this season, Grosser had thrown 3 1/3 innings with Danville when he was named the PTBNL in the Norris deal. He never pitched again on the season for the Dodgers organization.
84. Joseph Daris – Daris was a 4th outfielder profile guy drafted in 2014 whose bat took a bat turn in 2016 and ended up cut by Carolina on July 29th.
83. Kelvin Estevez – In between my initial list and my revised list, Estevez was released by the club, and I missed it. He was not signed by an MLB affiliate in 2016.
82. Chad Sobotka – Tall righty struggled with injuries the past two seasons, but the move to the bullpen in 2016 suited him well, and he jumped up the system all the way to AA Mississippi after starting the year with low-A Rome. Great power sinker from a 6’7 frame will give him lots of chances in the bullpen.
81. Wes Parsons – Undrafted out of college, Parsons has long been a Braves scouting success story, but the story added a new chapter in 2016 as Parsons recovered from a rough, injury-filled 2015 to claim a rotation spot in Carolina and run with it, even earning a spot start in Mississippi.
80. Dilmer Mejia – One of the more impressive talents in the system before the 2014-2015 offseason overhaul, Mejia gets lost in the shuffle at times now. Repeating GCL, he flashed excellence at times with a good K/BB rate and solid ERA, but found his stuff hittable to GCL hitters as well. Still just 19.
79. Matt Withrow – Big step forward in 2016. Ace of the Carolina staff, striking out 131 in 120 2/3 innings. Projects more as a 3/4 type, but big body that could lean into it and be even more.
78. Sander Boeldak – Curacao native moved up to GCL in 2016 and found it not as inviting as the DSL and struggled to beat out fellow outfielders for playing time.
77. Tyler Brosius – DNP this year as he still is suffering from the concussion side effects after the Carolina bus crash of 2015.
76. Chase Johnson-Mullins – Talent on the mound is obvious, but had disciplinary action multiple times on the season, including a suspension and a demotion. Huge (6’8, 275+ pounds) lefty could move fast if he can simply get out of his own way.
Next: 51-75
The Review: 51-75
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75.
Dian Toscano– Part of the Bud Norris deal with Los Angeles after flashing some skills in AA Mississippi, but also showing incredible rust coming from Cuba.
74.
Trevor Belicek– Lefty reliever was enjoying a very good season before the Braves leveraged it in trade to the Orioles for a competitive balance pick.
73.
Elias Arias– Bumped up to Danville, but now 22 and running out of time to make an impression. Still shows lots of tools, but little refinement.
72.
Patrick Weigel– Ace of the Rome staff before getting a late-season promotion to Mississippi, where he didn’t look out of place at all. Huge velocity and very good breaking stuff should allow him continued success on the mound along with a nice fallback repertoire out of the bullpen as a fall back.
71.
Jose Morel– One of the last cuts in spring training after hitting .313/.372/.390 in Danville in 2015.
70.
Caleb Beech– Rubber-armed righty showed flexibility throwing out of the bullpen before getting hurt in late-April and then immediately joining the rotation in Carolina when he came back from the DL.
69.
Sean Godfrey– 4th outfielder skill set that only was able to accumulate 95 at bats across 3 levels in 2016 due to injury, but is going to be 25 on opening day 2017 with just a hair over 200 AB at AA under his belt.
68.
Carlos Lopez– Long, lanky righty from Mexico repeated the DSL and had lesser results, showing a 14/14 BB/K ratio and general wildness. ERA looks good due to 5 of 8 runs allowed being unearned.
67.
Kyle Kinman– Having a solid season for Mississippi before injury ended his season effectively in mid-May.
66.
Jaret Hellinger– Lefty from Georgia HS in 2015 was bumped up to Danville in 2016, and the results weren’t as great as he would have liked, but there were definitely flashes of something very solid out of Hellinger in those starts.
65.
Alejandro Salazar– Salazar is a defensive whiz at shortstop and has shown he has the ability to make solid contact as well with a career .287 batting average. Just turned 20 in early October.
64.
Anthony Concepcion– After being “oldish” out of Venezuela in 2015, Concepcion was the leader of the GCL offense in 2016. Will be 22 at the onset of the 2017 season, so his ascension up the system needs to happen soon.
63.
Kurt Hoekstra– College pick out of Western Michigan in 2015 with high baseball intelligence was hurt for most of 2016, only collecting 11 at bats.
62.
Joseph Odom– Busted out with Carolina offensively before being promoted to Mississippi and getting inconsistent playing time there where his bat leveled off. Excellent defender behind the plate.
61.
Bradley Keller– Very toolsy outfielder that couldn’t turn the tools into production in low-A Rome, so he was sent back to Danville, but still never found his footing.
60.
Carlos Castro– Flipped the switch on his hitting this season, turning his high-contact bat into a power source, finishing second in the system in home runs.
59.
Jason Hursh– Pitched a full season as a reliever this season, and his sinker/slider combo really played up more this season in that role.
58.
Chris O’Dowd– The Braves had started his move out from behind the plate in 2015, but after being suspended for PEDs in 2015, he didn’t make the team out of spring training, being cut March 31st. O’Dowd caught on with the White Sox, flashing solid on base skills, but nearly nothing else.
57.
Ricardo Rodriguez– Acquired as part of the
Christian Bethancourtdeal with St. Louis, Rodriguez had high pedigree out of Venezuela, but the bat never followed in 2016.
56.
Mauricio Cabrera– My reliever bias showed here to some degree, but I’m still not sold that Cabrera isn’t headed for a very, very bad ending. I just hope it’s not in a closing situation when the bad ending kicks in.
55.
Tanner Murphy– Solid defender, but bat took off in second half, making him look like an excellent all-around catching option.
54.
Omar Obregon– Solid defender played alongside Albies in Rome in 2015 then alongside Swanson in Carolina to start 2015.
53.
Ryan Clark– Big expectations to be a consistent starter, but he took the ball every 5 days – otherwise nothing else worked consistently as he ended the year with a 5.75 ERA.
52.
Collin Yelich– While brother Christian was having a very good season in the big leagues, Collin spent the season between GCL and Danville, only tallying 45 at bats.
51.
Carlos Franco– Had a very pedestrian year before he got to the playoffs, when his bat really came alive. Likely org filler at this point.
Next: 26-50
The Review: 26-50
50. Seth Webster – One of my personal favorites from 2015, Webster was a guy signed from Indy Ball that came in and basically walked no one, using pitches that dipped down into the 50s and 60s in velocity. He was released, sadly for me, near the end of spring training.
49. Justin Ellison – Very tool heavy outfielder went to Rome and had big time flashes, but quite inconsistent overall. Lots of athleticism, but times when the bat just disappeared.
48. Johan Camargo – Made a successful transition to utility guy in 2016 from a defensive-focused shortstop. Showed solid gap power in AA while hitting .267, his best average for a full season year.
47. A.J. Minter – I moved him up a ton based on fall instructs reports that I got after doing my October list. Then I would have moved him up a ton more if I had done a list just before opening day based on what I heard. He simply dominated all year long. I compared him to Zach Britton in my scouting report on him, and I really think that’s apt.
46. Keith Curcio – One of the more unheralded guys in the system. Very consistent, led off most of the year for Carolina and was the one guy in the lineup who hit from April through August. Very solid 4th outfielder/fringy starter at peak value, but a great guy to have in the system.
45. Robert Whalen – Told me that he was healthy for the first time in his career over the offseason, and it showed once he hit the field. Mentally more advanced on the mound than any Braves pitching prospect, knowing when and how to attack hitters within an at bat. He’s moved up big.
44. Luis Valenzuela – Solid all-around skill set that he never seems to put together all at the same time. Missed a lot of 2016 with injury, but when healthy, similar frustration as Royals had before trading him to Atlanta.
43. Steve Janas – Made transition to the bullpen very well, and could have a long-term home there in the major leagues with how well his multiple pitch mix worked in keeping hitters off balance.
42. Ray-Patrick Didder – A guy basically off the radar for most who even knew the system fairly well, Didder was described to me as the best defensive outfielder in the entire system. He put up a .380+ OBP in Rome along with showing exactly that ability defensively.
41. Brandon Barker – Enjoying an excellent start to his year in Mississippi when he was traded to Baltimore to acquire a competitive balance pick that turned into Brett Cumberland.
40. Daniel Castro – Really hasn’t hit the top end of his offensive ability, and likely won’t. Settled into a defense-focused bench middle infielder, and those guys are dime-a-dozen.
39. Max Povse – Came out in April like gangbusters, cooled considerably, and then settled into a solid season the rest of the way. Repeated his landing spot very well in 2016. At his height, that will be what determines whether his future is in the bullpen or rotation.
38. Ricardo Sanchez – Missed in the Rome rotation, though his numbers don’t exactly stand up to the rest. Had flashes of brilliance over the season. Still plenty young.
37. Connor Lien – Lots of fun to watch him in the outfield and on the base paths. Watching him at the plate could make you pull your hair out. Missed much of 2016 due to injury.
36. Josh Graham – Big time helium coming into the season, and then he was moved to the bullpen from the get go while others (Weigel, Clark, Withrow) from his draft class stayed in the rotation. Has a real bright future in the pen with his stuff.
35. Cristian Pache – Incredibly big debut for Pache, moving through GCL to Danville and actually hitting better after the promotion at just 17!
34. William Contreras – My favorite catcher in the system flashed exactly why at GCL this year, really handling pitchers well, blocking pitches, and showing an excellent eye at the plate along with developing power at just 18.
33. Lucas Herbert – 2015 2nd round selection is advanced defensively, but his bat needs lots of work.
32. Zachary Bird – The bottom completely fell out on Bird in 2016. He’s a reliever going forward, but we’ll see in 2017 whether he’s even got a future there.
31. Ryan Weber – Solid control artist was never really given a shot at the rotation this season in Atlanta, but was excellent as a utility pitcher in Gwinnett.
30. Randy Ventura – Speedster grabbed this spot due to his big time speed performance in 2015, but coming stateside from the GCL slowed him down significantly.
29. Derian Cruz – The top ranked 2015 international signee that the Braves brought in, but he was surpassed by his class brother Pache on the season as Cruz hit a wall in Danville.
28. Daniel Winkler – One of the most gruesome injuries I’ve seen on a baseball field. Watching the video today makes me sad. Hopefully he can return and show us all!
27. Luke Dykstra – Scrappy 2nd baseman led the organization in hitting for much of the season before an injury finished out his 2016 on the DL.
26. Jonathan Morales – Showed excellent offensive skills in 2015, and those were present in 2016, but he made huge strides defensively behind the plate. Could move quickly once he can get both done at the same time.
Next: 1-25
The Review: 1-25
25. Leudys Baez – Shredded his knee during the season, and struggled before he did that as well. Lots of tools, but struggling to put them into action.
24. Isranel Wilson – Was struggling at the plate already, but then he was suspended at the end of the season. Absolute tool shed of talent, but needs to ignore the voices on his shoulder.
23. Juan Yepez – Injury removed a big chunk of his 2016. Has slimmed down significantly and could move back to third, which would incredibly increase his value.
22. Dustin Peterson – Peterson was raking before the Carolina bus crash last season left him not looking right the rest of the year. He got back on track in 2016 and has firmly moved into the discussion of a future outfielder in Atlanta.
21. Andrew Thurman – Ton to love about his arm and raw stuff, but he never recovered mentally after the Carolina bus crash. Ended up being released this season.
20. Casey Kelly – One-time elite prospect flashed signs of his raw skills, but still has not developed them, and he’s not sure whether he’s going to be a starter or reliever.
19. Chris Ellis – Came over in the Andrelton Simmons deal and pitched with great numbers in Mississippi before being promoted to Gwinnett, where it was quickly exposed that the numbers were hiding a very up-and-down pitcher.
18. Rio Ruiz – Bounced back from a rough 2015 with excellent work defensively and offensively this season. Could compete for the Atlanta 3B job in spring.
17. Mike Soroka – Long-necked Canadian was tremendous on the mound, especially when you consider his age. Nothing elite in his stuff, but pitches extremely well with what he does offer.
16. Ronald Acuna – Acuna was getting Andruw Jones comparisons before the season due to his similar offensive profile. An injury that kept him out nearly 4 months derailed his season, but lots to like in what was seen.
15. Max Fried – Returned from Tommy John with the expected bumps in the road. He finished his season on an absolute tear, and he was the guy they gave the ball to to end the series in the playoffs – twice!
14. John Gant – Interviewing John’s dad was one of the more interesting stories I’ve ever done here at TT. Gant struggled with getting used to his role as he was shuffled between AAA and Atlanta, as well as switching from bullpen to starter and back again.
13. Kolby Allard – Struggled in a short audition for Rome. Went back to Danville and was one of the best pitchers in that league all season, earning his way to Rome, and he was throwing at an elite level later in the year.
12. Braxton Davidson – One of the biggest fallers in the system this year, not due to acquiring players or other guys getting so good he was bumped down. Davidson stagnated in performance at Carolina. Next year will be very important for him.
11. Austin Riley – Struggled coming out of the gates and then made a few adjustments in the box and in his swing that allowed him to clobber the ball the rest of the season. Still strikes out a ton and Riley’s defense is rough, to say the least.
10. Touki Toussaint – That curve could rock a baby to sleep. However, it’s moving away from the curve that made him much better this year in his control as he finished the season very strong.
9. Mallex Smith – Came up to the big leagues and showed his big time speed. Still concerns on his defense in center, but I’d like to see him get a clean slate in spring 2016.
8. Tyrell Jenkins – Jenkins had wide-ranging opinions coming into the season, and he’ll have even wider ones leaving the season as he struggled with control once he was moved to the bullpen, but his velocity definitely played up.
7. Lucas Sims – Brilliant for Mississippi to start the year, then imploded at Gwinnett. Brought back down to Mississippi, he finished the season on a high note.
6. Manny Banuelos – Struggled to get his velocity back. Released.
5. Hector Olivera – Earned the starting left field job out of spring training, then in an early season series was arrested and accused of domestic abuse. Once he was eligible to return, the team very obviously drug their feet with his rehab, then the Padres came calling, and Olivera was moved for Matt Kemp.
4. Aaron Blair – Could be the young pitcher that benefits most from McDowell leaving. Struggled when forced into similar philosophy to Roger’s in the Arizona system, yet that’s what was forced on him in the majors.
3. Sean Newcomb – Overall numbers may not blow you away, but he struck out a ton of hitters and really improved his ERA a ton over the season, and he’s showed many times this year that he is the type of guy who takes a team on his back.
2. Ozhaino Albies – Made the switch from short to second and really played well once he was brought back to AA Mississippi. Hurt his elbow in the playoffs, and the Braves are hoping to have him back for spring training.
Next: Braves Minor League Database
1. Dansby Swanson – Came over from Arizona as the #1 2015 overall draft pick. Certainly did nothing to dissuade thinking that he could be a big deal!