Apr 4, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; The teams lineup and the flag is pulled across the outfield prior to the game between the Washington Nationals and the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 4, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; The teams lineup and the flag is pulled across the outfield prior to the game between the Washington Nationals and the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
The Atlanta Braves have an incredible farm system, and Benjamin Chase has taken up Tomahawk Take’s minor league coverage of that system. This is his top 100 prospects in the Braves system!
An Introduction
This is my second undertaking of an Atlanta Braves top 100 list. I will be honest – it was much tougher this season. Last year, I did consider just under 150 names that I considered as worthy of being on the top 100 list, but the qualifications were basically “did not look bad statistically” or “heard at least one positive thing”.
This year I knew was going to be much deeper, so I upped my personal requirements even for consideration, and I had 173 names on the initial list that I made to start sorting out from.
First, the methodology. This list is not a list of the guys who have the most talent from 1-100 as that wouldn’t tell us what we really want to know. This is an evaluation of who has the talent, the mental makeup, and the work ethic to turn their talent into a major league baseball player.
All players who have not exceeded rookie requirements are eligible for this list, even if they’ve played in the major leagues already.
The reality is that of these 100 players, the Braves would be doing exceptionally well if 25 of them played more than a brief stint with the major league club. That part does need to be kept in mind as we continue through this list.
That does not mean that someone who is a #98 on this list can’t have a major league career. What I look at is the level of impact a player will have IF he does make the major leagues. A guy who will be an impact hitter or not make it at all will likely get rated higher than a guy who won’t make it as a starter or a late-inning reliever, but he has a good shot to be a major league middle reliever.
All players who have not exceeded rookie requirements are eligible for this list, even if they’ve played in the major leagues already.
I will have a post on Friday after the entire list is revealed that presents the list in a pure list format with no evaluation on each player for reference in the future. These posts will have more in-depth evaluation of each player in the list. I also intend to update this list sometime before spring training begins with any off season acquisitions that the Braves make, so I won’t be updating the list as each trade/rule V pick/waiver claim is made, it will all be at that time.
With that said, let’s take a look at this post’s focus, #71-80 on the list!
Roney was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 18th round out of high school in 2011, but he chose instead to attend Southern Miss. The Braves drafted him in the 8th round in 2014 from Southern Miss, and he’s been striking out guys from the bullpens of Braves affiliates ever since.
Roney really made a big impression with a huge 2015 season that saw him move from Danville to Rome to Carolina, accumulating a 2.98 ERA and 1.08 WHIP over 48 1/3 innings, with a 35/70 BB/K ratio.
The team was hoping to see that level of pitching carry forward, and it really did for his time with Mississippi, as he posted a 2.82 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, and a 16/33 BB/K over 22 1/3 innings before he was promoted to Gwinnett, where he had issues finding the zone, and his final numbers ended up at 3.33 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, and a 55/88 BB/K over 67 2/3 innings.
Roney relies on a monster fastball that has touched triple digits but typically sits 94-96
Roney relies on a monster fastball that has touched triple digits but typically sits 94-96 with a high 3/4 arm angle that allows for an excellent downward plane. He has a hard curve that breaks really well in spite of its big velocity. His curve is definitely his strikeout pitch, but it’s also the pitch that he loses location most frequently with.
Roney relies on a bit of delayed-release sort of delivery from the stretch, tucking in his front side and holding them until exploding at the last moment. The problem is that when he explodes that hard toward the plate, Roney frequently can miss the landing spot with his foot, and when he does that to the first-base side, he opens up his hips before bringing his arm through his motion, which flattens out his curve ball a ton.
When he lands toward the third base side, he ends up throwing across his body, and with his high arm angle, it takes away the good plane he gets on his fastball, leaving it as a straight upper-90s fastball, which really good hitters can tattoo.
Roney’s delivery consistency will go a long way toward his future with the team. He could be a very valuable reliever if he can get his delivery repeatable and consistent. However, that’s a very risky proposition, especially with a reliever, so it’s hard to project him any higher on this list.
The Braves acquired Rodriguez in the offseason trade that sent Cristian Bethancourt to San Diego. Rodriguez was the top-rated catcher in the 2014 July 2nd international free agent class, but he had only spent one season primarily with the DSL when the Braves acquired him, hitting .265/.336/.374.
The Braves had big hopes for the Venezuelan, sending him to GCL, hoping he’d be the lead catcher among a trio of solid catchers. Instead, by the end of the season, he was the third in the pecking order, hitting .225/.284/.275.
Rodriguez showed a very wrist led swing in his time with the GCL, though he does flash the ability to possibly have future power
Rodriguez was supposed to have high end defensive skills, but what became evident was that while his glove work was tremendous, Rodriguez showed some major issues throwing out runners and blocking pitches. Those are pretty important pieces of catcher defense.
Rodriguez showed a very wrist led swing in his time with the GCL, though he does flash the ability to possibly have future power if he can work to sync his swing with his hips as he would release his hips in his swing before making contact.
Rodriguez still has high pedigree, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see him return to GCL next year. He’ll need to work on the footwork in the run game and his bat skills for sure in order to be more than high pedigree that fizzles out.
Next: #78 & #77
78. Yenci Pena, SS
Pena received a wide range of opinions before signing with the Braves for a hair over $1M in this summer’s big July 2nd international free agent group. He became eligible to sign on July 13th, and the Braves snapped him up immediately.
One of the big reasons for the wide range of opinion on Pena is the position listed behind his name. He is a shortstop by listing only. Most expect that he’ll move immediately in professional ball. Where he moves is what leads to the wide range of opinion.
In the cage, Pena is as impressive as anyone in this summer’s IFA class
Pena has a funky throwing motion that is accurate in its current state, but it also is an average arm in strength. He has good hands, but he grew quickly to his current 6’2 listing (and likely still growing), and his coordination in his lateral movements in the field is rough, to say the least. Some believe he’ll be a guy who works well at third once he grows into his body, while others feel he’ll be forced to left field or even first base, which would put significant pressure on the bat.
Pressure on his bat certainly won’t be an issue if you watch a batting practice session. In the cage, Pena is as impressive as anyone in this summer’s IFA class, but it seemed as if adrenaline clicked in during games, and his pretty, compact swing in BP lengthens out and struggles to adjust to breaking stuff.
This shouldn’t be a difficult fix, and with his growing frame, Pena has a very high ceiling in his power projection on his frame. He’s a guy whose BP swing would make you think he could hit for good average and good power going forward as he adjusts to experience in game situations.
One of the Braves system trends that I’ve particularly found interesting is the propensity to find gems in guys in the Latin American market who were missed in initial July 2nd IFA scouting. The Braves are one of few teams who continue scouting beyond those kids that are 16 in the Latin market, and one of their recent signees was Concepcion.
Originally signed as a catcher, Concepcion has played first base and corner outfield with the Braves system. He spent 2015 with DSL, hitting .308/.410/.451 with 5 home runs and 12 stolen bases, adding in a 10% walk rate and 17% strikeout rate.
Promoted to GCL this season at 21, Concepcion was the anchor of the team’s lineup and selected as the level’s player of the year. He hit .272/.358/.439 with 4 home runs and 5 stolen bases. He also posted a 10.4% walk rate and a 16.5% strikeout rate.
His offensive skill set is primarily a short, compact swing from the right side that has a good amount of line drive power when he connects
As you can see, the numbers were basically stable coming stateside for Concepcion, which is a good sign, but he was also older than most of his competition at both levels, in spite of it being his first professional season. His offensive skill set is primarily a short, compact swing from the right side that has a good amount of line drive power when he connects, along with some natural athleticism that allows him to steal a few bases as well.
Defensively, Concepcion isn’t an elite outfielder by any means, and his defense at first base isn’t going to blow anyone away, but he’s definitely not hurting the team in any position he plays as he gets to all the plays you want an outfielder to make and rarely flubs a routine play at first base.
He’ll be 22 when the season opens, so it will be interesting to see if the Braves push Concepcion past Danville straight to Rome to push his time line a little, but it was impressive to see him not have any change coming stateside in competition, so there’s something to watch here.
If you want to be frightened, irk big Chase! He’s an intense competitor on the mound, and at 6’8 and a listed 270 pounds (though not many would be surprised if that was 20-30 pounds short of truth), he casts a pretty intimidating shadow.
CJM was drafted by the Rangers in the 24th round of the 2012 draft out of high school, but he had Tommy John surgery and ended up going to college at Kentucky and then Walters State, where he had some issues with youthful indiscretion and ended up leaving the schools. After getting on with an independent league team, he was signed by Shelton State, where he was at when the Braves drafted him in the 13th round in the 2015 draft.
Johnson-Mullins pitched for Danville in 2015 and showed well, making 16 appearances, throwing 25 2/3 innings with a 2.81 ERA and 1.68 WHIP, posting a 17/21 BB/K ratio.
The Braves moved Chase all the way to Carolina to start 2016, and he was made the co-closer with Evan Phillips. He started off well, and through June 15th, he had 7 saves, a 2.63 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and a 15/26 BB/K ratio over 27 1/3 innings.
His secondary offering is a curve that has a sharp break, and he likes to bury it low in the zone.
He finished out June with a few rough appearances, but then was suspended for “disciplinary” reasons, essentially meaning that the team suspended him, not that he was suspended due to drug violations, and to the team’s credit, the Braves don’t put prospects on blast by revealing reasons for disciplinary suspensions in the minor leagues as a general rule.
After 2 1/2 weeks of suspension, Johnson-Mullins was sent to GCL to get an inning in and then assigned to Rome for the rest of the season. This was excellent for CJM as he got not only his pitching on track, but was put into a very positive clubhouse that was a positive environment.
Chase’s time in Rome resulted in a 1.29 ERA and 1.14 WHIP over 21 innings with a 6/19 BB/K ratio. He did have a rough postseason outing in the first round of the playoffs, but, to his credit, he bounced back to throw 3 innings in 2 appearances in the championship series, not allowing a run and striking out 3.
CJM features a heavy sinking fastball that gets additional weight due to the downward plane from his 6’8 frame. Batters have difficulty driving the ball at all when he really is on top of the pitch and locating it well in the zone.
His secondary offering is a curve that has a sharp break, and he likes to bury it low in the zone. He often struggles with putting the curve in the dirt, however, and batters lay off of those pitches fairly well, leading to a higher walk rate.
Johnson-Mullins could be an absolutely dominant reliever if he can get his delivery on track and keep his release point, which is where he often sees control struggles come in from. I’d imagine he starts with Brevard County in 2017, but the Braves could jump him to Mississippi if they feel he’d be best suited to that clubhouse and environment.
Mar 2, 2015; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves shortstop Johan Camargo (76) pose for photo day at Wide World of Sports. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
Camargo was signed out of Panama, and he showed almost immediately a glove that was incredibly impressive at third base at the time, along with a bat that had flashes. Many Braves fans first dreamed on Camargo’s potential when he hit .343/.433/.455 with DSL in 2012 with 2 home runs and 6 steals along with a 25/27 BB/K over 241 plate appearances in 2012.
Camargo was jumped over GCL and put in Danville, and he continued to hit well as well as flashing exceptional leather. His line for Danville in 2013 over 256 plate appearances was .294/.359/.360 with an 18/31 BB/K ratio.
Camargo began showing up on plenty of top Braves prospect lists before the 2014 season, and he started out with Rome. While he flashed excellent defensive ability, he racked up a lot of errors, which made many fans viewing the stat lines to assume that he was a rough defender at short, which couldn’t have been farther from the truth. Camargo was a guy getting to balls that no one else could, but his judgement in making the throws was not always the best.
The issue was that his bat didn’t continue progress as he moved up. With Rome and high-A Lynchburg in 2014, he combined for a .266/.313/.326 line and with Carolina, he hit similarly as a 21 year old in 2015, slashing .258/.315/.335.
Wanting to get his excellent glove more exposure, Camargo was sent to the Arizona Fall League to take work all around the infield and corner outfield.
He did take a lot of infield practice around the field, but his game experience was primarily at third base, which suited Camargo’s above-average arm and experience on the left side of the infield.
Camargo was dispatched in his new “utility” role in Mississippi in 2016. He played second base alongside both Ozzie Albies and Dansby Swanson as they were in Mississippi individually, and then when Albies was brought back down to Mississippi to play alongside Swanson, Camargo shifted to third base.
Last, once Swanson was promoted to Atlanta, Camargo took over at shortstop for what ended up being a playoff-bound Mississippi roster. In all, he played 64 games at second, 29 games at third, and 32 games at short.
Offensively, Camargo has not exactly experienced growth, though he’s not going to hurt the team, hitting .267/.304/.379 with slightly below-average power and average speed. He is eligible for rule 5 this offseason, and a team could take a risk on selecting Camargo and placing him in a bench role, but it’s unlikely the Braves would protect him. His high-end defensive skills will keep him employed for a while, however.
Salazar was drafted as a pick from high school in California in the 3rd round of the 2013 draft pick. He was a very raw arm when drafted, featuring a big fastball that could touch 97, but very inconsistent offerings otherwise.
Salazar worked as a starter for a year and a half with minimal success, before the Braves moved the electric arm to the bullpen midway through 2014. After spending time in Danville in 2014 working as a reliever, he moved to low-A Rome in 2015 and moved up to Carolina at the end of July.
While his strikeout rate was excellent as a reliever in 2014 and 2015, his walk rate was of concern. He walked hitters at a 18.2% rate in 2014/2015 out of the bullpen, and while his velocity and now-electric slider were possible back-end weapons, he just couldn’t get them under control.
Salazar repeated Carolina in 2016, and the 21 year-old may have posted an ERA that had many skipping by his name, but under the hood was something very, very notable. Salazar had made impressive strides in his control and repeating his delivery.
These strides made Salazar’s hard fastball straighten out a touch as his erratic mechanics would give his fastball late life. The issue was that he couldn’t control that life often and frequently left the ball out of the zone. Now, he was using his slider more, and frankly, that led to some growing pains as he worked to control the incredible bite his slider got.
Salazar posted a 23.8% walk rate, which would normally make someone run the other direction, but the improvements in his delivery and mechanics also led to an increased strikeout rate, bumping up to 29.5% from 22.2% at the same level the previous year. His walk rate was actually a 10% IMPROVEMENT over his number from Carolina the previous year.
With his electric stuff, it’s easy to dream on Salazar, and he has a very, very bright future, especially at just 21 years old. I would imagine he starts 2017 at AA Mississippi, and he could be a guy who fits in at the back-end of a bullpen going forward as he masters his mechanics and, therefore, his control.
The Braves pursued James fairly intensely, drafting James twice, once in the 30th round in 2014 out of community college, and then again in 2016 in the 34th round out of Cal Poly Pomona. James comes from a family that Braves fans will find familiar, as his father is former major leaguer Dion James, who played with the Braves from 1987-1989, tallying a .283/.374/.402 slash line over 329 games before he was traded for Oddibe McDowell.
James probably has more of the athleticism of McDowell than his father, though he played more left field than center with the Braves system in his first year as a professional, but that has as much to do with elite center fielders being present as James’ defensive issues.
James is a lanky guy for 6’1, with longer arms and legs than you’d think at that height, and it sometimes hurts in his swing getting long. He still was able to show enough to push his way to Rome, and he was good enough to end up being the starting left fielder for Rome in their championship run.
Between two levels, James hit .300/.379/.420 with 4 home runs, 11 stolen bases, and a 21/30 BB/K ratio over 242 plate appearances.
He also paired with Ronald Acuna and Ray-Patrick Didder in the Rome outfield to be an absolutely elite defensive outfield.
James’ long legs mean that his excellent speed takes a bit to access, so he’s probably never going to be an elite base stealer, in spite of being as fast at top end as most anyone in the system. He will be a guy who does very well with balls in the gap, however, and that can be a very valuable skill, especially with his solid bat path through the zone that creates solid line drive contact.
I’d wager we’ll see James pushed a bit in the system as he’s going to be 23 as spring training opens in 2017, so he could be a guy that jumps high-A and goes directly to Mississippi to really see what the team has in James, but it’s clear that the team found a gem here that few other teams (if any) were on.
Sobotka was a 4th round selection out of the University of South Carolina Upstate, which is not exactly a baseball hot bed, and his size got a lot of attention right away. Sobotka at 6’7 had some back issues in college that scared off some teams.
The Braves didn’t see Sobotka until 2015, and then his performance was rough, to say the least. He posted a 6.32 ERA and 1.84 WHIP over 37 innings across three levels with 22 walks and 22 strikeouts, missing significant time with injury again.
In order to get Sobotka on the field, the Braves moved Sobotka full-time to the bullpen in 2016, and to say the results were excellent would be underselling by quite a bit. He had a 3.03 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and a 15/45 BB/K ratio over 38 2/3 innings. Sobotka’s season was delayed due to back issues, but once he got on the field, he was lights out.
Sobotka works with primarily his two-seam fastball and slider out of the bullpen, though he does still work in a four-seam fastball and change at times, though quite infrequently. From his height, the sinking fastball and slider have great plane and generate a lot of weak contact.
The big improvement I noted in 2016 was in the shape and control of his slider. He was able to get hard bite on the pitch, and it went from a pitch that generated a ton of ground balls to a pitch that was generating a lot of swing and miss. I stated in his scouting report that Sobotka’s slider could make an argument for best in the system as good as it looked in my viewings this year.
Sobotka made it to Mississippi at the end of the season for their playoff run. I’d wager that’s where he starts 2017, but with his stuff, I could see him move forward quickly with legit back-end sort of stuff if he can maintain it.
Martinez was signed from Venezuela in the international free agent market in 2012. The lefty debuted with the Braves DSL squad in 2013 and really didn’t have anything noteworthy beyond his strikeout rate (27.9%). That alone earned Martinez a promotion to the GCL for 2014.
However, Martinez did little to distinguish himself in 2014. In returning to GCL in 2015, Martinez had a solid season, throwing 40 1/3 innings with a 2.23 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and a 8/31 BB/K ratio.
He moved up to Danville this season, and Martinez was the most consistent member of the Danville rotation, taking the hill 12 times, but his production backed up a bit, as he posted a 3.21 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, and 16/45 BB/K ratio over 61 2/3 innings.
Martinez works with a low 3/4 arm slot, touching mid-90s with his fastball and generating a different look on his slider from the lower angle. The big determining factor for Martinez is his change, and when it’s on, it’s a legit swing-and-miss pitch, but he struggles to maintain hand placement on the pitch, which makes the change easier to pick up out of the hand and easier for hitters to put good wood on.
He’s going to be 22 to start next season, and he’s shown the ability to go deep into games, so he could be sent to Rome or pushed to high-A Brevard County, though that rotation would likely contain mostly Rome starters from 2016, so it’s likely to be a full rotation. Martinez could be a tremendous asset in the bullpen if he placed into that role.
