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Atlanta Braves 2016-2017 Top Prospects: 41-50

By Benjamin Chase

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 /
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50. Anfernee Seymour, SS

Seymour came to the Braves from the Marlins in the trade for Hunter Cervenka this summer. The Bahamas native was originally drafted by the Marlins in the 7th round of the 2014 draft.

He has incredible speed, and he flashed that immediately, stealing 11 bases in just 112 plate appearances in his time with GCL in 2014. In 2015, the Marlins pushed Seymour to short-season New York-Penn League, where he hit .273/.338/.349 with 29 stolen bases.

In 2016, Seymour spent the entire season in the South Atlantic League between the Marlins’ affiliate in Greensboro and Braves’ affiliate in Rome. He totaled a line of .257/.296/.303 with 43 stolen bases and a 26/118 BB/K over 537 plate appearances.

Seymour was an outfielder that was moved to the infield, and while he has the range on the infield and the arm strength, he struggles frequently with his glove work and his accuracy of his throws.

At the plate, the most kind review of Seymour I heard was from a scout who compared him to a young Jose Reyes – very raw, little view of the strike zone, completely relying on his speed on offense and defense.

The difference to me is that Reyes was up in the majors at 19, and at 22, Reyes had the power in his swing to hit 7 major league home runs and 17 triples. Seymour will be 22 next year, and needless to say, that sort of power is not there at all right now.

Seymour played second base next to Alejandro Salazar once the latter was healthy with Rome this year, and the two made a very solid defensive pairing, so that could be a future spot for Seymour on the defensive spectrum if he doesn’t end up moving back out to the outfield to take advantage of his speed.

His speed will absolutely be his carrying tool, and it’s such a loud tool that it’s hard to put him any lower than this on the list, but he will need to start getting a more consistent bat path soon as he is 22 next year. The Braves will likely assign him to high-A in 2017.

49. Abrahan Gutierrez, C

The first of many catchers in this particular post, so get ready for a lot of talk about backstops!

Gutierrez was the top-rated catcher by many in the international free agent class for the 2016 July 2nd class for multiple years. He ended up being supplanted on that list by David Garcia around the point of the actual signing period, but was still considered a top-20 player in the entire class.

Gutierrez is not going to be a guy who will likely end up being a defensive stalwart as he is more of a thicker body frame, but he’s also 16 and could do a lot of growing yet.

One of the biggest red flags for me and why Gutierrez is ranked below others in the class in spite of receiving the second-highest bonus of the Braves’ extensively loaded IFA class is that his scouting reports were so mixed as the process came to a close before signing.

Gutierrez played extremely well in first exposure at 13-14 years old, but many reports felt that he had stalled in his development, not building power to his swing with the added body strength and not seeing added arm strength as he grew, either.

He will certainly be given every chance to show doubters wrong by the Braves, but with a deep group of excellent defensive catchers ahead of him, it’s likely the Braves take their time with Gutierrez, placing him in GCL in 2017 and keeping him there unless he incredibly produces.

Next: #48 & #47

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