After a rough 2016 in Carolina, the Atlanta Braves moved their high-A affiliation to the Florida State League. What should we expect from the Florida Fire Frogs?
The Atlanta Braves own each of their full season affiliates except for their high-A affiliate, and that has led to the team bouncing around affiliations in the last few years, from Lynchburg to Carolina, and now completely out of the Carolina League to the Florida State League.
The catchy Florida Fire Frogs (just makes you want a hat, doesn’t it) should inherit much of the 2016 Rome Braves roster, which was the one Atlanta Braves affiliate that won its league championship in spite of three affiliates making it to the championship series.
The one downfall that has not been resolved thus far is that the Florida State League in its entirety is not on MiLB.tv, so this entire team will be unavailable to watch, something that the Atlanta Braves system has been trying to work to ensure DOESN’T happen along the way the last few years. It wouldn’t surprise me if there’s some level of resolution to that this season.
Hitters
Catchers – Armando Araiza, Sal Giardina, Jonathan Morales
Infielders – Carlos Castro, Kurt Hoekstra, Kevin Josephina, Erison Mendez, Austin Riley, Alejandro Salazar, Anfernee Seymour
Outfielders – Ronald Acuna, Leudys Baez, Ray-Patrick Didder, Justin Ellison, Jared James
Seriously, that could be the best group of talent (and certainly defense) of an outfield grouping in the minor leagues. There won’t be a ball that hits the ground in what is already a typically pitcher-friendly league in the Florida State League.
There could be some moves here if the Atlanta Braves choose to challenge guys or promote some of their upper level guys. For instance, starting Rio Ruiz at the major league level could lead to Austin Riley starting at AA, the choice to promote Connor Lien or Joey Meneses to AAA would leave an outfield spot in AA for Didder or Acuna.
One thing to note, wherever they put him, Jonathan Morales will likely have two defensive-minded catchers with him, like Giardina and Araiza in this scenario, as the Braves 1) want him to continue his tremendous 2016 growth in defense, and 2) get the lion’s share of games behind the plate at the level he’s at. I’ve seen some ideas pairing he and Tanner Murphy together, but the way the organization speaks of both, that just doesn’t seem like something that will happen, at least not for long.
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