Atlanta Braves Midseason Top 50 Prospects: The Top Ten
10. Travis Demeritte, IF, Mississippi Braves
The Atlanta Braves have executed a number of stunning trades in their favor in the last few years as they’ve built up the top farm system in the game, but the trade that brought Demeritte to the Braves may take the cake as far as improbability. Demeritte, a top 10 prospect in the Rangers system, which was a good system at the time, was acquired on July 27th for Lucas Harrell, who the Braves had signed off the scrap heap on May 20th, and Dario Alvarez, who the Braves claimed off of waivers on May 25th. In other words, two players who had barely over 2 months in the Braves organization brought back a top 10 prospect.
A Georgia native, Demeritte was known most previous to his trade for being part of a monster lineup at low-A Hickory in the South Atlantic League, where he hit 25 home runs but also struck out 171 times. He faced a suspension for a performance enhancing substance after that season, which led to starkly lower numbers in 2015.
Demeritte was on his way to a similar season in 2016 in the hitter’s haven of High Desert in the high-A California League before the deal. He didn’t hit for the same type of numbers with Carolina, but he showed excellent on base skills and defense with the Braves. Even more, he was considered one of the most impressive defenders in all of the Arizona Fall League after the season.
The Braves have split Demeritte between third base and second base this season. After a strong start to his season and a huge streak in May, Demeritte has cooled in June, so his numbers at this moment may look less than impressive, but there are few who can match Demeritte’s athleticism in the entire system.
He’s currently hitting .231/.315/.418 with 14 doubles, 3 triples, and 10 home runs, adding in 5 stolen bases. Demeritte has continued to walk at a double-digit rate. What has been pleasant to see is that a guy who has struck out at rates of 28%, 36.7%, 36.4%, and 33% in his career has cut that rate to 26.5% this season.
9. Luiz Gohara, LHP, Mississippi Braves
Receiving the highest bonus ever for a Brazilian (though the Blue Jays may exceed it with diminutive righty Eric Pardinho in a few days), Gohara was able to still be 16 when he debuted in the Appalachian League with Pulaski. He made 6 starts, throwing 21 2/3 innings and striking out 27.
Gohara made the short-season A-ball Northwest League in 2014, but while he struck out over a batter per inning, he struggled with his control and BABIP bad luck. He repeated the level and moved to low-A, but injuries and the hitter-friendly Northwest League continued to plague Gohara as he never threw more than 65 innings.
Before the 2016 season, Gohara showed up to camp having lost nearly 60 pounds, having ballooned to nearly 300 pounds. He lost even more weight during the 2016 season, finishing the season down to 225-230ish. He’s gained some of that weight back, but has still maintained between a 50 and 60 pound weight loss from his peak weight.
The lighter weight has allowed Gohara to be more consistent in his delivery, which was shown with his tremendous performance last season with a 1.81 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 69 2/3 innings. The Braves acquired Gohara in the deal that sent Mallex Smith (momentarily) to Seattle.
Gohara opened this season with Florida, where he was dominating the Florida State League before the Braves promoted him to Mississippi. Injured in his first start at AA, Gohara struggled in his first start back, but has been very good since, and his season combined line is 14 appearances (13 starts), throwing 63 innings, allowing a 2.57 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and a 19/69 BB/K ratio.
He’s shown a fastball that can get into the upper 90s with a dominant slider and an improving change that seems to get better every start. He could make a legit argument for a top 30-50 prospect in the entire game by the end of the season.
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