Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: new prospect rankings

Prospect Rankings are just that:  the opinions about someone’s observations about a projection of a player some distance from the major leagues.  Some are more interesting than others.

At this point after having traded Jose Quintana, it is probably fair to yield the mantle of Top Farm System from the shoulders of the Atlanta Braves to the White Sox. Maybe. Barely. 

Even so, that slight concession won’t  last long as #1 Yoan Moncada will “graduate” before years’ end… though so will Sean Newcomb for the Braves.  But despite rankings, I’d take Ronald Acuna over Eloy Jimenez every day.

A couple of new lists have emerged this week from sources we follow with some interest, so it’s good to compare notes.

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Links:

• TomahawkTake’s Mid-season Top 50
• Baseball America’s Mid-season Top 10
• Minor League Ball’s 11-20
• Minor League Ball’s Top 10

A couple of notes about these lists:

• Ben intentionally left Sean Newcomb out, as he will exceed rookie limits any day now.  Minor League Ball (Wayne Cavadi) did likewise.  Baseball America left him in.
• The “next 5” for minor league ball were Brett Cumberland, Rio Ruiz, Patrick Weigel (probably 21st), Randy Ventura, and ‘maybe’ Lucas Herbert… plus a nod to Devan Watts.
• Ben’s 21+ were Anfernee Seymour, Yunior Severino, Joey Meneses, William Contreras, and Tyler Pike with Weigel at 26 after his Tommy John encounter.

Minor league ball has a few guys notably higher than on most lists out there:

• Maitan – now that he has a few pro games under his considerable belt (gained 40 lbs. in the last year – but hey, he’s out of Venezuela and gets a chance to eat), people are recognizing that he’s the ‘real deal’.  Hitting .300 at Danville… with this easy opposite field homer.

• Pitchers Mike Soroka and Luiz Gohara are definitely turning heads this year for all of the right reasons.
• Ditto for Touki Toussaint, who is called out for marked improvements across the board.
• Austin Riley is likewise getting notice as an “exciting third base prospect” with a “vastly improved strikeout rate” while also being the “best power-hitter in the Braves organization.”  That’s saying a lot with Kevin Maitan, Ronald Acuna, Alex Jackson, and Travis Demeritte all around.

But the variation on these lists also goes to suggest that there’s a whole lot to love about the Braves’ best minor leaguers… there’s probably 20 that make somebody’s Top 10.

A couple of recent promotions force me to pump the brakes on the hype train just a bit.

Riley is hitting .243 so far at AA (was .252 at High-A) and his power is down overall from last year.  Still the lower K-rate is notable and that change will require adjustment.

Now even as I suggest slowing down, I now flip the page to Gwinnett’s chart and find that Ronald Acuna is suddenly back to hitting .289… with a .940 OPS… in 12 games.  (shakes head in disbelief)

Okay, it’s still just 12 games, but there are 4 players who are on that stat sheet with a higher OPS.  They are named Freddie Freeman, Danny Santana, Micah Johnson, and Adonis Garcia – 3 of whom were merely rehabbing.  And Acuna is still 19 years old.

So okay… Acuna’s a beast.  All 6’0″, 180 pounds of him.

So…. What Can We Project?

If the Braves can figure out how to do it, Acuna has a real shot at Atlanta in 2018 – with a possible cameo in September (though not yet on the 40-man roster).

Sims, already on the 40, has shown enough at AAA, and that includes real command.  The jet-setting Blair will get a shot, but if Bowman is right, Sims will probably have the opportunity to finish the year in Atlanta.

More from Tomahawk Take

• Atlanta Braves 2012 Prospect Review: Joey Terdoslavich
• Braves News: Braves sign Fuentes, Andruw’s HOF candidacy, more
• The Weakest Braves Homers Since 2015
• Atlanta Braves Sign Joshua Fuentes to Minor League Deal
• Braves News: New Year’s Eve comes with several questions about the 2023 Braves

But Mike Soroka? Let’s count heads for 2018 for a second:

• Julio Teheran
• Mike Foltynewicz
• Sean Newcomb
• Lucas Sims
• Mike Soroka

This assumes that R.A. Dickey‘s option will not be picked up for 2018 (likely) and that no one is traded or acquired in the meantime (quite unlikely).

Sims’ coming audition needs to go well while Soroka could start 2018 in AAA (hey, he’s still just 19 until the end of next week, too!) as the Braves will likely pursue one or two starters between now and then.

But prospects are prospering and moving up… soon to reach a major league club near you.

Here’s last night’s box:

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Next: The Garcia Trade and Atlanta's Next Pursuit?

Tonight: Folty vs. Taijuan Walker.  This will be an interesting matchup.  8:40PM Eastern time in Phoenix.