Atlanta Braves’ outfielder Ronald Acuna is the #1 prospect in baseball

It is prospect ranking season, and one of the most respected lists has been dropped this morning… with a Braves’ player leading the way.

The Atlanta Braves have the number one prospect in all of baseball in Ronald Acuna. So says BaseballAmerica.com. But even in the wake of the scandal that stripped the Braves of so much possible international talent, Atlanta has many other reasons to be smiling about their farm system this morning.

But first – as it should be – there’s Acuna:

Acuna’s rise has been meteoric. Even BaseballAmerica has been playing catch-up with him for the past couple of years, for they had placed him as…

• #26 Braves prospect 2 years ago
• #6 on their Braves’ list just 1 year ago… and 67^th overall
• #12 prospect in the South Atlantic (‘SALLY’) League 1 year ago.

Yet now they have chosen to place him first overall… beating out Shohei Ohtani (2^nd), Vladimir Guerrero Jr (3^rd) and Eloy Jimenez (4^th).

The rest of the BA Top 10 today:

• Victor Robles (Nats)
• Gleyber Torres (Yankees)
• Nick Senzel (Reds)
• Bo Bichette (Blue Jays)
• Fernando Tatis Jr (Padres)
• Forrest Whitley (Astros)

Even flame-throwing Michael Kopech (11th) could not break into this top 10 list of talent.

More Braves

The rest of Atlanta’s contingent in the list is as follows:

• 23 – Luiz Gohara, who still qualifies as a prospect at this point
• 27 – Mike Soroka
• 34 – Kyle Wright
• 42 – Ian Anderson
• 54 – Austin Riley
• 65 – Kolby Allard
• 72 – Max Fried

So even as the White Sox can claim 2 players in the Top 11, the Braves have a claim as well:

So that’s 8 in their Top 100… and it appears to be a pretty fair list, though I personally would have liked to see Max Fried higher after his Arizona run this Fall.

After Kopech at #11, the White Sox don’t have another on the list until #57 (Alec Hansen), with Luis Robert following up at #58.

But by then, 6 of the 8 Braves had already been named.  The Sox have just one more at #82… so just who has that best farm system again?

Actually, it’s the Padres who could make the claim of second-best to Atlanta today, with entries at #9, #26, #28, #32, #52, and #66… six total names with 4 in the Top 50.

The Yankees?  6th, 38, 41, 59, 77, and 81.

Couple of Thoughts

BA does seem to have downplayed Kyle Wright ever since Atlanta took him as the 5^th overall pick last June. Almost immediately, he was being ranked below several other 2017 draftees that they have previously placed him above.

Still, he hasn’t pitched much since that time, though he will have the chance to get cranking up here with the rest in another month as Spring drills get underway. Then we’ll really see what he can do.

Here’s one potential upset in the Top 100… Kevin Maitan doesn’t appear at all.

Many had expressed concern over his sudden weight gain and generally lackluster stats in rookie leagues, but he’s now the Angels’ property and there is clearly still time for him to get all that sorted.

Final Notes

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

Quite a few of these high-ranking Braves’ minor leaguers on the BA list have the distinction of being close to majors… including Gohara and Fried who have already experienced life in ‘the show’.

As a result, the Braves will hope that others in the system rise up with excellent 2018 seasons to help backfill those who will be graduating off this list in another year.

Joey Wentz, Bryse Wilson, Patrick Weigel, Cristian Pache, Kyle Muller, and possibly others such as Touki Toussaint, Alex Jackson, and Drew Waters could all be candidates to step up onto this list a year from now.

Next: Ranking the NL East: 1B

But for today… it’s a new Braves day.