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Atlanta Braves top 50 midseason prospects – AAA and MLB

By Benjamin Chase

ST. LOUIS, MO - JUNE 30: Max Fried #54 delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals in the second inning at Busch Stadium on June 30, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO - JUNE 30: Max Fried #54 delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals in the second inning at Busch Stadium on June 30, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /
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LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL – FEBRUARY 22: Adam McCreery #66 of the Atlanta Braves poses for a photo during photo days at Champion Stadium on February 22, 2018 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

Relievers

There are a host of guys in AAA that will likely get some big league time as a reliever, and a few of them could succeed and have a much better big league career than any of the guys I’m looking at, but these are the guys with a shot to be at the elite end of relievers if all goes well.

Adam McCreery – McCreery is a towering lefty, standing 6’9″ tall, and with that level of height comes well-known issues with consistency in long levers repeating delivery and commanding the ball. Since coming to the Braves in 2016, McCreery has really pushed his profile forward, striking out 90 hitters in just 62 1/3 innings last season in nearly equal time at Florida and Rome. He’s seen some control issues creep up this year in AA, but recently has really gotten on track, and he could be a force in the Atlanta Braves bullpen down the line.

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Philip Pfeifer – Pfeifer was acquired from the Dodgers in 2016, and he’s got the near opposite issue of McCreery. He packs so much punch into a frame that’s generously listed at 6′ tall that he often will get out of sorts in his control. Pfeifer has overcome plenty in his personal life to stay on the mound, so I have every confidence that he will be a guy that can become a very solid reliever down the road for the Braves.

Chad Sobotka – Pairing Sobotka and McCreery in the same bullpen could be incredibly fun as Sobotka is listed at 6’7″ (he was listed at 6’8″ early on in his career), and he’s got plenty of plane on a hard sinker that can be incredibly effective, as evidenced by his 72 strikeouts in just 53 1/3 minor league innings this season. His issue throughout his career has simply been health, and if he can keep himself healthy, he could be a future key member of the relief corps.

Jacob Webb – After recovering from Tommy John surgery, people stood up to take notice of Webb when he recorded 31 strikeouts in just 13 innings in his first season back on the mound – to get perspective, he only generated 39 outs on the entire season, and he recorded a strikeout on 31 of them!

Webb has continued with the big strikeout numbers, but his biggest weapon, his devastating curveball, can also be his curse, as he can struggle to locate the pitch and then see the walks start to pile up. With his strikeout stuff, he could be a guy that makes Rule 5 decisions tough this offseason.

Next: Morning Chop: Extra inning Kakes!

So that’s the guys from the MLB and AAA level for the Atlanta Braves that will be considered for the top 50. Anybody missed here? Anyone that is profiled incorrectly? Comment below!!

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