Atlanta Braves midseason top 50 prospects – AA
The Atlanta Braves have an impressive farm system still, even after a few graduations. Who are the top 50 prospects in the system as we hit midseason?
Welcoming Benjamin Chase back to Tomahawk Take means that you will get plenty of minor league coverage of your Atlanta Braves on site. We are going to open with a midseason top 50 list, but this will be a different method than you’re likely used to on other places that put together a mid-season list.
Rather than present a list number by number with quick profiles of each number, we will be presenting the profiles of all those players who are seriously considered for the top 50, right now over 80 players in total, and then on Friday, we will cover the list itself. Here’s what the preliminary schedule will look like:
Monday – AAA and MLB prospects
Tuesday – AA prospects
Wednesday – low-A and high-A prospects
Thursday – Rookie ball prospects
Friday – Top 50 list
We will start with a couple guys who have been throwing as swingmen this year and don’t really fit as either a starter or reliever:
Enderson Franco, RHP
Originally signed out of the Dominican by the Houston Astros, the Braves are Franco’s fourth organization, and he’s really found a home since signing with the team ahead of the 2016 season.
Franco is not a guy with elite stuff, but his fastball has late wiggle and he locates well, working with a three-pitch mix that has seen him show value as both a starter and reliever. He reminds me strongly of a guy like Cristhian Martinez, who could be very solid in multiple innings, but may not have the stuff to go 5 at the major league level or work at the back of the bullpen. A guy like this may have a short major league career, if he gets one at all, but he is absolutely invaluable at the minor league level.
Franco has been that this year, making 24 appearances, 16 of them starts between AA and AAA, all but one with AA Mississippi. He’s posted a 3.39 combined ERA over 106 1/3 innings, with a 1.26 WHIP and a 37/105 BB/K ratio.
Michael Mader, LHP
Acquired as part of the return when the Atlanta Braves sent lefty reliever Hunter Cervenka to Miami in 2016, Mader was originally drafted in 2014 out of well-known Chipola JuCo. He’s not a guy with elite velocity or a single elite breaking pitch, but he’s been a guy who has shown very well from the left side.
Mader has made a few mechanical adjustments in the Braves system, and he’s working to find consistency in his adjusted mechanics, which led Mader to go from a 4.8% walk rate in his first handful of appearances as a Brave to 14.1% in 2017 and 14.5% this season. He’s gradually tightening things up, though, as he’s posted a 10.6% walk rate since June 1st.
Mader’s probably similar to Franco in that he’s best used in a long-man role in the major leagues, but with many elite prospects in front of him likely to filter into that role for the Atlanta Braves, Mader will likely find hiis big league future elsewhere or end up working as a dynamic org guy like Franco is.
Hitters
The AA squad has a number of guys that blend between infield and outfield, making a more general “hitters” category more appropriate.
Travis Demeritte – Demeritte has spent most of his minor league career on the dirt, playing second base, third base, and even shortstop, flashing incredible athleticism, but also some big struggles with his plate discipline. He moved to the outfield this year in hope to let his tools play more, but he’s struggled at the plate, hitting barely over .200. Though he’s improved his walk rate to between 11-12% throughout the season, he’s also hovered around 30% strikeouts after having made some progress to a 26% rate in 2017. He’s still just 23, and with his level of raw tools, he’ll have plenty of chances to make it, but the total upside is certainly reduced.
Ray-Patrick Didder – On the other hand, Didder did the opposite of Demeritte. After a rough 2017 at the plate, the elite defensive outfielder moved back to the dirt due to the depth in the system in center field, and his incredible arm has played well at shortstop, giving him a profile that should play at an elite defensive level in the outfield and infield with plus to plus-plus speed. That combination alone should give him a few shots at the big leagues, but the fact that he’s hit .329/.424/.466 in 24 games since his promotion to Mississippi also says there’s still a bit more in the bat here.
Tyler Neslony – Our own Josh Brown is one of the biggest fanboys you’ll ever find of Neslony, and after an Aussie League season over the winter when Neslony hit .317/.394/.577/.971 with 9 home runs over 142 PA (for comparison, Acuna hit for a 1.001 OPS in 83 PA in the same league), many were excited for Neslony’s 2018. Instead, Neslony has taken a significant step backward with the bat in AA, and his lack of defensive value requires his bat to carry his profile.
Cristian Pache – The Platinum Sombrero podcast recently had Jason Woodell on to discuss Atlanta Braves prospects, and he mentioned the thing that has always been part of every report I’ve ever received on Pache, since he a signee and hadn’t yet played a game – no one will out-work him. It’s shown on the field as well, as any hole in his game seems to be closed with an offseason of work (and sometimes during the season!) by Pache. He was criticized for his lack of power, and now he’s hit 8 home runs this season. He’s likely going to be asked to take more pitches somewhere along the line to maximize his profile, but at 19 to get to AA without seeming overwhelmed by the pitching and still showing that uber-elite defense in center field is something to dream on! There’s a reason that many around the Braves organization believe Ronald Acuna is a long-term right fielder, and it has nothing with any lack of ability for Acuna in center field…
Alejandro Salazar – Long regarded as the top defensive shortstop in the Atlanta Braves system, Salazar has been moved around a bit in 2018 to get more defensive flexibility as his contact-heavy offensive profile is unlikely to add much in the way of power, and he’s not exactly a burner on the bases, meaning his pro future will be about his glove and making consistent contact, and so far this year while playing 2B, 3B, and SS across high-A, AA, and AAA, Salazar has slashed .297/.326/.348. One scout made a mention to me about Salazar being Camargo pre-swing adjustment, and while there’s some level of truth to that, Salazar has more natural speed than Camargo had as well.
Luis Valenzuela – Another player the Braves are working to build his defensive flexibility as Valenzuela has played second, third, and short. He’s not to the same level defender as Salazar, but he’s perhaps a more consistent and steady player. Offensively, Valenzuela has some gap power, but he’s driven by his contact ability and so far limited by his lack of ability to stay healthy! This season’s 96 games for Valenzuela is a career high.