27 Jun 1998: A general view of the catchers mask for the San Diego Padres sitting on the bench during an interleague game against the Anaheim Angels at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. The Padres defeated the Angels 5-1Mandatory Credit: Todd Wa
WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 14: Catcher Kurt Suzuki #24 of the Atlanta Braves looks on against the Washington Nationals in the second inning at Nationals Park on September 14, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
With the minor league season complete, it’s time to take a look back at the performances in the Atlanta Braves system this year.
With the major league club reaching success, many Atlanta Braves fans have shifted their focus from the intense scrutiny of the minor league system that was the norm for the last few seasons to a more concerted cheering for the big league squad – and that’s expected. However, there were some very notable things to happen in the minor league system this year, so it’s definitely worthwhile to review all that happened!
This will be the first of our positional reviews here at Tomahawk Take. We will begin with catcher and work our way through the infield, outfield, right-handed starters, left-handed starter, and relievers. Finally, we will announce our Tomahawk Take 2018 Atlanta Braves organizational team of the year and team awards. That will all lead up to the top 100 prospect list that will once again appear on this page after a year’s hiatus while our Benjamin Chase was working with other sites (though he did produce a top 100 last season, just not with TT!).
We will have the schedule as such: Tuesday, September 18 – Catchers Wednesday, September 19 – Corner Infielders Thursday, September 20 – Middle Infielders Friday, September 21 – Outfielders Saturday, September 22 – Starting Pitchers (2 posts) Sunday, September 23 – Relief Pitchers
We’ll finish the final week with our awards, starting Monday, September 24th. So, let’s get things started with the catching position in the Atlanta Braves system…
Position review
Overall, the catching teaching in the Atlanta Braves system has long been one that has been revered in other organizations. Quite frankly, you don’t build a farm system around developing premium arms if you don’t intentionally develop premium catchers behind the plate to work with them.
This hasn’t necessarily meant that the Atlanta Braves were developing guys with long-term big league futures, however. Many of the players were guys with futures as an “org catcher”, which is never a bad thing, and frankly, many of the current catchers in the organization will likely go on to long coaching careers in baseball when they are done playing. That’s the type of player and person the Braves are developing.
That doesn’t help the big league club win, however, and when fans looked down the system just two years ago, it was hard to see where the hope was for a future behind the plate. That question is no longer an issue – it’s more an issue of how long for the top guy to get to the big leagues.
There are some intriguing names other than the very top of the heap at the position, however, and that’s what we’ll explore!
Upper minors
Ranked by many places as the Atlanta Braves top catching prospect coming into the 2018 season, Alex Jackson has been surpassed this season, and that started last year in the Arizona Fall League. The reports there were that Jackson’s strides behind the plate were real, and that he could actually make it as a catcher. The negative reports were with his bat, stating that his reported improvements seem to have been due more to “luck” as much as anything. Sure enough, Jackson saw a similar walk and strikeout rate and his balls begin falling in outfielders’ gloves.
Jackson’s final combined line between AA/AAA was .201/.286/.360 with 23 doubles and 8 home runs over 99 games. He had a much-improved 8.5% walk rate and a much worse 31.8% strikeout rate. While the improvements behind the plate were real, he’s still got a ways to go there as well, and now that he’s at AAA, there’s not a ton more to pick up.
Originally a 25th round selection by the Atlanta Braves out of Miami-Dade CC in 2015, Jonathan Morales came out in his draft year and hit .304 with 7 home runs in just 46 games, leading to many believing he could be the next big thing behind the plate. After his third season with an OPS under .700, that thought has passed, but Morales has significantly advanced behind the plate in his defensive skills, especially in shutting down the run game, and he rarely strikes out, so he doesn’t hurt the team, making frequent contact, though his lack of speed doesn’t allow his ground ball-focused contact to lead to a high batting average. He could make a swing adjustment and possibly see a surge in his offensive production, but if nothing else, he has likely put himself on the edge of being a solid backup at the big league level.
One of those guys who is going to someday have a job in coaching when he’s ready to hang up the cleats is Sal Giardina. Of course, that’s if Sal isn’t a professional mustache model as the man can grow one incredible ‘stache. Giardina played nearly equal time for Mississippi and Gwinnett this year, hitting .234/.315/.289 with a home run. Interestingly, he hit very well with Gwinnett this year, hitting .309/.356/.412.
The Atlanta Braves originally signed Columbian catcher Carlos Martinez in November of 2012. He’s been working his way through the system ever since. Martinez has an incredible arm, and there has been some whisper about him possibly transitioning to the mound, where he’s offered 90+ MPH heat when he’s pitched. He spent a good portion of his 2018 season with Mississippi and was solid behind the plate, but with a .628 OPS and 1 home run, it’s hard to see a major league future behind the plate.
A-ball
This is where the top guy dwelled in 2018. That “top guy” is William Contreras, the brother of Chicago Cubs All-Star catcher Willson Contreras. Contreras has been a guy that I’ve had excellent reports on since he was in the Dominican Summer League, having him inside of my top 35 prospects in the prospects since that first season. He’s certainly done nothing since to change that opinion.
This year, he had his first full season, working across both A-ball levels, and he put up a very impressive .285/.347/.436 line with a sub-20% strikeout rate while hitting 24 doubles and 11 home runs. On top of that, Contreras worked hard behind the plate with coaching. Many will see his error total and be concerned, but one of the things scouts rave on Contreras about is his ability to move laterally. His issue is much more in his throwing, as he has the strong arm, but his footwork needs work, which hurts the accuracy of his throws.
Contreras could find himself in the top 100 of many prospect lists this year and should be playing through the upper minors in 2019. He’s going to be banging on the door in 2020.
Drafted in the same draft as his high school teammate Kolby Allard, Lucas Herbert could not have made a better first impression, going 2-4 with a home run in his first exposure to pro ball before he was hurt. He’s never found the bat again since. He’s also been a guy who’s been willing to take more risks than most would like behind the plate, leading to Herbert leading the organization in catcher errors the previous two seasons. There’s still raw talent there, and Herbert is young enough not to give up on, but the seeds for concern have certainly been planted.
Hitting big after being an 11th round draft pick out of the University of Michigan in 2017, Drew Lugbauer even drew a quality nickname in “Slugbauer”. While he’s known for his bat, he was known plenty for his swing and miss in the Sally in 2018. Lugbauer struck out roughly 1/3 of his plate appearances, which really hurt the impact of his power. He did make strides in his framing and has an above-average arm behind the plate.
Alan Crowley is one of those guys that has developed into a quality organizational guy the last few seasons after being a 2016 26th draft pick. One interesting negative thing for Crowley this year was a spike in his strikeout rate, fanning in nearly half of his plate appearances. His handling of pitchers behind the plate is the thing that could keep him in the org, though.
Rookie Ball
One very interesting guy to watch from Danville will be the Atlanta Braves 24th round pick this season, Rusber Estrada. He was drafted from Faulkner University from Alabama. Estrada is a right-handed hitting catcher that hails from Venezuela. He has a tremendously strong arm behind the plate, and he showed an advanced approach at the plate, though his ability to drive the plate is not quite there. The Braves worked with him as DH in order to build his swing, and he posted a .362 OBP, but the swing is still a work in progress.
Probably the top pedigree backstop in the rookie levels this season was former trade acquisition Ricardo Rodriguez, who was a top signee from Venezuela by the Padres when he was an amateur. Now 20, Rodriguez has struggled to hit as a pro, and his defense hasn’t exactly left anyone ignoring the shortcomings with the stick. It would not be surprising to see the Atlanta Braves give him one more year at Danville, though they do have a host of catchers in the GCL that they’re likely to want to get more time in 2019.
The Braves signed Brandon Chapman as an undrafted free agent from George Washington University. While he’s not an elite catcher defensively or offensively, he made a big impression in his pro debut, with a .413 OBP in the GCL and showing excellent set up behind the plate, especially when transitioning to throw behind the plate.
One of the intriguing performances in the GCL this year was the surprising excellence by Victor De Hoyos with the bat. Built very well for a catcher at 5’9″ and thick in the legs, De Hoyos struggled mightily in his first two seasons in the Dominican Summer League. However, in the GCL this year, he hit .293/.353/.457 with 4 home runs, and he flashed his athleticism with 3 stolen bases without one caught stealing. I’d heard on him that he could be a candidate to move to second base, and the athleticism certainly was there, but his catching is still very raw, as evidenced in the numbers by his 6 errors and 4 passed balls, but also the fact that he rated with a Range Factor well above average, showing how well he can move behind the plate.
The son of former dominant starter (and borderline Hall of Famer) Kevin Brown, Logan Brown attended the University of Southern Indiana and was a Braves 35th round pick this season. Whether it was due to genetics or what, Logan was a cool customer in the GCL, certainly not overwhelmed by his first pro action, hitting .272/.346/.395 with 3 home runs and a very balanced 8.7% walk rate and 12.6% strikeout rate. Behind the plate, he faced plenty of base stealing attempts, and he was able to throw out 35% of runners, but the reports on his overall work behind the plate state he has some work to do with his footwork to stay back there.
The Atlanta Braves signed Wiston Cerrato as a switch-hitting catcher out of Nicaragua. He’s surprisingly athletic, which is why the Braves gave him some time at second and third in 2017. He has a lot of work to do in his receiving and set up. He can put up a solid line-drive hitting show in BP, but he’s not really translated that to games so far, with just a combined .177 average.
Originally signed out of Venezuela by the Braves as a 17-year-old, Enmanuel Guitian has done two things in his now-three seasons in the DSL – take walks and hit singles when any contact is made. Guitian has 55 walks in his 90 DSL games, a healthy 17.1% clip, but in 50 hits, he’s connected for just 58 total bases. Add in his struggles with his footwork behind the plate, and it’d not be surprising if he and the Braves part ways.
Next. The top 15 leadoff seasons in Braves history. dark
The system’s catching depth is definitely defensively strong for the Atlanta Braves but the combo of a strong glove and a strong bat is a rare commodity, though that’s true throughout the game. The Braves do have one, though, and Braves fans should be very excited about that.
