House That Hank Built
Fansided

Atlanta Braves 2018 minor league review: corner infielders

By Benjamin Chase

BALTIMORE, MD - APRIL 21: The glove of third baseman Josh Donaldson #20 of the Toronto Blue Jays sits in the dugout after in the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 21, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - APRIL 21: The glove of third baseman Josh Donaldson #20 of the Toronto Blue Jays sits in the dugout after in the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 21, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
Atlanta Braves
ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 10: Riio Ruiz /

Upper minors

He isn’t the top-ranked guy in the farm system at the position, but Rio Ruiz had another very solid season in AAA, and he’s likely to get a long look as a bench bat next season as he’s shown the versatility to handle first and third well defensively and even take some reps in the corner outfield.

Perhaps that’s not the path many envisioned when he was once a top prospect in the organization, but to be passed by another young player and moved to the bench due to that while still being productive is something most any Atlanta Braves fan would hope for the way the organization is built. Ruiz finished his 2018 season with Gwinnett with a .269/.322/.390 line in 541 plate appearances, cutting down his strikeouts while keeping a solid walk rate (7.4% walk, 16.6% strikeout). He was able to use a solid line-drive swing to pound the gaps with 25 doubles and 4 triples on the season, also knocking out 9 home runs and driving in 72.

Certainly, the top-ranked prospect of this group would fall on Austin Riley, as well it should. Riley’s 2018 season has propelled him in many eyes to the most major league ready among current prospects that aren’t already in Atlanta within the Atlanta Braves system.

Riley was injured midway through the season, and compensating for his sore knee could have led to some bad habits coming back to the plate at the end of the season, as the power was there, but so was the swing-and-miss that he’d done a very good job of limiting early in the season. He could get some work in the outfield over the offseason and spring after a combined .294/.360/.522 with 30 doubles, 19 home runs, and a 37/129 BB/K over 455 plate appearances, but nearly a 33% K rate from August 1 to close out the season, in spite of 8 home runs in that same time.

Once the guy I personally thought would be the future third baseman in Atlanta, Carlos Franco has settled into a very good role as a power-hitting corner guy in the upper minors, playing primarily first base at this point. He’s likely a quad-A guy at best, but a .249/.311/.414 with 16 homers and 76 RBI in AAA is nothing to sneeze at!

Many Atlanta Braves fans longed for Tyler Marlette from Seattle for years as a possible catching prospect. Now that he’s no longer a viable catcher, Marlette’s finally in the Braves system. His bat hasn’t exactly translated to corner production, though he showed flashes at times. We’ll see if he returns after a .243/.325/.376 season with 12 home runs in AA.

Son of former longtime Atlanta Braves infielder Keith Lockhart, Daniel Lockhart came to the Braves as a minor league free agent this season. He received high marks for his presence in the locker room in Mississippi, but the 25-year-old doesn’t have a likely major league future, hitting .230/.316/.346 with 6 home runs and 9 stolen bases in 119 games in 2018.

Home/Braves Minors