Atlanta Braves 2018 minor league review: corner infielders

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 part 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
Sunday, September 23 – Corner Infielders, Middle Infielders (2 posts)
Monday, September 24 – Outfielders
Tuesday, September 25 – Starting Pitchers (2 posts)
Wednesday, September 26 – Relief Pitchers

We’ll finish the final week with our awards, starting Thursday, September 27th. So, let’s take a look at the first basemen and third basemen in the Atlanta Braves system…

Position review

Much like the catcher position, there’s one name that many heard throughout the season that Atlanta Braves fans are getting excited about. There was another name in the lower levels that had plenty of hype before he was part of a deadline deal, and he won’t be included here, so sorry to those who were looking for a Juan Carlos Encarnacion sendoff in this space – this is as much as you’ll get!

Third base has long been a position of want for Atlanta Braves fans. It makes sense as well. The position has been manned by two Hall of Famers, an MVP, and often one of the best offensive producers on the team, even if not a nationally-recognized great, so Braves fans have long valued the hot corner.

Finally, in 2018, it seems the major league club has found someone who is not only amazing with the glove, but he’s also adept with the bat, and on top of that is fast becoming one of the most “clutch” players on the team in Johan Camargo. His emergence has made shopping for a third baseman in free agency this offseason much less a priority and more a luxury at this point and certainly given the front office a stronger negotiating point.

There was also plenty to like in the minor leagues, however, as plenty of players at both corner infield spots were able to establish themselves as future prospects to watch, including some of the 2018 draft class coming out with excellent draft seasons to set their mark in the system early.

Let’s dig deeper into those players!

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.

A-ball

The big story out of the 2018 Atlanta Braves draft class has to be 20th round selection CJ Alexander. Alexander is a lefty-swinging third baseman that may end up moving to an outfield spot or across the diamond down the line, but wherever it is, the bat will definitely play, as he hit .352/.429/.495 across three levels with 8 doubles, 7 triples, 2 home runs, and 4 steals in 52 games, finishing in high-A Florida. Alexander’s got a strong swing that should produce 40-double, 20-homer seasons down the road with a big arm that could translate plenty of places, though his glovework still needs some polishing. That’s not uncommon from a community college draft pick, however, so even though his bat has shown advanced play, Alexander taking some time due to his glove is really not a concern.

The Atlanta Braves selected Braxton Davidson in the first round in 2014 out of high school in North Carolina. He’s yet to post a .150 ISO at any level coming into 2018, never making it out of A-ball, not even able to flash power in spite of his massive swing. He has a terrible contact ability and strikes out way too much, but he did finally hit 20 home runs for the first time in his career in 2018. He’ll head to the AFL. One has to believe that’s hoping to gain some trade value.

It was an interesting year for Kurt Hoekstra in 2018. He played primarily corners for both A-ball levels, hitting .239/.309/.327 with 4 home runs and 9 steals. He showed solid glove work at both positions, especially arm work. However, his arm could be where things get interesting going forward. Hoekstra made 5 reliev appearances in 2018, tossing 5 innings, and while he gave up a few runs, he also struck out 4 runs and showed some impressive stuff. He could end up returning to the Atlanta Braves on the mound in 2019.

In his second season out of Tennessee, Jordan Rodgers essentially did what he did in 2017, which was offer little offensively but offer quality defense around the infield. He had a .219/.268/.329 line with 3 home runs and 5 steals, posting a 3.2% walk rate and a 21% strikeout rate. He’s an organizational depth guy, but a solid one at that.

The big switch-hitter drafted out of Texas high school in 2016, Griffin Benson has taken his time to flash, but he definitely did that with Danville, ending his season with a shot at Rome after hitting for a near-.800 OPS in Danville in spite of a slow start. Benson did strike out plenty, and he still has a long swing, but he showed better pitch recognition and will still just be 21 to open 2019 with plenty of power upside.

Originally drafted as a catcher in 2017 in the 12th round out of East Tennessee State, Hagen Owenby has hit well enough that he’s found his way out from behind the plate primarily. His swing in 2018 was solid, and while he didn’t show a lot of over-fence power, he did get 6 doubles in 46 games and a home run with a .281 batting average. His limited usage and age (23) could put his roster spot in question in the org for 2019.

The Atlanta Braves picked up Marcos Almonte after he was let go by the Astros organization this season. He struggled to hit with Rome. Almonte’s got a strong glove that plays around the infield, and that should get him more chances, but heading into minor league free agency, he may choose to head elsewhere.

The Braves picked Brendan Venter out of Auburn in the 13th round this past June for his big arm and bat. He then spent a lot of his time at first base, really negating the arm. Venter was inconsistent with the bat as well, flashing big when he did hit, but struggling big at times as well, putting up an overall line of .186/.357/.311 between Rome and Danville, but he is just 22 entering next year, and the rarity of a South African-born player is always an intriguing thing to have on the organizational roster!