MIAMI, FL - AUGUST 25: Dansby Swanson #7 of the Atlanta Braves jumps in the air while J.T. Realmuto #11 of the Miami Marlins steals second base during the third inning of the game at Marlins Park on August 25, 2018 in Miami, Florida. All players across MLB will wear nicknames on their backs as well as colorful, non-traditional uniforms featuring alternate designs inspired by youth-league uniforms during Players Weekend. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 05: Ozzzie Albies #1 of the Atlanta Braves advances to third base after hitting a triple in the fifth inning against the Boston Red Sox at SunTrust Park on September 5, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/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 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 second basemen and shortstops in the Atlanta Braves system…
Position review
At the end of last season, the knowledge was that the future of the middle infield was at the major league level, so the significant gap between the majors and low minors was not a big concern.
Then the punishment from MLB happened, stripping significant middle infield prospects from the organization, certainly the four best middle infield prospects remaining in the system after the graduation of Dansby Swanson and Ozzie Albies to the major leagues were now stripped away.
Thtat led to a couple players being shifted in position in 2018, a couple others getting more of a shot to prove themselves, and some very interesting revelations all around.
Let’s dig deeper into those players!
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL – FEBRUARY 22: Ray-Patrick Diddder #88 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) /
Upper minors
Hoping to become just the sixth player to make the major leagues from Aruba, Ray-Patrick Didder has been a guy that has intrigued “prospect guys” in the Atlanta Braves system since he signed. Blessed with plus speed and a plus arm, both of which could range into the plus-plus area, he had a good base to build on, but his initial returns in the infield were not so positive, so the Braves pushed him to the outfield, where he worked on his reads and really became one of the best defensive outfielders in the farm system. After a struggling year in the Florida State League in 2017 at the plate, he was given some time in the infield, and those instincts that had guided him well in center field played for him at shortstop, and that’s where he played all of 2018.
The Florida State League continued to have its way with Didder, as he slashed just a .608 OPS at the level. He got bumped up to Mississippi on the strength of his glove, and his bat came alive, slashing .275/.373/.374 with 9 steals over 46 games. While Didder may not profile as a regular, his speed and defense along with even an average contact profile would allow him to be a tremendous asset off the bench, possibly as soon as 2019.
It seems like ages since Philip Gosselin was an Atlanta Braves farmhand, breaking through for his first taste of the big leagues. The Braves utilized Gosselin in the deal that brought in Touki Toussaint, and three years later, he’s back with the organization after the Cincinnati Reds let him go early in the year. Gosselin was a steady presence in the middle infield for Gwinnett this year, but he’ll likely look for a spot where he could have a chance at the major league bench.
Originally born in Georgia, Sean Kazmar, Jr. has made a living in the Atlanta Braves top level for the last six seasons now, playing with Gwinnett since 2013. While he’s not likely to take the majors by storm at 34 years old, he is a steady contributor and great clubhouse guy in the minors who likely has a long coaching career ahead of him when he’s ready to hang up the spikes.
Released by the Rangers this spring, the Braves brought Luis Marte in to work in their middle infield. He slashed .285/.315/.376 combined between Mississippi and Gwinnett, with 4 home runs and 9 steals. Marte is not a likely long-term starter, but he’s average across the board and that could have a solid upper minors career if he wanted it with a chance to bump into a bottom of the bench sort of guy, though likely not with the Atlanta Braves.
If you’d have asked me the top defensive infielder in 2016 that would have easily been Alejandro Salazar, and his presence in the infield for the 2016 Rome Braves team certainly helped that great Rome pitching staff. Salazar has natural contact ability, though he really doesn’t have a lot of power or speed. Interestingly, he played just two games at shortstop the entire season, working more as a utility infielder, and his defensive skills shined around the infield, along with a solid performance with the bat, all the way up to AAA for a couple of games. Overall, he hit .285/.315/.337.
Having just turned 25, Luis Valenzuela could be aging himself outside of a long-term major league future. He has struggled with injuries along the way. Spending his second season at AA, Valenzuela hit .282/.306/.369 with 22 doubles. He’ll have a chance to look elsewhere this season if there is a chance for a major league bench role, but he’s a guy that receives high marks for his clubhouse persona if he’d like to remain in the Braves organization.
A-ball
Perhaps one of the biggest beneficiaries of the loss of the players stripped away from the Atlanta Braves over the offseason was Riley Delgado. Delgado was drafted in the 9th round in 2017 out of Middle Tennessee State, and he showed right away that his glove was ready for full-season ball, making it to Rome in his draft season. However, no one could have expected his bat to come out the way it did.
Delgado has good gap power, but not a ton of over-fence power or speed along with a quality contact tool and low strikeout rate. Delgado has a mature approach at the plate and the field. He reminds strongly of a guy in the mold of Rey Sanchez. He will be fun to track going forward to see how he can push that profile forward.
On the opposite end of Delgado, who is maximizing his tools using maturity is Derian Cruz, who has all the natural talent one could ever want. However, Cruz has struggled immensely to achieve positive results. This season with Rome, he hit .222/.254/.308 with 4 home runs and 4 stolen bases, posting a 2.78% walk rate and 26.39%. He also struggled heavily in the field, as evidenced by his 30 errors at second base.
Cruz will be pushed by the Braves, and the team still sees the talent, as Cruz will turn 20 in the offseason, so there is plenty of opportunity still to have it “click” for Cruz, but to this point, there is a lot of raw talent that isn’t being utilized.
A 10th round pick out of South Carolina, Marcus Mooney has been a steadying influence in the system ever since, working well as a utility infielder that offers mature approach on the field and at the plate to work with younger players.
Kevin Josephina is yet another Atlanta Braves signee from Curacao, a country the team has done very well drawing in talent from since Andruw Jones. Josephina is an exceptionally blessed player in raw tools, but thus far has struggled to put those tools to consistent use, with plate discipline issues in spite of evident potential power and present speed. He combined for a .217/.280/.248 line between A-ball levels in 45 games in 2018. While he’s just 21, he’ll need to show some polish to continue to get opportunities with the Braves to advance up the ladder.
Polish is the least of the worries of 2018 8th round pick AJ Graffanino, who came in from the University of Washington and immediately showed a balanced approach in the field and at the plate, earning his way to Rome for over 150 plate appearances in his draft season. He acquitted himself quite nicely as well, slashing .318/.344/.382 between Danville and Rome with a home run and 5 steals. It’s his steady defense and well-above-average feel for the game in all aspects that could give Graffanino the chance to reach the majors as a backup infielder in the way his father did before him.
Signed out of the Dominican Republic, Luis Mejia hit well in his first year in the DSL and has shown good contact ability at times along the way. Consistency is the issue with Mejia right now.
Rookie Ball
The other guy who benefitted plenty with additional middle infield spots open this year was Braulio Vasquez. Shifted around the infield in 2017, Vasquez struggled to find his true identity, but the power in his bat and his natural defensive strengths played up in a return trip to the GCL in 2018. He seems most comfortable at 2B, and with his power and speed, he could be a player that puts up very good numbers down the road. Look for him to possibly be skipped up to Rome in 2019.
Of course, he’ll be challenging 2018 15th round selection Greg Cullen for the Rome 2B position most likely. Cullen came out of Niagara University and had a very solid draft year in Danville, hitting .280/.373/.396 with plenty of gap power and good plate discipline. He’s not a guy who was expected to have a ton of ceiling, but his consistent play on both sides of the ball could keep him advancing in the system.
Raw but with good baseball blood when drafted in 2016, the Braves are still working to develop Nicholas Shumpert beyond his raw tools, which are definitely immense. He hit .245/.298/.393 with 2 homers and 7 steals. His 10/52 BB/K over 178 plate appearances is a sign of the raw-ness that is still there.
Signed in the same class as Cruz and Pache, Juan Morales was highly lauded for his defense coming out of Venezuela. He was hurt in 2017, and now with more chances in the GGCL this year, he was able to flash the glove, but the bat has a lot of work to do to even be viable in the upper levels as he hit .202/.281/.233 with a 9/45 BB/K ratio over 150 plate appearances.
In his second season in the GCL, Luis Ovando didn’t make the strides that many thought he could make with a solid line-drive-oriented swing. He hit just .220/.254/.271, though in just 23 games. He hasn’t had a ton of work over the last two years, and his bat could allow for more, but he’s an interesting guy in that his impressive arm got him onto the mound multiple times in 2018, and he struck out 5 guys in 3 1/3 innings on the mound. He could be a conversion candidate to the bullpen.
After just a couple of games in 2017, Luidemid Rojas got more run in 2018 with the GCL, and he flashed a little that could get him more looks. He has very smooth actions in the infield and his switch-hitting is still a work in progress, but he has the ability to control the strike zone, with a 10.7% walk rate, though he did strike out over 30%.
In a tough year in the DSL, the name that guys keep mentioning is Carlos Paraguate, who made a bunch of errors at shortstop, but he showed a boldness in the field that many 17 year olds don’t have. He also was able to have solid underlying stats (12.2% walk rate, 22.8% strikeout rate) while flashing a bit of power and exhibiting his definite plus-plus speed with 20 stolen bases. Paraguate has a plus arm, plus-plus speed, and an above-average glove, giving him a good base to start with at least when he comes stateside in 2019.
After Paraguate, one of the two or three names mentioned among the DSL Braves this year was Eliezel Stevens. Stevens has a power/speed combo at the plate from the left side that I heard compared to Indians infielder Jason Kipnis. Obviously, Stevens has a long way to go to get to that level, but he has that base level of tools, and that’s a very exciting thought.
Much more of a dart throw, Hector Sierra was known for his blazing speed, and he struggled to get a chance to show it off in 2018. He’s a guy that could make a move to the outfield to use his speed defensively, but he still needs to make consistent contact and could end up back in the DSL for a second DSL year.
Next. The top 15 leadoff seasons in Braves history. dark
The system’s middle infield crop may have been decimated last offseason, but there is plenty of hope here that could produce at least a solid bench piece or two. The Atlanta Braves could even have a future second-division starter in this group, which is pretty impressive for the talent removed in this area!
