Atlanta Braves 2018 Minor League Season Review: Outfielders
Upper minors
His pure numbers are not what you would consider elite, but Cristian Pache is absolutely among the elite prospects in the game. Pache’s got plus speed, but he’s not a tremendous base stealer, so his 7 steals on the season doesn’t turn a lot of heads.
He made big strides in a ton of areas, including accessing his natural power, hitting 9 home runs as part of 38 extra base hits on the season, posting a .279/.307/.410 line on the season. On top of everything, Pache is an absolutely elite defender, a guy that some scouts believe would compete for a Gold Glove immediately.
The Atlanta Braves have enjoyed the presence of Lane Adams in their system the last two seasons, though he did not spend a lot of time with the Gwinnett squad this year, spending just 30 games, hitting .191/.238/.266.
Like Adams, Xavier Avery has been a steady, veteran presence in the Gwinnett lineup the last few seasons. This year, he put up a .261/.356/.365 line with 4 home runs and 9 stolen bases in 80 games.
The big surprise this year in the upper minors was former Brewers farmhand Michael Reed, who worked his way all the way to the major leagues, simply hitting all the way. He opened the year with Mississippi, and he finished the year hitting .342/.453/.520 with 11 home runs and 10 stolen bases over 97 games between AA and AAA.
Another veteran patrolling the Gwinnett outfield, Danny Santana had big numbers on the season for the Stripers, leading the team with 16 home runs, hitting .264/.294/.497 and stealing 12 bases as well.
Converted to the outfield in 2018, Travis Demeritte flashed his incredible tools again, though he struggled to find consistency, hitting .222/.316/.416 with 17 home runs and 6 steals, striking out 140 times in 494 plate appearances. Many believe that he could have a future as a high-impact athlete playing infield and outfield, but his contact rate will need to improve.
The Braves picked up Brandon Downes when the Royals let him go, and he did not get a ton of time with the Braves, playing just 37 games, but he is an impressive athlete that could be an interesting organizational piece once he’s healthy for 2019 if the Braves choose to keep him around.
At this point, “organizational piece” may be the best way to describe Connor Lien as well. That’s pretty incredible with Lien’s impressive defensive ability and his raw power/speed combination, but after hitting .198/289/.343 with a 26/113 BB/K ratio over 99 games in his third year at AA, Lien may be a guy who is not going to progress to a long-term piece.
While many are big fans of Tyler Neslony, Neslony struggled to show consistency in 2018 in his step up to the upper minors. Already defensively inept, Neslony’s future will rely on his bat, so hitting .244/.297/.333 could be a foreboding warning to his long-term future in the Braves organization.