Atlanta Braves 2018 Minor League Review: Left-handed starters
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:
Catchers
Corner Infielders
Middle Infielders
Outfielders
Right-Handed Starters
Left-Handed Starters
Right-Handed Relievers
Left-Handed Relievers
We’ll then move with our awards, including the minor league All-Star team and player/pitcher of the year. So, let’s take a look at the left-handed pitchers in the Atlanta Braves system…
Position review
While Sean Newcomb carried the load for lefties with the Atlanta Braves at the big league level this year, the Atlanta Braves were lauded coming into the season for their depth of left-handed pitching. The depth of top arms from the left side is incredible and unique in the game.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that the Atlanta Braves have as many left-handed starting prospects as they have from the right side – that’s just not feasible. However, the ability to find and develop top lefty arms is absolutely a strength thus far, and it should serve the future rotation very well for the Braves.
As the “studs” reached the majors this year, guys who were in the next wave of lefty arms began to shine through, and now Braves fans will have plenty to follow going forward.
Let’s dig deeper into those players!
Upper minors
The guy who drew the most divisive attention this year was former top pick Kolby Allard, the Atlanta Braves first selection in the 2015 draft. Allard was pushed up to AA in 2017 and didn’t blink, so when he was promoted again to AAA at 20 to open 2018, most thought he’d again excel, and statistically, he absolutely did. His final line for Gwinnett was a 2.72 ERA and 1.21 WHIP over 112 1/3 innings, posting a 34/89 BB/K ratio. However, Allard’s velocity had settled into the low-90s, requiring Kolby to rely on his premium location and sequencing for success. He absolutely showed an ability to do exactly that at the AAA level, though he may end up being more of a #4 starter than a #1/2 starter.
One of the top Braves arms that could end up having a career in the bullpen or rotation, Max Fried is the last piece left from the original Justin Upton deal. The combination of his mid-90s fastball and premium curve has allowed Fried to have success, posting a 3.94 ERA and 1.34 WHIP over 77 2/3 innings with 34/87 BB/K ratio in the minors along with a 2.94 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and 20/44 BB/K over 33 2/3 innings in the majors, working 14 games, 5 of them as a starter. Whether as a back-end starter or a reliever, Fried should factor into the Braves roster for 2019.
If anyone in the entire Atlanta Braves organization would like a do-over on the 2018 season, it’d be Luiz Gohara. Family health issues, loss of family, and personal health issues marred Gohara’s season, and he was never able to replicate his brilliant first season in the Atlanta Braves system. Over the year he posted a 4.81 ERA in 58 innings with 59 K’s in the minors and a 5.95 ERA with 18 K over 19 2/3 innings in the majors. Gohara has a legit 70-grade fastball and 70-grade fastball, if not better, from the left side. That will get him plenty of opportunities.
After spending much of 2017 as a swingman for Mississippi, Michael Mader was a starter for the majority of his 2018, pitching between AA and AAA, making 30 appearances, 16 of them starts, as he tallied 102 innings at a 3.71 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, and a 53/85 BB/K ratio. Mader is not a guy who will overpower, and the swingman role is his likely path to the big leagues if he makes it there.
The third high school arm taken in the 2016 draft, Kyle Muller very well may have been the most athletic, a legit two-way star that had a full-ride offer to play first base and pitch in college. The big Texan jumped up both A-ball levels and finished his 2018 in Mississippi, and his advanced feel made that a very logical ascension as he seemed right at home in the moment. In total, Muller made 25 starts, tossing 139 2/3 innings, with a 3.03 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and a 46/129 BB/K ratio.
Put on the 40-man roster last offseason to protect his raw talent, Ricardo Sanchez struggled through injury this season, but when he was on the mound, he showed his potential mid-rotation stuff, making 16 starts, tossing 73 2/3 innings, with a 3.79 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, and a 28/57 BB/K ratio. He’ll still just be 21 when the season opens in 2019.