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Atlanta Braves 2018 top 125 prospects: top 25

By Benjamin Chase

BOSTON, MA - JUNE 24: A glove and the rosin bag sit on the mound before the interleague game between the Boston Red Sox and the Atlanta Braves at Fenway Park on June 23, 2012 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - JUNE 24: A glove and the rosin bag sit on the mound before the interleague game between the Boston Red Sox and the Atlanta Braves at Fenway Park on June 23, 2012 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images) /
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25. Jeremy Walker, RHSP

Level(s): Florida Fire Frogs, Gwinnett Stripers
Stats: 6-11, 26 GS, 143 IP, 3.84 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 7.7% BB, 16.4% K
Walker was selected in the 5th round out of Gardner-Webb in 2016, and many thought he could explode with the tutelage of the Atlanta Braves pitching coaches. Instead, Walker in his first full season in the Braves system struggled with inconsistency in his stuff – some days showing up elite, some days showing up very rough. He struggled with commanding his excellent movement on his offspeed stuff while coaxing movement from his fastball to open the season, but a few in-season adjustments began to take hold as July wore on, and in his final 8 starts of the season, including his final start with Gwinnett, Walker tossed 52 2/3 innings (averaging roughly 6 2/3 innings per start, which is significant) with a 2.39 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and a 12/44 BB/K ratio. He’s got the stuff to be a very good mid-rotation starter or move to the bullpen and become an elite reliever. He’ll work in the upper minors in 2019, likely opening in Mississippi.

24. Jefrey Ramos, OF

Level(s): Rome Braves
Stats: .245.290/.424, 122 G, 503 PA, 24 2B, 6 3B, 16 HR, 5.4% BB, 17.7% K
Signed from the Dominican Republic, Ramos spent 2018 at age 19, but he looked much more physically set in his frame than most fellow teens would, which makes sense why he is able to more easily access his raw power in his swing, and he had one of the more impressive power swings in the Atlanta Braves system in 2018. While he’s not an elite defender, he is passable in left field. His biggest area of need right now is his ability to let pitches go by, but he also had positive contact rates, posting a sub-20% strikeout rate, even with a powerful swing. That powerful swing will get the test of the Florida State League in 2019.

23. Trey Riley, RHP

Level(s): Danville Braves
Stats: 6 G, 2 GS, 9 IP, 8.00 ERA, 2.22 WHIP, 20.8% BB, 27.1% K
A very athletic righty from JuCo that the Atlanta Braves grabbed in the 5th round, Riley had some very good scouting reports. Whether he had worn himself down, was still struggling with his delivery, or just was struggling with the jump from JuCo to advanced rookie ball, Riley didn’t put up the numbers many would expect. A lot of that will be on his mechanics and smoothing them out consistently. When he’s on his game and mechanically smooth, Riley works in the mid-90s with a fastball with plenty of late life and pairs that with a upper-80s slider that sits plus quality and flashes plus-plus. Riley is working on figuring out a third pitch, having flirted with two styles of changeups, a cutter, and a hard curve. If he can figure out one of those pitches as a third primary pitch, he could be a very good mid-rotation starter. Even if not, his fastball/slider combination should be a very good bullpen combo. He should get time to work with this in Rome in 2019.

22. Izzy Wilson, OF

Level(s): Rome Braves, Florida Fire Frogs
Stats: .223/.305/.349, 108 G, 408 PA, 15 2B, 3 3B, 8 HR, 16 SB, 10.3% BB, 29.4% K
Oozing with raw talent, Wilson has teased Atlanta Braves fans with performances since he hit 10 home runs in just 48 games as a 17-year-old in the Gulf Coast League in 2015. He opened in Rome in 2018, and while his contact skills are still lacking with a significantly big swing in his approach, Wilson was able to walk over 10% of the time and he flashed both power and speed on the field. Defensively, Wilson has the talent, but he has times of making a mental lapse on a routine play, then following it up with a brilliant catch on an impossible play right afterward. Wilson is in the Arizona Fall League currently to get that additional coaching and experience, hoping to see him perhaps be ready for Mississippi in 2019, but remember that Izzy is still not going to be 21 until half-way through spring training 2019. Patience with his level of talent will be key.

21. Ricardo Sanchez, LHSP

Level(s): GCL Braves, Danville Braves, Mississippi Braves
Stats: 3-5, 16 GS, 73 2/3 IP, 3.79 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 8.5% BB, 17.3% K
Sanchez was one of the most highly-touted prospects in the 2013/2014 international free agent market, and he was impressive with the Angels in his pro debut before the Atlanta Braves were able to snag Sanchez in exchange for essentially a quad-A player. In that respect, whatever the Braves get out of Sanchez is gravy in that deal, but with the raw talent that Sanchez has just seems like he should have more at this point. Sanchez still has excellent raw stuff, but he seems to really lose himself in an inning. It’s best for the team if that’s the first inning, but often he ends up 2-3 innings into an incredible start when suddenly he blows up and the manager isn’t sure if/when he’ll collect himself again. If he could iron out that consistency, that would be absolutely huge, and we’ve seen at the major league level a similar issue with guys like Folty and Newcomb both be able to overcome the “bomb” inning. Incredibly, Sanchez will be just 22 next season, likely opening the year in Mississippi.

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