Atlanta Braves: Cristian Pache and Drew Waters are moving up fast
Atlanta Braves outfield prospects Cristian Pache and Drew Waters are both tearing up Double-A Mississippi, so when are they likely to move up to Triple-A and eventually to the big leagues?
Don’t pretend like you haven’t dreamt about it — all Atlanta Braves fans have.
An outfield of Ronald Acuna, Cristian Pache, and Drew Waters patrolling the outfield of Sun Trust Park and making spectacular plays look routine.
The dream seems to be getting closer and closer to reality as Pache and Waters have more than held their own at Double-A, which often times features some of baseball’s best young talent.
Gaudy numbers
In Clint’s Farm Report last week, he talked about how Pache and Waters are forming a dangerous combination at Mississippi and the stats back that opinion up completely.
Pache has a slash line of .291/.348/.506 with nine home runs and 36 RBI. He has struck out 63 times and walked 21 times in 271 plate appearances.
But what Pache hangs his hat on is his defense, which is ready for the majors right now. He has played 39 games in center field, 22 in right field, two in left field, and has committed only three errors while recording 261 putouts.
Coming into the season, Pache was ranked 37th in MLB Pipeline’s top 100 prospect list, but has since shot up to No. 13.
Waters has been even more impressive offensively than Pache.
He leads the Southern League in batting average (.338), slugging percentage (.535), OPS (.916), extra-base hits (36), and total bases (147).
Waters has hit five home runs and driven in 27, but has also struck out 81 times in 296 plate appearances.
Much like Pache, Waters has jumped in the Pipeline’s prospect rankings; going from No. 86 in the preseason, to currently sitting at No. 59.
Factors at play
Even with the stats and accolades, there are still some obvious factors involved in the “ it’s a matter of time” promotions of the two to Atlanta.
First, both are extremely young. Pache turns 21 in November, while Waters turns 21 in December.
But that has not stopped the Atlanta Braves from promoting players they deem to be ready. Acuna was 20 when he got the call, as was Ozzie Albies.
Another factor is the Atlanta Braves appear set in the outfield for the remainder of the season. Austin Riley, Acuna, and Nick Markakis are entrenched at their respective positions and Ender Inciarte comes back in the near future, too.
When to promote?
What makes the most sense is to promote one of them (likely Pache) to Triple-A at some point later this summer and then add him to the 40-man roster so he can make some appearances in Atlanta in September.
The Atlanta Braves could then trade Inciarte in the offseason, which would open a spot for Pache to start Opening Day next year.
Obviously, Riley will move to third base next season, which will open another spot.
Waters will not be far behind Pache, though.
It makes sense to promote him to Triple-A sometime after Pache, and then keep him there to open next season.
The Braves could pick up Markakis’ $6 million team option for next year to use as a stop gap until Waters is ready.
Then when Waters shows he is ready for Atlanta, slide him in the outfield and keep the veteran for a bench piece, who can spell both Pache and Waters.
Next. Braves top pitching prospect. dark
Whether this scenario plays out or not, it is quite obvious the future outfield of the Atlanta Braves should have fans really excited.