Atlanta Braves Midseason Farm Report: Top performers of the 1st Half

The Atlanta Braves and all four full-season minor league teams have now eclipsed the 80-game mark. Let’s see which Atlanta Braves prospects have been the best so far.

With the MLB All-Star Break currently underway, the traditional ‘halfway mark’ is a popular time to assess both the Atlanta Braves, as well as the talent-filled minor league organization.

Most of us already have a good idea who has performed well so far this season, but now that sample sizes have reached an appropriate magnitude, an arrangement of each team’s top players always makes for great discussions as we launch into the final two months of the season.

GWINNETT

OF, Travis Demeritte

80 G, .301 BA, 18 HR, 26 doubles

I recently wrote about Demeritte and the fact that he’s really starting to live up to his 1st-round talent. It’s hard to stand out in Gwinnett’s loaded lineup, but this season Demeritte has brought more than just power — he has supplied the Stripers with an elite ability to make contact.

OF, Adam Duvall

80 G, .259 BA, 26 HR, 72 RBI

Wrote off as a failed trade piece after his epically poor performance with the Atlanta Braves last season, Duvall didn’t even sniff the majors at the start of 2019. Something lit a fire in him, as Duvall leads the International League in home runs and RBI.

SP, Kolby Allard

17 starts, 94 IP, 3.83 ERA, 79 K, 32 BB

Despite his inability to flash high K-rates, Allard has apparently learned to be a highly successful pitcher with his current arsenal. At the moment, Allard has the fourth best ERA in the INT League.

SP, Bryse Wilson

14 starts, 78.1 IP, 3.79 ERA, 79 K, 16 BB

The Bulldog is on a roll right now, after starting the season with several poor outings. Wilson has lived up to his name, as he’s attacked hitters with more intent than ever this season. The Atlanta Braves No.7 prospect has the fewest walks among qualified pitchers in the INT League.

MISSISSIPPI

OF, Drew Waters

85 G, .335 BA, 5 HR, 29 doubles

There’s not enough room to list all the statistics that Waters leads the Southern League in. At 20-years-old, the Atlanta Braves No. 3 prospect has performed at an unprecedented level, despite only playing in 30 games at the High-A level last season.

OF, Cristian Pache

81 G, .292 BA, 11 HR, 24 doubles

Like Waters, the advancement of Pache’s skills has been amazing. His current wRC+ of 150 is 32 runs above his highest career mark, illustrated by his .351 OBP and .516 SLG% (both career-highs in seasons with at least 35 games played).

SP, Ian Anderson

17 starts, 86.2 IP, 2.91 ERA, 113 K, 43 BB

The Southern League strikeout leader, Anderson is really building off his fantastic season in Florida last year (he also pitched in Mississippi in 2018). Anderson’s current rate of 11.73 K/9 is his highest K-rate of his career.

SP, Tucker Davidson

16 starts, 83.2 IP, 2.04 ERA, 94 K, 36 BB

Davidson has drastically increased his strikeouts this season, raising his K% by 8.1 points (19.3% to 27.4%) compared to 2018. Selected in the 18th round of 2016’s Draft, the Atlanta Braves No. 19 prospect has turned out to be a huge bargain.

FLORIDA

SS, Riley Delgado

83 G, .296 BA, 11 doubles, 33 runs

Delgado may not offer much in the power department (2 career home runs), but he will consistently hit for above average contact (has hit above .280 over his last 888 plate appearances).

1B, Drew Lugbauer

77 G, .173 BA, 10 HR, 15 doubles

The Joey Gallo of High-A, Lugbauer is a straight up slugger. If it’s not an XBH than it’s a strikeout, as he already has 105 strikeouts this season (34.2 K%). Despite his pathetic batting average, he’s been a key bopper in Florida’s weak hitting lineup.

SP, Hayden Deal

15 starts, 83.1 IP, 2.81 ERA, 67 K, 22 BB

It’s going to be difficult to match his 2018 season: 9-1 record, 2.17 ERA, 9.38 K/9 in 78.2 innings-pitched last year. But Deal is doing a nice job so far, despite an almost 20-point increase in his BABIP-against. Even without good luck, Deal has led this weak pitching staff in Florida in 2019.

RP, Brandon S. White

22 app., 37 IP, 0.97 ERA, 41 K, 14 BB

Second on the team in relief appearances, White has been a shutdown arm out of the pen for Florida all season long. The former 12th round pick has given up just one homer this year (148 total batters faced).

ROME

OF, Trey Harris

56 G, .366 BA, 8 HR, 14 doubles

Even though he’s been promoted to Florida, Harris’ 56-game stint with Rome was unreal (I wrote about him earlier in the season). Harris left Rome with a ridiculous 193 wRC+ and a .437 OBP.

OF, Justin Dean

63 G, .288 BA, 13 doubles, 149 wRC+

Dean has certainly slowed down lately, but his first half was still strong. The 22-year-old is getting on base at a 40% clip, with a 5% jump in BB% this season. Dean is tasked with leading the Rome lineup now that Harris and catcher Logan Brown have been promoted.

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RP, Victor Vodnik

16 app., 2 starts, 46.1 IP, 51 K, 16 BB

Vodnik is currently on the IL, but that shouldn’t take away from his dominant season thus far. Drafted in the 14th round in 2018, his 28.3 K% and .213 BAA this season has pushed him into the Atlanta Braves prospect rankings, pegged at No. 20.

SP, Odalvi Javier

17 starts, 91 IP, 3.66 ERA, 85 K, 32 BB

One of the leaders in Rome’s starting rotation, Javier has improved his walk rate from 4.14 BB/9 last season to 3.16 in 2019. Now in his fifth season in the Atlanta Braves organization, he has a chance to hit 25 starts in back-to-back years.

*All stats are through Sunday, July 7.

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