Tomahawk Take’s top-30 Braves’ prospects: Nos. 20-11

Today we move along in our Braves’ prospect rankings, covering the heart of the organization’s 2020 class, Nos. 20-11.

The excitement is beginning to build, as it feels we’re just days away from the conclusion of this dramatic Josh Donaldson sweepstakes, a bidding that looks to, at least presently, favor the Atlanta Braves.

Although, whether or not Donaldson returns to Atlanta or not, his decision should be the final spark that ignites the trading season, as teams will be determined to fill any holes left unfilled through free agency. And as we transition from the free-agent market to the trade market, we’ll need to know where the Braves’ current prospect class stands.

Which brings us to our release of the Braves’ Top-30 Prospect Rankings:

• Post 1: Nos. 30-21 (Monday)
• Post 2: Nos: 20-11 (today)
• Post 3: Top 10       (Wednesday)

On Monday we shared our first post of this three-part series, covering Nos. 30-21, a list highlighted by well-known players like Thomas Burrows (No. 22) and William Contreras (No. 23), but also newcomers who impressed in 2019, like Bryce Ball (No. 26) and Mitch Stallings (No. 30).

Today we move up the list to the middle of the rankings, covering Nos. 20-11, which really make up the meat of this class; these prospects range from potential up-and-comers to 2019 draftees that are projected to one day be top-tier prospects in the Braves’ system.

But first, let’s go over a few things to consider when looking through these lists.

Some nuances to consider

After fighting with several different objective-based models, we have decided to go with a subjective approach for these rankings.

But keep in mind, this list is meant to be the first report for the 2020 season, meaning there will be more versions of these rankings to come later on. Think of this as the Spring report, with a Midseason and End-of-season report to follow. Each version will be updated according to how each player is trending (via performance, upside, promotions…etc).

Obviously, everyone won’t necessarily agree with each and every ranking, as we all have our own opinions regarding these players; although, it’s much easier to look at the list of 30 players overall in terms of tiers instead of attempting to assess the report as a whole.

Consider my tiers for the list below:

• Nos. 1-10 —   Tier 1
• Nos.11-20 —  Tier 2
• Nos. 21-30 — Tier 3

You could perhaps break the rankings up in to even more tiers or groups if you desired, but the point is that the actual ranking is less important than the tier or group the player is part of. Obviously, the higher the tier means the player has more upside and is closer to the majors.

Remember, these rankings are subject to change, as an updated version of this list will be published around the midseason point of the 2020 season (July-ish).

With all of that now covered, let’s look at the second group of rankings, Nos. 20-11.

KANSAS CITY, MO – JULY 02: Baseballs on the field before the game between the Cleveland Indians and the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on July 2, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Brian Davidson/Getty Images)

Braves’ Top-30 Prospects: Nos. 15-11

No. 15: Braden Shewmake, SS

• Drafted: (ATL) 1st RD, 2019
• Texas A&M

While Langeliers had a slow start, the Braves’ second pick in the 2019 draft, Shewmake, hit the ground running on his way to a 19-for-43 (.442 AVG) start as a pro. The guy is currently an elite contact-hitter and as he fills in to his 6-foot-4 frame he’ll perhaps wield more power as well. Shewmake is a toolsy player that looks to at least have a high floor, and he already made it to Double-A Mississippi this past season, playing 14 games there after hitting .318 in High-A Florida, in his first 51 games in the Braves’ system.

No. 14: Justin Dean, OF

• Drafted: (ATL) 17th RD, 2018
• Lenoir-Ryhne College

He may not offer much in size, but Dean brings a ton to the table in terms of tools, hitting 9 home runs, 9 triples and 18 doubles, all while successfully stealing 47 of his 57 stolen base attempts in 109 games with Single-A Rome in 2019. His performance this past season earned him an invite to Arizona this past fall, where he cooled off to the tune of a .200 AVG (with zero XBHs), but I’m jumping on the Dean Train as I expect big things from him in High-A Florida this coming season.

No. 13: Alex Jackson, C

• Drafted: (SEA) 1st RD, 2014
• Rancho Bernardo HS

(VIDEO) Already somewhat known for his power, Jackson took it to another level in 2019, slugging 28 homers in just 85 games with Triple-A Gwinnett; though, he hit a punchless .229 there and was even worse during his major-league cup of coffee (0-for-13 with the Braves). If Jackson can improve his contact rates, while bringing down his strikeouts (39.8 K% overall in 2019) he could easily be more than the Braves’ backup-catcher-by-default. And for those that see him as a bat-only catcher, Jackson doubled his caught-stealing rate this past season and gunned down half of would-be stealers (25-for-50).

No. 12: Jasseel De La Cruz, RHP

• Signed: (ATL) June, 2015
• Dominican Republic

(VIDEO) The owner of High-A Florida’s one and only no-hitter this past May, Cruz was a big riser in 2019 as he made 24 starts across three levels (Single-A, High-A, Double-A) and finished with an overall 3.25 ERA. As he has grown into his frame, Cruz has also beefed up his fastball (sits 93-94 mph) and now wields a solid three-pitch repertoire. It has taken him a little while, but this kid has basically grown up in this organization after signing at 18. He’s now the top arm amongst the Braves ‘second-tier’ prospect starting pitchers.

No. 11: Victor Vodnik, RHP

• Drafted: (ATL) 14th RD, 2018
• Rialto HS

(VIDEO) Vodnik isn’t your typical hard-throwing righty, as he stands only 6-foot tall, though he runs his fastball up to 97 mph when needed. He didn’t receive much draft attention and really didn’t do much pitching in 2018, but this past season Vodnik was a workhorse for Single-A Rome (67.1 innings) and struck out 9.2 batters per nine while only surrendering one home run. He turned 20 this past October, so him sitting at No. 11 is obviously based more on his projected upside as a relief pitcher, but trust me… you’ll get to know him throughout the 2020 season.

Next up: The Braves’ top-10 prospects on Wednesday