TomahawkTake’s top-30 Atlanta Braves’ prospects: The Top 10

Today we release the final installment of our Braves’ Top-30 Prospect Rankings, capping off the series with the organization’s top-10 players.

The final installment of our prospect rankings series starts now, as we’ve spent the last couple of days delivering quite an impressive list of twenty Atlanta Braves prospects.

We started here on Monday, sharing the back-10 of the rankings, featuring a few players that took the pros by storm in their first year in the system; guys like right-handed pitcher Kasey Kalich (No. 24) and first baseman Bryce Ball (No. 26), two players that greatly exceeded expectations and even made it to Single-A Rome by the end of the 2019 campaign.

Monday also included a couple of Braves’ prospects that didn’t quite perform as we had hoped this past season; guys like catcher William Contreras (No. 23) and third baseman CJ Alexander (No. 27), though the latter of that duo was limited to only 43 games in 2019.

Then on Tuesday we hit the middle of these rankings, covering Nos. 20-11 on the list; that group had a little bit of everything, featuring the Braves’ top-two picks in 2019, catcher Shea Langeliers (No. 16) and shortstop Braden Shewmake (No. 15). The list also included a few breakout-players from 2019, as outfielder Justin Dean (No. 14) and reliever Daysbel Hernandez (No. 19) both flourished this past season, even earning invites to the Arizona Fall League several months ago.

Outfielder Greyson Jenista (No. 17) — also an AFL invitee — and pitcher Freddy Tarnok (No. 20) were also included in Tuesday’s group of ten, though both didn’t exactly excell in 2019, at least when considering what each had accomplished in the season prior.

But now we’ve made it to the most elite group of Braves’ prospects, the top-10 players within the organization’s minor league system. These are the players with the most upside, talent and tools; the guys that make this current prospect class one of the best in the business.

Several of these players are right on the cusp of making it to the big leagues, while a few may still have a ways to go but have been so impressive in recent seasons that their talent level had to be reevaluated.

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 our final group of rankings, the Braves’ top-10 prospects.

Braves’ Top-30 Prospects: Nos. 10-1

(Spring version)

(italicized players were covered in previous posts)

The table is now complete, as our 2020 Braves’ Top-30 Prospect Rankings have been finalized and released for this spring. This list should hold us over until midseason, which will then feature an updated version of these same rankings.

Just like in the two posts prior to this one, to provide clarity as to why each player is ranked where, check out the following excerpts on each new player listed in the table. I’ve also provided video (via FanGraphs) for most of these players below. All listed ages are for the 2020 season.

No. 10: Trey Harris, OF

• Drafted: (ATL) 32nd RD, 2018
• Missouri University

Harris, the Braves’ 2019 Minor League Batter of the Year, has quickly become one of the organization’s most beloved prospects as he put all of his tools on display this past season, slashing .323/.389/.498 with 14 home runs and 26 doubles in 131 total games (56 in Single-A Rome, 34 in High-A Florida and 41 in Double-A Mississippi).

Oh, and in over 900 innings in the outfield in 2019, the 23-year-old committed just one error to go along with 8 assists. There’s arguably no other Braves’ prospect whose stock has risen as high in one season than Harris’ going into the 2020 season.

No. 9: Jeremy Walker, RHP

• Drafted: (ATL) 5th RD, 2016
• Gardner-Webb University (Boiling Springs NC)

(VIDEO) Walker earned an MLB debut in 2019, where he showed his above-average mid-90s fastball, making six appearances and only allowing two runs with the Braves; that after pitching in 32 games combined between Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett, where he left the minors with a 3.21 ERA.

The first two years of his pro career Walker worked as a starter, but now on the Braves’ 40-man it appears he has found his calling as a three-pitch pitcher (fastball, changeup, curveball) out of the bullpen, earning the title of the Braves’ top prospect reliever.

No. 8: Kyle Muller, LHP

• Drafted: (ATL) 2nd RD, 2016
• Jesuit College Prep (Dallas TX)

(VIDEO) In many other organizations, Muller would most likely be the top prospect, standing 6-foot-6 on the mound with a mid to high-90s mph fastball and filthy slider (he also throws a changeup and curveball) coming at batters from the left side.

His 2019 season — despite struggling a bit with walks — deserves a high grade, considering he posted similar numbers as the previous year while at a level higher in the minors. With 22 starts in Double-A Mississippi to round out this past season, he’ll certainly be in Triple-A Gwinnett at some point in 2020.

No. 7: Patrick Weigel, RHP

• Drafted: (ATL) 7th RD, 2015
• University of Houston

(VIDEO) Understandably, Weigel’s Tommy John surgery in 2017 (which caused him to miss all of 2018) caused many to sort of look elsewhere; however, as he was eased into action this past season, Weigel showed why he was so highly touted before his surgery.

The 6-foot-6 righty throws easy gas, sitting in the mid-90s mph and ramping it up to 98-99 at times, while also flashing three additional pitches.

Weigel’s swing-and-miss offering is a mid-80s big breaking slider. Also currently on the Braves’ 40-man, Weigel could potentially be a weapon out of the big league ‘pen in 2020.

No. 6: Bryse Wilson, RHP

• Drafted: (ATL) 4th RD, 2016
• Orange HS (Hillsborough NC)

(VIDEO) The Bulldog lost a little bit of his bite in 2019, pitching rather poorly in six games at the major league level (4 starts / 2 relief appearances) and finishing with a bloated 7.20 ERA with the Braves.

It would be irresponsible to let 20 mediocre innings in the big leagues define Wilson’s stock going forward, as frustrating as it may seem. He was just fine in Triple-A Gwinnett (3.42 ERA / 21 starts) this past season, perhaps a sign he’s still not quite ready to crack the Braves’ starting staff.