Atlanta Braves roster building: Has Alex Anthopoulos done well?
By Fred Owens
The strategy behind the Atlanta Braves 2019 is baffling. Of the 40 players selected, only two were highly ranked prospects.
Once you get past the Braves round-one choice of ninth-ranked Shea Langeliers and their round-two choice Braden Shewmake (ranked either 27th or 32nd depending on your favorite ranking system), none of the players ranked better than 162 or 114. Three first-round picks were unranked, two were ranked between 225 and 250. one was ranked 367, and another at 425.
Players are unranked because they haven’t impressed scouts that they have what it takes to become major leaguers. If the Braves had saved money on the draft I’d at least understand the reason, but they didn’t save a dime.
When the draft ended, I said the selections looked like an attempt to fill the minor leagues vacancies, not grab the best talent. If that was the the idea, it succeeded, but added few players with significant projection… and that’s an odd way to run a franchise.
The system today
As I write this, the Atlanta Braves have four top 100 prospects according to MLB Pipeline; Pache and Anderson graduate this year, and Waters likely follows next year, leaving only Langeliers
Langeliers isn’t on Baseball America’s top 100 (subscription required) list, but Kyle Wright was after the 2020 draft. I believe he’s graduated now and will drop off after the next update. BA shows Wright, Kyle Muller, and Bryse Wilson ahead of Langeliers, with William Contreras immediately after him.
I know many believe Contreras is prospect level, and I don’t disagree, but those who produce the ranking do.
It’s extremely difficult to develop talent at the best of times, and for the farm system, the best of times is gone, at least for now.