Atlanta Braves prospects Q and A with Kiley McDaniel
By Fred Owens
The Atlanta Braves suddenly have a few outfielders bubbling up that weren’t expected by many to make a mark so soon.
Q: We hear a lot of hype around Atlanta . . . about the Harris outfielders. . . Are they just guys or are they GUYS?
"Kiley McDaniel: Trey Harris I think is just a guy. . . not that different than Dustin Peterson . . . a bench left fielder. A lot of teams want their bench outfielders to be able to play center or right, so I think he’s just fine . . . Michael Harris is the guy that’s a GUY, and I’m right now writing my breakouts . . . and he’s the guy for the Braves . . . he’s also in a similar spot to some of the guys I’ve mentioned . . . there’s not really bad information on his report and you’re kind of waiting, because this guy could just steamroll through the minors and be the top prospect in baseball if he like continues not having any problems. But he also was like a guy that wasn’t even seen as a top three-round prospect until midway through his spring. . . You just don’t have a lot of information."
"But all the stuff the Braves have gotten sort of behind closed doors in terms of like pre-draft workouts and TrackMan stuff and alternate site stuff, they think this guy is already a top-100 prospect. I think he’s in that area with a lot of first-round picks, like a Pete Crow-Armstrong, a mid-first round pick from last year."
"If he goes as a 19-year-old to Low-A and performs, he’ll be top 100 because it sort of verifies what you thought you saw. You already know the tools are there. Harris is right there, too. If he has a strong first month or two he’ll be on the top 100, because everything is there for him to potentially play center field, potentially above average power. Like the tools aren’t wildly different than Drew Waters. We just don’t really have any numbers or performance to look at yet."
(Interesting comparison to Drew Waters in the last comment. I know he’s impressed enough this spring to make it into starting lineups, so Brain Snitker and coaches can get a look at him against top competition. Rain prevented him from starting, but doing enough to get the look early is saying something. ED)