Atlanta Braves Top Players at Each Minor League Level
With the Minor League Baseball season officially over we take a look back at the top performers at each level for the Atlanta Braves and give our MVP and Cy Young awards.
As I’ve been saying all season long, it’s been a joy to have Minor League Baseball back and I’ve enjoyed watching a lot of these talented Atlanta Braves prospects.
Now it’s time to hand out some internet hardware as I’ll give you my MVP and Cy Young at each level — minimum 200 at-bats or 50 innings pitched at that level. And then I’ll give you my overall MVP and Cy Young for the entire system.
Gwinnett Stripers (71-58)
MVP: Johan Camargo — This will probably frustrate a lot of Braves fans who are frustrated with Johan Camargo, but he absolutely crushed it at Triple-A this season slashing .326/.401/.557 with a .958 OPS and 19 home runs.
Unfortunately for him, the Braves infield stayed healthy all year and his services weren’t really needed. I have a feeling Camargo won’t be a Brave next year. Maybe his great season at Gwinnett will give him some added value in trade talks this offseason.
Honorable mention: Travis Demeritte (.282/.363/.575, .938 OPS, 21 home runs)
Cy Young: Kyle Wright — Again, Braves fans who are frustrated with Wright’s lack of consistency at the big league level might be frustrated with this, but it was a brilliant season for Wright at Gwinnett. He was 10-5 in 24 starts with a 3.02 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 137 strikeouts in 137 innings.
Like Camargo, I think there is also a good chance we see Kyle Wright moved this offseason in a trade, so hopefully this season improved his value.
Honorable mention: Kyle Muller (3.39 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 79.2 IP, 93 Ks)
Mississippi Braves (67-44, Double-A South Champions)
MVP: Shea Langeliers — This might be the easiest decision I make all day. Langeliers was by far the best position player on this team slashing .258/.338/.498 with a .836 OPS and 22 home runs.
And keep in mind, as someone who covers the Double-A South for Prospects 1500, this is one of the hardest leagues to hit in.
Not only was he great at the plate, but he showed off that cannon of an arm from behind the plate. He threw out 30 (yes, THIRTY) base runners.
Honorable mention: Greyson Jenista (.216/.343/.465, .809 OPS, 19 HR)
Cy Young: Bryce Elder — As easy as picking the MVP at Mississippi was, picking the Cy Young was extremely difficult. There were a number of good candidates in Spencer Strider, Odalvi Javier, Hayden Deal, Matt Withrow, and Nolan Kingham.
But what Elder did in his 9 starts at Mississippi was truly remarkable going 7-1 with a 3.21 ERA and 1.00 WHIP across 56 innings with 60 strikeouts. It was an amazing first year of pro ball for him as he advanced all the way up to Triple-A where his numbers were even better!
Honorable mention: Strider (4.71 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 63 IP, 94 Ks)
Rome Braves (56-60)
MVP: Michael Harris II — There was a lot of hype on this kid — including from myself — that it almost seemed impossible for him to live up to that hype. But at just 20-years-old, he did more than enough to prove why he may be the best overall prospect in the Braves system.
He slashed .294/.362/.436 with a .798 OPS to go along with 55 runs scored, 110 hits, 26 doubles, 7 home runs, 64 RBI, and 27 stolen bases. The only thing holding him back is the lack of power, but there is plenty of reason to believe he’ll continue to grow into that power.
Honorable mention: Jesse Franklin — 244/.320/.533, .842 OPS, 24 HR, and 19 SB)
Cy Young: Alan Rangel — Again, like with Mississippi, there is a number of good options to choose from here, which bodes very well for the Braves’ future pitching staff. But I went with Rangel because he had a 3.57 ERA in 70.2 innings with 95 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.06.
The 24-year-old out of Mexico was really impressive and I’m interested to see how his career unfolds.
But Jared Shuster also had a good year there posting a 3.70 ERA in 58.1 innings with 73 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.06. Darius Vines was fantastic with a 3.24 ERA in 75 innings with 81 strikeouts and a 1.05 WHIP. Either of those could have been the Cy Young winner for Rome.
Elder didn’t qualify but almost nearly won the MVP at two levels (three, really). And Indigo Diaz didn’t have enough innings as a reliever, but he may have been the most dominant pitcher in the system this year striking out 54 batters in 27 innings with a 1.00 ERA and 0.67 WHIP.
Honorable mention: Shuster, Vines, and Diaz
Augusta GreenJackets (59-61)
MVP: Vaughn Grissom — Another pretty obvious one as he was by far the best player in Augusta all year long. He finished slashing .311/.402/.446 with a .848 OPS, 52 runs scored, 34 walks to just 49 strikeouts, and 13 stolen bases.
Honorable mention: Landon Stephens (.239/.348/.470, .818 OPS, 21 HR)
Cy Young: Joey Estes — Again, pretty easy choice here as Estes dominated Single-A with a 2.91 ERA in 99 innings with 127 strikeouts and a WHIP of 0.96 over 20 starts.
Honorable mention: Tanner Gordon (3.43 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 57.2 IP, 65 Ks)
Braves MiLB Overall MVP: Shea Langeliers
There weren’t nearly as many options for the best hitter (MVP). Langeliers and Harris II were the only legitimate candidates. I give the edge to Langeliers because of the home run totals and the work behind the plate.
I’m glad they left him in Double-A all year and allowed him to just mature there with the bat. But it was also great for him to get a taste of Triple-A at the end of the season. It’s very possible we see him make his big league debut towards the end of 2022 as he tries to take hold of that catcher position for the Braves for a long time.
Braves MiLB Overall Cy Young: Bryce Elder
I went back-and-forth on this one between Elder and Strider. I went with Elder because he was better at the higher levels, especially his work in Gwinnett where he had a 2.21 ERA across 7 starts with 40 strikeouts in 36.2 innings to go along with a WHIP of 1.04.
Again, Elder very nearly won the Cy Young at three different levels this year — that’s insane!
Across all three systems in 2021 he had a 2.75 ERA in 25 starts with 155 strikeouts in 137.2 innings with a WHIP of 1.10. He’ll be knocking on the door of the big leagues next season.
The pitching in this system suddenly looks very strong again, a lot of it coming from that shortened 2020 MLB Draft.
How Much is Postseason Experience Worth?. dark. Next
Those were my picks as the most outstanding hitter and pitcher at each level for the Braves minor league teams this year. Let me know your picks in the comments below.