Atlanta Braves 2012 Prospect Review: Joey Terdoslavich

The 2012 Atlanta Braves top prospects review continues with Joey Terdoslavich! The 8th ranked prospect at the end of 2012 according to MLB pipeline. Read the first two editions of this series here:

• 10th- J.R. Graham
• 9th- Zeke Spruill

Time to dive right in.

The Promise of Joey Terdoslavich

When the Braves selected Joey Terdoslavich in the 6th round of the 2010 draft, they were looking to grab a power bat that would contribute to the lineup soon. The question was where he would end up defensively.

There was a small time where the Braves thought he could be the third baseman of the future. This was seen with the organization giving him 50 games at the hot corner in 2013. They realized that was not the best idea. Terdoslavich was better fit for first base or a corner outfield spot. Honestly, he may have come around too soon as he would have benefited from the universal DH.

Because Terdoslavich proved he could hit throughout the minor leagues. Outside of when the Braves rushed him from A ball to AAA to start the 2012 season and he needed to drop back to AA during the year. Quick recap of all his stints with the Braves before his promotion to the majors in 2013:

• 2010 Rookie: 49 games, 205 PA, .296/.351/.402 2 HR, 27 R, 24 RBI, 3 SB, .343 wOBA, & 115 wRC+
• 2010 A: 21 games, 85 PA, .316/.365/.430 7 R, 10 RBI, .364 wOBA, & 127 wRC+
• 2011 A+: 131 games, 536 PA, .286/.341/.526 20 HR, 72 R, 82 RBI, 2 SB, .380 wOBA, 140 wRC+
• 2012 AA: 78 games, 333 PA, .315/.372/.480 5 HR, 43 R, 51 RBI, 4 SB, .388 wOBA, 138 wRC+
• 2012 AAA: 53 games, 215 PA, .180/.252/.263 4 HR, 19 R, 20 RBI, 3 SB, .243 wOBA, 43 wRC+
• 2013 AAA: 85 games, 351 PA, .318/.359/.567 18 HR, 48 R, 58 RBI, 3 SB, .407 wOBA, 155 wRC+

He could hit. Just have to find a spot for his glove. The opportunity came on July 4th, 2013 as Joey Terdoslavich was promoted to the major leagues to replace the injured Jordan Schafer. He would record his first hit in his second big league at-bat, a pinch hit single off Jonathan Papelbon. The question of where he would play was a few games in left, a few in right, just a tad at first, but mostly he was a pinch hitter off the bench. Overall, it was nothing special in his first year as he hit .215/.315/.266 0 HR, 11 R, 4 RBI, 1 SB, with a .266 wOBA & 66 wRC+.

He would start the 2014 season back in Gwinnett and that is where he would spend nearly the entire season. He played 136 games with 569 plate appearances hitting .256/.337/.385 15 HR, 62 R, 61 RBI, 1 SB, .329 wOBA, & 100 wRC+. He would only come back to Atlanta as a September call up where once again, he was really only used as a pinch hitter. Only 11 plate appearances across 9 games with 3 hits.

Again, 2015 would be a similar story. He started the year in Gwinnett, hit well, but actually got to Atlanta in June due to Eric Young Jr being DFA’d. He would finally hit his first, and only, big league home run on June 9th against Joaquin Benoit of the San Diego Padres. Unfortunately, he was sent back to the minors when Kelly Johnson was activated from the then Disabled List. Terdoslavich would then bounce between Atlanta and Gwinnett whenever someone would go on the DL. His last stint in the big leagues would come from August 4th to August 18th when he would replace the injured Freddie Freeman. Once Freeman returned on the 19th, Terdoslavich would be sent back to Gwinnett and never make it back to the big leagues.

The Braves would designate Joey Terdoslavich on January 8th, 2016 to make room for Kelly Johnson, who the team had re-signed.

Joey Terdoslavich Bounced Around

Joey Terdoslavich would immediately be claimed by the Baltimore Orioles on the same day as the Braves released him. They DFA’d him on January 21st of the same year to make room for Chris Davis. They did sneak him through waivers and send him to their AAA affiliate, the Norfolk Tides. He would spend all of 2016 between the Orioles AA & AAA teams before being granted free agency on November 7th, 2016.

The Pittsburgh Pirates would sign him to a minor league deal on January 18th, 2017. He would spend the year with their AAA team, the Indianapolis Indians. He would once again elect free agency at the conclusion of the season.

Terdoslavich would head to the Atlantic League as he would sign with the Lancaster Barnstormers on April 16th, 2018. In his 40 games, he would hit .275/.346/.442 6 HR & 28 RBI. This would earn him a minor league deal with the New York Mets on June 15th, 2018. However, he would play the entire year with their AA affiliate, the Binghamton Mets.

He would then return to the Barnstormers where he would play with them for the entire 2019 season. In 125 games for the Barnstormers, he hit .294/.365/.478 22 HR & 75 RBI. This once again led to him being signed by the New York Mets on a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training. Unfortunately, the COVID pandemic occurred, shutting down not just Spring Training but the entire world, and Terdoslavich was officially released by the Mets in May.

He would then sign with the Chicago Dogs of the American Association. The Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican League then purchased his contract. After just a month and only 16 games, he would be traded over to the Bravos de León where he would play 39 games. His contract was then loaned back to the Chicago Dogs for a month before being returned to Bravos de León which is the last recorded transaction I can find.

It may not have been the long Major League career that Joey Terdoslavich had hoped for. He still ended up having a sustained career in professional baseball across a few leagues.

Stay Tuned!

It was fun to look back on Joey Terdoslavich’s career. He might have benefitted if the universal DH came a few years earlier. It might have given him more consistent AB’s to give him more of a shot at sticking in the major leagues.

He still found himself having a sustained pro career throughout the minor leagues, Atlantic League, and Mexican League. Terdo has played some form of professional baseball for over a decade, which is certainly quite the accomplishment.

The 8th ranked prospect for the Braves in 2012 unfortunately did not pan out. It is a sad truth, but more prospects bust rather than becoming regular major leaguers.

Up next, we look at the 7th ranked Braves prospect from the 2012 season, Tyler Pastornicky!