Ronit Shah has been the head of Atlanta Braves scouting department since 2023 and in that time, he has made some stellar draft picks. 2023 has been the low bar of the 4 draft classes (so far) but 2024 and 2025 has already produced plenty of players to be excited about. 2025 in particular produced the top two prospects in the entire system and both are consensus top-40 prospects in the sport. This article is not about them though... This article is about the Braves 5th round pick in 2025, Conor Essenburg.
Essenburg was drafted in the fifth round in 2025 and immediately had to make a tough decision on whether he wanted to stick with swinging the bat or get on the mound and pitch. So far in his young career it seems like he made the best choice possible by continuing his career as a MAJOR power threat in the batters box and playing the outfield.
Conor Essenburg's early performance and raw tools have him poised to break out for the Braves in the minors in 2027
Essenburg started the season in Augusta and hit .207 with 17 strikeouts in just eight games before going down with an injury and missing a month of the season. It looked like the hit tool questions he had coming out of the draft were rearing their ugly heads and becoming an issue. He came back and played five games in the FCL before returning to Augusta. Once returning he had a hit in seven out of his next nine games including a two homerun game on May 31st. From that point forward he was kicking it into high gear and producing exit velocities routinely over 100 mph.
The part of Essenburg's game that really impressed was his ability to take his walks and get on base. It bordered on being too passive sometimes but he worked counts and used his elite plate discipline to his advantage. From June 10th-12th he had a three game stretch where he walked multiple times in all three games, including a game where he hit two home runs and walked three times in the same game on June 12th.
In late July, his numbers got even better as from July 23rd-31st he had six multi hit games out of eight total games played. This included a game on July 28th where he hit three home runs and walked twice. Basically the inverse of his June 12th game. This hot stretch turned into a promotion to Rome for Conor and he did not look back.
After getting the call-up on August 4th, the power stroke was not quite as prevelent as it had been but he cut his strikeout percentage from 31.5% in Augusta all the way down to 23.5% the rest of the way in Rome. The crazy part is he increased his walk percentage from 19.7% up to 20.6%. He was able to put the bat on the ball more as well raising his contact percentage up a point from 69.2% to 70.3% after the promotion as well.
These were the biggest stories about Essenburg, who just turned 20 years old in September. He is an extremely young player who is finally able to focus on just the offensive side of the ball for the first time in his life. The numbers on the season prove he has what it takes; 17 home runs, 11 stolen bases, 19.8 BB%, .265 batting average, .416 on-base percentage, ad a .493 slugging percentage. Those are incredible numbers for a kid fresh out of high school just getting his feet wet in professional baseball.
The impression he was able to make did a number as Baseball America selected Essenburg as the Braves best power hitter in the system as well as the best Outfield arm too. He has a rocket attached to his left shoulder and was not afraid to use it as he had five outifeld assists this season. He played a lot of centerfield in Augusta but projects more as a corner outfielder and the Braves thought so too as he played right field after his promotion to Rome.
Essenburg has the biggest breakout potential in the Braves system come 2027 and cold start showing up on many Top-100 lists very soon. His improvements in season in 2026 showed that the potential is sky high and with a full offseason to focus solely on hitting and improving his hit tool will be very important to how he comes out in 2027. If you are a card collector, we would suggest buying now before his stock hits all new highs next season.
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