When the Atlanta Braves shipped off reliever Rafael Montero to the Tigers at the trade deadline, Braves fans were likely thankful they no longer had to watch his anxiety-inducing innings again, and shocked the team got anything in return at all.
Fast forward just a month later and Montero has continued to have rocky outings with the Tigers, while Jim Jarvis, the infielder who the Braves received for the righty, has excelled.
While the 24-year-old doesn't offer much in the power department, his success with Double-A Columbus and his debut in Triple-A could position him to be a dark horse candidate for the Braves' shortstop job in 2026.
Braves newly acquired prospect Jim Jarvis is surging in the minors
At the time of the trade, Jim Jarvis was hitting .242/.316/.336 (.652 OPS) with the Double-A Erie SeaWolves. At 24 years old, he was certainly not considered to have a high ceiling and wasn't even among the Tigers top-30 prospects. He had a favorable defensive scouting report when he was drafted, but the question was whether or not he could hit.
In his 21 games with the Columbus Clingstones, Jarvis hit .265/.344/.361 (.706 OPS) with eight doubles. The left-handed hitting infielder predominantly played shortstop, but also had four starts at third base, two starts at second base, and two starts at DH.
The Braves were impressed enough with Jarvis's production in Double-A that the club promoted him to Triple-A, where he made quite the impression in his debut, doubling twice, picking up a single, scoring two runs, and knocking in two.
While Jarvis's prospect stock has realistically made marginal gains, his promotion to Gwinnett puts the shortstop in a great position to be a dark horse in spring training in 2026. With the Braves internal infield options slim, he almost certainly will receive an invitation to big league camp, and if he can show he's passable with the bat, he could break camp in the bigs.