Most Atlanta Braves fans who care about prospects at all have become very familiar with Eric Hartman this season. An innocuous-looking 20th-round pick from the 2024 draft at first glance, Hartman has completely shed that label thanks to a surprising increase in raw power and an all-around profile that rivals any prospect in the Braves' farm system. Finally, after a certain amount of initial skepticism, the national prospect experts are taking notice.
Following the first couple of months of the 2026 season, Hartman boasts a .298/.373/.576 line with 13 homers and 20 stolen bases already. Aside from a minor lull in the middle of May, he has shown little sign of slowing down at all. The fine folks at Baseball America seem to agree with that assessment. With their latest top 100 prospect rankings update, Hartman placed at No. 62, and the Braves ended up with four prospects on the list altogether.
New Top 100 update today 👀
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) June 3, 2026
These are the 10 best prospects in baseball at the start of June. https://t.co/oN3dEgxhkk pic.twitter.com/kbIaVTgb36
Eric Hartman leads the way as Baseball America names four Braves prospects to their top 100 rankings
Hartman getting some love isn't that surprising, as he had already been added to the bottom of BA's top 100 after graduations already, and his stock has only gone up since then. However, Braves fans should take heart in the fact that JR Ritchie (58), Hartman (62), Cam Caminiti (77), and Tate Southisene (97) all made the list. It has been...a while since Atlanta had four top-100 prospects worth being excited about.
As for what to expect going forward, it is going to be fascinating to see what the industry thinks about these guys if they keep this up. Caminiti is honestly playing his way out of the top 100 right now, and Ritchie could graduate relatively quickly if/when the Braves give him another chance at the majors. Hartman might end up in the top 25 somewhere if he keeps playing like he has, if not higher, and Southisene may already be under-ranked here. Assuming the hit tool holds and Southisene keeps hitting homers while stealing bases at will, he will be more than deserving of a jump in the rankings.
Ultimately, prospect rankings are thought exercises and little else. BA works hard to get their rankings right, but even they would tell you that their rankings are very fluid and that all of us are operating with incomplete information on a lot of players. However, it is clear that Atlanta's farm system is trending up. After the 2026 draft (assuming they make the right picks) and adding Alfredo Sena when the IFA period opens up, we may have a very good snapshot of who the next generation of Braves are likely to be.
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