September is fast approaching and the minor league baseball season is coming to an end. Additionally, rosters are set to expand for the major league clubs. A lot of teams out use this opportunity to see how an exciting prospect in their system fairs against major league competition.
The Atlanta Braves do not have the luxury to partake in this experiment. Between a loaded major league roster and one of the weakest farm systems in baseball, the Braves are better off using the roster spots on some more established names.
Last week we gave you a list of prospects we might see in September. Today, we present you some prospects that need to enjoy their offseason, rather than make their MLB debut.
Darius Vines
The number 10 prospect in the Braves system, is a guy we will mention today that actually is on Atlanta’s 40-man roster. Vines has methodically worked his way through the Braves’ system and offers a plus changeup that could miss bats at the big league level.
However, Vines was sidelined with shoulder inflammation this year and fastball still is average at best. At this point in year it feels the return of some healthy more established arms have better stuff to offer the big league pitching staff.
Braden Shewmake
Any hope Shewmake had of getting a September promotion was dashed when the Braves acquired Nicky Lopez from Kansas City. Lopez is the perfect backup infielder and his versatility to play outfield position makes him more valuable than Shewmake.
With Lopez’s defensive prowess and even ability to handle the bat (as he showed us yesterday) Shewmake seems to be reaching a crossroads in his baseball career. Shewmake did at least get to make his MLB debut earlier this year, when he got a start while Orlando Arcia was nursing a wrist injury.
However at 25 years-old and owning a .229/.302/.415 slash line at Gwinnett this year, the writing seems to be on the wall for Shewmake and his Braves tenure. I’m not exactly sure you can even classify the 2019 first round pick as a prospect anymore. In any other farm system we probably wouldn’t.
Hurston Waldrep
Somehow there has actually been smoke around Waldrep’s name with the poor results from the Braves pitching staff in the second half of the season. I know Waldrep was just selected in the first round of this years draft just one month ago, but that hasn’t stopped a few fans for clamoring for the Braves to expedite him to the big leagues.
It is enticing a guy with that electric of stuff, who pitched on the biggest stage in college baseball. And with his first dominant outing in Augusta, Waldrep earned a quick promotion to Rome.
However, throwing a guy with the documented command and mechanical issues Waldrep has into a playoff roster audition is doing his development a huge disservice. Unless, your name is Paul Skenes I don’t think there is any reason to trust a prospect to make their debut in the same year you were drafted
I say that knowing it has been done before, by the likes Chris Sale and others. But, this doesn’t line up with those scenarios. The Braves are too talented and have too much depth to sacrifice the development of one of their more exciting prospects.
Waldrep threw a TON of pitches for the Florida Gators this year, so a nice summer vacation and recovery is not the worst thing. The Braves have other reinforcements they should be depending on. If the pitching still isn’t sound after the return of Max Fried, Kyle Wright, Dylan Lee, and Nick Anderson, then something went terribly wrong.