Braves' long-term future is highly questionable with recent IFA struggles

Just last week we dove into the struggles that have begun to popup within the Braves system which is the recent failure in developing hitting prospects. If we dive into how the Braves have been acquiring talent for their farm system there has been a really common theme: pitching via the draft, and a focus on position players from the international signing period. Just looking at this last MLB draft – the Braves chose one position player, Nick Montgomery, within the first 10 rounds of the draft itself. 

When you take a look at the international signing period the Braves went after Jose Perdomo, signing him for $5,000,00 of the $5,925,000 draft pool they had available. In 2022/23 they used a majority of their draft pool to sign Luis Guanipa, and the year before that they went all in on Diego Benitez and Douglas Glod.

While they have had some success with some of the smaller signings like Didier Fuentes, and Jhancarlos Lara, when you invest so much of your resources on just 3-4 players you expect pretty significant things out of them. Well, lets take a look at how these key position players have done so well. 

Diego Benitez

Diego was a big fish in the international scene dating back to 2022 – when he was rated as the 10th overall international prospect. The Braves, finally off of sanctions, went all in and signed Diego to $2,500,000 and were hoping he would play a big role in the minors.

At the time Diego played a premium position, shortstop, and showed great bat speed and a decent approach at the plate. Diego would appear in 43 games his rookie season, all in the Dominican Summer League, and would hit .196/.363/.283 while striking out 20% of the time.

In 2023 he started the season in the FCL and hit .261/.332/.392 across 46 total games showing a better hit tool, but watching his walk rate shrink from 16% to 9%. Fast forward to this year, and a lot more was expected out of Diego as he started the season at Low-A Augusta where he struggled – slashing .137/.231/.214 while striking out 37% of the time and committed 18 errors in just 33 games.

He was demoted back down to the FCL where he underwent a position switch, third base, but continued to struggle hitting .165/.276/.247 while committing another 10 errors in 23 games. His season has since ended, and there is some serious risk of him not being in the organization as soon as next year.

Douglas Glod

Douglas was another one of the big gets for the Braves – he was a big name from Venezuela and he inked a $1,300,000 deal with the Braves to join Diego in what was a very good signing period for the Braves. Off the bat, Douglas hit .202/.352/.356 in 32 games in the Dominican Summer League his first year in professional baseball at just 17 years of age.

In 18 the Braves moved him up to complex ball where he hit .224/.386/.398, continuing to show a good approach at the plate with a 18% walk rate, but struggles with the hit tool that saw him strike out an astounding 31% of the time in rookie ball. The Braves kept him in the complex league in 2024 and he regressed, hitting just .193/.357/.296 – again showing a great walk rate (20%), but striking out now 36% of the time all while showcasing no speed (0 stolen bases).

While he’s still just 19 years old, striking out nearly 40% of the time in rookie league, where they aren’t even really throwing breaking pitches, is extremely worrisome and gives him severe risk of falling off as a legitimate prospect. 

Luis Guanipa

The Braves went back to Venezuela in 2023 and inked Luis Guanipa to a $2,500,000 deal. Luis was considered one of the best international prospects in the league. Guanipa had a blend of speed and power and possessed a hit tool that was far better than his age. In his first season, Luis appeared in 46 games for the DSL Braves where he hit .238/.361/.384, with a solid 20% K-rate and 11% walk rate.

Luis was promoted to the FCL in 2024, to start the season, and he appeared in 20 games – hitting a solid .282/.346/.451 before being promoted to Low-A Augusta. For the Greenjackets, Luis has appeared in 24 games and has hit just .176/.242/.198 with a 8% walk rate, and a climbing 23.2% k-rate.

He has since been placed on the injured list from what looked like a back tweak while avoiding a hit by pitch. The jury is still out on Luis, as he is still very young and you don’t expect too much out of international players making their stateside debut because they will see more breaking pitches here – but the fact of the point still remains, he has struggled since his promotion. 

Jose Perdomo

Finally, we make it to who was considered one of, if not the top, international prospect of his class – Jose Perdomo who the Braves inked to a mega deal, bringing him in for a robust $5,000,000. Jose was considered by scouts as one of the best international prospects in quite some time thanks to his advanced hit tool, and approach at the plate, along with his ability to stay at shortstop.

Jose has struggled with injuries most of this season, appearing in just 8 games while hitting .250/.318/.250 – essentially losing an entire year of his development. Because of so few games played, there is the remote possibility that he starts next season in the Dominican Summer League before making his stateside debut later in the season.

It is important to note that all of these players are still very young and don’t have much professional experience. The only player in any kind of real trouble is Diego Benitez, with the other three having their ceilings unchanged. But with the philosophy the Braves seem to be taking – hitting on these international position prospects is incredibly important and so far, the Braves have struggled to develop them. 

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