[情報] 2014 Atlanta Braves Top 20 Prospects
By John Sickels
The Atlanta Braves farm system is currently thin, but for a good reason: they
graduated several prospects to the major leagues in recent years.
1) Lucas Sims, RHP, Grade B+. Borderline A-. All the attributes of a future
number two starter. I want to see how he handles a larger workload going
forward, but that’s nitpicking at this point. Clearly the class of the
system. Went 12-4, 2.62 with 134/46 K/BB in 117 innings in Low-A, just 83
hits. Low-to-mid-90s, good curve and change, throws strikes, athletic.
Complete package.
2) Tommy La Stella, 2B, Grade B: Borderline B-. What? Why so high? Simple: I
get the Matt Carpenter/Allen Craig St. Louis Cardinals type massively
underrated prospect vibe with this one, and I swore this year that I won’t
get talked out of where my analysis leads me. La Stella can simply hit and
his fielding is underrated. My main concern is durability, but if injuries don
’t get in the way I think he is going to outperform a lot of guys who get
more hype.
3) Christian Bethancourt, C, Grade B-: Borderline B. He’ll rank ahead of La
Stella on everyone else’s list I’m sure. Defense looks very impressive
despite some sloppy mistakes, he’s developed some power, and he’s very
young. However, his approach at the plate remains very raw and major league
pitchers will exploit it. Maximal outcome: Yadier Molina if you want to dream
on his bat. Mid-point: Miguel Olivo. Worst case: Henry Blanco. Bethancourt
will most likely have a long career but I am still very uncertain about the
shape that career will take. He could be an All Star but he could also be a
scrub.
4) Jose Peraza, SS, Grade B-: Borderline B. Stole 64 bases in Low-A and has a
slick glove at shortstop, but lack of power is problematic and I want to see
how he handles High-A and Double-A pitching. Like Bethancourt, he will reach
the majors on the strength of his defense and will probably have a long
career, but will he be a strong regular or just a useful reserve?
5) Mauricio Cabrera, RHP, Grade B-: You have to love an arm that can hit 100
MPH, but breaking ball and command are unrefined and he had command issues in
Low-A. I do think the Braves have a better shot at developing him than many
teams. This is a guy with B+/A- potential but he’s not quite at that level
yet.
6) J.R. Graham, RHP, Grade B-: I would rank him at number two with a strong
Grade B or maybe a B+, but the shoulder problems that cut short his season
are worrisome. Track any reports about his health closely this spring.
7) David Hale, RHP, Grade B-: Older arm at age 26 but I think he’s made
enough progress to rate well. Does he start or relieve? His component ratios
aren’t great but I think there is enough stuff here particularly if used in
pen.
8) Jason Hursh, RHP, Grade B-: I liked what I saw of first round pick Hursh
at Oklahoma State, but he needs to refine his secondary pitches to go with
the hard sinker. Need for better secondaries seems a common theme with Braves
pitching prospects, but the organization has a good track record with young
pitching.
9) Joey Terdoslavich, OF-1B, Grade C+: Borderline B-. Not technically a
rookie due to service time, but he is well under the at-bat limit so I will
include him as requested by some readers. Adapting to the majors while being
used as a pinch-hitter is tough, but if given sufficient at-bats I think he
would be productive, say a .270 hitter with decent power.
10) Victor Caratini, 3B-C, Grade C+: Borderline B-. Solid line drive hitter
with good strike zone judgment, hit just one homer in the Appy League but
some scouts believe that the homers will come in time. Others aren’t sure,
but at least he has a good eye. Will be interesting to see how he adapts
defensively.
11) Cody Martin, RHP, Grade C+: Borderline B-. Could rank as high as 9.
Workmanlike strike-thrower should be ready for major league trial in ’14,
could be a fourth/fifth starter or fit a variety of bullpen roles. Closed in
college at Gonzaga but Braves have used him as a starter with good results.
12) Josh Elander, OF, Grade C+: Texas Christian product battered Low-A (.916
OPS) but slumped after moving up to High-A (.716 OPS). Adaption to Double-A
will tell us more. Overall hit .293/.365/.463 with 15 homers. Most potent
current bat in the farm system.
13) Kyle Wren, OF, Grade C+: Eighth round pick out of Georgia Tech quieted
nepotism assumptions (he is the son of the Braves GM) by hitting
.328/.352/.456 with 32 steals in 47 games in Low-A after signing. Will have
to see about power at higher levels but has leadoff potential.
14) Sean Gilmartin, LHP, Grade C+: Ugly season in Triple-A (5.74 ERA, 112
hits in 91 innings) was marred by shoulder problems. If healthy, profiles as
a strike-throwing fourth starter who gets by on feel and moxie rather than
pure stuff.
15) Aaron Northcraft, RHP, Grade C+: Ground ball machine fared well in
Double-A (3.42 ERA, 121/51 K/BB in 137 innings) but sagged with command
problems in Arizona Fall League. Probably more reliever than starter in the
long run since he can throttle right-handed hitters.
16) Johan Camargo, SS, Grade C+: Borderline C. Panamanian infielder hit .294
in Appy League with good reports on his glove, but lack of power is notable
(.360 SLG) and he doesn’t have a lot of speed either. Young enough to
develop further at age 19.
17) Victor Reyes, OF, Grade C: Borderline C+: A year younger than Camargo,
hit .342/.387/.409 between GCL and Appy. Good reports on his feel for
hitting, hasn’t developed his power yet but may in time. Definitely worth
tracking.
18) Shae Simmons, RHP, Grade C: At this point, the names are basically
interchangeable with the guys in the "others" section, so don’t get bent out
of shape on the exact placement as this is more of a tier approach at this
stage. I’m picking these three to write about because I want to highlight
them as intriguing arms that non-Braves fans might not be familiar with.
Hard-throwing 5-foot-9 right-hander turned some heads with Arizona Fall
League performance; picked up 24 saves with 82 strikeouts in 53 innings
during the regular season in Low-A and Double-A. Could slot into middle
relief role quite nicely.
19) Ian Thomas, LHP, Grade C: Thomas is a big lefty (6-4, 210) with sweet
Double-A numbers (2.76, 123/37 K/BB in 104 innings, just 72 hits) but was
signed out of independent ball, is already 26, and doesn’t excite scouts. He
’s deceptive however and the performance can’t be ignored, especially with
more famous guys like Graham and Gilmartin having health issues. It wouldn’t
surprise me at all to see Thomas have a run of success in the majors, at
least for a short while.
20) Wes Parsons, RHP, Grade C: Another successful non-drafted free agent,
dominated the Sally League (101/21 K/BB in 110 innings, 2.63 ERA), throws
strikes, is still just 21, and still has some projectability in 6-5, 190
frame. We need to see him at higher levels but he’s quite interesting.
Other Grade C prospects (interchangeable from 17 on): Ryan Buchter, LHP; John
Cornely, RHP; Todd Cunningham, OF; Alec Grosser, RHP; Ryne Harper, RHP; Robby
Hefflinger, OF; Juan Jaime, RHP; Kyle Kubitza, 3B; Mark Lamm, RHP; Connor
Lien, OF; Matt Lipka, OF; Wirfin Obispo, RHP; Carlos Perez, LHP; Carlos
Salazar, RHP; Edward Salcedo, 3B; Gus Schlosser, RHP; Andry Ubiera, RHP.
SUMMARY: The Atlanta farm has thinned out considerably, and looking at just
the talent in the minors currently, it is a bottom tier system. Of course,
the reason it has thinned out is a good one: the big league roster that won
96 games was filled with home-grown talent including recent system graduates
Freddie Freeman, Andrelton Simmons, Evan Gattis, Mike Minor, Kris Medlen,
Julio Teheran, Alex Wood, and Craig Kimbrel. There is a cycle to player
development and even strong systems will go through reload phases. The Braves
are in one now.
That said, there are some bright spots, headlined by 2012 first-rounder Lucas
Sims although he's probably two years away. Shoulder injuries to J.R. Graham
and Sean Gilmartin are worrisome, but there are other live arms available
should they falter. There is quite a bit of potential bullpen material among
the Grade C guys.
Lack of impact bats looks like an issue. Bethancourt is a defense-first guy
who will have a long career but still needs a lot of work with the bat to
live up to his press clippings. His power is coming around but his OBP is
going to be awful and I would avoid elevated expectations. I am a huge fan of
La Stella (obviously) and if he stays healthy I think he is going to really
surprise people. Caratini's plate discipline stands out as a positive and the
power may come. Also keep a close eye on recent international signees like
Camargo and Victor Reyes, who could blossom within the next year or two.
Although they have taken some heat for recent draft decisions, the Braves
have done a good job mining unusual sources of talent by signing quality
undrafted free agents and being open-minded about unconventional draftees
like Gattis.
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