BA Albies Article

[Tapate50]

inside the pay wall...anyone want to give us the cliff notes?

http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/albies-impressing-braves-first-full-season/

[nsacpi]

From the article:

“When you consider his age and what he’s doing in his first full season, it’s something special,” said Jonathan Schuerholz, Atlanta’s assistant director of player development. “It’s different watching him play. It’s like he’s playing in the backyard just having fun.”

Albies is a top-of-the-lineup hitter with a great first step and outstanding speed. Capable of driving the ball from both sides of the plate, he shows quick-twitch actions at short, although some scouts believe he’ll be a second baseman in the big leagues.

[cajunrevenge]

Heres another article by about Albies that came out amazingly close to the same time as the BA article.

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2015/6/29/8856251/notes-from-the-sally-ozhaino-ozzie-albies-ss-braves-scouting-report

[KB21]

I think he's clearly the #1 prospect in the system right now.

[clvclv]

Heres another article by about Albies that came out amazingly close to the same time as the BA article.

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2015/6/29/8856251/notes-from-the-sally-ozhaino-ozzie-albies-ss-braves-scouting-report

John has a pretty good handle on him IMO. He was at McCormick Field to see him the first time Rome came to Asheville when I was, but I didn't get a chance to talk with him. I do think he can stick at SS if that's what the organization eventually needs, but agree that his arm there is average to (maybe) a slight tick above. The problem most have when it comes to trying to grade arms for Braves' SS prospects is that you've always got Simmons' in the back of your mind - that's a little unfair to them all.

[Julio3000]

I thought he had an excellent head and game-awareness at short. I agree with clv about the arm. He knows how much time he has to make plays, doesn't rush, and puts himself in a good position to make them, kinda like Andrelton.

He seems more heady and polished than any SS I've seen in the Sally League, including Guerra and Mateo, but Guerra has more range and an outstanding arm. I think Albies would be a hell of a defensive 2B.

The thing that impressed me about Albies was his hand speed and his ability to go from slapping the ball to picking a pitch to drive. It's going to be really fun to watch him advance.

[smootness]

I think he's clearly the #1 prospect in the system right now.

The only thing that will hold him back some as a prospect is his arm, which may force him to 2B. If he's a 2B, his status won't be quite as high. I watched him on Sunday in Rome, and he made a play fairly deep in the hole but couldn't throw the guy out at 1st because of his arm. It may improve as he gets bigger, but it's something to note.

With that said, though, he jumped out in a major way immediately at the plate. He has a chance to be phenomenal with the bat.

[Deester11]

The only thing that will hold him back some as a prospect is his arm, which may force him to 2B. If he's a 2B, his status won't be quite as high. I watched him on Sunday in Rome, and he made a play fairly deep in the hole but couldn't throw the guy out at 1st because of his arm. It may improve as he gets bigger, but it's something to note.

With that said, though, he jumped out in a major way immediately at the plate. He has a chance to be phenomenal with the bat. His range is ridiculous though. I've seen him quite a bit as well and he definitely can make plays in the hole and I've seen him behind 2B many times. He's exciting for sure. And if he is our #1 prospect, we have definitely improved the system as some of the arms coming are exciting. I think that once Sanchez figures it out, Allard comes along, and Fried is what he was thought to be, that's at minimum 3 premium lefties along with some other high upside guys. That he's overshadowing Braxton somewhat is encouraging because Braxton is getting there.

[smootness]

His range is ridiculous though. I've seen him quite a bit as well and he definitely can make plays in the hole and I've seen him behind 2B many times. He's exciting for sure. And if he is our #1 prospect, we have definitely improved the system as some of the arms coming are exciting. I think that once Sanchez figures it out, Allard comes along, and Fried is what he was thought to be, that's at minimum 3 premium lefties along with some other high upside guys. That he's overshadowing Braxton somewhat is encouraging because Braxton is getting there.

I agree on his range. His instincts and glove are very good as well. But if his arm isn't good enough, he won't play SS. Let's just hope as he fills out, his arm improves enough for him to stick there. But considering that our decision will likely be about a 28-year-old Simmons or Albies, if Albies isn't completely legit at SS, then we have to keep them both and put Albies at 2B.

The most exciting thing about our system is that we have highly thought-of guys like Wisler, Banuelos, Peraza, and Mallex Smith that are very good and either ready or just about ready to play in the majors.

But then we also have a huge list of Folty, Jenkins, Fried, Ruiz, D. Peterson, Albies, Davidson, Toussaint, Allard, Sims, etc. that are already highly thought-of but still have plenty of room to grow and increase their value even more.

[KB21]

I agree on his range. His instincts and glove are very good as well. But if his arm isn't good enough, he won't play SS. Let's just hope as he fills out, his arm improves enough for him to stick there. But considering that our decision will likely be about a 28-year-old Simmons or Albies, if Albies isn't completely legit at SS, then we have to keep them both and put Albies at 2B.

The most exciting thing about our system is that we have highly thought-of guys like Wisler, Banuelos, Peraza, and Mallex Smith that are very good and either ready or just about ready to play in the majors.

But then we also have a huge list of Folty, Jenkins, Fried, Ruiz, D. Peterson, Albies, Davidson, Toussaint, Allard, Sims, etc. that are already highly thought-of but still have plenty of room to grow and increase their value even more.

I think we might potentially have our future corner outfielders with Dustin Peterson in LF at Carolina and Braxton Davidson in RF at Rome. Peterson is 20 years old while Davidson is 19 years old. Both players have shown well with the bat this summer, and both have the ability and potential to produce more from a power standpoint. Prior to the wreck, Peterson was on a 13 game stretch where he was hitting .396/.453/.417 with an .869 OPS. Braxton Davidson just finished the month of June with a .295/.431/.455/.886 slash line.

One guy that I was hoping would take a jump this year was Tanner Murphy. Eddie Perez was raving about him in spring training, but the kid hasn't come through yet. He's still just 20 years old (hard to imagine that Bethancourt is just 3 years older). He's got the talent, but he just needs to put it together. I think he's probably the best combination of hitting potential with power potential and defensive ability in the system at catcher.

[KB21]

Keith Law reports that the Braves have locked up this guy in advance of the July 2nd 2016 signing period.


https://youtu.be/ZU2fXwYwgBo

This video was of him as a 14 year old.

[smootness]

Keith Law reports that the Braves have locked up this guy in advance of the July 2nd 2016 signing period.

This video was of him as a 14 year old.

Where did he say this? That would be HUGE news, but I doubt we know anything on him until much closer to the July period next year. He's a once-in-a-generation talent.

[KB21]

Where did he say this? That would be HUGE news, but I doubt we know anything on him until much closer to the July period next year. He's a once-in-a-generation talent.

I'm trying to find it. I saw a reference to it on another board.

[thethe]

Not sure what isn't to like about Albies. Guy might even be considered a top 25 prospect by the national publications by the end of the year. Players this young don't do this well that often.