Braves Put 5 on MLB Pipeline's Top 100

[BeanieAntics]

Never been a fan of Pipeline, but they have five Braves in their preseason top 100.

Pache at 13
Waters at 26
Anderson at 37
Wright at 52
Langeliers at 70

[Carp]

I'm genuinely surprised that Muller didn't make this list and likely won't make the Fangraphs top 100 either. I know the walks were high in 2019, but he has electric stuff, is a tall lefty, and the overall results are very good. And it's on the heels of a very good 2018 that saw him dominate at 3 different levels and leads me to believe at least part of the BB issue this year is due to trying to develop his secondary pitches rather than simply control issues. He has a good pedigree as well, as a 2nd round pick. It just seems very odd to me that there isn't more buzz about him.

[Hulavol]

I'm genuinely surprised that Muller didn't make this list and likely won't make the Fangraphs top 100 either. I know the walks were high in 2019, but he has electric stuff, is a tall lefty, and the overall results are very good. And it's on the heels of a very good 2018 that saw him dominate at 3 different levels and leads me to believe at least part of the BB issue this year is due to trying to develop his secondary pitches rather than simply control issues. He has a good pedigree as well, as a 2nd round pick. It just seems very odd to me that there isn't more buzz about him.

Agreed - have you seen him pitch ? He toys with guys like he knows he is too good to be at that level and appears to be working on change and and slider - super polite and humble - he and VV are gonna be super stars if health stays up

[Tapate50]

There are usually pitchers who step up from the teens every year and make a name for themselves as their development rolls into more of a finished product. Muller is exactly a candidate for that.

[striker42]

I'm genuinely surprised that Muller didn't make this list and likely won't make the Fangraphs top 100 either. I know the walks were high in 2019, but he has electric stuff, is a tall lefty, and the overall results are very good. And it's on the heels of a very good 2018 that saw him dominate at 3 different levels and leads me to believe at least part of the BB issue this year is due to trying to develop his secondary pitches rather than simply control issues. He has a good pedigree as well, as a 2nd round pick. It just seems very odd to me that there isn't more buzz about him.

I'd put Muller in front of Langeliers at this point, especially considering Langeliers less than inspired first taste of professional ball.

I'll be interested to see how this list changes next year. If Langeliers shows that his slow pro start was the result of an extremely long season and he starts raking then he could jump up the list. Schewmake could make an appearance as well. If Muller shows better control I'd expect him on there as well.

[Snowman]

I'd put Muller in front of Langeliers at this point, especially considering Langeliers less than inspired first taste of professional ball.

I'll be interested to see how this list changes next year. If Langeliers shows that his slow pro start was the result of an extremely long season and he starts raking then he could jump up the list. Schewmake could make an appearance as well. If Muller shows better control I'd expect him on there as well.

I'm not sure I'd call a C in his first season as a pro putting up a 92 wRC+ in single-A uninspiring. It doesn't blow your doors off, but it's still pretty good for the position and experience level.

[striker42]

I'm not sure I'd call a C in his first season as a pro putting up a 92 wRC+ in single-A uninspiring. It doesn't blow your doors off, but it's still pretty good for the position and experience level.

For a top 10 college bat, you expect a bit more. A .255 BA with a .325 BABIP isn't great. Nor is 2 HRs in 239 PA.

However, it's hard to draw any conclusions from what he did last year. College players often wear down in their draft year. Their season starts in mid-Feb so by August they tend to be sucking fumes. This is doubly true of catchers. All in all, I'd have a hard time putting him ahead of Muller without him showing me something in pro ball.

[BeanieAntics]

I'm not sure I'd call a C in his first season as a pro putting up a 92 wRC+ in single-A uninspiring. It doesn't blow your doors off, but it's still pretty good for the position and experience level.

Yeah I'm still pretty low on Langeliers and I hate taking that particular player type with a top 10 pick, but his pro debut was fine. Not great, but fine.

[Deester11]

I've seen Muller as much as most and enough to say that he is about right here regardless of Langeliers. Muller is almost there. He certainly is very good but I wouldn't say he "toys with guys.". He is figuring out how to set guys up and not depend on pure stuff or over throwing. His ranking is not indicative of where he can go or get to but I'm in the camp that says this year will set him apart.

[zbhargrove]

I'd put Muller in front of Langeliers at this point, especially considering Langeliers less than inspired first taste of professional ball.

I'll be interested to see how this list changes next year. If Langeliers shows that his slow pro start was the result of an extremely long season and he starts raking then he could jump up the list. Schewmake could make an appearance as well. If Muller shows better control I'd expect him on there as well.

Not sure I'd be too worried about Shea... he went straight from the draft to A ball. He struggled mightily at first, yes... but in his last 20 games he obviously adjusted:

Last 20 games of 2019:

.338/.391/.400 with a 135 wRC+

So he kinda already did start raking (albeit with less power than we hope to see but it should come as he gets further removed from hamate bone surgery)

[striker42]

Not sure I'd be too worried about Shea... he went straight from the draft to A ball. He struggled mightily at first, yes... but in his last 20 games he obviously adjusted:

Last 20 games of 2019:

.338/.391/.400 with a 135 wRC+

So he kinda already did start raking (albeit with less power than we hope to see but it should come as he gets further removed from hamate bone surgery)

I'm not worried about Shea at all at this point. Like I said, it was a looooooong season for him last year. It's more that I'd need a reason to rank him higher than Muller at this point and he didn't provide that reason last year.

[BeanieAntics]

Not sure I'd be too worried about Shea... he went straight from the draft to A ball. He struggled mightily at first, yes... but in his last 20 games he obviously adjusted:

Last 20 games of 2019:

.338/.391/.400 with a 135 wRC+

So he kinda already did start raking (albeit with less power than we hope to see but it should come as he gets further removed from hamate bone surgery)

I'm really excited to see Shea and Braden in person next year at AA Mississippi and also to get some more reports on Langeliers defensive prowess. How good Shea is defensively is going to give us an idea of how good his offense needs to be to succeed. I really wish that there was publicly available framing data for minor league catchers.

I'm still very skeptical of Shea long term, but I'll admit that if his defense is as good as it has been reported, he doesn't need to do much to be a valuable player. If he could establish himself as a consistent .750 OPS kind of guy, that'd probably be enough for him to be really valuable. I just don't really trust the scouting reports available on catcher defense until a player hits the majors or maybe AAA. There is still too much focus on their blocking/throwing ability and not enough on their framing.

[striker42]

So who's our breakout candidate that might rocket into the top 100? I'm not talking about guys you could already argue belong on the list (like Muller or Shewmake). Who's the guy who is not even in consideration for the top 100 that might break out and be on this list this time next year?

[Carp]

So who's our breakout candidate that might rocket into the top 100? I'm not talking about guys you could already argue belong on the list (like Muller or Shewmake). Who's the guy who is not even in consideration for the top 100 that might break out and be on this list this time next year?

Davidson clearly is tracking upward, but he's sort of obvious. Among names that aren't as obvious, I'd go De La Cruz. He has one of the best sliders in all of the minors and a good fastball as well. He could fly up prospect lists with a big year this year.

Among hitters, you'd have to go with either Vaughn Grissom or Michael Harris considering they are super young, play premium positions, and show good offensive potential. A big year from either one would have them sitting Top 100 this time next year.

[Super]

So who's our breakout candidate that might rocket into the top 100? I'm not talking about guys you could already argue belong on the list (like Muller or Shewmake). Who's the guy who is not even in consideration for the top 100 that might break out and be on this list this time next year?

i'm a Paolini truther

[zbhargrove]

Davidson clearly is tracking upward, but he's sort of obvious. Among names that aren't as obvious, I'd go De La Cruz. He has one of the best sliders in all of the minors and a good fastball as well. He could fly up prospect lists with a big year this year.

Among hitters, you'd have to go with either Vaughn Grissom or Michael Harris considering they are super young, play premium positions, and show good offensive potential. A big year from either one would have them sitting Top 100 this time next year.

Don't forget Backstrom... he's my guy. I know he's not a premium position guy but his offensive ceiling is about as high as they go.

[striker42]

Don't forget Backstrom... he's my guy. I know he's not a premium position guy but his offensive ceiling is about as high as they go.

Backstrom is the kind of lottery ticket I like. He's a big guy who could end up massive and has a super high ceiling with the bat. Huge bust potential but I like stockpiling guys like this because when they hit, they can hit big.

[zbhargrove]

Backstrom is the kind of lottery ticket I like. He's a big guy who could end up massive and has a super high ceiling with the bat. Huge bust potential but I like stockpiling guys like this because when they hit, they can hit big.

Especially since he was considered a first round guy until his senior year

[jpx7]

So who's our breakout candidate that might rocket into the top 100? I'm not talking about guys you could already argue belong on the list (like Muller or Shewmake). Who's the guy who is not even in consideration for the top 100 that might break out and be on this list this time next year?

I’d go Michael Harris, because he has huge potential and athleticism, performed well in his inaugural professional stint, and (perhaps most important for rankings purposes) had a much higher draft position relative to other “breakout” candidates.

[nsacpi]

I’d go Michael Harris, because he has huge potential and athleticism, performed well in his inaugural professional stint, and (perhaps most important for rankings purposes) had a much higher draft position relative to other “breakout” candidates.

Shewmake is the one I'd keep an eye on. Tarnok among the pitchers.