Minor League Thread Part Deux

NYCBrave said:
Here's an unbiased take on our farm system. As excited as we've been on how far it's progressed over the past year, still sobering to see we have nobody who they consider top tier.


prospect361.com

Atlanta Braves

prospect361.com prospect361.com
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The fact they say Perdomo is a bat first prospect when he has a .547 career OPS is..... definitely a take.

Not giving up on the kid. He is only 19 afterall. But he's shown nothing that makes me think he is remotely close to being a top 5 prospect for us. Not even top 15 if I am being honest. If he doesn't make major improvements this year, he's going to fall into Maitan territory.

Even considering this list is for fantasy purposes, I really can't see why they would even mention Perdomo, other than the fact that he was a high profile international signing.
 
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Carp said:
The fact they say Perdomo is a bat first prospect when he has a .547 career OPS is..... definitely a take.

Not giving up on the kid. He is only 19 afterall. But he's shown nothing that makes me think he is remotely close to being a top 5 prospect for us. Not even top 15 if I am being honest. If he doesn't make major improvements this year, he's going to fall into Maitan territory.

Even considering this list for fantasy purposed, I really can't see why they would even mention Perdomo, other than the fact that he was a high profile international signing.
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I believe he's been plagued by injuries.
 
Tapate50 said:
I believe he's been plagued by injuries.
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Yes he has. And he has tools for sure. Who knows if he'll ever put it together, but I've maintained my like for him. I posted about him a few times last year...he's gotta produce now though. I'm hoping we have a logjam sooner rather than later.
 
actually interested to see if Burkhalter will get claimed by a rebuilding team.. He is probably ready to be in the bigs and could be a regret if he continues to develop... I don't know much about his stuff, but his numbers have been amazingly consistent

that said, I doubt anyone will miss either guy really.. but with some of the garbage on the 40 still, hard to understand why they didn't protect Blake and cut someone else that isn't needed..
 
I thought Burkhalter could be in the Atlanta pen at some point this year. So really baffling to me. McCabe I am not sure he sticks if taken but with the DH a team could possibly carry him all year. I dont know if he has the upside has the upside to motivate a team to do that. Call me crazy but I think he will have a few good years as a bench bat/fringe starter.
 
I think McCabe could be a good MLB player as a bat first 1b/DH type.. but those guys don't hold a ton of value in the league, so I can see why the Braves rolled the dice on him..

Burkhalter makes no sense to me. .especially after trading for the ass-shat from the Rox yesterday and having him claim a spot on the 40 man.. there is no world that Burkhalter is not a better option than that dude. he is cheaper, younger, and probably a good bit better than that dude and he is already in the system with all his options available to the team. mind boggling to me.
 
I don't think anyone would pick McCabe given the nature of bench construction in the current game. He'd really have to hit to warrant a place on the bench and he has only had a sprinkling of experience at the AAA level.

I was surprised Burkhalter wasn't brought up in September seeing that he would have to go on the 40-man roster over the winter or risk being lost in the Rule 5. Maybe not bringing him up in September was a harbinger for the recent decision to leave him off the 40-man. I read that his velocity had returned after his arm surgery. His numbers dipped when he went up from Columbus to Gwinnett, but his K/BB was bordering on spectacular prior to his work in AAA. He's not that experienced and maybe that will scare teams off and every fanbase tends to overrate their guys (J.R. Graham anyone?), but I have to guess he's going to be on a lot of bottom-feeders' radar.
 
2025
Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 50 | Cutter: 55 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 55 | Overall: 45

Burkhalter spent three years pitching exclusively out of Auburn’s bullpen, but it wasn’t until his final season in 2022 when his command improved dramatically, which allowed him to step into the closer role and save 16 games. The Braves took him with a compensation pick after Round 2 of that summer’s Draft, but he needed Tommy John surgery shortly after he had begun his first pro season. He had a solid return to the mound with High-A Rome in 2024, logging 72 total innings for the year.

Though he’s just 6-foot and has that impressive relief resume in college, the Braves are continuing to give Burkhalter the chance to start. That’s because he now has a viable four-pitch mix and the ability to land all of them in the strike zone. His velocity was back upon his return, up to 98 mph with a fastball that features good carry. A cutter that he can get up to about 91-92 mph is hard and short, and he throws it all hitters. At one point he shelved his slider, but he brought it back with better results command-wise, and it’s more of a gyro-type pitch with more depth than the cutter. He has a changeup but doesn’t throw it as much.

Burkhalter was able to show that the improvements he made control-wise in college have stuck, which was even more impressive considering it was his first year back from elbow surgery. The gloves should come off more now, and while he may still end up back in a bullpen one day, the Braves are excited to see what he can do taking the ball in a rotation.



he will be taken.. and AA felt that Rox pitcher was worth a spot over this...
 
Matt, thanks for posting that. Some of the points in that article cropped up in other pieces on the internet but it's nice to see it all in one place. I think the Braves often put college relief pitchers in minor league rotations to give them innings. Kris Medlen was an example of that.

Carp, Hinske was a better player than McCabe is (and probably ever will be), but there are so few players like Hinske on major league benches now. I see McCabe as being similar in some sense to Nick Allen (obviously for different reasons) in that if they can't be a starter, they really have little value. Everybody on major league benches as currently constructed have to both hit and field (at least on a good bench). Braves had a few guys cycle through this year that could really do neither. The era of the one-tool bench guy looks to be in the rearview mirror unless baseball adds a 27th player to active rosters.
 
AA proved with Kelenic that he’s willing to swing for the fences with former high prospects that haven’t put it together yet. The pitcher from Colorado feels like another of those swings, with a much cheaper acquisition cost.
 
no problem 50.. Just really don't get it.. the Braves drafted him in 2nd round 3 years ago and he had TJS so they really haven't seen much of him, but decided to leave him unprotected for a bottom feeder to stash in their pen for a year.. you basically wasted a 2nd round pick from 3 years ago.
 
Jaw said:
AA proved with Kelenic that he’s willing to swing for the fences with former high prospects that haven’t put it together yet. The pitcher from Colorado feels like another of those swings, with a much cheaper acquisition cost.
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except the fences are little league level. He has a worse than bullpen fastball and wasn't successful in the minors.. this would be a huge nothing burger if it didn't happen the day after not protecting your 2nd round flame thrower that is just now getting back from arm surgery that you used a 2nd rounder... if nothing else, he could have been used as trade fodder as a potential pen guy in the next few years.. We just have to hope that the team that claims him will return him because he isn't close to ready..
 
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