Minor League Thread Part Deux

[Krgrecw]

From that article, re: Griffin:

I almost put him in the 70 FV tier, which is the highest I'll put any hypothetical prospect

Time to reignite the “can a prospect be a 80 FV” wars.

klaw said most exciting player since Trout




I’ve pointed out before that Griffin bars his lead arm, which for most hitters is a hindrance, but nothing stopped Griffin from hitting last year, even when he got to Double A, and he may just be such a good athlete and have such a high aptitude for hitting that it won’t end up mattering. He’s probably going to stick at shortstop and be a plus defender there, while posting high OBPs and hitting 25+ homers a year. I think he’s the most exciting prospect we’ve had in the minors since Mike Trout, and I think he’s going to end up one of the best players in baseball once he gets established.

 

[CJ9]

klaw had the Braves at 27 in farm system rankings l


No surprise here — Atlanta is so aggressive in promoting prospects that they often see players lose eligibility before they’re ready for full-time jobs, and they haven’t drafted all that well in recent years, contributing to the thinning of the system pretty much top to bottom. Scouts who saw their High-A club said it was one of the worst teams they saw all year.

Kiley put us at 26:


The Braves continue to graduate good players who were only in the top 100 for a limited time, with Drake Baldwin the most recent and Hurston Waldrep graduated as he was turning the corner to move up in these rankings.

Caminiti could debut as soon as 2027 while the two other top 100 prospects, J.R. Ritchie and Didier Fuentes, will likely pitch in the big league rotation at some point in 2026. The position-player depth isn't great, but recent first-rounder SS Tate Southisene and international signee CF Diego Tornes are the best of the group.

 

[Tapate50]

The Columbus team was brutal

 

[bravesfanMatt]

boom or bust I guess.

 

[Carp]

I think nearly all of the Braves top prospects list are severely underestimating our hitting crop in A ball this year. Obviously no one blew the doors off, but Gil, Hartman, Drake, and Carey showed a lot of promise for guys who were all much younger than the league average. Carey in particular was one of the youngest players in the league I believe. Gil was really impressive all around and finished the season hot, with a .909 OPS and .435 wOBA in 146 PAs from 7/26 through the end of the season.


I honestly like our position prospect depth in the lower minors. And A+ and AA should have several guys worth monitoring this year with Lodise, Dixon Williams, and Cody Miller, along with John Gil and Drake. I feel like we'll have more than a couple hitting prospects break out this year.

 

[Carp]

Battery Power has begun releasing their Top 30 Prospect list. I like the work these guys do. Definitely worth a read:

Our 2026 Preseason Top 30 Prospects: Honorable Mentions

Five prospects that narrowly missed the cut

www.batterypower.com

2026 Battery Power Preseason Top 30 Prospects: 25-30

Pitching is dominant in the first section of our Top 30

www.batterypower.com

2026 Battery Power Braves Preseason Top 30 Prospects: 19-24

A bit more position players join the parade of pitching prospects

www.batterypower.com

 

[Jaw]

Battery Power has begun releasing their Top 30 Prospect list. I like the work these guys do. Definitely worth a read:

Our 2026 Preseason Top 30 Prospects: Honorable Mentions

Five prospects that narrowly missed the cut

www.batterypower.com

2026 Battery Power Preseason Top 30 Prospects: 25-30

Pitching is dominant in the first section of our Top 30

www.batterypower.com

2026 Battery Power Braves Preseason Top 30 Prospects: 19-24

A bit more position players join the parade of pitching prospects

www.batterypower.com

I would have had Rowdy Raudy Reyes much higher.

 

[Carp]

I would have had Rowdy Raudy Reyes much higher.

Indeed. I also like Eric Hartman higher as well, since his ceiling higher than many of the pitchers ahead of him, while being no worse of a risk when you factor in the inherit injury risk for pitchers.

 

[Jaw]

Indeed. I also like Eric Hartman higher as well, since his ceiling higher than many of the pitchers ahead of him, while being no worse of a risk when you factor in the inherit injury risk for pitchers.

Seeing so many high draft pick pitchers so far down the list or clearly not slated to be on it is pretty disappointing and really does call into question the strategy of focusing so heavily on them. It seems certain that the farm system would be in better shape if 10-20% more picks were used on position players.

 

[Tapate50]

I would have had Rowdy Raudy Reyes much higher.

I’m sure he will be, just needs to perform

 

[Tapate50]

Seeing so many high draft pick pitchers so far down the list or clearly not slated to be on it is pretty disappointing and really does call into question the strategy of focusing so heavily on them. It seems certain that the farm system would be in better shape if 10-20% more picks were used on position players.

A few of those fell due to injury or one bad year.

Two in a row kills the stock, but to me they were low on Braun and some of those guys

 

[Carp]

Battery Power posted prospects 18-13. It's curious that Burkhalter is on the prospect list at all given he cleared the rule 5 draft and is almost certainly a reliever going forward. I would not have him in our top 30 at all.

2026 Battery Power Braves Preseason Top 30 Prospects: 18-13

After seeing massive amounts of improvement at the plate with his approach, Isaiah looks to take on MiLB in 2026

sports.yahoo.com

 

[CJ9]

Battery Power posted prospects 18-13. It's curious that Burkhalter is on the prospect list at all given he cleared the rule 5 draft and is almost certainly a reliever going forward. I would not have him in our top 30 at all.

2026 Battery Power Braves Preseason Top 30 Prospects: 18-13

After seeing massive amounts of improvement at the plate with his approach, Isaiah looks to take on MiLB in 2026

sports.yahoo.com

Lot of headscratchers for me in there in addition to Burkhalter, too. I like the guys they ranked in the 19-24 range more than the 13-18 one.

 

[Carp]

Lot of headscratchers for me in there in addition to Burkhalter, too. I like the guys they ranked in the 19-24 range more than the 13-18 one.

The only guys in this range I don't like are Guanipa and Burkhalter. Essenburg is probably ranked too high as well given he is a prep hitter that is likely 2 years behind the guys ranked behind him on the list. The other guys on the list are in the relative range I would rank them. But I do think Herick and Braun are way too low. Certainly both guys are significantly better prospects than Burkhalter, imo.

 

[Jaw]

Lot of headscratchers for me in there in addition to Burkhalter, too. I like the guys they ranked in the 19-24 range more than the 13-18 one.

Yeah. I’m not sure how Cody Miller isn’t ranked above the 3 guys immediately ahead of him for that matter. He seems much less likely to flame out without ever seeing Gwinnett than they do.

 

[Mad Dog Murph]

I’ll admit I don’t follow the farm. I don’t even like to read the updates here…mainly a time factor on my end, not a lack of interest. But, how does the organization look now? I know in years past it’s not been highly rated even though the big club has gotten some good production off the farm. Have they drafted any better in recent years? Is it improving? Thanks in advance.

 

[Carp]

I’ll admit I don’t follow the farm. I don’t even like to read the updates here…mainly a time factor on my end, not a lack of interest. But, how does the organization look now? I know in years past it’s not been highly rated even though the big club has gotten some good production off the farm. Have they drafted any better in recent years? Is it improving? Thanks in advance.

About the same overall rating as years past. But last year's draft and recent international signings have added a much needed crop of hitters, though most of them are likely 2-3 years away at best.

Among hitters that could move a little more quickly, you have Lodise, Miller, Dixon, and probably Gil that could all potentially see Atlanta this year (unlikely) or next year.

Pitching is still the strength of the farm, and we have several high impact arms both close to the majors and a few years away.

 

[zbhargrove]

The only guys in this range I don't like are Guanipa and Burkhalter. Essenburg is probably ranked too high as well given he is a prep hitter that is likely 2 years behind the guys ranked behind him on the list. The other guys on the list are in the relative range I would rank them. But I do think Herick and Braun are way too low. Certainly both guys are significantly better prospects than Burkhalter, imo.

These guys had scouted Essenburg before the Braves drafted him and were absolutely in love with him so I'm sure that explains the high ranking this early.

 

[Mad Dog Murph]

About the same overall rating as years past. But last year's draft and recent international signings have added a much needed crop of hitters, though most of them are likely 2-3 years away at best.

Among hitters that could move a little more quickly, you have Lodise, Miller, Dixon, and probably Gil that could all potentially see Atlanta this year (unlikely) or next year.

Pitching is still the strength of the farm, and we have several high impact arms both close to the majors and a few years away.

Thanks!