Ok team. Here is my first "Eyez on the Prize" Top 10 or so prospects in the system. My list may look different...I'm good with that as it's mostly an eye kinda thing instead of the usual jargon about shape, rise, plane...blah, blah. I'm typically lower or higher on the consensus and if you want to read "EXPERT" analysis, this probably ain't it. LOL. But I'm proud of my track record and hope to bring more "eye" scouting to you all this year. Anywhats...enjoy.
1.) Cam Caminiti - Easily the best projectable arm in the system as far as polish, pitches and knowing how to pitch. Command and control are the only things that can really set him back, but he has the makings of being Max Fried-lite. Love his lively FB, his curve and change-up is developing nicely. He'll be fun to watch.
2.) JR Ritchie - Just as easily could have been #1 and his FB/Sinker combo is dynamite. The exciting part for me is that he's added to his arsenal and his variation of FB speed, whiff rates on his Curve are all exciting. I don't know if he has one truly dominant pitch, but he has several that will play nicely as he develops. He's cooking just fine.
3.) Didier Fuentes - Y’all know I was in on him before his meteoric rise through the system. I'm still high on him. After his disastrous MLB debut, many jumped off the wagon, but I'm still firmly a believer. His FB showed even more life when he got sent back to AAA, but I still think he has some great development ahead of him.
4.) Diego Tornes - This may be wishing upon a star that is waaaayyyy too early to tell, but after all of the IFA sanctions and results we've gotten from some of the "bonus babies," I am truly excited about Diego. His exit velos are incredible for a guy so young. I love his physicality and his chances of developing real power and as an overall hitter and not a one trick pony. Volatility be damned.
5.) Owen Murphy – I love the way he competes and has improved every single year in the organization. Injuries aside, I love watching him compete. When he has his Curve working and it’s dropping at the knees, the hitters freeze and give up. For me, I wish he had about 2 ticks on his FB, but at worse, I think he’s going to be a solid pitcher. Season 2 after TJ may help him get a little stronger and reach another level. JR Ritchie-lite for me.
6.) Briggs Mckenzie – This is mostly a nod to his profile, given that he’s been comped to McKenzie Gore without the same velo coming out of high school. He’s probably my most interesting watch coming up this year.
7.) Alex Lodise – He has a strong profile, but I’m reminded that I need to temper expectations or what I perceive as being a “meh” thought on him because I only saw him in a small sample. I both like and dislike his aggressiveness at the plate and when you swing at 50% of the pitches you see, you’d better be a helluva contact hitter. I think he’s power over everything. Now, that doesn’t mean I don’t like him. I do. But I’m for sure hoping the instructs and MLB invite refines his approach. I liked him in the field enough.
8.) Luke Sinnard – I mentioned him a lot last year, especially early. I view him as a back-end starter, but I am all over the place on him. His FB is solid enough, but I’ve hated when people say he touches 97 or more. Meh. I think he averaged about 94 when I saw him…maybe a tick below, but I loved his CB more than any other pitch. I loved the downward trajectory and his ability to be aggressive in the zone. He’s interesting.
9.) Tate Southisene – I’m the low man on him, but that’s because when I saw him, he was an absolute wreck. Approach is in severe need of improving. His best tool is in the field and his arm/speed. Love that about him. He is uniquely athletic, but I hated watching his low hand, high leg kick approach. He’s not catching up to better pitching like that. But there are tools there to work with. I’m interested in seeing what improvements he makes.
10.) John Gill – I should love him more. One of the most improved players I saw all of last year. I love his speed, his fielding has come a long way, and his line drive stroke is very conducive to extra base hits. His approach and ability to make contact are significantly…and I mean significantly better than Southisene and Lodise. That said, while he’ll run into a HR, he just doesn’t strike me as someone who will hit more than 15 hr’s a year. His swing is good though and I don’t know if I want that to change. His best tools…speed and then some and while he is solid at SS, I don’t view him as a wiz due to arm. I saw some deep plays that stressed me out. Ha.
11.) Garrett Baumann – Another big dude. He and Sinnard are huge. Another guy who can “touch……blah, blah,” I see him as having better command when he takes something off and pounds the zone. He does that surprisingly well as tall pitchers have a hard time repeating their delivery. He’s pretty good in that area. I like whatever the heck he was throwing when I saw him initially. His changeup was pretty good, but his curve/slider was just ok. I love his extension to the plate and he’s another guy I see as a backend starter.
Honorable mention:
Connor Essenburg (14)– People are extremely higher on him than I am. (I’m biased against 1B prospects though). I like his profile ok.
Lucas Braun (15) – Not elite stuff by any stretch, but enough of an interesting arsenal to have a chance.
Blake Burkhalter (13) – If he’s healthy, he’s got a good shot at seeing the big club.
Jose Perdomo (12) – He and Reyes are among my top 5 most liked prospects in the entire organization. (It’s personal….). Now saying that, he could be much lower on the list as he suffers from the same overaggressive issues that Lodise and Southisene have. The only difference is that he makes contact. Weak, but he does. He has power potential, speed, and a good eye..but his development has been meh. Gaurav and I have been puzzled by what’s going on with him. He should probably be in the lottery category, but I can’t quit him. Ha.
Isaiah Drake - What's not to like. Love the improvement in his all around game. Proper example of an athlete taking time to get it. From striking out every other at bat when he first came into the system to being below 30% swing and miss. I love his left handed power and if he continues his development, the Braves are going to have a solid player on their hands.
Lottery
Carter Holton – Injury. Like his profile, so we’ll see.
Herick Hernandez – On a good day, you dream because he’s…just there. Making hitters look foolish with a deep arsenal. Other times…. ew…he’ll walk you if you stand there long enough.
Michael Martinez – You mean the Braves have a toolsy, athletic OF’er who can barrel baseballs consistently, is a plus runner and he has results? Sign me up…and why isn’t he rated higher. I think he has a chance to really do some things this year, and I’m interested in seeing if his power translates as he moves up and gets a full season under his belt. If it weren’t for Diego Tornes, he’d be my favorite positional prospect. I’ll get more eyes on him this season.
Raudy Reyes – High on him since we signed him and saw him once on a back field. I love that kid’s enthusiasm. He’s so happy to be a Brave and he trains religiously. Always a positive smile too. Of course throwing 100 at that age terrifies me, but his delivery is not so violent that it’s going to contribute to arm issues. But that torque is something else. Right now, his secondaries need a lot of work,, but obviously his FB will get up on you. Looking forward to seeing his growth.
Arrow Down
Drue Hackenburg – His better year in the minors was year before last year and before ailments started to do him in. I’ve always viewed him as a back end starter, but he completely lost the zone last year. He’s got reliever written all over him, but with the ability to throw so many pitches and for short spurts, I think that’s where he may land.
Luis Guanipa – The secret is out. I fall for International Players of Mystery far too often. But that’s the crapshoot I hope the Braves never stop. Although spreading the money seems to work better for them, it’s good to swing for the fence on occasion. Which is what they did with Guanipa. Even when he was drafted, there were varying degrees from scouts about what he was. His speed is still outrageously good, but I’m seeing signs of stagnation due to an overaggressive approach (Stop me if you’ve heard that before), injuries and production. He’s really good in CF, but his arm is not the best. This has to be the year he makes up for lost time, or his time as a Brave prospect will be lost.
All in all, I think the system can take a huge step forward from position standpoint, but the system is still short on high end prospects. I’ll take the top 5 in the system all day. With the draft and decent showings by last years IFA’s, the system can ascend. The batting approaches are going to bear watching this year though. The philosophy has to change in the worst way.
