The accolades just keep coming for the M-Braves this year. Last week Kris Medlen was named Southern League Pitcher of the Week, and this week the honor goes to Todd Redmond. From the official release:

Redmond did everything but record a win on Friday against the Carolina Mudcats.
 
The 23-year-old allowed just one hit - a single - without permitting a run in a season high-tying eight innings before departing with a two-run lead.
 
In the ninth, the league's Hitter of the Week spoiled Redmond's chance at a league high-tying ninth win with a go-ahead, three-run homer. Despite not getting a decision, Redmond recorded six strikeouts to move into third in the league with 97 overall.
 
The native of St. Petersburg, FL also lowered his ERA to 3.34, good for eighth in the circuit. It was the second impressive showing during the week for Redmond, who pitched a flawless inning with one strikeout in the Southern League All-Star Game on July 14.

Maybe in a few years we'll be able to look back and say that the best thing Tyler Yates ever did for the Braves was get traded for Todd Redmond. (Some people are probably saying that right now.)

I've had my say...

1. Jason Heyward, OF
2. Tommy Hanson, RHP
3. Jordan Schafer, OF
4. Gorkys Hernandez, OF
5. Julio Teheran, RHP
6. Jeff Locke, LHP
7. Brent Lillibridge, SS
8. Cole Rohrbough, LHP
9. Brandon Jones, OF
10. Freddie Freeman, 1B
11. Kris Medlen, RHP
12. Tyler Flowers, C
13. Brandon Hicks, SS
14. Cody Johnson, OF
15. Charlie Morton, RHP
16. Travis Jones, 2B
17. Kevin Gunderson, LHP
18. Todd Redmond, RHP
19. Richard Sullivan, LHP
20. Eric Campbell, 3B
21. Van Pope, 3B
22. Cory Gearrin, RHP
23. Jon Gilmore, 3B
24. Scott Diamond, LHP
25. Edgar Osuna, LHP
    

... now it's your turn. Post your top-25 Braves mid-season prospects in the comments section (feel free to explain your ranking or feel free to just rank them). I'll give you until Saturday night and then I'll tally up all the rankings and see what kind of combined top-25 we come up with. Have fun!

From a Mississippi Braves Press Release:

The Mississippi Braves are proud to announce that RHP Kris Medlen has been named the Southern League's Pitcher of the Week for the week ending July 12th.
 
Medlen continued his seamless transition from reliever to starter with a 2.08 ERA and a league-leading 16 strikeouts in two outings during the week. The 22-year-old Medlen allowed just four hits and struck out a career-high 10 batters in seven innings of an eventual 4-3 victory against Chattanooga on July 7.
 
Five days later, he gave up five hits and recorded six strikeouts in six innings of a 2-0 win at Jacksonville. That triumph enabled the Braves to enter the All-Star break with a one-game lead atop the South Division's second-half standings.
 
A closer to begin his professional career, Medlen made 77 relief appearances before his first career start on June 5. In eight starts, the native of Norwalk, CA has gone 2-1 with a 2.30 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 43 innings.

I've always liked Medlen, and his transition to starting has been a fantastic story to watch.

Here are my top-10 mid-season Braves prospects. There’s a lot of talent in this group, and a lot of excitement for the future of Braves baseball. Tomorrow you will be asked to post your own top-25, so keep working on your list.

1. Jason Heyward, OF – Like the Tina Turner song says, “simply the best, better than all the rest.” He’s shown he’s talented beyond his age this year at Rome. Everyone who follows the Braves prospects have been calling for him to be promoted to Myrtle Beach, but the Braves seem to be taking it easy with Heyward, allowing him to get settled into a full season team. He’s their top dog and that’s not going to change, but at some point he’s going to make great leaps through the minor leagues.
2. Tommy Hanson, RHP – The no-hitter was the icing on his season so far. After dominating at the Beach he struggled some at Mississippi before figuring it out, but sometimes struggling is what a prospect needs to get better, and Hanson is indeed getting better. This year may be too early for his arrival in Atlanta, but he’s a definite possibility for the rotation next year.
3. Jordan Schafer, OF – He’s got the stain of an HGH suspension to follow him around, but he’s got too much talent to let it distract him for too long. While he’s not hitting for a great average at Mississippi, his power numbers and on-base percentage are right about where they need to be. His timetable may have to be pushed back from a 2008 arrival in Atlanta to a 2009 arrival, but he’s young enough to where that’s probably a good thing.
4. Gorkys Hernandez, OF – After getting off to a hot start he has cooled down some, but he’s still got some of the best talent in the system, and at the end of the year his stats will be right where they should be.
5. Julio Teheran, RHP – Teheran has been slowed this year at Danville due to some nagging injuries and the Braves are being super-cautious with him, and rightfully so. He’s still very young (he was born in 1991) so he has plenty of time to work out the kinks before he’s expected to be major league ready. We have yet to see any proof of all the hype that surrounded Teheran as the top prospect in Latin America last year, but his hype and super-star potential will still get him listed high on this list.
6. Jeff Locke, LHP – Locke got off to a terrible start at Rome, but again, working through struggles is usually good for a prospect. And he has indeed worked through his early season problems and is beginning to dominate. His ERA has gone from 5.63 in April, to 4.13 in May, to 3.26 in June, to 1.29 in July. He’s also averaging almost six innings a start, proving that in addition to a very talented pitcher he may be counted on as a workhorse in the rotation.
7. Brent Lillibridge, SS – He’s struggled at Richmond and he’s struggled in the majors, but he still has a lot of talent and a chance to be a very good major leaguer. He may need more time in the minors, but it looks like for the immediate future he will get a chance to fill in for Escobar and serve as a utility player in the majors.
8. Cole Rohrbough, LHP – He has struggled this year with injuries and control, but the stuff is still there. It would be nice to see a bit more in the results department or some other guys may pass him in these rankings.
9. Brandon Jones, OF – Like Lillibridge, Jones has struggled some at both Richmond and in the majors. At Richmond his power has been absent and his strikeouts are up. In his stint in the majors his power has been present, but his strikeout rate is still way too high. He is yet to play a full year at triple-A and may benefit from some more time in the minors.
10. Freddie Freeman, 1B – As good as Heyward has been at Rome, Freeman has been right on his tail all year long and has arguably been just as good. He has displayed more power while striking out less than Heyward. If he has a good second half he will find himself even closer to the top of this list.

As is always done here at the All-Star break we are going to check in on our top minor league prospects to see how they stand up against each other. The schedule for the week will look like this:

Monday:  Braves Mid-Season Top-25 Prospects: 11-25
Monday:  Homerun Derby Open Thread
Tuesday:  All-Star Game Open Thread
Wednesday:  Braves Mid-Season Top-25 Prospects: 1-10
Thursday:  Who are your Top-25 Braves Prospects (this is where you will be able to post your own top-25 list, so start thinking about it now)
Then over the weekend I’ll average out everyone’s top-25 list and we’ll have our combined list.

Below is the first group of prospects (11-thru-25) according to the way I feel they should be ranked. I’m sure there will be disagreement – there always is – but that’s half the fun of this activity. I try to keep a running tally throughout the year of where I think guys should fall on this list, and over the past week I’ve really been super-analyzing it. After doing these rankings for several years I’ve come up with some rules that I try to follow (although they are flexible):

• Prospects with super-star potential are listed first, star potential second, and solid major league potential after that. I don’t list anyone who looks like a utility guy or a mop-up man.
• I don’t put much stock in a player’s performance in rookie ball, I want to see at least some type of performance in a full-season league.
• Struggle is sometimes good for a prospect, but the important thing is how they deal with that struggle.

There are several other things I consider as well -- scouting reports, write-ups from prospect analysts – among other things. Anyway, here is the first group.

11. Kris Medlen, RHP – He’s moved way up the prospect chart due mainly to his transition from relieving to starting and the success he’s had with that. Usually that’s a risky move in the middle of the season, but Medlen’s been able to pull it off. As a reliever he had a .306 batting average against, but as a starter he has only a .195 average against – a move that seems to be helping him become a more effective pitcher. It might take him another year to really get used to starting full time, but with all the kinks worked out he might be useful to Atlanta as a reliever before then.
12. Tyler Flowers, C – Flowers has shown the ability to be a great all-around hitter, compiling an on-base percentage (.411) and a slugging percentage (.436) that’s far better than his batting average (.271). He profiles as having even more power than he’s showing this year, but combine these numbers with his showing in spring training this year and he should be considered one of the top power prospects in our system.
13. Brandon Hicks, SS – He’s displayed tremendous power so far at Myrtle Beach, and despite hitting just .247 his slugging percentage is second on the team at .502. The team-high 96 strikeouts are a huge concern.
14. Cody Johnson, OF – Johnson has shown so far that he is an all or nothing batter, with a team high 16 homeruns and a team high 125 strikeouts (in only 86 games). The strikeouts are a real concern, but Johnson is still young and has time to work on his strike zone judgment, and the raw power he has shown still gives us reason to talk about him as a top prospect.
15. Charlie Morton, RHP – He’s been a bit combustible in the majors, but he showed dominant stuff at Richmond. If he can ever harness that dominance from one start to the next he will be a good major league pitcher, but his inconsistency (and historical inconsistency) keep him lower in these rankings.
16. Travis Jones, 2B – This kid has been nothing but impressive at the plate since being drafted last year. He’s not as highly touted as Hicks or Flowers, but he’s shown the same consistent power and in a system devoid of second baseman, he easily stands out as the best.
17. Kevin Gunderson, LHP – He seems to struggle at first with a new level. After dominating at the Beach this year he has struggled at Mississippi, but there are some signs he’s coming out of it. He could be a useful lefty in the bullpen for Atlanta by late next year if he continues to develop as he has been.
18. Todd Redmond, RHP – Redmond scares me a bit as his stats remind me in some ways of a young Chuck James. The difference is that Redmond seems to be more of a workhorse (116 innings pitched) and he doesn’t issue many free passes (19 walks). He is a fly-ball control pitcher and he doesn’t miss many bats, so he could really go either way at this point.
19. Richard Sullivan, LHP – Like Rohrbough last year, Sullivan is intriguing enough to put on the top-25 list in only his first season of professional baseball. After clearly needing more of a challenge than Rookie League baseball, Sullivan has earned a promotion to Rome. He brings with him a solid fastball and two plus breaking pitches. He has also shown great command early in his pro career with 27 strikeouts in 24 innings with zero walks.
20. Eric Campbell, 3B – Why oh why do I still list him here? It was just two years ago that he was considered by some to be our top prospect, but with injuries, off-the-field problems, and a Betemit-like collapse at the plate he is looking like a complete bust… but still, I hold out hope that he can miraculously turn it around.
21. Van Pope, 3B – Like Campbell many Braves fans hold out hope that Pope can figure it out, but in his second full year in Mississippi he still is not showing the ability to make consistent contact or hit for power – key for a corner infielder. He’s in danger of falling completely out of the top-25 list and losing his status as a prospect.
22. Cory Gearrin, RHP – Another local college product out of Mercer University, Gearrin is a reliever who has found good success at both Rome and Myrtle Beach after a recent promotion. He’s doing a good job of missing bats, but he needs to get the walks down.
23. Jon Gilmore, 3B – Still just 19, the Braves may have rushed him by putting him at Rome early in the season where he struggled to hit his weight. He has been swinging a good bat in Danville, including good power, but he has lacked patience at the plate with only two walks in 23 games.
24. Scott Diamond, LHP – He signed last year as a non-drafted free agent for $50K out of Binghampton University after his junior year. Diamond mixes a curveball and changeup with a good fastball which produces a good ground ball ratio. He was one of the best pitchers at Rome (3.08 ERA) early in the season and after a promotion to the Beach (3.09 ERA) he hasn’t missed a beat. Add yet another interesting lefty-hander to the hoards of young lefty pitchers we already have in the low minors.
25. Edgar Osuna, LHP – I went back and forth about who to put here, because there are a lot of other good arms in the system who could probably fall anywhere from 15 to 25 (Rodgers, Evarts, Ortegano, Heath, Parr, Pruneda, Barrett, Cordier, Rasmus), but in the end I kept coming back to Osuna. He did just as well as anyone else at Danville last year and he’s had good success at every stop along the way. I like his high strikeout totals and low walk totals. He also seems to be a more durable and flexible pitcher than some of the others. With all those pitchers I just mentioned not making the top-25, this gives me great confidence in the depth of our farm system, because there will undoubtedly be some of you who feel some of them should make it.

Our top prospect jumped up to the top-5 prospects in all the major leagues according to Baseball America. Outfielder Jason Heyward, last year's first-round draft pick (number 14 overall) is having a spectacular season at the low-A Rome Braves club. He is hitting .331 with 8 homeruns and 14 stolen bases in his first full-season in pro baseball.

On the mid-season top-25 prospect list, Heyward is ranked fifth overall behind Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers), David Price (Rays), Matt Wieters (Orioles), and Colby Rasmus (Cardinals). Heyward's ranking represents a significant jump in his prospect status in just half a season. He was ranked 28th on Baseball America's preseason list, and only 8 prospects in front of him have graduated to the majors and lost their prospect status. That represents a raw jump of 15 spots on the prospect list for Heyward.

Mississippi outfielder Jordan Schafer was ranked 25th on the preseason list, but was not present in the top-25 of the midseason list. Pitcher Jair Jurrjens was ranked 29th, but has since lost his prospect status (of course, he did just win the Rookie of the Month award for the month of June). Brandon Jones was ranked 70th on the top-100 preseason list, and Gorkys Hernandez was ranked 92nd.

The article also alludes to three other Braves prospects who are strong contenders for the top-100 should they continue their current rate of success; pitchers Tommy Hanson and Julio Teheran and first baseman Freddie Freeman.

The Braves signed C/1B Jason Phillips as a free agent and added him to their triple-A Richmond roster. Phillips had been playing for the Camden Riversharks, an independent Atlantic League team -- the same team that pitcher Brian Lawrence was playing for this year before the Braves signed him several weeks ago. You may remember Lawrence best for his begoggled facade:

Phillips was hitting .302 with five homeruns and 38 RBI in 42 games this year with the Riversharks. He has 465 games of major league experience with the Mets, Dodgers, and Blue Jays, compiling a .249 career major league batting average in seven seasons. He last played for Toronto last season where he hit just .208.

The 31-year old Phillips was used mainly as a catcher last season, and his presence on the Richmond squad is likely a result of the trade of catcher Sal Fasano last week. Phillips would likely only be called up if there were an injury to a catcher in Atlanta and an injury to Clint Sammons.

The Atlanta Braves announced today that they have signed 18 of their 51 draft picks. Here is the list of players who have signed:

Draftee (Round Drafted), Position -- Current Team
Zeke Spruill, (2S), RHP -- GCL
Craig Kimbrel (3), RHP -- Danville
Braeden Schlehuber (4), C -- GCL
Paul Clemens (7), OF/RHP -- GCL
Brett Oberholtzer (8), LHP -- GCL
Kyle Farrell (9), RHP -- GCL
Richard Sullivan (11), LHP -- Danville
Ross Francis (12), RHP
Travis Adair (13), SS -- GCL
Jason Hanson (14), 3B -- GCL
William Hiller (15), OF -- GCL
Robert Brooks (20), SS -- GCL
Tyler Barnett (21), SS -- GCL
Casey Hodges (23), RHP -- Danville
Shayne Moody (24), SS -- Danville
Calvin Culver (26), OF -- GCL
Chris Sheehan (30), OF -- Danville
Adam Bullard (43), RHP

This represents a good haul for the first announcement of signings. Many of these players are already playing for the Braves in the GCL; as far as I can determine, everyone but Bullard and Francis have made an appearance for one of the two Rookie League teams for the Atlanta organization.

Spruill is a big signing, as many people thought he would be our first-round draft pick before the draft. Kimbrel was one of the first players to sign and is already serving as the closer for the Danville club. The very first player to sign was reportedly Brett Oberholtzer, rated as the best JuCo lefty in Florida.

Farrell is an intriguing player and a pitcher to keep an eye on. Another interesting pick who signed is Richard Sullivan -- he was our SCAD draftee, and the Braves apparently have enough confidence in him to assign him to their advanced Rookie league in Danville.

Many of the other picks who have signed are JuCo or 4-year college players. Jason Hanson is the only high school player other than Spruill who has signed.

One of the more interesting lower picks we have signed is 30th-round selection Chris Sheehan. He was a relatively highly ranked hitter out of Georgia Southern University. He was a junior who hit .428 with 22 homeruns. Another good year in school and he may have been a high draft pick next year -- the Braves may have gotten their first steal late in the draft.

For a recap of every one of our 2008 draft picks, click here.

Mike Hampton is out. John Smoltz is out. Chuck James is unaware there is a strike zone, Jorge Campillo has blister problems, and now Tom Glavine has strained his left elbow. Injuries seem to be the only thing the Braves can do with regularity these days.

With Glavine likely out and Campillo questionable for his start this Saturday, the Braves must turn to another pitcher to fill the starting gap and get some innings. Enter Charlie Morton. Though Morton suffered only his second loss of the season Sunday in 100 degree heat in Virginia, the up-and-coming right-hander seems more than ready for the big leagues.

In 13 games this year, Morton has a 2.05 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP in 79 innings pitched. Perhaps his most impressive stat is in the homerun column, where he hasn't surrendered a single long-ball all season. Before his loss Sunday, Morton had thrown a one-hit gem against Durham his previous start, striking out 13.

Morton is scheduled to start on Saturday for the Richmond Braves, but today's game notes strangely have Saturday's starting pitcher listed as "Charlie Morton/TBA." Perhaps that's a big giveaway into what the Braves may already have had planned for Morton.

In addition to needing a starting pitcher for Campillo and/or Glavine, the Braves may need to replace the seemingly over matched Manny Acosta in the bullpen. Since the end of May, Acosta's ERA has ballooned from 2.54 on May 30th to its current 4.41.

There aren't many options in the minors to replace him with, but if the team decides to activate Mike Gonzalez, then Acosta, and not Stockman, could be the odd man out of the bullpen.

In this year’s draft the Braves selected a lot of players from similar universities or schools. One wonders if that’s a good thing. Is it that the scouts are getting hung up on players from one particular university (perhaps because of the way that team plays) and they don’t really see players as they should see them from other teams? Perhaps it’s the kind of players or player-bargains we are looking for in this draft that are more commonly found at Junior or Community Colleges. Whatever the reason, I guess we have to trust that the Braves draft folks know what they’re doing.

This final rundown of Braves draft picks is a list of players who will probably go mostly unsigned. In each of the last two years only two selections among this group from each draft were signed. That doesn’t mean, however, that there aren’t at least some interesting picks from this final group.

Jason Stotz (31), SS – An unranked high schooler from the same high school in Georgia as our third pick Zeke Spruill.

Pat Lenton (32), RHP – Another unranked JuCo draftee, this time from another one of the Braves favorite new unheard of Colleges, Minnesota State, Mankato. Last year they drafted another Mankato alum in the 12th round, Nick Fellman, who was Danville’s closer last year and made the jump all the way to Myrtle Beach this year. Like Fellman, Lenton is a strikeout pitcher, ending his freshman season with a 13.21 K/9 ratio.

Justin Fowler (33), RHP – Another community college draftee, Fowler is ranked as the 110th best prospect in Texas.

Matthew Price (34), RHP – Another pitcher, this time from an Atlanta-area prep high school.

Zack Osborne (35), RHP – He is the 9th ranked prospect in New Mexico, but that may not be saying much as there were only ten players ranked by Baseball America in New Mexico this year.

Berry Tanner (36), RHP – He also goes by Cecil Tanner, and much like Michael Palazzone, Tanner is a nationally ranked high school prospect from Georgia who was passed over in the earlier rounds of the draft. He was ranked 13th in Georgia and 144th nationally. Tanner is considered extremely raw, and a winless senior season must have scared most teams away. He does have a fastball he can run up in the mid-90s, but his secondary pitches need lots of work. Odds are he’ll fulfill his commitment to UGA and appear on the draft radar again in a few years.

Lucas Hileman (37), OF – An unranked high schooler from Illinois.

Jeffrey Richard (38), RHP – An unranked senior from Coastal Carolina University.

Taylor Wulf (39), RHP – Finally another community college player, I thought we had forgotten our strategy for a moment. He is the 56th ranked prospect in Texas.

Jesse Wierzbicki (40), C – This is one of those picks that likely came from watching one particular team too much. This Newnan, Georgia native is a freshman at Walters State Community College. In case you were counting, he is the fourth player drafted “this year” by the Braves from that college. Disappointingly though, he is the last player from that school drafted by the Braves this year (there’s always next year). Atlanta really fell in love with the talent from that school in this draft. Unlike the other players drafted from Walters this year, Wierzbicki is not ranked in Tennessee and likely to return to school (where I’m sure we’ll draft him next year).

Ian Gilley (41), SS – Ranked as the 10th best prospect in Arkansas, Gilley is a raw and toolsey high schooler who plans to attend a community college in Texas next year (wouldn’t we rather wait to draft him once he becomes a community college player).

Stephen Foster (42), LHP – This community college player is ranked as the seventh best prospect in Washington State. He can have a swing-and-miss fastball at times, but he is still a young and raw pitcher who has been prone to walking too many batters at times. He’s reportedly not that good in the academic arena, which may lead to a desire to sign for what he can in the pros.

Adam Bullard (43), RHP – Still just a junior at a four-year school in North Carolina, this unranked pitcher will likely stay in school.

Taylor Hart (44), RHP – An unranked pitcher in Georgia from Madison County high school.

Nick Croce (45), C – The fourth catcher taken by the Braves in this draft, Croce is an unranked California high schooler.

Matt Harrison (46), SS – Perhaps this was a sentimental pick for the Braves after trading away Matt Harrison, the pitcher, in the Teixeira deal last year. This Matt Harrison is a high school shortstop ranked as the 19th best prospect in Nevada. He would have apparently been ranked higher, but the consensus on him is that he is not yet at the pro level yet, and in need of some time in the college ranks.

David Walters (47), RHP – Perhaps after drafting four players from Walters State Community College we felt the need to draft someone named Walters. He is a junior at Francis Marion and will likely stay for his senior season.

David Holman (48), RHP – An unranked high school prospect from Kansas.

Joshua Adams (49), RHP – Another unranked high schooler, this time from South Carolina.

Dylan Lightell (50), RHP – Our very own Mr. Irrelevant is a… wait for it… community college player (surprise, surprise) from California and unranked.

That’s all the draft stuff for now. I believe we’ve already signed our eighth-round selection, Brett Oberholtzer, out of Florida. I’ll try and keep an eye on anyone else we sign and pass that along. From the comments I’ve read, a lot of our higher picks seem very eager to sign quickly.