I'll admit that headline is a bit mean, as the Delgado in question is Dimasther Delgado, not Randall Delgado. According to Braves broadcaster Jim Power, "[Dimasther] suffered serious injuries in an auto accident in the offseason including a broken femur. Should make full recovery by next year."

Like the higher ranked Randall Delgado, Dimasther is a young Panamanian pitcher who is ranked 12th in the Braves system by Baseball America, and 14th by Talking Chop.

The Braves pitching depth at the lower minor league levels is so deep that it will easily tolerate a loss like this. Still, I hope that Delgado is able to return to pro baseball with the same success he's had the last few years.

I just got the official announcement from the Braves PR staff of the signing of 18-year-old shortstop Edward Salcedo of the Dominican Republic. Here are some quotes from the press release:

"This is a significant signing for us," said Johnny Almaraz, the Braves' Director of International Scouting and Operations. "We feel that Edward is one of this year's most talented prospects. He has outstanding makeup and the combination of his fielding and hitting ability make him one of the top international players we've seen in a while."

Bill Shanks has some addition information on the signing, including the bonus, believed to be $1.6 million -- the highest bonus ever paid out by the Braves to an international player. Shanks adds this about what we can expect from Salcedo in the coming weeks:

It might take a few weeks for Salcedo to get the visa to come to the States. Until then, he will continue to work out at the Braves’ complex in the Dominican.

Once the deal is signed, Salcedo will be in the Braves minor league complex and will compete for a starting job in Rome. It's not out of the question for Salcedo to see action this season in High-A Myrtle Beach.

Tremendous signing for the Braves. In one move they have made up for the lack of a first round draft pick this year and secured a solid prospect for possibly the weakest positions in the organization -- the left side of the infield. Salcedo could be a future replacement for either Chipper Jones or Yunel Escobar.

Where would Salcedo land on the Braves top prospect list. Here is Kevin Goldstein on that subjuct:

Plenty are asking, and the answer is that Salcedo would be somewhere in the 5-7 range on my Braves Top 11 list based on early info.

Keep in mind that there haven't been too many scouting reports on this kid in several years. Most talent evaluators also like to wait to see these guys in the minors before pushing them too far up the list. There is a lot of hype associated with Salcedo, so we'll have to cut through all of that and see how he does on the field before we heap too much praise on him.

It's time to rank the newest Atlanta Braves prospect, newly acquired from the Yankees, Arodys Vizcaino. There are some glowing reports around baseball about this young kid, who most people compare to the Braves' Julio Teheran and Randall Delgado.

In last year's Baseball Prospect Book, John Sickels said Vizcaino "could emerge as one of the best pitching prospects in the game." MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo says that Vizcaino can throw his fastball as hard as 96 mhp to go along with a "hammer curveball." And Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus said this year that Arodys has the highest ceiling of any pitcher in the Yankees system.

Baseball America ranked him third in the Yankees system this year, and Goldstein ranked him second, labeling him a four-star (out of five stars) prospect.

We now know he was the centerpiece of the Javier Vazquez trade from the Braves perspective. So where does he rank among our elite prospects? I'm going to make the assumption that he will not rank ahead of Jason Heyward, and I'm also going to assume that he's in the top-10. Vote in the poll below by the end of the year, and once we have the result we'll add him into our Talking Chop 2010 Community Top-25 Prospects (and kick poor Benino Pruneda out).

If you need a reference of the top-25, look on the left sidebar on the main page, near the top there is a section that lists our top-25 prospects. (That actually remains there year-round for reference sake, FYI.)

A few nuggets of Atlanta Braves news from Our Sports Central today. First, the Braves have signed a minor league shortstop:

Coastal Bend Thunder's Amadeo Zazueta has been signed to a contract with the Atlanta Braves organization.

The transaction between the Thunder and the Braves was announced by Thunder field manager Al Gallagher.

The native Mexican was recently named one of the "Top 10 Talent" in independent league baseball by Baseball America.

Zazueta, 23, from Culiacan, Mexico, was originally signed by the Houston Astros. He played two years in the Venezuelan Summer League and was his team's Most Valuable Player in 2005.

Baseball America ranked him as the eighth-best Independent League player, and said he has a chance to be a major league shortstop (even though he is already 23). He's one of those all-field, light-hit shortstops. This is likely just minor league depth, but it's also insurance against injuries to either Yunel Escobar and/or Diory Hernandez.

Here is a link to Zazueta's stats.

In other OSS news, our old pal Rico Brogna was named manager of the Mobile Bay Bears, the double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Brogna was a minor league field coordinator for the D'Backs last year.

The Atlanta Braves have named Dave Wallace minor league pitching coordinator and Garey Ingram the hitting coach at Class-AA Mississippi. We already knew about the Wallace hiring from a Seattle newspaper, but here is the official announcement:

Atlanta Braves Director of Player Development Kurt Kemp announced today that the Braves have hired two new staff members, as Dave Wallace has agreed to terms to become the Club's Minor League Pitching Coordinator and Garey Ingram has been named the hitting coach at Mississippi (AA). Wallace, who was given a two-year contract through the 2011 season, replaces Kent Willis. Wallace's primary responsibility will be to oversee the progress and development of the Braves' minor league pitchers at all levels.

The rest of the release is after the jump.

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The Atlanta Braves have an ex-Baltimore General Manager in Frank Wren, and now we have an ex-Baltimore Scouting Director in newly promoted Tony DeMacio. DeMacio replaces Roy Clark, who left Atlanta for Washington (which is becoming the new Atlanta). Wren and DeMacio both started with the Orioles in 1999. Of course, Wren was forced to leave after one season, but DeMacio stayed on until 2004. I was looking over some of his drafts in Baltimore and they don't look pretty, including the Orioles 2000 draft in which no one from that class until the 32nd round made it to the majors.

He's also worked in some other poor drafting frachises like the Cubs and the Pirates, but he's also worked in the Clevland scouting department, which generally does a good job of drafting players. 

He comes from the scouting ranks, originally with the Braves, and his biggest claim to fame is that he was credited with signing Tom Glavine in 1984 and Chipper Jones in 1990. He has been affiliated with a Major League baseball organization for the last 26 years, and at the 2008 Winter Meetings he was honored with the Scout of the Year award, which is given to those who have devoted at least a quater century to the scouting profession.

This seems like a decent choice, but more than that it symbolizes the continuing new direction that this franchise is taking. This selection is Frank Wren's selection. Yes, DeMacio has a history with the Braves that dates back to 1983, but there's no denying his connection with Wren in Baltimore. Yes, the Orioles had other problems which prevented them from succeeding, so maybe we shouldn't hold that against Wren, but the success of a draft is used to judge the quality of a scouting director, and DeMacio's years as the Orioles' scouting director are not impressive. One has to hope that will not follow him to Atlanta. The draft is one of the key components that maintain the Atlanta franchise, and an integral part of the organization's success. 

On the heels of catcher Christian Bethancourt being named the top prospect in the Gulf Coast League, one of the top pitching prospects in the Atlanta Braves organization, Julio Teheran, has been named the top rookie in the the Appalachian League. Teheran is only 18 and considered to be talented enough to be a future ace pitcher.

Other Braves prospects that were ranked in the Appy League top-20 were last year's second-round pick pitcher Tyler Stovall at #16, this year's fourth-round pick shortstop Mycal Jones at #17, and last year's eighth-round pick pitcher Brett Oberholtzer at #20. Also considered for these rankings were two of the best break-out performances in the league, first baseman and league MVP Riaan Spanjer-Furstenburg, and lefty Chris Masters, who almost won the league ERA title. It's surprising they were left out, but they were both college pitchers and a bit older for the league.

Danville is usually a hotbed of prospect activity for the Braves, as they play talent that is usually below them, and therefore we often see some anomalous good performances. It is good to see Teheran thought of so highly, especially after the injury struggles of last year. He should spend most of next season in one or both of the A-ball leagues, and with a good performance there, he could be catapulted into being considered our top prospect and one of the top-25 in all of baseball.

Here is a collection of top plays from the Gwinnett Braves, put together by their PR folks: