We are roughly one-quarter of the way through the MLB season, about three-quarters of the way through Eric’s patience for my typos, and about .00002% of the way through my hype for Ronald Acuna. While this short season has been just a snapshot of what will be to come for these players, we now have a large enough sample size to start looking for trends. <sarcasm> We also have a large enough sample size to definitively decide who the best prospects in the system are, </sarcasm> and they will be named in Talking Chop’s Quarterly Minor League All Star list.
Pitchers
Starters
Kolby Allard
Once upon a time, a very minor injury slid Kolby Allard all the way to the middle of the first round where the Braves made one of the best pickups of the draft by any team. Allard was beyond dominant in Danville and Rome last season, and while he hasn’t showed quite the same level of complete destruction this season, he still has a 1.23 ERA. That is the best in the system by a fairly substantial margin. He can command all of his pitches, has been able to blow away hitters with his best and fight through with his worst, and continues to go out and put up stellar starts every game. He’s also 19, in case you didn’t know.
Bryse Wilson
Bryse (Eric Cole didn’t think this guy could be a starter) Wilson came into 2017 as just the 3rd most-hyped pitcher on that stellar Rome rotation, but from day one has proven the be the most consistent of the group. His fastball-breaking ball combo has been a deadly as any in the system early, and he’s not only striking out more than a quarter of his batters faced but also has 57% GB rate. Despite support by a young and mistake-prone infield (we love them, but 33 errors is a lot), Wilson has been able to post a 2.23 ERA this season. As an over slot signing, he has a lot to prove that he was worth the money, but so far has been a nice pick for the Braves.
Luiz Gohara
Every report on Luiz Gohara this season has raved on him. His command is better, his changeup is better, and that mid-to-upper 90’s fastball and stomach-knotting slider is still there. Another member of the sub-2 ERA club, Gohara was dominant enough to be the only pitcher on this list to earn a call up, moving to AA Mississippi. A 6.8% walk rate, 26.7% K rate, and 57.7% ground ball rate speaks for itself, and he has shown more of his potential this season than any other pitcher. Still just 20 years old, the move to AA is a quick one, but with this now being his 4th year pitching at some level of A ball it clearly one the Braves think he is ready for.
Lucas Sims
We drew a lot a flack for naming Sims out number 5 prospect (twice), drew even more flack for dropping him tremendously following the breakdown in his mechanics last season, and now sit scratching out heads wondering just who Lucas Sims is. He has been at times dominant this season, with a 2.19 ERA and a more than a strikeout per inning pitched, but more amazingly dropped his walk rate from 15% last season to just under 6% this season. While his K/9 is a good bit lower than last season, he is actually striking out a higher percentage of his batters because he has just faced fewer. It’s clear that if a starter is needed for more than a couple of starts, Lucas will be the guy the Braves turn to from the AAA rotation.
Tyler Pike
I wasn’t actually aware that Tyler Pike was a baseball player and not, like, a youtuber or something until I googled his name 5 minutes ago, but man has he played well this season. At last check, his 51 K’s are second in the Florida State League and he has dropped his ERA to 1.99. Pike struggled a bit in his first two starts but in the 6 since has averaged more than 6 IP per start, struck out 41 batters in 36.2 IP, and posted a 0.98 ERA. He has been another high ground ball guy for the Fire Frogs, with a 53% ground ball rate, and has been stellar against lefties with a .159 BAA.
Relievers
Matt Custred
Custred rolled to a strong finish to 2016, and has continued that into the 2017 season with a dominant start. His 0.84 ERA is among the best from a reliever in the system, and he has 14 Ks in 10.2 IP while cutting back on his walks from last season. He has been unhittable for right handed batters in the early going as they’ve managed just a .120/.154/.160 line against him.
Chase Johnson-Mullins
Johnson-Mullins has been the ultimate ground ball machine out of the bullpen this season, forcing them on 62.5% of his balls in play, and has been able to hold onto a 2.04 ERA. He has struggled a bit more than usual with walks, but is striking out batters at the highest rate of his career with more than 1 per inning pitched.
Akeel Morris
Most players who see a level a third time around aren’t really still considered prospects, but Akeel Morris and his unique set of pitches doesn’t fit many trends. All that has held Morris back were his control problems, and in his first 12 innings of the season he only walked 2 batters with 13 strikeouts. He’s had a few rough games in a row to skew his early numbers, but the work he’s done has been as impressive as any reliever in the system.
Catcher
Alex Jackson
Not only has Alex Jackson been the best power hitter in the system over the first 25% of the season, he’s also been one of the best in the minor leagues and comes in tied for 4th with 10 home runs. While he’s had a bit of a prominent strikeout problem, when he puts the ball on the bat it tends to go a long way as he also has 12 doubles to go along with those home runs. Jackson also has knocked in 30 runs on the season and leads the Florida State League in RBIs and HRs while coming in second for slugging percentage.
First Base
Carlos Castro
Castro (one of the 8 Fire Frogs on this list) has been torching the Florida State League at the plate with his team-leading .345 batting average. His .910 OPS ranks second on the team and he’s added 6 home runs and 27 RBIs. His best game (and the best in the system this season) came on May 10, when he went 5-5 with 3 HR, drove in 8 runs, and had 14 total bases in the game. He has three 4-RBI+ games this season. Unfortunately, Castro has hit in the face by a ball on May 11th and hasn’t played since (and likely won’t for awhile).
Second Base
Travis Demeritte
For the first time in a long time the best second baseman in the system over a long period of time was not Ozzie Albies, and to the surprise of a few it was clearly Demeritte who has looked the part of the future at second base so far. Demeritte has drastically cut his strikeout rate this season (33% in 2016 to 23.4% in 2017) and his numbers have taken a nice step forward as well with an .828 OPS. His power numbers are a bit down from before (the Trustmark Effect) but he still is producing extra base hits with 11 doubles and 5 home runs. Travis Demeritte was easily the bright spot on a dim Mississippi Braves lineup and has made strides few (myself included) truly believed he could make with his strikeouts.
Third Base
Austin Riley
The “Austin Riley is a slow starter” idea has been firmly kicked in the head, as he has 7 home runs through his first 37 games after taking 85 games to do so last season. His 28 RBIs are second in the Florida State League behind only teammate Alex Jackson, and he has also managed to cut his strikeout rate down a bit this season as well. His defense at third base has improved dramatically according to reports, and the numbers show it as well as his fielding percentage has jumped from .910 to .968. Every offensive number except for his power production has taken a step forward, and it only seems a matter of time before he starts churning out high amounts of doubles once again.
Shortstop
Luis Valenzuela
If all goes well for the Braves, Luis Valenzuela will be the last non-Maitan all star at the shortstop position for at least the next 2 and half years. Valenzuela has hit in front of Travis Demeritte for most of this season, and has seen some good play with a .276 batting average and 8 doubles in 32 games. As his usual, Valenzuela does not strike out a lot and plays solid defense up the middle, making him a valuable utility type for the future.
Outfield
Ronald Acuna
Ronald Acuna got off to an unexpectedly slow start to this season, and through the first 2 weeks of the season was hitting just .209. He then rattled off a 10 game hitting streak and has been torching baseballs ever since. Acuna has already exceeded his home run, double, triple, hits, RBI, and stolen base totals from 2016 in six fewer games, and his .336/.391/.555 line is the best in the system. His 21 stolen bases are tied for the second most in the minor leagues, and he is on pace for 20 HR and 80 SB this season. While his strikeout rate has gone up, he’s also hitting more of his batted balls for line drives and fly balls and it has paid huge dividends in his numbers in the early going.
Xavier Avery
Avery has been a surprising but consistent force for Gwinnett out of the nine spot this season, with an .814 OPS and 23 runs scored. Avery is the only player on this list with any major league experience, and he has taken that into a very good AAA outfield featuring him, Lane Adams, and Mel Rojas Jr. For much of the season Avery was the team and International League batting average leader, though he has fallen some of late, and he has contributed 7 of Gwinnett’s league-leading 38 stolen bases.
Randy Ventura
As his stolen base numbers climb, the legend of Randy Ventura continues to grow. After a lackluster stateside debut (simply used to lull unsuspecting pitchers into a sense of security) Ventura has been electric this season with a .331 batting average and 13 stolen bases. Ventura has been a part of a stellar defensive outfield and has thrown 4 batters out on the bases from the outfield this season and has been moved all around in the lineup batting in 6 of the 9 positions. Along with those 13 stolen bases Ventura only has 1 caught stealing this season.
Just Missed the Cut
Devan Watts
Drew Harrington
Sean Newcomb
Mike Soroka
Ricardo Sanchez
Juan Yepez
Cristian Pache
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