This week, MLB Pipeline began rolling out their top 10 prospects by position lists starting with right-handed pitchers. Some fans were understandably irked that the top ten RHP prospects in baseball did NOT include Kyle Wright or Mike Soroka. Wright was the 5th overall pick in the draft, was among the favorites to go first overall in the 2017 draft, and features an arsenal and track record that should allow him to go through the minors quickly. Mike Soroka just turned 20 this past year and all he did was establish himself as one of the best pitchers in Double-A after an aggressive promotion after a stellar 2016 full season debut in Rome. All of that said, the righties are a particularly deep crop of prospects and you could make real arguments for a lot of guys.
Braves fans will not have to worry about getting to see prospects of interest this go around, as there were three members of the Atlanta Braves organization in the top 10 LHP pitching prospects according to MLB Pipeline.
The Braves have three of the top 10 left-handed pitching prospects in baseball according to @MLBPipeline with Luiz Gohara (4), Kolby Allard (7), and Max Fried (10)
— Eric Cole, Braves Minor Leagues Guy (@leprekhan) January 17, 2018
You can see the complete list by clicking on this link right here.
Luiz Gohara (4), Kolby Allard (7), and Max Fried (10) round out the Braves’ contributions to the list. Both Gohara and Fried will likely start the year in some capacity with the big league roster. Gohara is pretty much a lock to stay in the rotation and his peripherals last year has him on a lot of the national media’s radar already. Fried could easily make the rotation out of spring training, but if not he would likely still see significant action out of the bullpen. As a result, it is likely by midseason 2018, both Gohara and Fried will graduate from prospect lists.
Allard, meanwhile, should start the year at Triple-A and could make his major league debut in 2018 if all goes well. The Gwinnett Stripers in Triple-A will be a must-watch team, especially early on in 2018 as it is expected to include Allard, Mike Soroka, and Ronald Acuna.