The minor league season is now over for everyone across baseball, save for the playoffs. Rome was the only team in the Braves organization to qualify for the playoffs in 2018.
That means it’s time for our annual position by position look at how the prospects in the system at a given position fared in 2018. As usual we will begin with catcher and continue through each infield position, the outfield as a whole, lefty and right handed starters, and relievers as a whole in the coming weeks.
To be eligible for a mention a player had to be a prospect at the start of the season, in terms of rookie eligibility. So for example you will see Ronald Acuña Jr. listed with the outfielders because he is a rookie, but Ozzie Albies won’t be listed as he used up his rookie eligibility last year.
Prospects are listed in alphabetical order based on the highest level they achieved in 2018- so a guy who appeared at four levels this year like Bryse Wilson, would be found under the MLB section.
AAA
Alex Jackson- Jackson started the year in Mississippi and to be blunt he was just not good. He was there for 64 games and managed to hit just .200/.282/.329 with five homers and 78 strikeouts in 252 plate appearances. He was given a surprising promotion to Gwinnett and after a fairly hot start there he ended up hitting .204/.296/.426 with three homers and 42 strikeouts in 125 plate appearances. Overall he ended up with 23 doubles, three triples, eight homers with his combined .647 OPS. Jackson’s stock hasn’t fully cratered, but he is in a major need of a rebound season in 2019.
Sal Giardina- The man with the moustache struggled in his 25 games with Mississippi, but had 23 strong games with Gwinnett. That was an overall .234/.315/.289 line with a homer in 148 total combined plate appearances.
Jonathan Morales- Morales had his season interrupted by injury and only managed 70 games on the year. Of those 70 games, 16 were with Gwinnett, and he didn’t really produce much there in a small sample size. The good news is he was solid in Mississippi, playing 46 games and hitting .268/.325/.352 with a homer. Morales has seen his stock drop a bit from his peak, but he has a chance to be a backup or third catcher.
Kade Scivicque- Scivicque played one game, going one for four with a double, before a surprising release. He rejoined the Tigers organization that he came from and posted a total .683 OPS. Scivicque still has a chance to fulfill his potential as a big league backup catcher.
AA
Brett Cumberland- Cumberland had a solid but not special season for Florida, hitting .236/.367/.407 with 11 homers, before a promotion to Mississippi. He played in just five games there before the trade deadline saw him sent to Baltimore in the Kevin Gausman deal. Cumberland didn’t do very well in his 15 games with the Orioles Double A team, but the trade to the AL is probably what’s best for his future as a backup catcher and designated hitter. Cumberland has shown good on base skills to date, but the promised power hasn’t been as advertised yet.
Carlos Martinez- Martinez started the year in Rome and hit .270/.316/.324 in 21 games before making a jump over Florida to Mississippi. He got in 45 games in Double A and hit .248/.307/.321 there. Martinez season sums up who he is- not a primary guy, but a guy who can fill in the blanks where the organization needs him. He may not excel with the bat, but he also didn’t hurt his teams despite his lack of power.
High A
William Contreras- Contreras began the season in extended spring training before starting with Rome in late April. Once he got to Rome he didn’t stop producing, hitting .293/.360/.463 with 17 doubles, a triple, and 11 homers in 82 games. He earned a promotion to Florida and appeared in 23 games as he hit .253/.300/.337 with seven doubles. His strike zone discipline was solid as well, walking a total of 35 times against 89 strikeouts in his 432 plate appearances. He threw out 30% of runners in Rome, but he was abused by runners in Florida, throwing out just 24% of the 34 attempted steals in just 20 games behind the plate. It’s clear that Contreras tired out at the end of the year, as he played his first full professional season- his 105 games was more than double his previous career high of 49. Overall Contreras did nothing to take away from his exciting profile as a top all around catcher capable of helping with the bat or glove.
Lucas Herbert- Herbert spent all year with Florida and was the backup for both Cumberland and Contreras. Overall he played 67 games and hit .202/.255/.311 with 10 doubles and five homers on the year. Defensively he was solid as usual, and threw out what rounds out to an even 40% of the 73 runners who tried to test his arm. Herbert has the glove for the big leagues, but his production with the bat will need to improve to even be a backup catcher.
Alan Crowley- Crowley played 22 games on the year, and just four with Florida after spending much of his time with Rome. Overall he hit just .159/.234/.261 on the season.
Low A
Drew Lugbauer- Lugbauer made some noise in the system after his pro debut last year, but wasn’t quite able to keep that momentum going this season. He played all 114 games of his season in Rome, hitting .232/.317/.374 with 22 doubles, 12 homers, and 43 walks to 153 strikeouts in 461 plate appearances. He started the season especially slow, posting just a .594 OPS for April, but over his last 96 games he managed a .709 OPS. Lugbauer split his time between catching and the DH, but in his 65 games behind the dish he threw out 33% of base runners trying to steal. Lugbauer’s stock is down a bit from last year, but if he can make some improvements with the hit tool over the winter he still can become a powerful bench bat for the future.
Hagen Owenby- Owenby didn’t start playing until Danville got under way, and after going one for four in that first game he was quickly promoted. Owenby spent the next 45 games in Rome and ended up hitting .281/.324/.338 with six doubles and a homer playing mostly just first base.
Short Season
Rusber Estrada- The Braves 24th round pick out of a JUCO, Estrada played in 25 games with Danville and hit .241/.362/.291 with four doubles. He only caught 11 of those games because Danville was loaded with catchers, but he did throw out six of the 14 guys who tried to steal against him, almost 50%. Estrada was a guy I liked at the draft and based on this season, he showed some promise with the bat and glove. If the power takes a step forward, he could be a real sleeper.
Ricardo Rodriguez- It feels like he’s been around forever but this is just his age 20 season and third with the Braves. The former big bonus international signee for the Padres continued to flash potential, but still hasn’t put it all together quite year. In 36 games he hit .228/.308/.331 with six doubles, a triple, and a pair of homers. Rodriguez also threw out 30% of opposing base runners trying to steal.
Ray Soderman- The Braves 22nd round pick showed very little with the bat at Oregon, but the team liked his intangibles enough to draft him higher than Estrada. Soderman played in 26 games and hit .183/.287/.195 with one double- numbers in line with his college production. He also struggled in throwing out base stealers, catching just two out of the 11 who tried against him.
Zack Soria- Soria played 27 games and managed to hit just .188/.283/.247 with a pair of doubles and a homer.
Rookie
Logan Brown- The son of former big league catcher Kevin Brown was a 35th round pick this year. Brown was a nice surprise in the GCL, hitting .272/.346/.395 with five doubles and three homers in 37 games. He also threw out 35% of opposing base runners. Brown is another sleeper in the system, though his upside may be a bit lower than Estrada’s.
Wiston Cerrato- Cerrato made the jump from the DSL and played in 21 games, hitting .159/.245/.182.
Brandon Chapman- Chapman played in 19 games and hit .250/.413/.278 with a double in his pro debut. The undrafted free agent from George Washington was a bit older for the league at 22 years old.
Victor De Hoyos- A 20 year old who spent the previous two seasons in the DSL, De Hoyos had a real breakout with the bat this year in 29 games. De Hoyos hit .293/.353/.457 with three doubles and four homers on the season. If there was one concerning stat it was the fact he only drew four walks in 102 plate appearances. Defensively he threw out 29% of runners trying to steal.
DSL
Enmanuel Guitian- Guitian is a 19 year old in his third straight DSL campaign and hit .205/.361/.244 in 44 games on the season.
Sergio Ordonez- A 19 year old repeating the DSL, Ordonez hit .211/.268/.325 in 26 games with eight doubles. Ordonez also threw out 38% of opposing base stealers.
Kelvin Pena- The 17 year old Dominican appeared in 16 games in his first pro action, hitting .196/.211/.232 with a pair of doubles.