In 2014 the Braves underwent a massive overhaul that saw them trade away multiple household names, which included Jason Heyward, Craig Kimbrel, Justin Upton, and Evan Gattis. Those moves created audible discord among the Braves faithful, despite the ever-growing sentiment that change needed to come in some form. The organization had talented players at the Major League level, but the farm system ranked among the worst in baseball, and the front office moved forward with a full-scale rebuild that essentially gutted the Atlanta Braves.
If you are here, you probably follow the Braves to some extent, which means you remember how awful the club was from 2015-2017. If that is the case, you probably also remember that the Braves front office made concerted efforts, even divulging their intentions publicly, to rebuild their organization from the ground up through pitching. That plan may have led them to more aggressively pursue pitchers, but it certainly did not prohibit them from stockpiling what has become an impressive collection of elite-level position players.
In perusing the Braves’ Top 30 Prospects list, as ranked by MLB Pipeline, you will find four position players ranked among the top-10 for Atlanta. Ranked fourth among Braves prospects is outfielder Cristian Pache, followed by third baseman Austin Riley fifth, outfielder Drew Waters eighth, and catcher William Contreras ninth. That quartet represents an enviable contingent of talent, and could allow the Braves to field a largely homegrown major league team in the very near future.
In October 2014, the Braves appointed John Hart to oversee the earliest portion of their rebuild following the dismissal of his predecessor, Frank Wren, but did so with the comfort that one area of the organization would remain largely intact: amateur scouting. Brian Bridges, a long-time member of the Atlanta scouting department, was promoted to scouting director. Bridges was tasked with rebuilding a barren farm system, but not without aid from the aforementioned trades that exchanged Heyward, Kimbrel, Upton, and Gattis for prospects. The targets in those transactions affirmed the organizational philosophy of building with pitching, as Shelby Miller, Tyrell Jenkins, Max Fried, Matt Wisler, and Mike Foltynewicz were imported as key pieces in each deal.
The organization was also aggressive in pursuing pitchers with its early draft picks, using first-round picks on Kolby Allard and Mike Soroka in 2015, Ian Anderson and Joey Wentz in 2016, and Kyle Wright in 2017. Meanwhile, the front office made high-upside picks on position players, both through the draft and international free agency.
In 2015, the Braves selected Austin Riley with the 41st overall pick despite industry concerns over his mobility, bat speed, and his designation as either a pitcher or corner infielder. Since then, Riley has conquered every level of the minor leagues, improving his defense tremendously while showcasing his elite power. Riley currently owns a .300/.379/.633 slash line in Triple-A with 10 home runs, 29 RBI, and a 28/14 K/BB ratio. Those numbers, along with his improved defense, make Riley one of the best hitting prospects in baseball.
The month following the 2015 draft, the Braves made several international signings during the July signing period. Among those players signed by Atlanta was a wiry outfielder from the Dominican Republic named Cristian Pache. He was lauded for his incredible defense and speed at the time of his signing, but scouts wondered if Pache would ever produce enough offensively given his aggressive approach and limited power. The Braves believed enough to give Pache a $1.5 million signing bonus. As a 20-year-old, Pache currently sports a .321/.370/.550 line in Double-A with three home runs and 19 RBI. He has drawn rave reviews this season for his improved approach, burgeoning power, and consistently brilliant defense.
That same year, actually in February, the Braves signed catcher William Contreras out of Venezuela. His pedigree was appealing, with his brother already a top prospect in the Cubs organization, but William signed for a mere $10,000 signing bonus. That small investment has thus far paid huge dividends for the Braves, as the now 21-year-old has blossomed into a solid catcher on both sides of the ball, impressing scouts with his athleticism and feel for hitting. At High-A Florida, Contreras is batting .301/.368/.398 currently. The power numbers may be uninspiring thus far, but Contreras has shown power, and did so in major league Spring Training this season.
In 2017, the Braves took outfielder Drew Waters 41st overall after the Georgia native somewhat surprisingly fell to them in the second round. Waters profiled as a potential five-tool player, and thus far he has delivered on that promise, impressing at each level while being aggressively promoted from Low-A Rome to his current post in Double-A Mississippi over the past year, despite being just 20 years old. Age has hardly been a deterrent for Waters, as he is batting .339/.375/.529 with three home runs thus far in 2019.
Those four prospects do not paint the full picture with regards to the Braves and their position player talent throughout the organization. Each level of the minor league system features intriguing players, but these four are elite talents that are close to the majors, and were all acquired during a time period in which the Braves scouting department was primarily focused on pitching.
The measures taken by the Braves front office to fortify a struggling farm system led to a period of aggressive pursuits, with a trade for Sean Newcomb among them. That deal sent Gold Glove shortstop Andrelton Simmons to the Los Angeles Angels, bringing back two hard-throwing prospects in Newcomb and Chris Ellis. The results have been inconsistent for Newcomb as a Brave, while Ellis was moved two years ago for Jaime Garcia. That deal highlighted an organizational commitment to pitching prospects, given that Simmons was under contract, was producing at a high level, and was still young in his own right. That deal has been judged harshly in the aftermath, and without major growth from Newcomb will stand out as a major miss on the part of the front office.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Braves made two significant moves in the midst of their rebuild to bring in what they considered to be high-level position players in Dansby Swanson and Hector Olivera. Swanson was acquired along with Ender Inciarte and Aaron Blair for Shelby Miller and Gabe Speier. That deal was widely regarded as a heist in the Braves favor, and has largely been true to that assessment in the aftermath. Miller was a injured and ineffective in Arizona, while Dansby Swanson and Ender Inciarte have made significant major league contributions, especially defensively, for Atlanta.
The Olivera deal is more complicated for myriad reasons, but can be summarized as a major miss for the Braves. The front office had reportedly fallen deeply in love with the Cuban slugger prior to his signing with the Dodgers, and acted irrationally in trading Alex Wood, Jose Peraza, and Jim Johnson for Olivera, Zach Bird, Paco Rodriguez, and the 35th pick in 2016. Olivera was overmatched in the major leagues, but much more egregious was the domestic violence arrest in Washington D.C. that involved the assault of a woman in his hotel room. Losing Wood for Olivera was a questionable decision at the time, and looked even worse as time passed.
In the midst of those two monumental trades, the Braves acquired what they considered major position player prospects, but held true to their stated goals. Aaron Blair was a top pitching prospect at the time of his trade to Atlanta with Swanson, and the organization later used the 35th pick in the 2016 draft to take prep left-hander Joey Wentz. The process remained, regardless of the lumps taken in attempts to fortify other areas of need.
Fast-forward to the present, and Atlanta has proven that their bountiful crop of pitching can produce solid major leaguers, but also that pitchers are just as volatile as ever. Soroka, Fried, Anderson, Wentz, and Newcomb each appear to be safe bets as major league contributors, though their arcs vary greatly. The misses, which include Wisler, Ellis, Blair, and Bird, are proof that volatility with pitching prospects necessitates a high volume of candidates.
The trades that targeted position players brought mixed results, but prospects are questionable in nature, regardless of position. The farm system is still among the best in baseball despite major misses in trades, prospects flaming out, and promotions at the major league level. Soroka, Fried, Anderson, Wentz, Newcomb, Swanson, and Inciarte were key acquisitions in the Braves’ ascent back to contention, and are now building blocks for whatever comes next.
To produce four talents of the magnitude of Riley, Pache, Contreras, and Waters while primarily pursuing pitching in trade and with early draft picks is an impressive feat, and is a testament to the aptitude of departed scouting director Brian Bridges and his staff. The Braves may still carry the label of building through pitching, and that may have been their intent, but purposefully or not this organization has stockpiled multiple high-level position players in recent years.
With their proximity to the majors, these four players could become major league contributors soon, adding to the string of recent promotions who have made impacts in Atlanta. One thing is certain: the Braves are extremely talented throughout the organization, regardless of philosophy. This has been a fun ride, and thanks to incredible work by the Braves and their scouts, it may be just the beginning.
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