Fantasy Baseball 2014: Atlanta Braves Prospects to Watch

We continue our trip north from Tampa Bay, Florida, and cross the border that separates them and Georgia as we continue our Major League Baseball Prospects Overview. Also, this stop is right on cue with our Atlanta Braves 2014 Preview.

Be sure to check out our Florida big league prospects, beginning with the Tampa Bay Rays and then the Miami Marlins. Don’t forget about the west coast baseball teams, starting out with the Colorado Rockies.

The Braves farm system took a hit in the past year. On the bright side, Atlanta was able to use their top prospects to bolster the big league roster last season. They finally found a spot in the rotation for young pitcher Julio Teheran. They used Zeke Spruill to acquire Justin Upton last offseason. Catcher and outfielder Evan Gattis became the feel-good-story of last year. And the Braves were able to use the services of Alex Wood to help replace an injured Tim Hudson. 

To check out our recap of pitcher Zeke Spruill, check out our overview of the Arizona Diamondbacks prospects’ report.

However, that left the Braves pretty thin down at the farm with a lot of their top prospects still years away from knocking at the MLB door. But as they have done in the last 20 years or so, the Braves don’t rebuild, they reload as they attempt to slowly but surely build up their farm system while keeping their big league roster competitive.

J.R. Graham–SP–2013

2013 Outlook: Lacks strikeouts and size, but fastball can reach high 90s. Can induce groundballs.

Player	Class	IP	W	L	ERA	WHIP	K/9	BB/9	H/9	HR/9
J.R. Graham	AA	35.7	1	3	4.04	1.37	7.1	2.5	9.8	0.0

After making strides in his 2012 campaign, shoulder woes in 2013 sidelined Graham and explains the unimpressive numbers he posted in 35 innings of work. Nevertheless, he was still awarded the organization’s Best Control by Baseball America. It’s very likely he will be one of the first players that the Braves will call up in 2014, but it’s hard to tell what the future is for Graham. On the one hand, his fastball makes him an ideal candidate for a bullpen role in the majors, but it’s hard to ignore his great control and the implications that might have as starter. The Braves are well-stocked in the rotation so odds are Graham’s fast track to the big league club is through the bullpen, but is certainly worth considering if given a spot in the rotation and shows no ill-effects from his shoulder injury from last year.

Sean Gilmartin–SP–2013

2013 Outlook: Pitches to contact; limited ceiling; good, middle rotation pitcher; four solid pitches

Player	Class	IP	W	L	ERA	WHIP	K/9	BB/9	H/9	HR/9
Sean Gilmartin	AAA	91.0	3	8	5.74	1.59	6.4	3.3	11.1	1.2

As explained, the Braves’ system took a hit in their attempts to bolster their big league roster. That would explain why a pitcher like Gilmartin was a top five prospect coming into the 2013 season (ranked fourth). Just like Graham, Gilmartin succumbed to shoulder woes last season, making a total of 17 starts in 2013. He still was awarded the Best Changeup in the Braves’ organization, but at this point of his career, it’s okay if fantasy owners decide to drop Gilmartin a couple of notches–or ten–down their prospects’ list.

Jose Peraza–SS–2016

2013 Outlook: Incredibly fast; good contact, rarely strikes out; lacks power; potential leadoff man

Player	Class	PA	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG
Jose Peraza	LoA	504	1	47	64	34	64	0.288	0.341	0.371

Peraza will only be turning 20 years old during the early portion of the 2014 campaign, but based on his abbreviated scouting report, he has lived up to expectations. It’s not often you see a guy strike out  as many times as he steals bases (64).  Juan Pierre finished the 2013 season with 27 strikeouts while stealing 23 bases. No other player that stole 20 plus bases came close to matching or exceeding their strikeout totals. Peraza is an ideal player for his position and looking like a top-of-the-order hitter, but still has a long way to go before he makes the big league team. Regardless, his career is off to a good start.

SIMS’ CITY

Lucas Sims–SP–2016: Drafted in the first round of the 2012 draft out of a high school in Georgia (someone get me a screenwriter), Sims had an impressive year in Low-A, as the managers and coaches of the South Atlantic League deemed him to have the Best Breaking Pitch in the league. The kudos didn’t stop there as Baseball America not only deemed him to have the Best Curveball in the organization, but also the Top Prospect spot in the system. Balancing his curve is a low-90s fastball and intangibles that have many scouts thinking of him as a top-of-the-rotation starter. The Braves will most definitely take it very slow with Sims, but for fantasy owners looking for a future starter in the long-term are advised to take a chance on Sims.

COMING SOON IN 2014?

The rest of the Braves’ top ten prospects are full of enigmatic players: seemingly one-tool players and unspectacular pitchers. But because they were projected to come up for the 2014 season, here’s a quick rundown:

•  Christian Bethancourt-Catcher: With Brian McCann gone, Bethancourt is a step closer to finally finding a permanent spot on the Braves’ roster. He is a very raw, free-swinging hitter, but his defense will be his one-way ticket to the Majors. He has a cannon for an arm and gets credit for moving well behind the plate, though there are still flaws in his game that the team would like to see improvement before they have him take over catching duties in the big leagues.
• Cody Martin-Pitcher: Most likely will be summoned to bolster the bullpen, but gets high marks for his control, which makes up for the lack of dynamic stuff. He did post great strikeout totals in two minor league classes last season, but his walks were high as well (Total Walks/9 of 3.8), as the capability to streamline his control to the majors should be questioned.
• Todd Cunningham-Centerfield: Gets high praise for having speed and defense and not much else. He did a great job limiting his strikeouts in Triple-A, but he still rates as an average hitter. If he is penciled in the starting lineup for a substantial amount of time for Atlanta, he could prove to be a good source for cheap steals, but not much else.
• Aaron Northcraft–Pitcher: The big right-handed pitcher (6-4, 230 lbs.) would appear to possess everything needed to be a good starting pitcher at the next level: size, intangibles, the statistical metrics. Unfortunately, he lacks the stuff to be a frontline starter in the majors.

Not a very good list out of Atlanta. But the Braves have a history of bringing up ready-made Major Leaguers, regardless of pedigree. They somehow find ways to maximize the best out of their farm players once called up to the Majors. It should be interesting to see how these players will react if they ever get the promotion to Atlanta (especially Bethancourt and his defense), but owners will not be penalized if they decide to ignore the Braves’ farm system this season.

Stats and scouting reports courtesy of Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, and MLB.com.