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Atlanta Braves Top 20 Prospects

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By John Sickels
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Atlanta Braves Top 20 Prospects

  1. Andy Marte, 3B, A
  2. Kyle Davies, RHP, B+
  3. Jacob Stevens, LHP, B+
  4. Jeff Francoeur, OF, B+
  5. Brian McCann, C, B+
  6. Chuck James, LHP, B-
  7. Anthony Lerew, RHP, B-
  8. Ryan Langerhans, OF, B-
  9. Kelly Johnson, OF, C+
  10. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C, C+
  11. Chris Vines, RHP, C+
  12. Luis Atilano, RHP, C+
  13. Macay McBride, LHP, C+
  14. Brayan Pena, C, C+
  15. Kevin Barry, RHP, C+
  16. Wilson Betemit, 3B, C+
  17. J.C. Holt, 2B, C+
  18. Martin Prado, 2B, C+
  19. Blaine Boyer, RHP, C
  20. Bill McCarthy, OF, C
This list would look a lot better if Dan Meyer and Jose Capellan were still around. As it is, I think the Braves farm system is still quite deep. Some of these grades may be controversial. I rate Jeff Francouer as number four, while many people (notably Baseball America) rate him as number one. I love his athleticism and tools, and he's made substantial progress turning his tools into skills, but he still has a ways to go on the plate discipline front. I really can't see how he rates behind Marte. Marte is only three months older and has already shown he can handle Double-A.

Of the other top hitters, I think McCann is significantly underrated by many. Kelly Johnson is also a candidate for a Langerhans-style improvement this year. Wilson Betemit. . .who knows?

As usual, the Braves have many lives arms around. Davies is a stud, while lefties Stevens and James both deserve more attention than they have received thus far. Both Vines and Atilano are well-positioned to take major steps forward this year.

Two shortstops not on the list deserve mention. Tony Pena Jr. and Luis Hernandez both get props as strong defensive players, but at this point I don't think either of them are very impressive on offense. Hernandez is the younger of the two at age 21 and has the better chance to develop, but until his bat comes around I see him as a Grade C guy. Beware of overhype.

There are a lot of extremely well-informed and highly-intelligent Braves fans out there. Feel free to point out problems with the list.

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