The Braves don’t have the deepest farm system, and it’s been that way for a few years now, but it hasn’t stopped them from producing elite talents year after year. The hit rate Alex Anthopoulos has had in the draft has been outstanding in recent years. Not only are guys reaching the majors and having success, but they are doing so quickly.
Spencer Strider, Michael Harris II, and Bryce Elder are the most recent. AJ Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep aren’t too far behind, but it might not be long before we start talking about Owen Murphy as the next man up.
A 2022 first round draft pick, Murphy has been by far the most impressive prospect on the farm through the first month of the season. He owns a 1.13 ERA through four starts in High-A Rome with 37 strikeouts over 24 innings. Opponents are hitting just .110 off of him, and some of these game lines are flat out insane.
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Game 1: 6.2 innings, 0 earned runs, 2 hits, 8 strikeouts
Game 2: 5.1 innings, 1 earned run, 4 hits, 8 strikeouts
Game 3: 5.0 innings, 2 earned runs, 2 hits, 11 strikeouts
Game 4: 7.0 innings, 0 earned runs, 1 hit, 10 strikeouts
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Murphy is coming off one of the more impressive starts you’ll see at any level, tossing seven innings of scoreless ball while allowing just one hit and no walks with 10 punchouts. The stuff isn’t overpowering, featuring a fastball that tops out at 93, but the results speak for themselves. He’s dominating the High-A level at just 20-years-old and a move to AA could be in the cards very soon. That’s where things really begin to pick up, so we should get a good idea of just how good he can be and when we can reasonably expect him to make his MLB debut by the end of the season.
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Photographer: Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire
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