If any farm system is able to handle losing 13 prospects, it would be Atlanta’s. In fact, they have basically done just that. The Braves still boast one of the best farm systems in baseball despite losing all that talent and the likes of Ronadl Acuna Jr. and AJ Minter graduating from rookie status.
It is always interesting to see how players pan out when the Braves ship them out of town. Now, keep in mind a lot of these guys are still just in Rookie ball, whose season starts later. It is a small sample size, but big enough to get a gauge of how things are looking for these youngsters going forward.
Kevin Maitan
Reports were coming out that the Braves had really soured on Maitan due to his performance and weight gain in 2017. Some deflected this as denial that the Braves were losing a potential generational talent. However, Maitan has been a disappointment yet again in 2018. He is hitting just .239 with a .649 OPS in 32 games in the Angels farm system. It looks like a longshot that he will ever be a Miguel Cabrera-type player like many speculated when he was signed.
Juan Contreras
Contreras is the best of the pitching prospects the Braves lost. Like Maitan, he signed with the Angels, but he is still yet to appear in a game in 2018.
Yefri del Rosario
Yefri del Rosario flashed potential with the Braves, but it has been a different story for him since joining the Royals organization. He has given up 10 home runs in 9 starts and boasts a 5.23 ERA. del Rosario is talented, but this is not the start he envisioned with his new team. It is worth mentioning that he is playing at a higher level than anyone else listed, though.
Abrahan Gutierrez
Gutierrez has gotten off to a hot start with the rival Phillies. He is hitting for minimal power like he did with the Braves but is hitting .309 thus far. The hot bat of William Contreras makes the loss of Gutierrez more manageable for the front office.
Juan Carlos Negret
Negret has been one of the more impressive prospects on this list. Last season, he had 23 swipes in just 50 games. This year he has struggled to hit for average and only has a couple stolen bases, but he has had an abundance of extra base hits. If he ever puts things together, he could be a really solid prospect for the Royals.
Yenci Pena
Pena signed with the Rangers, but unfortunately, injuries have only allowed him to amass 34 at-bats this year.
Yunior Severino
Severino signed with the Twins. He is one of the few guys here who has really produced this season. He has hit .283 in around 100 at-bats in rookie ball this season.
Livan Soto
Yet another Angel. Soto has hit for great average this season after a disappointing debut for the Braves in 2017. The 18-year old is hitting .301 with 7 stolen bases but has virtually no power to speak of. He is showing up Kevin Maitan.
Guillermo Zuniga
Zuniga has only pitched 19 innings this season for the Dodgers. Unfortunately for him, he has given up 13 earned runs in this small sample size. He has not been great since debuting as a pro, but has played sparingly over the past three seasons.
Brandol Mezquita
Mezquita actually resigned with the Braves. However, he has struggled this season in the Dominican Summer League. He just turned 17 years old, so we will see how he fares stateside.
Angel Rojas
Rojas has been great in the Dominican Summer League for the Yankees. He has 8 doubles, 4 triples, 4 homers and 11 steals to go with a .283 batting average in 41 games. He has by far been the best performer out of this group, and he may have been the biggest unknown on this list when the sanctions came out. This one hurts.
Antonio Sucre
Sucre has yet to sign with a team.
Ji-Hwan Bae
Bae was technically never a Brave. He had merely a verbal agreement wit the team. Many believe that the Bae signing was the one that made the MLB raise their eyebrows and look further into what was going on under John Coppolella. The South Korean shortstop is off to a solid start with the Pittsburgh Pirates despite having a little doemstic violence issue in his native country. Stateside, he is hitting .284 through 23 games this season.