SportsTalkATL’s Braves Top Prospect List (9/1)

1. Hector Olivera
2. Kolby Allard
3. Touki Touissaint
4. Ozhaino Albies
5. Manny Banuelos
6. Mallex Smith
7. Max Fried
8. Tyrell Jenkins
9. Lucas Sims
10. Austin Riley
11. Mike Soroka
12. Rio Ruiz
13. Braxton Davidson
14. Dustin Peterson
15. Derian Cruz
16. Rob Whalen
17. John Gant
18. Ricardo Sanchez
19. Juan Yepez
20. Lucas Herbert
21. Daniel Winkler
22. Christian Pache
23. Andrew Thurman
24. Caleb Beech
25. Zach Bird
26. Steve Janas
27. AJ Minter
28. Daniel Castro
29. Wes Parsons
30. Isranel Wilson

Trending Up:

The sample size is small, but Kolby Allard‘s first 6 innings in the Braves organization were nothing short of sensational. 12 strikeouts, no walks, just a lone hit. I’m building up the hype for the left-hander. I think he can easily be an ace in this league, and was already a huge value pick at 14th overall. Allard moves up to number 2. Mallex Smith moves up to 6th overall on the list as he has finally adjusted to AAA level ball… to say the least. Smith was voted the International League Player of the Month for August, as he hit .336 with 13 steals. He has made a case as a top 5 player in the farm system in his first season with the organization, and looks to be Michael Bourn 2.0 (in his prime). Austin Riley moves up to 10th overall, as he is simply killing it in Rookie ball. Overall, Riley is hitting .305 with 12 homers and 40 RBI in 213 at bats. He has the power our farm system lacks, and he is building up a lot of hype as our next big power bat. Mike Soroka is another draft pick who has shined early in his professional career, and he moves up a few spots due to his performance in Rookie ball. Rio Ruiz has finally showed life here late in the season and is on a tear. He is hitting .350 over his past 10 games and has looked like the guy we were supposed to be getting when we dealt El Oso Blanco to Houston. He is in the midst of rebuilding his value, and he moves up to 12th on this edition of our prospect list. John Gant has been nothing short of sensational since being traded to the Braves organization. In 6 starts since being acquired, he is 4-0 with a 1.54 ERA. That’s 6 earned runs in 35 innings pitched. He looks like he could be a steal, and he moves up to 17th on our list. Juan Yepez was the Braves’ biggest international signing back in 2014, and the 17-year old has had a nice season in Rookie ball. He is hitting .289 with 4 homers and 31 RBI in 197 at bats. AJ Minter, Daniel Castro, Wes Parsons and Isranel Wilson are all new additions to the list.

Trending Down:

Matt Wisler and Arodys Vizcaino have exceeded their rookie limits and can no longer receive consideration for the list. Andrew Thurman moves down a few spots as he has been rather pedestrian at AA Mississippi. Steve Janas is coming off a nice outing, but has not been the same player he was with the Mudcats. That level of play is near impossible to emulate when hitting higher levels of the minors, but his stock takes a hit after being rather mediocre for AA Mississippi. Alec Grosser and Jason Hursh get the boot from the list, and I bet they are ready to put their 2015 seasons behind them.

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