Welcome to the third of five posts revealing the latest OFR Top 50 Braves Prospects. This portion of the list is the start of prospects that we feel fairly sure have a major league career ahead of them. I have been joined in this segment by OFR colleague Matt Chrietzberg.
Also in this series:
Atlanta Braves Top 50 Prospects: #41-50
Atlanta Braves Top 50 Prospects: #31-40
Atlanta Braves Top 50 Prospects: #11-20
Atlanta Braves Top 50 Prospects: #1-10
30. Victor Vodnik, RHP
Age: 19 | Throws: R
9.64 ERA | 3.23 FIP | 4 G, 0 GS | 4.2 IP | 1.93 BB/9 | 17.36 K/9
Current Assignment: Rk GCL Braves
Acquired: Draft – 2018 – 14th Round
Prior Year Ranking: N/A
In what was an amazing reversal of what had been the usual Braves draft strategy of the last several years, Atlanta only selected five prep players in the 2018 draft, and of those only two were expected to sign. One of those two was first-rounder Carter Stewart, who of course did not sign. That makes Vodnik the sole prep player signed by the Braves in the 2018 draft.
In Vodnik, the Braves got a very raw project arm. Pitching out of the bullpen in limited action in the GCL he was clocked as fast as 99 mph, but when he finally gets stretched in a rotation he’ll likely settle in the still-impressive 94-96 range. He pairs that with a self-taught slider that is inconsistent but also has strong movement. He’s got simple mechanics, and there’s room there for him to better use his lower half.
Vodnik represents the biggest boom-or-bust wild card on this list, but I like the arm and from what I understand he’s eminently coachable and eager to learn. He’s likely to start 2019 in extended spring training and get assigned to a rookie ball team in June, but there’s a chance he’ll take the same route as fellow raw high-school draftee Freddy Tarnok and parlay a strong spring to a Rome assignment. -AH
29. Trey Riley, RHP
Age: 21 | Throws: R
8.00 ERA | 6.55 FIP | 6 G, 2 GS | 9.0 IP | 10.00 BB/9 | 13.00 K/9
Current Assignment: Rk+ Danville
Acquired: Draft – 2018 – 5th Round
Prior Year Ranking: N/A
Regarded by many as the top JUCO player in the 2018 draft, Riley fell to the Braves in the 5th round. Riley made limited appearances with Danville after a long collegiate season, and most of those appearances came out of the bullpen. Going forward, the Braves will likely give him a shot in a rotation.
Riley has two highly rated pitch offerings, his fastball and his slider. The fastball can hit 98 coming out of the bullpen, but as a stater he will likely sit in the 92-95 range with good movement. His slider has excellent movement and velocity and has the potential to be a plus weapon. That said, Riley is a raw talent that needs to refine a third pitch and clean up some mechanical issues to help his control. He is in the right organization for that kind of polishing however. Riley should start the season in Rome. -AH
Trey Riley MLB Draft ’18 video
28. Ray-Patrick Didder, SS
Age: 24 | Bats: R
.232/.331/.325 | 93 wRC+ | 4 HR | 27 SB | 10.0% BB | 26.0% K (A+, AA)
Current Assignment: AA Mississippi
Acquired: International Amateur Free Agent – 2012
Prior Year Ranking: 42
Ray-Patrick Didder played all of 2017 at High-A Florida, playing all over the diamond by logging significant innings in center field, right field, shortstop and second base. The Braves organization chose to have Didder repeat Florida to start 2018, but changed his role to exclusively play shortstop.
Didder encountered growing pains in adjusting to shortstop full-time, committing 17 errors in 76 games at Florida while struggling at the plate, producing a .209/.309/.299 line with an 80 wRC+, although he had a .300/.375/.440 line over his last 16 games. Didder was also successful on the basepaths, stealing 18 bases in 21 attempts.
Didder was promoted to AA Mississippi on July 10 where he encountered the same defensive issues he had at Florida, committing 11 errors in 46 games. Some of his errors were of the careless variety, hurrying throws and having mental lapses while fielding grounders. On the offensive side though, Didder really stepped up his game. He batted .275/.373/.374 with a 117 wRC+ during his 46 games at Mississippi while stealing nine bases in twelve attempts.
Didder still has some significant flaws in his game, he isn’t particularly strong defensively and strikes out too often (around 25%) for a player who has little power and needs to get on base to utilize his speed. However, he has a good walk rate, enough to push his on-base percentage about 100 points above his batting average. He used his Mississippi performance as a springboard to earn a berth in the Arizona Fall League, where he played all over the infield. With his versatility to play a number of positions and his speed (84% steal rate in 2018), Didder could find himself in position to play a multi-position utility or a pinch-running role in Atlanta sometime during the 2019 season, which could prove important if the Braves once again make the postseason. -MC
27. Riley Delgado, SS
Age: 24 | Bats: R
.315/.367/.377 | 117 wRC+ | 4 HR | 27 SB | 5.5% BB | 9.0% K (A, A+)
Current Assignment: A+ Florida
Acquired: Draft – 2017 – 9th Round
Prior Year Ranking: 77
Delgado is an perfect example of why acquiring players that can play defense at a premium position and have a good hit tool is a good idea. A senior sign out of the 2017 draft from a small D2 school, Delgado had zero fanfare when selected by the Braves. As Braves scouting director Brian Bridges relayed to the good folks on the Platinum Sombrero Podcast however, he caught the attention of no less than Chipper Jones during a workout at SunTrust Park for his solid all-fields approach at the plate. That Jones guy may just have a future in baseball because he was right about Delgado, who brought that high-contact, line-drive swing to first Rome then Florida last season.
Delgado uses an open stance to get a good look at a pitch, then goes where it’s pitched. Outside pitches he can shoot opposite field and inside pitches he tries to turn on. He has quick hands at the plate, and is particularly dangerous with runners on base. The combination of outfielder Drew Waters and Delgado in the 2-spot was highly productive all season. Delgado is 5′-10″ and 180 pounds with little body projection left, so it’s unlikely that he will develop more than gap power.
In the field, Delgado is average to above average at shortstop, making all of the routine plays look routine. He rarely gets hurried and knows is limitations and stays away from bad decisions with the ball. He would be a plus defender at second base if the Braves elected to move him there. For the time being however, he’ll remain at shortstop and he has the bat to move quickly in 2019. He only played in Florida for six weeks and could return there in 2019, but I think he’ll move up to Mississippi for Opening Day. -AH
26. Thomas Burrows, LHP
Age: 24 | Throws: L
2.66 ERA | 2.72 FIP | 45 G, 0 GS | 67.2 IP | 4.79 BB/9 | 11.44 K/9 (A, A+, AA)
Current Assignment: AA Mississippi
Acquired: Trade w/Seattle Mariners – 2016
Prior Year Ranking: 38
Left-handed reliever Thomas Burrows was acquired along with Luiz Gohara in the Mallex Smith/Shae Simmons trade with the Seattle Mariners prior to the 2017 season. Burrows spent the entire 2017 season at Rome, where he had a 2.16 ERA in 66.2 innings to go along with a 1.095 WHIP, 12.4 strikeouts and 3.4 walks per nine innings. Surprisingly, he started the 2018 season once again at Rome, but the Braves’ brass reconsidered this decision very quickly as Burrows was promoted to Florida after a single outing where he struck out four in two hitless innings (one of those four being the Nationals Juan Soto, above).
At Florida however, control became an issue as Burrows walked nearly six batters per nine innings and issued at least one free pass in 19 of his 29 Florida outings. Something started clicking in the middle of July and he did not allow any walks in his last three Florida outings covering six innings. Burrows was moved up to Mississippi on July 22 and spent the rest of the season there.
Burrows adjusted quickly to the Southern League, putting together a 1.42 ERA, 0.842 WHIP, 12.8 strikeouts and 2.8 walks per nine innings in 15 outings covering 19 innings. He was only scored upon in two of those fifteen appearances and not at all in his last nine. Burrows has also excelled in keeping the ball in the yard, not allowing any home runs in 2018 and none in his last 121 innings dating back to May 6, 2017.
Thomas Burrows stepped up his game in a big way in 2018 and continued to open eyes with his performance in the Arizona Fall League. He should begin the 2019 season at Gwinnett and, with his explosive fastball/slider combo, could be a significant contributor in Atlanta at some point during the 2019 season. -MC
25. Corbin Clouse, LHP
Age: 23 | Throws: L
1.94 ERA | 2.10 FIP | 45 G, 0 GS | 65.0 IP | 3.46 BB/9 | 11.49 K/9 (AA, AAA)
Current Assignment: AAA Gwinnett
Acquired: Drafted —27th Round — 2016
Prior Year Ranking: 33
Take Thomas Burrows, subtract 9 months in age, then make him bigger and give him better control. Then you’ll have Corbin Clouse. Like Burrows, Clouse has a strong fastball/slider combination that racks up swing-and-misses. Also like Burrows, Clouse does an excellent job of limiting hard contact, and he has thrown in 55 appearances since the last time someone took him deep. He has actually improved his peripheral numbers as he’s climbed up the organizational ladder.
Clouse looked very good in a limited look at Gwinnett last season and he should probably expect to return there for Opening Day. It’s also very likely he will get called up at some point in 2019. Most of the time, there are very few true “relief pitcher prospects” in the minors; most major league relievers were minor league starting pitchers. However, in Burrows and Clouse the Braves have two potential high-leverage left-handers been raised into the role. -AH
24. Jefrey Ramos, OF
Age: 20 | Bats: R
.245/.290/.424 | 102 wRC+ | 16 HR | 2 SB | 5.4% BB | 17.7% K
Current Assignment: A Rome
Acquired: International Amateur Free Agent – 2016
Prior Year Ranking: 46
Playing all season in Rome at the age of 19 can be a daunting assignment, but Ramos was an everyday, if somewhat streaky presence. Ramos lead the team in home runs and was tied for 4th in the whole organization and managed to do so with a reasonable strikeout rate under 20%. Ramos’s value was sabotaged however by a poor .290 OBP, a combination of lack of patience to draw walks and poor luck on balls in play. His groundball rate is slightly elevated, but his line drive rate was solid.
Ramos is a free swinger with a good eye and fast hands, a combination that generates a lot of contact. Ramos had difficulty a good chunk of the season staying balanced through his swing, and he would often foul off good pitches. He improved on this as the season progressed, staying back on the ball just a touch. This lead to more power and more walks latter in the season. Defensively his lack of footspeed will constrain him to a corner, but he is reliable on balls that he can get to. His arm is average, but plays up due to good accuracy and he usually throws it where it needs to go.
Thanks to his strong last couple months, and given the number of other outfielders that will need spots, Ramos will likely move up to advanced-A Florida in 2019. If Ramos continues to show similar improvement at the plate, he could be a top 15 prospect by the end of the season. -AH
23. Izzy Wilson, OF
Age: 21 | Bats: L
.223/.305/.349 | 90 wRC+ | 8 HR | 16 SB | 10.3% BB | 29.4% K (A, A+)
Current Assignment: A+ Florida
Acquired: International Amateur Free Agent – 2014
Prior Year Ranking: 26
Wilson possesses some of the most explosive tools among Braves position players, and when they all work at the same time he shows that he could be something special. Unfortunately, consistent high-level play has so far eluded him.
A lot of Wilson’s issues come from his batting approach. His hands start high and remain active through the delivery, sometimes causing his hands to be too far back as he starts the swing. He prefers pitches low that he can yank for power, but the length of his swing can cause him to over-commit. While he has good strike-zone judgement and will draw his fair share of walks, once he decides to pull the trigger it just takes too long for the barrel to go through the zone. That said, he can crush mistake pitches. When he gets on base he is an exciting baserunner, one of the fastest in the system and as a base-stealer he’s more polished than some of the other young burners. Wilson has the speed and instincts to play centerfield, but has mostly played right due the presence of Cristian Pache or Drew Waters in the same outfield; Wilson’s arm is strong and more than adequate for the challenge.
While his surface numbers look pedestrian, Wilson’s peripherals actually took an uptick after his promotion to advanced-A Florida, and he may flourish in an environment where pitchers work more around the plate. He was a surprise inclusion in the Braves Arizona Fall League contingent this year, and he’s held his own against advanced competition in limited action. A return to Florida seems the most likely scenario for Opening Day, and he will turn 21 during spring training, plenty young enough to fix the issues with his swing and start converting those tools into skills. -AH
22. A.J. Graffanino, SS
Age: 21 | Bats: L
.318/.344/.385 | 106 wRC+ | 1 HR | 5 SB | 4.9% BB | 14.7% K (Rk+, A)
Current Assignment: A Rome
Acquired: Drafted — 2018 — 8th Round
Prior Year Ranking: N/A
Graffanino is an athletic quick-twitch infielder that has a shot to develop into an elite defensive shortstop. Drafted out of the University of Washington and the son of former Brave Tony Graffanino, A.J. was already a fairly polished player upon arrival to Danville in June. He didn’t stay with the club long, hitting over .400 in six games and getting a quick promotion to Rome. In Rome he continued his hot hitting for most of the rest of the year.
Graffanino uses a short stride and quick hands to slap the ball through the infield, but can turn on a pitch and drive it into gaps as well. His body is long and somewhat lanky, and it’s hard to imagine him developing more than mistake power, but a good hit tool should carry him into the upper minor leagues. What may get him to the majors however is his work in the field. Graffanino has above average range at short, and excellent hands with good reactions. He has good instincts and has the nose to hunt for outs. His arm is average for shortstop but a quick release and good accuracy allow it to play up.
In a system somewhat lacking in the middle infield, Graffanino was a strong pick for the 8th round. He could probably play at the AA level now and not be overwhelmed, but I would expect him to start the season in advanced-A Florida. -AH
(Ed. note: Shortly after the publication of this list, Ricardo Sanchez was traded from the Braves to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was initially placed as the #22 prospect. We have left his write-up here for completeness sake.)
Ricardo Sanchez, LHP
Age: 21 | Throws: L
4.06 ERA | 3.87 FIP | 13 G, 13 GS | 57.2 IP | 3.75 BB/9 | 6.87 K/9
Current Assignment: AA Mississippi
Acquired: Trade w/Los Angeles Angels – 2015
Prior Year Ranking: 21
Ricardo Sanchez is a unique prospect within the Atlanta Braves organization. He was acquired in early 2015 from the Angels during the early stages of the rebuild. Despite being in the organization for four seasons, Sanchez doesn’t turn 22 years old until the opening week of the 2019 season.
Sanchez started 2018 in AA Mississippi after spending the entire 2017 season at High-A Florida. His season hit a roadblock almost immediately as he left after two innings of his second start and would go on to miss two months with a shoulder injury. He would return to make three starts between the GCL Braves and Danville before rejoining Mississippi on July 4. Sanchez would remain in the M-Braves rotation for the remainder of the season, registering 11 starts with 52.2 IP, a 3.42 ERA, 1.500 WHIP, 6.0 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 after his return.
The Braves saw enough talent and potential in Ricardo Sanchez to put him on the 40-man roster following the 2017 season to protect him in the Rule V draft. The 2018 season definitely put a crimp in his progress as he only had about two months of consistent time in the Mississippi rotation. Sanchez definitely has a ways to go in his development since he lacks the command and control necessary for a pitcher that lacks swing-and-miss stuff since his fastball tops out in the 92-93 range. He also benefited from pitching at Trustmark Park as he gave up just one home run in seven starts there. Look for Sanchez to repeat Mississippi to start 2019, as he needs to get consistent and injury-free innings to get a more complete body of work to determine his future with the organization. -MC
21. Alex Jackson, C
Age: 23 | Bats: R
.201/.286/.360 | 82 wRC+ | 8 HR | 0 SB | 8.5% BB | 31.8% K (AA, AAA)
Current Assignment: AAA Gwinnett
Acquired: Trade w/Seattle Mariners – 2016
Prior Year Ranking: 13
Alex Jackson started the 2018 season at AA Mississippi after a successful 2017 season that was split between Florida and Mississippi where he combined for 19 home runs and an .809 OPS across the two levels.
2018, however, would prove to be another story.
Jackson had a good first week of the season, going 7-for-18 with a home run and four RBI in five games. Then…things went downhill. Jackson would not hit another home run until May 30 and tallied only five before his promotion to Gwinnett. He finished his time in Mississippi with a .200/.282/.329 line with a 31% strikeout rate and a paltry 73 wRC+. Jackson did show progress on the defensive front with a 31% caught stealing rate even though he had eight passed balls and six errors in only 61 games behind the plate.
In spite of these numbers, Jackson was promoted to Gwinnett in the middle of July. Defensively, things went poorly as he only threw out just 18% of baserunners and racked up four passed balls and six errors in only 29 games. Offensively, Jackson had a 98 wRC+ and was an oddity in that he only had 22 base hits as a Striper, but 16 of them went for extra bases. He also had a 33.6% strikeout rate, which is unsustainable at any level.
The clock may be striking midnight on Alex Jackson’s tenure in the Braves organization. He is eligible for the Rule V draft this offseason, but will most likely be left off of the 40-man roster. It is unlikely that another team would choose Jackson to carry on its roster for the entire season, so that leaves either being included in a trade this offseason or playing for Gwinnett in 2019. However, with the recent acquisition of Raffy Lopez from the Padres, Lopez will get a significant portion of the playing time behind the plate at Gwinnett when he is not in Atlanta, which leaves Jackson reduced to, at best, sharing time at catcher. Whatever the scenario, it does not appear that Alex Jackson is a major part of the Braves’ plans moving forward. -MC
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