We are less than a week away from the trade deadline and Fangraphs just put out their updated Top 100 list and the Atlanta Braves find themselves with four players, including a rapid riser.
Coming at the top is AJ Smith-Shawver who lands at 23 overall. Fangraphs report on him, which I highly suggest to check out, had this to say about Smith-Shawver:
Smith-Shawver may have some early-career speedbumps but he could have a star peak during a career mostly spent as a mid-rotation starter.
Coming in next is catching prospect Drake Baldwin who found himself outside the Top 100 at the start of the season and is now slotted in at 36th overall - a massive climb after what has been a strong showing for him at Triple-A Gwinnett (30 games, .284/.424/.474).
After Drake, was starter Hurston Waldrep who comes in at 52 and who Fangraphs describes as having a middle of rotation ceiling, with a floor of MLB closer. Hurston has spent a majority of his season in Double-A where he made nine starts with a 8.76 K/9, and 2.92 ERA before being promoted to Gwinnett where he made one start. Hurston had a very rough start in Atlanta before landing on the IL but is now currently on rehab with the FCL Braves.
Finally, that brings us to Nacho Alvarez Jr. who landed on this list at 57 overall. Nacho, currently the Braves SS/2B, hit .265/.381/.312 in 48 games for the Mississippi Braves before being promoted to Gwinnett where he started obliterating the ball, hitting a robust .336/.432/.575 before being promoted to Atlanta following the injury of Ozzie Albies.
The article also came with an updated farm system ranks where the Braves have climbed all the way up to 16th. You can go back to just one year ago where they were ranked 25th - so some excellent work by the Braves scouting and development departments.
2024-07-26T18:39:15Z dg43tfdfdgfd