Eric Hartman named Baseball America’s 2026 Braves minor league player of year
Outfield prospect Eric Hartman’s meteoric rise earned him Baseball America’s 2026 Braves minor league player of the year honor.
Hartman, 20, ascended from a relative unknown to a consensus top-30 prospect in the sport over the past six months. His combination of power, speed and athleticism led to gaudy numbers in Single-A before he faced more adversity upon a promotion.
A 20th round pick in 2024, the Alberta, Canada, native was the Braves’ final draftee of that class. He put up modest numbers a year ago before his explosion.
To contextualize how productive Hartman has been: He’s the first minor leaguer to post a 25-50 season since Hall of Famer Andruw Jones. That’s not just the Braves’ system; it’s across all the minor leagues.
Hartman had a .889 OPS over 94 games in High-A Rome. He mashed 24 homers and stole 38 bases (in 45 attempts). He was making more consistent contact, and it was loud. Then his speed allowed him to close quickly on balls hit into the outfield and obviously makes him a threat on the bases.
“I always had a hard swing, so it was more about cleaning up my misses,” he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution earlier this season about his offensive success. “My misses are stronger and less on the ground, more pull-side area, and that’s just resulting in more home runs. I wouldn’t say it’s anything extreme, just cleaning up the stuff that I’m trying to repeat on a day-to-day basis and doing a good job of that.”
The Braves could have capitalized on Hartman’s value at the trade deadline, but they weren’t inclined to move a player who might have been their most exhilarating since Ronald Acuña Jr. It would have taken a unique opportunity that never came.
Hartman’s progression has stalled in Double-A, which can be a natural part of development as a player works his way through a system. Still, the numbers have dropped sharply: He’s hit .182 with a .577 OPS. He has just two homers in 34 games. He’s 18-for-20 on stolen-base attempts.
Next season will be telling as far as what Hartman can become. But he undoubtedly had a historic 2026 campaign, one that’s positioned him to potentially become a future core member of the Braves.