When the Braves lined up for their 2021 opener Thursday, the vast majority of the group were homegrown talents. Most of those individuals arrived in recent seasons from the Braves’ renowned farm system, which became the envy of baseball in the latter half of the past decade.
That farm system is coming back to earth. Stars Ronald Acuna and Ozzie Albies are well past their prospect status. The same goes for aces Mike Soroka and Max Fried. Outfielder Cristian Pache and starter Ian Anderson debuted last season and will lose their rookie statuses later this season.
Still, it’s not like the landscape is barren. The Braves’ minor-league system entered the year ranked No. 6 by Baseball America. It’s not oozing with elite talent as it was, but the Braves have kept a solid pipeline despite what’s worked against them in recent seasons.
“We have some extremely talented and just really skilled players,” Fried said. “You look defensively, with the bat, position player-wise, we have some really dynamic players. Pitching-wise, we have some really big arms in the minors still, even with the guys who’ve already cracked the big leagues. I know we’re pretty deep, and we’ll be able to have guys coming up and making an impact for a while.”
It’s difficult to maintain a top-tier farm over a long period of time. Baseball America has noted for two consecutive seasons that a fall is coming with the Braves’ system. A decline is only natural after seeing so many premier players graduate.
It hasn’t helped that the Braves have been restricted on the international market because of sins committed by the previous regime. The team also hasn’t been picking high in the draft, which was an important element in accumulating the talent it had during the lean years. Those are circumstantial challenges this organization must navigate.
“It was to be expected,” general manager Alex Anthopoulos said of the system’s drop-off. “It made sense in terms of the farm system, you had Acuna, Albies-type talent and high draft picks, Ian Anderson. Once those guys graduate, you’re not going to replace finding Acunas. … And look, instead of picking high in the draft, like getting an Ian Anderson third (overall) when you’re rebuilding, hopefully we pick as late as we can. Hopefully we pick in that 26-to-30 range each year because we have a really good big-league club. Then you factor in the tough part about, well, you lose draft picks when you’re signing certain free agents. Then you have no international on top of it, that we’re finally getting back into next year for the first time.”
The system will stay afloat thanks to emergences from players such as Michael Harris, the 20-year-old outfielder who blew everyone away in spring training. Drew Waters is a highly regarded switch-hitting outfielder. Kyle Muller is a tall, hard-throwing lefty. Jared Shuster is a first-round lefty from the 2020 draft. William Contreras and Shea Langeliers are perhaps the best pair of catching prospects in any system. Braden Shewmake should be a versatile, long-time major leaguer. Outfielder Trey Harris, first baseman Bryce Ball and shortstop Vaughn Grissom are other players further away who could become impact players.
Overall, despite entering their fourth season as a contender and seeing so much blue-chip talent move up, the Braves are happy with their talent pool. They’re also pleased with how their organization handled the challenges of 2020, including the lack of a minor-league season.
“Our staff did a nice job over the course of not having in-person instructions and staying in touch with our players, whether that’s our field staff, trainers, strength coaches,” said Ben Sestanovich, assistant GM for player development. “I commend them for all the reaching out they did for guys over a difficult 2020 and the beginning of 2021.”
When asked which individuals stood out at the alternate training site in Gwinnett, Sesanovich told The AJC:
“The pitching speaks for itself. Ian gets, and rightfully so, talked about a lot and came up and pitched meaningful games for us. A lot of other pitchers who spent time at the alternate site showed what they’re capable of, as well. Whether that’s Bryse Wilson, Kyle Wright. Tucker Davidson made his big-league debut and progressed through a bunch of stuff last year. We saw what Pache is capable of in the playoffs when he was called into action.
“Then some guys potentially further away. A lot has been written about Michael Harris this spring. He definitely, as a high-school draftee in 2019 without a ton of professional experience, came to the alternate site, and that was really a positive thing for his development. It was good for our staff to spend time with him. Vaughn Grissom, another 2019 draft pick, spent a good chunk of the summer at the alternate site. He similarly stood out as far as his maturity and his ability to compete against some of those arms I mentioned who were pitching in the big leagues last season. It was a unique environment where they could come in and face competition that in a normal season they certainly wouldn’t have.”
The alternate site became the best-case scenario under difficult circumstances. The lost minor-league campaign was especially damaging to teams rebuilding, with how important those reps were for their prospects. For the Braves, it delayed several players who were on the cusp of Triple-A or even the majors. Pache debuted despite the lost season, but in a normal year, Waters might’ve cracked the majors, too. If Muller took a step forward, maybe he joins the mix. Davidson debuted in the regular-season finale, but perhaps he would’ve accrued more major-league innings.
Sestanovich thinks the organization made the most of the alternate site. Based on the talent he saw in Gwinnett, he’s confident the franchise won’t suffer too big a tumble down the system rankings.
“Is it a bump in the road to not have had a season last year for these guys to play every day? Absolutely,” Sestanovich said. “We can focus on the inability to develop and spend time with guys, but in some ways there were silver linings in that we had more time spent with those drafted players I just mentioned than we might have in a normal year, in terms of time spent with our coordinators, time spent facing really good competition. Yes, it was a different environment than we’re used to, but maybe we’ll look up and see some real positives came out of a strange year.”
Speaking of positives, the Braves will soon rejoin the international market, which will be crucial in replenishing their lower levels. That’s how the franchise acquired Acuna, Albies and Pache. As the team continues contending – that’s the expectation for the next several seasons – it will continue drafting later. The Braves’ best means of acquiring elite young talent will be internationally.
It remains to be seen whether the Braves become more aggressive in moving their prospects as the team continues competing. The team’s reluctance to trade younger players has drawn criticism but also preserved the system. The Braves haven’t traded away any prospect-heavy packages under Anthopoulos. The players they have dealt, like pitchers Kolby Allard, Tristan Beck and Joey Wentz, and infielders AJ Graffanino and Greg Cullen, didn’t have clear futures with the organization.
In time, maybe the Braves trade more of their more prized prospects. But their patience has stalled the system’s decline. Anthopoulos often stresses sustained success, and the best way to do that with a mid-market payroll is keeping the farm system healthy. The three-time National League East champs feel they’re doing just that.
“We still have a lot of really good young players,” Anthopoulos said. “All the work that’s been done before I got here, there’s still a tremendous amount of scouting departments, player-development departments, the work that they’ve done, there are still a lot of good young players. Guys like Harris, he’s still young, and we’ll see how he does, but everybody is pretty excited about him. As a two-way player, I know (vice president of scouting) Dana (Brown) was really — that was the guy he had to have in the draft. He was excited about him. It’s nice what these guys have done in spring training.
“The one thing is we didn’t lose any draft picks now in free agency this offseason. So we have a full allotment there. It’s more challenging when you pick late, but you can still continue to get good young players. And I’m excited about being back fully in the international market in 2022 as well. I’m encouraged here in the next four or five years that hopefully we’re going to continue to add to it.”
