As rough as the Braves have had it at the major league level this season, there’s good news from the farm. Braves director of player development Dave Trembley has progress to tout from a farm system that’s been restocked with talent through trades and high draft picks. The way he characterized it? “Significant improvement.”
“We promoted an awful lot of players in our system to Atlanta this year and they proved to be contributors,” Trembley said. “The people we got in trades have been a real big boost to the organization and have fortified some holes we had that John Hart and Coppy (John Coppolella) addressed earlier in the offseason. I think the Braves have returned to the foundation that made them successful for a long time, that’s scouting and player development. We’re real happy about that.”
About the only dark cloud on the Braves’ minor league system this summer was through no fault of their own when their Carolina Mudcats’ team bus crashed on an overnight trip to Myrtle Beach in early May. Five of the six players who went to the disabled list as a result returned to action, and three of those were promoted to Double-A: Lucas Sims, Andrew Thurman and Stephen Janas. Trembley said Tyler Brosius, who suffered a concussion in the wreck and did not return during the season, is expected to throw again in instructional league, which begins Sept. 21.
The Mudcats lost 12 in a row after the bus crash, but finished the season above .500 at 71-68.
“That could have been a real disaster,” Trembley said. “Credit needs to be given to our players and our staff there in Carolina. They were in the division hunt right up until the last few days of the season. … It’s a real credit to all the people that helped, the medical staff there. But I think our manager and our coaches did a great job with establishing a calmness to the environment after something like that.”
Trembley also gave his thoughts on individual accomplishments of some of the Braves’ top prospects. These are players ranked among the Braves’ top 10 prospects at midseason by Baseball America, who were still in the minors at season’s end.
Who: Ozzie Albies, SS, 18, Braves' No. 2 by Baseball America
Lowdown: Tied for third in the South Atlantic League with .310 batting average in 98 games for low-A Rome Braves. Started Futures Game at shortstop for World team. He's been out since early August with a fractured thumb.
Comment: "He's full-go for instructional league. He probably could have played the last week or 10 days in Rome, but we wanted to just let the thumb heal. He's probably one of the most exciting players in all of minor league baseball. He's got tools. He has very good hand-eye coordination — at the plate, on the bases and in the field. He has the ability at a young age to slow the game down. He plays with passion. He's very knowledgeable. He makes things happen, and he wants to learn. He's going to be a very good player. He'll climb the ladder."
Who: Touki Toussaint, RHP, 19, Braves' No. 3 prospect by Baseball America
Lowdown: Flashed the 95-97 mph fastball after the Braves acquired him from Arizona on June 20. Was 3-5 with a 5.73 ERA in 10 starts for Rome before being shut down with triceps soreness. Pitched six no-hit, shutout innings with eight strikeouts July 20 against Lakewood.
Comment: "He'll be in instructional league, full-go. We'd like to get him in our spring training next year and get him acclimated fully to the Braves way. It's sometimes a little tough coming in midstream. He's young. He's a power pitcher, pitching low-A ball, and his ceiling is (high). Everybody feels he's a guy that's going to pitch in the big leagues for the Braves."
Who: Max Fried, LHP, 21, Braves' No. 4 prospect by Baseball America
Lowdown: Former first-round pick of the Padres acquired in Justin Upton trade. Missed entire season following Aug. 20, 2014 Tommy John surgery, but has begun throwing off the mound again in bullpen sessions.
Comment: "The plan for Max is to do everything during instructional league but pitch in games. He could, but we're going to hold off on that. He'll throw bullpen (sessions), he'll throw to hitters, he'll do all the drills. He would be game ready, but he won't participate in games until spring training of 2016."
Who: Mallex Smith, CF, 22, Braves' No. 6 prospect by Baseball America
Lowdown: Hit .340 in Double-A Mississippi before he was promoted to Triple-A Gwinnett. Hit .231 in first 32 games for Gwinnett but .324 in his final 37. He stole 57 bases combined, fifth-highest in the minors.
Comment: "Mallex Smith had a tremendous year. He was lights out in Mississippi. He went to Triple-A and was treading water there for a while and ended up hitting .281 and stole a bunch of bases and was real good in the outfield. He's going to be a major league center fielder and a leadoff hitter for the Atlanta Braves, and he'll be a good one. He's not done yet. He's not a finished product, but he's really stayed the course."
Who: Braxton Davidson, RF, 19, Braves' No. 7 prospect by Baseball America
Lowdown: Hit .242 with 10 home runs, 23 doubles and 45 RBIs in 124 games in low-A Rome. Led the South Atlantic League in walks (84) and was seventh in on-base percentage (.381) while playing his first full season in right field.
Comment: "For a real young guy playing the first full season coming out of high school, he had a real nice year. His pitch selection, strike-zone knowledge really improved as the year went on. We all feel he's going to hit. When he hits it, the ball makes a little bit different sound. Everybody was really happy about how he took to playing right field and his defensive improvement because he hadn't played in the outfield. He was a first baseman in high school."
Who: Ricardo Sanchez, LHP, 18, Braves' No. 8 prospect by Baseball America
Lowdown: Native of Venezuela made just 10 starts for low-A Rome, going 1-6 with a 5.45 ERA, in a designed move by the Braves to limit his innings at such a young age. Pitched 39 2/3 innings for Rome, similar to the 37 2/3 innings that Julio Teheran pitched in Rome at age 18. (Thought Teheran also pitched 43 2/3 innings in Danville.)
Comment: "The plan in spring training was to limit his appearances, to back him off. He'll be in instructional league. I think you'll see him with a lot more improvement next year. We'll probably increase his workload next year so he can get a little bit closer to staying on that routine of pitching every five days, we just felt like he wasn't ready to pitch every fifth day continually for five, six months. Big upside, left-handed pitcher, young. But he'll be a good one."
Who: Tyrell Jenkins, RHP, 23, Braves' No. 9 prospect by Baseball America
Lowdown: Acquired along with Shelby Miller from the Cardinals in the Jason Heyward trade. Went 8-9 with a 3.19 ERA in 25 starts combined in Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett. Despite a history of shoulder problems, pitched career-high 138 1/3 innings with one precautionary DL stint for arm fatigue.
Comment: "A guy that was challenged in Mississippi and passed all the tests there with flying colors. He went to Triple-A and showed improvement. A young guy who has three average major league pitches, very good athlete, big upside. Nice arm, good work habits and shows some energy when he pitches and likes to compete. He's a bright spot. That's a big acquire for us."
Who: Lucas Sims, RHP, 21, Braves' No. 10 prospect by Baseball America
Lowdown: 2012 first-round draft pick from Brookwood High who went 7-6 with a 4.37 ERA in 20 starts combined for High-A Carolina and Double-A Mississippi. Went 4-0 with a 0.88 ERA in his last five starts for Mississippi and earned a spot in the Arizona Fall League.
Comment: "He really turned the corner. He's going to be one of our primary guys in Arizona Fall League. He'll be a starter (there) to catch up from the innings he missed because of the bus crash. He probably would have been in Mississippi a lot sooner had it not been for that, but he certainly pitched great. He's really improved his delivery. He's got a power arm. He's got great makeup. He competes. After he goes to the Fall League, I think he'll be somebody that gets noticed next year in spring training."
Notable from top 2015 class:
No. 14 overall pick Kolby Allard, LHP from San Clemente (Calif.) High, pitched six scoreless innings in three outings in the Gulf Coast League. He struck out 12, hit a batter and walked none. RHP Mike Soroka, the 28th overall pick from Calgary, Alberta, posted a 1.80 ERA in four games for the GCL Braves, then was 0-2, with 3.75 ERA in six starts after a promotion to Danville. He walked four and struck out 26 in 24 innings for Danville.
Supplemental first-rounder Austin Riley, a third baseman from DeSoto (Miss.) High School, hit 12 home runs in 60 games combined for the Gulf Coast and Danville Braves. Juan Yepez, a 17-year-old signed out of Caracas, Venezuela, moved from third base to first base to accommodate Riley. He hit .299 with 16 doubles, two triples, and four home runs in In 59 games with GCL and Danville.
Catcher Lucas Herbert, a second round pick (54th overall) and Allard’s batterymate from San Clemente, played in only three games in the Gulf Coast League, going 2-for-4 with a homer, before injuring his knee. But he is healthy again and will catch in instructional league.
