If you missed it, our first installment in this series can be found right here. In today’s piece, I will look at the Braves MILB players ranked #20-11 and discuss what I’ve seen. I’m the judge and the juror and here I’ll declare my 4 decisions on the rankings of the Braves Top 30 Prospects, 20-11, like so:

  • Justfied: Player has done nothing to make his prospect position worse or better
  • Demoted: Broke down more than a 1998 Ford Focus
  • Promoted: Smile kid…you got better.
  • Booted: Congrats! You’re old or just kinda stink.

*I hope it’s clear that I’m talking about prospect rankings, not promoted to the big leagues.

BRAVES TOP 30 PROSPECTS, 20-11

  • 20: Dylan Dodd: Dodd looked the part in Spring Training when his fastball was hitting 95 (hot gun, maybe?) and his slider looked to be a true out pitch. Unfortunately, for Atlanta…and even Gwinnett, Dodd became Dudd. He stopped striking out hitters. He stopped getting hitters out and he hasn’t seen the bigs since June 14th. He’s got a lot of offseason work to do, but the stuff is still there. My decision: Demoted
  • 19: Garrett Baumann: Has not played. My decision: Justified
  • 18: Sabin Ceballos: Ceballos, the Braves 3rd round pick this year, has put on quite an impressive show between the FCL and Low-A. The Braves love his bat to ball skills and at 6’3, 225, there’s going to be some serious thump in that bat. My decision: Promoted
  • 17: Drue Hackenberg: Hackenberg received some extra tutelage at the FCL and made his Low-A debut last week and looked brilliant in 2.2 innings. And while it was a small sample, I saw the clips…My decision: Promoted
  • 16: David McCabe: At 23 y/o and already a polished college baseball player, it’s no surprise that McCabe raked at the Low-A level. However, he’s also held his on at Rome with an .829 OPS. He’s a 1B/3B/DH guy so he’ll need to hit to break through, but so far so good. My decision: Justified
  • 15: Braden Shewmake: Shewmake, once the Braves 1st round pick back in 2019, is now 25 at AAA and his carrying a .688 OPS. During ST, Peanut reported that many of the Braves coaches considered Shewmake “the most improved player in camp”. If only spring mattered. He’ll be 26 next year. Geez..My decision: Booted.
  • 14: Luis De Avila: Avila was a Rule 5 MILB pickup back in 2022 originally from, of course, the Rockies (how many players have the Braves picked up from that org and what do they know?) He’s a LHP so that’s something. He’s only 22 and the Braves seem to like him. Looks to be a future GWN/ATL road trip candidate. My decision: Justified
  • 13: Douglas Glod: At 18 y/o, Glod advanced a level AND got better. His .784 OPS is oddly not inflated by power, but by patience. That bodes well for Glod’s future, but if he wants to crack the bigs, he’s going to have to add some more muscle. And since he’s only 18, that seems plausible. My decision: Justified
  • 12: Adam Maier: Has not played. My decision: Justified
  • 11: Luis Guanipa: Had a good debut as a 17 y/o in the DOSL Like Glod, there’s room to grow and room to add power. He was the Braves top international signing this year. My decision: Justified

Wrapup

Booted: Shewmake

Justified: Baumann, McCabe, De Avila, Glod, Maier, Guanipa

Demoted: Dodd

Promoted: Hackenberg, Ceballos

Come argue with me in the Bar. I dare you!