[Editor’s Note: The Winter Meetings are over and Santa didn’t ignore us completely, but Ohtani is apparently still a Dodger. But now that Hanukkah is upon us and Christmas is next week, snowshine wanted to give us a Christmas gift that will make us forget our Schwarberschaden, which is the German term for having a DH who isn’t an MVP candidate. If somebody (Timo?) tries to tell me I don’t know how to form proper fake German words, I plead Schuldgefühle. So while we wait for Georgia Tech to toast their success in the Pop-Tarts Bowl and UGA to do whatever it is they do, snowshine offers his annual look at the farm system. Enjoy.]

Don’t get too caught up in the numbers here, it’s the tiers that matter. Players listed as Name, Position, Age as of 07/01/2026, Highest level reached and ETA

Tier 1: Guys with some chance to be stars

The top end of the system is a good deal deeper than last year but perhaps not quite as talented at the very top (I rated them Smith-Shawver – Baldwin – Waldrep last year, which was as good as any team’s crop. We had very little behind them though).

  1. Didier Fuentes, RHP, 21, MLB, 2025

Called up way too early and was predictably dreadful. His fastball ticked up to sit at 95 last year and it has incredible armside run and hop, generating a 32% whiff rate (that’s good). The secondaries lag with an inconsistent slider being for choice at the moment. The development plan for 2026 should be to concentrate on the slider along with a splitter for lefties. I want to see 20 starts at Gwinnett before we even think about bringing him back to the bigs.

  1. Cam Caminiti, LHP, 20, A-, 2027

Last year’s first round pick put in his first full season of pro ball and acquitted himself well. Low A hitters had no chance against the kid’s fastball which makes for a fun watch but doesn’t tell us much about the future. Supposedly the development team was concentrating this year on continued strength training while trying out a sweeper that may replace his inconsistent slider. That work appeared very productive as the year went on. The big steps for 2026 will be keeping a full workload and unleashing his curveball which they took away from him this past season to concentrate on the sweeper. Long term health is the only concern at this point. He has the highest ceiling of all our pitching prospects.

  1. JR Ritchie, RHP, 23, AAA, 2026

The 2nd year removed from Tommy John was kind to Richie as he regained the velocity missing last year, averaging nearly 94 in 2025. The fastball is actually the least used part of an incredibly balanced 6 pitch repertoire all of which now grade out as average or better. Ritchie is a bit undersized and has a lot of exertion in his motion which has long led many scouts to assume that he would be a reliever long term but current consensus sees a #3 here with room for more if either the control improves or he finds another gear on the heater. Guys with this profile usually need a transition season in the majors to figure out how their arsenal works at the highest level so don’t expect instant impact from him this year.

  1. Diego Tornes, CF, 17, DSL, 2029

Our big signing in last year’s International market, Tornes, is a big kid still growing into his body. Currently a switch hitter, many scouts think he should go full-time lefty as his swing from that side gets Juan Soto comparisons. Tornes kicked off the Dominican League on fire before being hampered by various niggling injuries. His star potential is dependent on the plus hit and double plus power tools plus excellent plate discipline. Would rank even higher if stateside. He is ticketed for left long term.

  1. Garrett Baumann, RHP, 21, A+, 2027

A 6 foot 8 behemoth who actually throws strikes? Put me down for 2 of those. This kid has a chance to be special as his fastball is turning into a monster now that the coaches have changed him to a 4-seamer full time. The breaker and change lag behind but both have their moments. He averaged nearly 96mph on the fastball for the final month of the season, and, coming from UP THERE it has to give hitters the willies. There were shades of peak Randy Johnson on the faces of the hitters on my one live look. It was magnificent.

  1. Owen Murphy, RHP, 22, A+, 2028

Murphy was shut down after just 6 starts this season. When healthy he has a plus 92mph fastball (the movement is incredible!) as well as a plus slider and plus control and command. If he comes back healthy there is a #2 starter here.

  1. Tate Southisene, SS, 19, A-, 2028

Our #1 draft choice this year underwhelmed many prospect hounds but looks solid to me. A terrific athlete with average to plus tools at everything, what he lacks is one big carrying tool like double plus power or defense but scouts were unanimous that the kid is still growing and he has lots of time. The bad news is he struck out at a 40% clip at his first taste of pro ball. By the way, isn’t it nice that our #1 pick is not automatically our top prospect anymore?

  1. Briggs Mckenzie, LHP, 19, DNP, 2028

I strongly considered ranking our 4th round draft pick over our first, and might have had he actually played any after the draft. The MLB draft can be weird that way ? Anyway, this kid already has a terrific curve, a decent change and plus control. What he lacks is oompf on the heater, sitting anywhere between 87 and 95 in his prep season this year. Braves development thinks that long term they can make his leg actions more consistent and get him to stay in the upper velocity band more. 2 different scouts – from different organizations – called this kid the steal of this year’s draft. I hate to apply the kiss of death but that makes him my new favorite Braves prospect.

  1. Lucas Braun, RHP, 24, AAA, 2026

I don’t mind pitching prospects being a bit older as they tend not to have as much mileage on their arm. Braun only took to starting his senior year in college and has looked like a workhorse ever since despite being a bit short (5’10”). He has 5 average to plus pitches with his slider being the best of the bunch. Because nothing really stands out he isn’t likely to become an ace but his repertoire gives him a very high floor – he is probably the pitcher in our system most likely to have a long MLB career. Like Ritchie I expect him to need time to adapt to the majors.

Tier 2: guys with a decent chance to be regulars

One of the changes in today’s game is that average everyday players are getting priced out of the market. Kim – who projects as about a 2 WAR player – turned down a $17M option. Meanwhile, our team ran absolute garbage out there for much of the year rather than invest in some decent but not incredible players as the cost was deemed prohibitive. Our whole player development system for the last decade plus has been geared towards producing stars without much regard to anyone else, and we armchair GM’s have been frustrated as we can see that average players should matter too, at least at the current market cost. Fortunately, I think the corner turned when Dana Brown took the GM position with the Astros as we seem to have been much more aggressive about acquiring what I think of as “middle class” prospects the last couple of years. Some of them show up in this tier.

  1. Luke Sinnard, RHP, 23, A+, 2027

Another 6’8” guy with excellent control (is THIS the new market inefficiency?) Sinnard had Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2024 season. We took him in the 3rd round anyway and it looks like a terrific decision at this point. The fastball took a step forward this year sitting 93 with good vertical numbers. His curve, change and command/control are also plus which gives him the makings of a 2 or 3 in the show. Health and durability are the questions keeping him from being much higher on this list.

  1. Blake Burkhalter, RHP, 25, AAA, 2026

Short and injury prone are no way to go through life, especially if you are a starting pitcher. He was the closer at Auburn but blew out his arm and we took him in the 2nd round anyway – the stuff is that good. We have mostly had him in the rotation, “for reps,” since but the injury bug kept thwarting progress. He finally moved into the bullpen midseason and set a career high in innings because he could finally stay healthy when used correctly. If he breaks camp with the club expect him to see late innings duty fairly quickly.

  1. John Gil, SS, 20, A-, 2029

I had him 1 tier lower last year as there was concern about how his approach and tools would play against better competition (he had no power at all but excellent plate discipline). Well, he passed the test so far, hitting 7 homers while running a 61/71 bb/so ratio. Improved footwork on D now has most scouts convinced he can stay at short long term as he has a great arm. Don’t expect him to rocket through the system as he still needs to learn a lot so expect him to move up one level per year

  1. Alex Lodise, SS, 22, A+, 2028

I am obviously the low man on this one. The kid was named college player of the year! 2nd Round pick! What am I missing? Well, he started out much higher on this list but as I actually analysed what value he would bring to the team I found I kept needing to move him down. My problem is that his only positives at this point are work ethic, hustle and defense and that spells utility infielder/2nd division starter (all his tools grade as average). If I were him I would bulk up a bit and try an uppercut. Obviously the development team has other plans for him as he got $1.3M from us.

  1. Raudy Reyes, RHP, 17, DSL, 2029

Karl’s first irrational Dominican pitching phenom placement! Because he is sitting here after 27 innings in the Dominican, you can guess that Reyes has elite tools and a workhorse frame. A scout shared a story of watching a 3 inning performance down in the Dominican where this kid was sitting 100. Take a minute, sit back and let that sink in. I would usually wait until next year to put him on this list but the team keeps skipping Rookie league with these young Dominican pitchers and this guy is next in line. This is exactly where Didier Fuentes was 3 years ago, only Reyes has better stuff.

  1. Owen Carey, OF, 19, A-, 2028

The kind of day 3 draft pick I wish we had more of, Carey was a 16th rounder in 2024 who already looks like a bargain. A true center fielder with good speed (although he was lousy as a basestealer, go figure) he has a nice flat lefty swing that the team is hoping they can add some lift to as he fills out physically.

  1. Eric Hartman, OF, 20, A-, 2028

The kind of day 3 draft pick I wish we had more of part II. Hartman is a 20th rounder from Alberta lured south with an overslot bonus to forego college. He didn’t get into any games in 2024 but showed excellent tools in 2025 while competing with players who were on average almost 2 years older than himself. He already has some pop and the team hopes he can develop into the prototypical right fielder.

  1. Cody Miller, IF, 21, A+, 2028

Our 3rd round pick this past year, Miller came out hitting and didn’t stop, tearing up the A- level and A+ where he likely starts next season. The kid has terrific tools and his top end speed gives him a chance to move to center if short doesn’t work out. There are a couple red flags which is why I have him in this part of the list. He struck out at a 31% clip in the pros after never being over 20% in college. That is the 2nd knock – he went to ETSU, a fine school but not a baseball powerhouse. As such he faced limited opposition leaving many questions as yet unanswered.

During my not-a-scout live viewing at the end of the season he didn’t look overmatched by velocity which was a knock some scouts saw in him, so we’ve got that. He’s one of my favorites for 2026.

  1. Dixon Williams, IF, 21, A-, 2028

Similar to Cody Miller, only a 4th round pick and East Carolina (which does have an excellent baseball program and plays a difficult schedule), Williams ranks slightly behind Miller based on tools (more arm, half-grade lower hit tool and less speed than Miller so he is infield only).

Williams also struck out at an alarming 31% rate which I don’t expect to happen again.

Tier 3: guys with bullpen/bench potential or far away

Prospecting is funny in that you need to find a compromise between guys with limited potential who are likely to realize it versus guys with greater potential that might not due to injury, age or weakness (see #22 Jose Perdomo who was my #5 last season). It might be instructive to make separate rankings of prospects by floor, ceiling and proximity to the majors.

  1. Jeremy Reyes, RHP, 20, A-, 2028

Karl’s second irrational Dominican pitching phenom placement!A Dominican stringbean, Reyes has an unorthodox whip-like motion that delivers 96+ and a slurvy breaking ball which he has trouble keeping in the zone. The development staff let him jump up to 76 innings this season after the kid glove treatment in prior years. Scouts believe he’s a future #3 with durability being the main issue likely to hold him back.

  1. Rayven Antonio, RHP, 20, A-, 2028

His stuff took a major leap forward this year changing his long-term projections from “maybe a long guy out of the bullpen” to MLB 4th/5th starter. He grew a couple inches over the last year so there may be more to unlock as he gets more reps with his new height. This is the guy I plan to schedule my minor league games to see the most of this coming season so I hope to have lots more to tell you next year!

  1. Conor Essenburg, OF/1B, 20, DNP, 2028

The kind of day 2 draft pick I wish we had more of, Essenburg is a large human whom most teams wanted as a pitcher. He was ticketed for college unless someone would let him hit (and the $1.2M we gave him didn’t hurt in helping him make the decision). This is way overslot for the 5th round but the development team thinks they got a good one here. Fingers crossed.

  1. Jose Perdomo, SS, 19, FCL, 2029

After a forgettable debut last year due to leg injuries (only 22 plate appearances) he got in a reasonably full season in Florida. The results were not fantastic – 56% groundball rate, sub 300 OBP and SLG – although they came with the reminder that these were really his first at bats in nearly 3 years due first to signing shenanigans in the Dominican and then the injuries. Scouts still see a plus hit tool with developing power although he may need to move off short. They plan to start him off in A- which is certainly a choice. The tools argue that he should go back into the first tier if the plan works.

  1. Isaiah Drake, CF, 21, A+, 2028

Some good things happened for Drake in 2025: he stayed healthy, showed good instincts in center and cut his strikeouts down to 21% (35% in 2024). Unfortunately, all this was achieved by also cutting down on his swing which resulted in a lot of 4-3 putouts. He also established himself as a base stealing threat (46) although only at a 76% clip. He is still young and has great tools so don’t give up on him yet.

  1. Cedric De Grandpre, RHP, 24, A+, 2028

After missing all of 2024 with TJ surgery, the team eased De Grandpre back into the fray, averaging only 4 innings a start. They were good innings! At his best, Cedric throws a heavy sinker paired with a bat-missing slider (11.8k/9) as well as a workable change to keep lefties honest. Between the strikeouts and ridiculous groundball percentage the kid has a chance to be an excellent reliever. The one wart on his game was that after a 22 month layoff his control wasn’t there. We will check in again after another year post surgery.

  1. Landon Beidelschies, LHP, 22, A-, 2029

This kid could rank way higher next year. He has a plus slider with depth and the 4-seam was sitting 94-95, peak 99 this past season at Arkansas. The change is currently thrown too hard but he has time to work on that. Some teams were put off by his short-arm motion causing him to drop to the 6th round which we are very glad of.

  1. Herick Hernandez, LHP, 22, A+, 2027

Our scattershot leftie has great stuff and was mostly effective at Rome last season. Walking 6 per nine was not good but if you strike out 11 per nine and only allow 6 hits a game you can learn to live with it. Any improvement in his command/control will allow him to progress rapidly.

  1. Juan Espinal, OF, 19, Rookie, 2029

A big kid still growing into his body, Espinal has excellent bat speed and power potential but is currently held back by being completely unable to adjust to any change of speed from the pitcher. He had a terrific year anyway and could be the next big thing if he can adjust. I note the team did not move him up to Augusta after the end of the rookie league season as they wanted to work with him on this. You know our farm has come a long way when a kid with this kind of potential is this far down the list.

Tier 4: Lightning in a bottle

The odds say that at least a couple of these guys will get their time in the sun. Just don’t bet on any one individual ?

  1. Luis Guanipa, CF, 19, A-, 2028

I don’t know with this one. On the one hand he only strikes out 15% of the time which is refreshing in this system, but the quality of contact just isn’t there yet. Defensively he looks strained in center but excellent in right. Scouts are still hopeful and of course he got a big signing bonus so he ought to be better. Acuna spoiled us all on normal development curves I guess.

Anyway, based on the tools he jumps back up the list should he ever begin squaring the ball up.

  1. Patrick Clohisy, OF, 23, AA, 2027

A speed merchant who was too old for the leagues he played in, AA in 2026 should tell us where his future lies. 9% bb and 17% strikeout rates bode well for the future. He led all of the minors in stolen bases with 79 at a nifty 82% rate. Looks like a future prototypical 5th outfielder to me.

  1. Jhancarlos Lara, RHP, 23, AAA, 2026

Ah, how my former irrational Dominican pitching phenom has fallen! He still has the great stuff but has a much harder row to hoe Vs hitters in the upper minors who mostly swing at the mistakes. I hate to say it but the record of these wild thing types succeeding in the majors is lousy.

  1. Hayden Harris, LHP, 27, MLB, 2026

Getting to MLB at all has to be considered a win for Harris who barely breaks wind with his fastball and was undrafted coming out of college. I can see him as a fringe 13th guy on the staff for the next few years.

  1. Drue Hackenburg, RHP, 24, AA, 2027

What a weird one. After a 2024 breakout that saw him perform well above expectations – including 4 excellent starts at Gwinnett – 2025 was an unmitigated disaster. I’m actually hoping there was an unannounced injury because otherwise we may as well release him.

  1. Logan Braunschweig, CF, 22, A+, 2028

As a 2025 senior sign – and a cheap one ($2500) at that – little was expected in 2025. All he did was go to Rome and put up a 400 obp with plus defense across the outfield. BA told us going in that he had one of the better hit tools in the draft this year so you can guess what he’s missing to still wait until the 9th round. That 400 on base will get your attention though and the team will give him every chance in AA to show he can do it against better pitching. After all, Myles Straw has a career.

  1. Ethan Bagwell, RHP, 20, FCL, 2029

The questions about Bagwell all pertain to health and availability – the kid has only managed 61 innings in 2 seasons, but they were good innings! Coming into 2025 we heard rumblings about poor command and inconsistent stuff but none of that manifested this season. The fact he was able to do so well at Augusta without needing rookie appearances is a great sign. Because of the lack of innings I expect him to start back at A- to start 2026. One to watch.

  1. Rolddy Munoz, RHP, 25, MLB, 2026

Still has the gas and still has no particular idea of what to do with it. He doesn’t strike out as many hitters as you would expect from his nasty stuff because he makes no attempt to sequence his pitches – he always throws the fastball behind in the count and always throws the slider when ahead. He got 4 appearances in the bigs last season and did well until the time he didn’t. Will be on the Gwinnett Express for the next few years.

  1. Carter Holton, LHP, 23, DNP, 2028

A small leftie from Vandy, Holten pitched 2 innings after the 2024 draft and then missed the rest of 2024 and the entire 2025 season with TJ surgery. He will be on a fairly cautious rehab program for at least the first half of 2026 and we will go from there. As he needed to be shut down late in all of his college seasons for unspecified arm worries I plan to keep my expectations low and hope to be pleasantly surprised.

  1. David McCabe, 1B/DH, 26, AAA, 2026

Do not believe what sources tell you: the man has no defensive home. As a DH he still comes with a major wart in that his right handed swing is sub replacement level, but as a leftie he projects as plus at the mlb level. Platoon DH was a concept beyond Brian Snitger’s capabilities but new times and all that. When there were 10 man pitching staffs, guys like this had decent careers.

  1. Nick Montgomery, C, 20, A-, 2029

The Braves were the only team that saw Montgomery as a catcher (which was his preference) rather than on the mound or in the outfield, and while he has made great strides with the defensive side of things this season it absolutely devastated his hitting. After giving him day to day work early on the team switched to a 2-3 games a week catching schedule and he began to find more success at the plate. Should he make it he will be the low-average, decent walks, good power sort which plays very well at the position.

  1. Douglas Glod, OF, 21, A-, 2029

Still only 20 but in his fourth year in the system, Glod showed his first signs of life in a long time. He set career highs in games played, homers and walks while playing all 3 OF positions well. All in all this generated a 109 OPS+. Unfortunately, the strikeouts ate virtually all of the gains as he whiffed at a ghastly 35% rate. To be fair, this was an improvement on last season! There clearly is still something to unlock here but it may not be worth the effort.

  1. Luis Arestigueta, RHP, 20, A-, 2029

A gawky looking kid with long arms and 0% bodyfat, Aresigueta is a work in progress. If he can harness his long levers without tearing up his joints up we may well end up with quite the pitcher. I expect him to repeat A- this season and we shall go from there.

  1. Cade Kuehler, RHP, 24, DNP, 2028

Fighting Camels represent! Missed the entire season after 2024 TJ surgery. Up until then he was a small college guy with good stuff who seemed on his way to being a good #3 if the command/control came around and a useful bullpen guy if they didn’t. Will likely start back at A- to begin his rehab.

  1. Brett Sears, RHP, 26, AAA, 2027

One does not expect a senior sign, 14th round draft pick to get to AAA in his first professional season but here we are. Sears was expected to be staff filler but took on ever more important roles as the season went on. Though he throws 6 pitches, a 94 mph heater and a sharp slider are the pick of the litter. He has a bit of a Chris Medlen feel to him and even has a similar body type. This kind of prospect almost never amounts to more than some innings in garbage time at the major league level but you never know.

  1. Kendy Richard, RHP, 21, A-, 2029

A late bloomer from the Dominican as he was signed at 18 for hardly any bonus at all. He has 2 improving breaking balls (a very good sweeper and a decent slider) and a stocky build that scouts think has a little more oompf in it (he’s currently 89-92). I need a few more stateside innings to get excited about this one.

  1. Elison Joseph, RHP, 25, AAA, 2026

A fireballing righty who we once dreamed on as our future closer is now just AA filler (albeit with a great arm). One thing the Rays do incredibly well is take guys like this and teach them a sweeper and get a decent pitcher until the elbow inevitably blows. Sounds like a plan.