Braves Week 1 Minor League Review

Yeah I am doing a weekly review on Tuesday because that is how my work schedule falls. So I am just going to look at who the best pitchers and hitters were each week for the Braves minor leaguers. I will also try to highlight some guys who we may not talk about but have been performing well. Without further ado here is my first week's review for 2016:

Hitters

Austin Riley - 3B - Rome Braves

           Stats - .318/.348/.636 - 1 HR, 4 2B, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 9 K

In the first week of the season Riley has been exactly what we had hoped. The strike out rate is high so far, but at 19 years old he doesn't appear overmatched early on. I am really high on him and I think he might be one of the best hitting prospects we have had since Freeman and Heyward came up. 

Dansby Swanson - SS - Carolina Mudcats

            Stats - .400/.483/.600 - 5 2B, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 3 K, 2 SB

Swanson's first week as a Brave was a great one. It will be interesting to see how long the Braves can keep him in A ball, and with the issues at SS in Atlanta how long they can keep him out of the majors. The only problem with him playing in Atlanta is there might be someone else in his way.....

Ozzie Albies - SS - Mississippi Braves

             Stats - .346/.393/.385 - 1 2B, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 SB, 1 CS

Albies hasn't started off white hot, but after an 0-4 start to the season he has a hit in every game and has been on base multiple times in every game except tonight's contest. He hasn't shown much power yet, and most likely he won't show a ton, but he has some pop for his size. His eye will almost certainly improve going forward as well. Still this is an excellent start for a 19 year old in AA. There is a very good chance he will be in the majors at 19. I believe the last Brave to do that was Andruw Jones. 

Keith Curcio - CF - Carolina Mudcats

           Stats - .462/.500/.692 - 4 2B, 1 3B, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 SB

I honestly didn't know much about Curcio until this week when he was tearing the cover off the ball. The 23 year old, drafted in the 6th round of 2014, spent the first part of last year having his way with Sally League pitchers before a promotion to Carolina slowed him down some. That appears to be his M.O. as he did the same thing the year before between Danville and then Rome. He returned to Carolina to start this year and after a week of work he appears to have a handle on things. Curcio is the kind of player many would consider a 'grinder' as he has small stature and lacks tons of tools, but he gets the job done. I feel like he could be a guy that never shows up on prospect lists but could get a few years of play in Atlanta as a very solid 4th outfielder. 

I'll continue tomorrow with the pitchers.....

Alright I am bringing this site back. The Braves have an interesting farm system for the first time in years and I am excited about. There isn't much in Atlanta to be excited about this year so I am going to use this blog to channel my Braves energy. I'll also probably be trying to learn how to use blogspot again, so over time I expect this to evolve as I get more comfortable with the layouts. I'll start the year with my top 10 Braves prospects. I'll follow up with something more in depth later. (Also I like to use tiers to separate players so you'll be seeing that a little below):

Tier 1
1.  Dansby Swanson - SS/2B - Dansby is a pretty clear cut #1 for me and he gets his own tier. I'm not sold he is the building block of the Franchise like so many people think he is. Brendan Rodgers was the clear cut best talent in last years draft, but Swanson was taken first due to his higher floor.

Tier 2
2. Sean Newcomb - LHP - He is the closest thing the Braves received to a top of the rotation starter in all of their trades, but he comes with his own warts. He has strike-out stuff, but very little idea where it is going most of the time. He might be a left handed Mike Foltynewicz which is scary

3. Ozzie Albies - SS/2B - Albies has been gaining ground as one of the top prospects in the game over the last year and a half and he hasn't done much to dampen the excitement. He showed in spring training he might be closer to being ready than previously thought. He combines solid defense at SS with strong contact ability and plus speed. All things that give you a high floor in the big leagues. Even if he doesn't get much better he is already a useful big league piece.

Tier 3
4. Aaron Blair - RHP - Blair was another piece that came over from the D-Backs in the Shelby Miller trade. He might be a similar pitcher to miller with a heavy 4 seam fastball that sits in the low to mid-90s, He is close to the majors and should make his major league debut this season.

5. Austin Riley - 3B - I am all aboard the Riley train. Granted the Braves have had guys tear up the Appy league before and never really do much (Eric Campbell, Robby Hefflinger, Cody Johnson), but Riley doesn't appear to have the huge swing and miss in his game that those three had. Fingers crossed he turns into a middle of the order guy.

6. Kolby Allard - LHP - Allard might have the most potential of anyone in system. He was rumored to be in the mix for the top pick last June, but injuries pushed him down to the Braves. He has electric stuff from the left side and looks to be in full swing coming into the 2016 season. Hopefully the Braves can strike gold like the Nats did with Lucas Giolito.

7. Hector Olivera - LF/3B - The much ballyhooed deal that brought Olivera to Atlanta rests on the shoulders of Olivera. Pretty much everyone agreed that Olivera had a major league ready bat when he signed with the Dodgers, but that hasn't born out in his time in the US. He really only needs to be a 3 win player to justify his salary, but right now there is not telling where he ends up.

8. Mallex Smith - CF - Smith is a tough one for me. At his peak he seems like he could be a better version of Michael Bourn, with above average defense early in his career and plus-plus speed. He has a slap hitting approach that could see him get on base with his speed and his walk rates have been solid in the minors. I have a hard time getting excited for this type of player, but he has performed all the way up the ladder so he deserves some attention.

Tier 4
9. Lucas Sims - RHP - I have a soft spot for Sims. He has good stuff and has been pretty durable in the minors (outside of missing time from a bus accident). His profile reminds me a little of Kevin Millwood which may be while I stay excited for him. Also he is still only 22 years old even though it feels like he has been around forever.

10. Mike Soroka/Touki Toousaint/Max Fried - RHP/RHP/LHP - I could go a ton of different ways here. The Braves minor league depth right now is a little absurd and there are a lot of guys down in the 10+ range that could make huge jumps this year. These three I think are the most likely, all with different reasons why they aren't higher (injury, glaring control issues, not enough exposure yet) but I feel that anyone one of the three (or all three) are good bets to make significant strides this season.