Braves Wheel and Deal on Final Day of Winter Meetings

The final day of the Winter Meetings saw plenty of players leaving and even some coming to Atlanta. Let's recap the moves.

By Arturo Pardavila III from Hoboken, NJ, USA
[CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Atlanta Braves release Williams Perez

The day got started with the news that the Braves were cutting Perez to open up a spot on their 40-man roster that would soon be used for a Rule 5 selection. Perez, a right-handed groundball machine, had came on the scene with a breakout 2015 in which he maintained a 2.91 ERA and 3.29 FIP at Double-A Mississippi. He never was a strikeout pitcher, but showed great command of the strikezone and a penchant for getting batters to smack the ball into the ground for easy outs.

Over the last two seasons, he has appeared 34 times in the majors with all but three as a starter. What we find out was about what we thought we knew when he was coming up. While capable of getting grounders, Williams lacked stuff and in the major leagues, it's almost impossible to get by as a right-handed soft tosser without having a weapon resembling a plus pitch to choose from. Just to add on, of all total pitches that Williams threw, a criminally low 5.9% became swinging strikes. The average is about 10%. Hitters bashed him and he wore his 4.85 FIP/4.75 xFIP deservingly. He's not bad Quad-A depth, but his ceiling was just too low for the Braves to keep him when they could re-purpose that roster spot on a higher ceiling option.

The Atlanta Braves select RHP Armando Rivero from the Chicago Cubs

Last week, I reviewed eight players I liked coming into the Rule 5 Draft. Only two were selected and the Braves' option wasn't on my radar. That said, I'm blogging in my boxers and they have a wealth of scouting reports so I'm confident they made a better selection than me. Rivero was a big signing by the Chicago Cubs in 2013 out of Cuba. Expected to be a quick riser through the minor leagues, Rivero has been on the cusp of the majors in each of the last two seasons. Overall, his minor league numbers are pretty studly with 303 K's in 220 ING (12.4 K/9). He can battle control issues and gives up a few too many homers. Unlike many Rule 5 picks, Rivero is up there in age and will turn 29 on the first day of February.

Rivero has mixed reports on his fastball velocity ranging from low 90's to the mid-90's. His best pitch when he was a star reliever in Cuba was his cutter. He also has a breaking ball that, had he been able to develop it into a plus pitch, might have pushed the Cubs to try him as a starter. That said, I've read that the pitch (which some call a curve while others say is a slider) can be a strikeout pitch, but lacks consistency. The bullpen is shaping up to have a lot of competition, but Rivero's Rule 5 status might help him claim a spot if not outshined by other options.

For more on Rivero - especially his defection from Cuba - read this article from last July from The Des Moines Register. New Braves minor leaguer David Freitas also has a quote in the article and I highly recommend it.

Minor League Portion of Rule 5 Draft Review

And then, there was the minor league portion of the Rule 5. While the Braves didn't lose a player in the major league portion while adding Rivero, they lost three guys in the minor league section along with gaining one. These players do not have to be offered back to their previous team if not kept in Triple-A.

The Braves selected Cesilio Pimentel from the Pirates in the First Round as they continue to absolutely crush the name competition. Signed out of the Dominican Republic, the lefty made his professional debut in 2011 and has slowly climbed the ladder since then. Last year, at 23, he pitched for West Virginia in the Sally League mostly in long relief. He's continued to show good control and adequate strikeout numbers, but really needs to be challenged at some point as he was just too old for the South Atlantic League. While he'll go to the Triple-A roster, my bet is that he'll start next season in Double-A.

The Second Round saw the Braves lose two players before a third went in the next and last round. First, left-hander Brian Moran went to the Orioles. He's been around for awhile now since the Mariners selected him out of UNC-Chapel Hill in 2009. He's also a veteran of the Rule 5 pick as he was picked in 2013 by the Angels, but missed the season with Tommy John surgery and was ultimately returned to the Mariners. He would pitch one more season with the M's before being selected last year as a minor league Rule 5 pick by the Indians. He was released at the end of spring training and played some in independent ball before the Braves added him last August for the stretch run with Gwinnett. He has good career numbers, but they don't really stand out, either.

Three picks later, the Rangers picked Zachary Bird. The righty had been acquired along with *gulp* Hector Olivera in 2015 from the Dodgers. He was praised for his athleticism and reports were thathe had a big arm that and some high-celing potential. However, last year, he looked completely lost in the Carolina League. Despite that, there was some rumblings that Bird might be selected in the major league portion if the Braves didn't protect him. That was probably due to the fact that his Dodgers pre-trade hype is still attached to him according to MLB Pipeline as very few - if any - experts had Bird as a Top 30 prospect for the Braves outside MLB's official prospect guys. Bird has a shot to be something for the Rangers, but not shocked the Braves didn't try to protect him.

The final selection of the day came with Texas again raided the Braves' system for righty Fernando Miranda. In 2015, he made a cameo in my Random Prospect Sunday series. He spent last season on loan to the Mexican League where he had decent K numbers, but not a lot else. Miranda had only pitched 78 innings over three seasons before 2016 in the Braves' system. This sentence might sum on the choice of Miranda - you didn't know the Braves had him and there was good reason for that.

By EricEnfermero (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0],
via Wikimedia Commons

Braves Trade Tyrell Jenkins and Brady Feigl, Take Chance on Luke Jackson

This is one of those trades where all you can say is "Uh, alright."

It wasn't hard to like Jenkins. He had an engaging personality on social media, was one of the first real young pieces the Braves acquired after axing Frank Wren, and had posted some pretty decent numbers over two years. The problem with Jenkins was pretty simple. While the Braves were able to squeeze the two healthiest seasons of his career, his metrics never climbed out of the "Meh" range. His K/9 fell under 6 an inning, his control never wavered far from 4 walks per nine, and while he always induced a lot of grounders, his stats never seemed to match the hype.

Like Zach Bird, Jenkins is an athletic righty who needed refinement. So much so that last year, the Braves pushed Jenkins to the pen. But whereas Bird headed south this season, Jenkins did enough to earn a callup to the majors. He walked more batters than he struck out and like a player the Braves cut earlier that day, Williams Perez, Jenkins couldn't get hitters to swing-and-miss. Since Jenkins has never displayed excellent control, that led to major league hitters elevating his pitches and sending them to the bleachers for souvenirs way too often.

That's not to say that Jenkins is a lost cause. Only that he had plateaued and was not improving. With better prospects reaching Triple-A or knocking on the door, Jenkins was expendable.

Feigl was a fun story during the 2015 spring training as a non-drafted free agent who Gene Karns, who had found Brandon Beachy, signed. Feigl pitched well in 2014 and with no lefties stepping forward in the spring of 2015, Feigl was beginning to look like a possibility to break camp in the majors before being a late cut. Soon after, he complained of soreness and later would need Tommy John. He missed almost all of the last two seasons before a late return to three rehab games in the Gulf Coast League last summer. I had big hopes for Feigl before his injury and for more on his strange path to nearly making the Braves in 2015, read this article.

As for the guy the Braves got, Luke Jackson heads to Atlanta. Selected five picks before Jenkins in the 2010 draft, Jackson has shown some strikeout ability in the minors that only got better after his 2015 move to the bullpen. It's the rest of his game that the Braves coaches will look to refine. His delivery occasionally comes out of whack, his breaking pitches aren't always thrown for strikes, and he can be a bit homer prone despite a real weapon in his fastball.

Much like how Jenkins had plateaued as a Braves prospect, it appears that Jackson has reached a level where he's just not getting any better pitching for the Rangers' organization. The Braves will work with him on getting his breaking pitch(es?) thrown for strikes and more consistency on the mound, which should make him better able to handle the strikezone. Jackson is armed with a 95-97 mph fastball that will buy him long looks with the Braves.

This deal can be summed up in one word: Ceiling. As we saw with the Alex Jackson trade (and many others before that), the Braves have no problem with dealing quantity for the highest ceiling in the trade. With 94-95 mph heat, electric stuff, and developing secondary options, Jackson represented the best bet to be more than just a bit player in the majors of the three players involved in this trade. Now, he has to prove it. Luckily for him, the Braves are building a who's who of pitching instructors and coaches.

I understand why some fans hated this trade. Part of that was overvaluing Jenkins, part of it was the underwhelming return. This trade needs time to allow the pieces to develop and mature before judging. That said, I like this aggressive front office that values ceiling over floor. This trade only reinforces that.

Minor League Saturday Stats Pack - Peterson, Swanson, Didder, Bird

Dustin Peterson > D.J. Peterson with .383 wOBA

It's exceedingly early, but for the first times in their respective professional careers, the younger Peterson is outproducing his much-heralded older brother at the plate. Dustin really struggled at Carolina last year, though considering his age and the difficulty with hitting in the Carolina League, maybe he should have been given a mulligan. Further, the improvements that he did make were not given much coverage. After 1-in-5 of all PA in 2014 ended with Peterson swinging through strike three, he knocked that down to 13.7 (or essentially league average). He upped his true BB% rate from 5.5% to 9.3%. These were little things that may have not impressed people looking at his .253/.319/.350 slash, but showed that Peterson was a kid who might be getting it.

In 2016, he does get it. Well, so far. His triple slash is up to .277/.345/.477 and he has minor improvements in swinging third strikes and true walks (non-IBB). He's also began to flash the power that made an intriguing player when the Padres drafted him. After about 5% of flyballs turned into homers from 2014-15, he has nearly doubled that metric in 2016. With a 119 wOBA+, Peterson is looking like he's definitely on the rise.

By Arturo Pardavila III on Flickr (Original
version) UCinternational (Crop) [CC BY 2.0],
via Wikimedia Commons

Swanson's Struggles Continue

Need another example why the Braves shouldn't rush prospects to the majors? Here is Dansby Swanson's last eight games.

0-for-3, 2 BB, K
0-for-3, HBP
0-for-3, BB, 2 K
0-for-4, K
3-for-4, 3B, BB
0-for-4, K
0-for-3, BB
0-for-4, K

This is nothing to worry about, but it does show us that maybe Swanson could be better suited working through adversity in Double-A rather than desperately searching for a hit when he puts up goose eggs in seven-of-eight games in the majors.

RPD Refuses to Slow Down

At some point, the performance of Ray-Patrick Didder has to be more than just BABIP driven. Certainly his .379 BABIP should see an element of regression, but that can't explain his .283/.372/.425 triple slash completely. One of the more interesting things to watch as the season progresses is if his .142 ISO is for the real. A competent ISO with an outfielder capable of swiping 20 or more bases is worth prospect-attention. The fact that he has a good understanding of the strikezone and takes his walks will only help.

.400 OBP + .186 ISO = Call-up?

Back in 2014, Joey Meneses became a bit of a prospect for the Rome. Signed out of Mexico, the 1B/OF was repeating the level and despite spending much of the year on the DL, finished with just 28 fewer total bases in 50 fewer games than he did in 2013. Highlights included a May 10th home game against Asheville in which Meneses hit for the cycle. At the time, with so few prospects churning in the minors (especially hitters), Meneses garnered more attention than he likely deserved. The following year, he would struggle nightly with Carolina. The performance would force the nearly 24 year-old to repeat the Carolina League assignment to begin this season. It might be time to bump him up.

He was pretty good overall, but has stepped it up over his last 17 games. He's hit .450 with 7 2B, 4 HR, and even added a pair of steals. He does a lot of his damage against younger pitchers and certainly, an abbreviated run in his second go-around with Carolina doesn't mean he should be back in our minds as a potential major leaguer, but he's not getting any younger. Time to see what he can do at Mississippi.

"You sold my dead bird to a blind kid?"

If last year's Hector Olivera exchange wasn't looking bad enough for you, the other piece acquired in the deal - Zachary Bird - has been awful so far. Moved to the bullpen to begin the season, the 21 year-old righty out of Jackson, Mississippi comes with a bevy of worrisome stats. 14 unintentional walks in 13 innings to 70 batters faced. A declining GB% rate that has fell to 42%. 5.89 FIP. Strikeout percentage that has plummeted from 18% last year to 11% this year.

Bird three a pair of scoreless innings last night with a hit allowed, two walks, and a strikeout. He got the same amount of swinging strikes in that one outing that he did the previous three in which he faced 13 more hitters. Maybe it's a hopeful sign because the Braves are certainly searching for positives with Bird.

Thanks for reading and remember to read the major league portion of this article by either scrolling down or, if you came to this blog directly, clicking here.

Carolina Mudcats 2016 Preview

Swanson's a Mudcat in 2016
Rob Carr/Getty Images

Yesterday, I previewed the Rome Braves roster, which is full of prospects throughout. Today's team, the Carolina Mudcats, is not quite as impressive from a prospect standpoint, though the franchise's top prospect will start there. There are some good prospects throughout this team, though.

Staff - Rocket Wheeler (Manager), Jose Mota (Coach), Carlos Mendez (Hitting), Derrick Lewis (Pitching)
-Since 2003, Wheeler has been managing Braves affiliates with his longest tenure coming with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans for five seasons until 2010. He was at the helm of the 2008 squad that won 89 game behind the play of Ernesto Mejia, Tyler Flowers, and Scott Diamond. Now he's back in the Carolina League with the Mudcats. The rest of the coaching staff is unchanged from last season. Mendez played 16 professional years with a 26-game run with the Orioles in 2003 mixed in. After spending his final three years with Richmond, the career .296 minor league hitter retired and joined the organization as a coach in '08. Lewis, a 20th rounder in 1997, pitched as high as AAA with the Braves organization before retiring in 2003 and joining the Braves coaching ranks the year after. Mota was not part of the announced coaching staff, but is on Carolina's roster page. In a career spanning a dozen years, he made it to the majors twice in the 90's.

(L) - Left-handed Pitcher/Hitter
(B) - Switch-Hitter
(#number) - Where player ranked in my preseason Top 50 if applicable

Pitchers - Zach Bird (#16), Ryan Clark (#36), Enderson Franco, Chase Johnson-Mullins (L), Ryan Lawlor (L)
-Bird's placement is a mild surprise after Atlanta gave him three starts in AA after acquiring him in the Hector Olivera/Alex Wood exchange last July. A high-ceiling guy, Bird has great potential, but many question marks that have stunk with him since the Dodgers signed him out of Murrah High School in Jackson, Mississippi. Clark's an aggressive placement after being the Braves' fifth round pick last June. In 52.2 innings with Danville, he showed pinpoint control and kept the ball in the yard (4 K/BB, 2 HR allowed). An UNC-Greensboro alum, Clark could be a depth guy for the major league roster at some point in 2017. Picked up from the Marlins organization (he played with Houston and Tampa Bay before that), Franco is a 23-year old in his seventh year of minor league ball with zero innings above A-ball. Another aggressive placement, Johnson-Mullins was picked eight rounds after Clark. A reliever out of Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa, Johnson-Mullins walked too many batters last year, but if the 21 year-old southpaw throws strikes, he could be a good reliever for the Braves. Georgia Bulldog fans remember Lawlor, who the Braves also picked last June in the 8th round. He started 7 of 8 games for Danville last year and had a good strikeout rate of 8.2 per nine. He walked a few too many, but kept the ball in the yard.

Pitchers (cont'd) - Sean McLaughlin, Raimar Navarro (also sometimes Raymar), Wes Parsons, Evan Phillips, Max Povse (#21)
-Lawlor's teammate with Georgia and Danville last year, McLaughlin is one of the few 2015 picks to already have A-ball experience after finishing last year with 17.2 innings with Rome. Struck out nearly 10 batters for every nine innings thrown and had pretty stout control to match (3.4 K/BB). Navarro left Cuba in 2013 and was training with Hector Olivera for a time as he tried to find an MLB deal. Before defecting and signing with the Braves last August, he pitched in the Cuban National Series with Holguin from 2009-2012 mostly as a starter, though he was very very young to be pitching in Cuba's primer league. Now 24, his first game with Carolina will be his first one in the states. Parsons came on the scene with a big 2013 season at Rome after being signed as an undrafted free agent, but stagnated in 2014. He was also hurt and that would continue in 2015, when he pitched just 19.2 total innings including one start in Carolina before his season came to a close. There's a lot to like about Parsons when he's healthy and dealing. With any luck, we'll see some of that this year. A 17th rounder out of UNC-Wilmington last June, Phillips appeared in 12 games with Rome after less than a month with Danville. The righty, who was also drafted by the Royals in 2012, had big strikeout numbers last year (11.2 per nine). Povse started last year with a dozen good starts in Rome before earning a callup to Carolina where everything came off the rails. After less than a month there, it became apparent something was wrong. Povse's season whimpered to a close in late July. The 6'8" behemoth will try to right the ship in 2016.

Pitchers (cont'd) - Zach Quintana, Carlos Salazar, Richie Tate (suspended), Matt Withrow
-Quick question: who did the Braves get in the Kyle Wren trade? If you guessed Zach Quintana, way to follow the format I'm doing here. Quintana was a third rounder by the Brewers in 2012, but had never found success until last year. It wasn't great success, but they got him to throw a lot more strikes and his lowered his walk rate from about 4.5 per nine to 2 per nine. He was a nice swingman for Rome - a role he might serve for Carolina. A 2013 third rounder out of Kerman, California, Salazar is kind of repeating a level after finishing 2015 with ten games in Carolina. The 21 year-old has always shown strikeout potential, but doesn't always know where the ball is going. Richie Tate got suspended for the second consecutive season after testing positive for a "drug of abuse." MLB defines cocaine, opiates, PCP, and cannabis as drugs of abuse and this is Tate's third overall suspension. Tate will miss over half of the year with a 100-game suspension and hasn't built much goodwill with a poor performance on the mound as well. With his brother Chris Withrow in Gwinnett, Matt Withrow joins Clark, Johnson-Mullins, and Lawlor in skipping Rome to begin his first full season in the system with Carolina. He started 13 games for Danville last year with a decent K/BB rate of 2.2.

Catchers - Tanner Murphy (#47), Joseph Odom
-If the Braves didn't have both Lucas Herbert and Jonathan Morales deserving promotions to Rome, Murphy likely would have been given a chance to improve upon his .193/.277/.312 stinker of a year he posted in the South Atlantic League last year. But things being as they are, Murphy will have to re-establish himself in High-A while playing in the Carolina League, which is much harder to hit in than other high-A leagues. The previous year, he showed some good on-base skills and pop (.361 OBP, .147 ISO) to match his great defense. A return to form would be great. Odom has been with the Braves' Carolina League affiliate for two years already. He's a caddy for the starter.

Infielders - Jordan Edgerton (#46), Reed Harper, Joey Meneses, Omar Obregon (B), Dansby Swanson (#1)
-Edgerton carried a little hype heading into 2015, but it eroded with a .245/.290/.317 season in Rome. Like Murphy, if he is to redeem himself, he will have to do it while moving up to high-A. Harper played 82 games with Carolina last year and OPS'd .549, which brought his career OPS down to .608. He can sub all over the infield, though. Meneses memorably OPS'd .850 with Rome in 2014 while hitting for the cycle, but struggled badly in Carolina last year. He can play the outfield, though Carolina is pretty good there. Obregon has a decent glove and speed, but is raw (19 CS in 50 attempts) and has zero power (.039 career ISO). It was a bit of a surprise to see Ozhaino Albies skip Carolina and Dansby Swanson start the year there instead. While the narrative suggested the Braves wanted to keep the duo separate for now to allow them to both play shortstop, with Swanson's competitive college experience and age, it was assumed he would start ahead of Albies. Guess not. Easily one of the most dynamic offensive players not only for Carolina, but in the Carolina League, the excitement for Swanson is huge right now. Fans have been spoiled by the quick ascension of many college players but if Swanson takes more time, that's not a bad thing. Let him develop at his own speed. He's going to be a good one.

Outfielders - Keith Curcio (L, #38), Joseph Daris (L, #40), Braxton Davidson (L, #12), Ryan Gebhardt, Sean Godfrey
-Curcio earned a promotion to Carolina last year after a .343/.416/.479 slash in 32 games with Rome. The results in Carolina were not nearly as exciting, but a .265/.327/.369 triple slash from a player in his first full season - who was also being shifted to second base at times - is acceptable. He played almost all-outfield in winter ball so I assume the 2B experiment was taken out back and shot. Curcio left Daris in Rome and the latter was given the full season to slash .272/.336/.396 - a significant improvement over his first year where he struggled in rookie ball. Daris also nearly pulled off a nerdy feat. Until the final few weeks, he had more triples than doubles, but finished with 13 doubles and 12 triples. He also stole 23 out of 30 bases. Davidson's in-game power started to show more in 2015 than the year before (.132 ISO) but it's still not in line with his projected power output. Love his patience at the plate and I think more power will come. I'm more interested to see if he stays in the outfield or if the Braves eventually move him to first. 2015 was the season of change for Gebhardt. He began the year with AA-Mobile, was demoted to low-A Kane County, promoted to high-A Visalia, demoted back to Kane County, released, signed with Long Island of the independent Atlantic League, purchased by the Braves, assigned to Rome, and then finished the year with three games in Carolina. He saw more states in six months than many of us see in a lifetime. He also found time to pitch a game. Though labelled an outfielder here, he's only played there once so far. Like Bird, Godfrey has to be disappointed with beginning this season back in Carolina. The 22nd rounder out of Ball State opened last year with the Mudcats and hit .304 over 62 games, earning a promotion to Mississippi where he hit like a decent-hitting pitcher (.194/.232/.272). Godfrey was a fun pick in 2014 because he went from drafted to Danville to Rome to Lynchburg within the span of a few months. Now, he's hanging on by a thread to his dreams of being an Atlanta Brave.

Pay to see: Povse, Swanson, Davidson.

Keep an eye on: Bird, Clark, Parson, Murphy, Curcio.

As 2016 begins, Carolina has a little star power with Swanson and Davidson, but not much beyond that. Promotions will change that as the season progresses. If you can catch Carolina play this year, do so early to make sure you get to see Swanson up close. I am going to try to see a few games with the Mudcats and Hillcats in early May for that exact reason.

2016 Top 50 Prospects - #25-#16

Last week, I began my Top 50 for 2016 with the first half of the list. I won't finish the list this week, but the next ten will be revealed. In a deep farm system, several players that are mentioned today could rank much higher if the top 15 wasn't so good.

A couple of notes. My list does not include Derian Cruz or Christian Pache, the top prospects from last year's international class. Other blogs will include them, but unless the player has actually suited up, they don't make my list. If they did, Cruz would have been in the #10-#20 range with Pache likely in the Top 25 as well. Further, Hector Olivera and Dian Toscano are also not on my list. Even if they were young enough, so many years spent in Cuba's premier league would have kept them off. Finally, I am not a scout so take my rankings and grading system with the largest grain of salt. I believe in them, but acknowledge that other experts could disagree.

25. Randy Ventura, OF, Grade: C

It's hard to get too excited about a speedster with one year under his belt in the Dominican Summer League, but Ventura is one of those players that could be a fast riser if he can keep getting on base. The outfielder signed late last season and played most of the DSL's 2015 season as a must-see attraction. In 58 games, he swiped 55-of-64 bases. He also hit .329 and walked more than he struck out while grounding into just one double play all year. Now, the fun part begins - Ventura gets a chance to prove that 2015 wasn't a fluke. Working in his favor is his age (he won't turn 18 until July) and ridiculous burst on the basepaths. However, the switchhitter has no power and at 5'9", it's unlikely he'll add enough muscle to have many .100+ ISO seasons. He'll also need to cut down on the defensive miscues in center and provide value there, but I've heard reports he has the instincts to stay in center. On the high end, he could be a .300ish hitter with good leadoff skills and great stolen base numbers. On the low end, he could be cut by 2018 after not progressing. He should begin this season with the GCL Braves or Danville after fully coming back from a car accident that ended his season last year a week or two early.

24. Andrew Thurman, RHP, Grade: C

A 2nd rounder by the Astros in 2013 out of Cal-Irvine, Thurman came to the Braves last winter in the Evan Gattis trade. At the time, he had spent two years at short-season and low-A ball with unimpressive results. That didn't stop him from getting off to a great start with Carolina. In his first six starts, he threw at least five innings every time and in five of those six outings, Thurman was charged with two or fewer runs. It was the kind of start that gets you a quick promotion, but a bus crash in May that disabled several Mudcats slowed his momentum. He missed nearly two months before getting back to action with some rehab starts in the Gulf Coast League before returning to Carolina. He mostly struggled in five starts, but got his feet wet with a month in Mississippi to end 2015. Overall, his results took a hit. His great walk numbers evaporated in Mississippi while his nice and tidy ERA at the start of the year climbed steadily after his return. His year ended with bad numbers in the Arizona Fall League. A nice college starter, Thurman added velocity after he was drafted and has developing secondary pitches. Ultimately, he could develop into a decent swingman starter, but will need his pitches to develop a lot quicker to threaten the starting rotation in the majors.

23. Juan Yepez, 1B/3B, Grade: C+

He didn't turn heads quite like Austin Riley did, but Yepez posted some impressive stats of his own in 2015. Frank Wren's last big international signing, Yepez slashed .299/.364/.458 while splitting nearly equal time between the GCL Braves and Danville. He hit a quartet of homers and stole 3 bases. However, the biggest thing hurting Yepez's value might be found in his fielding numbers. Of the 51 games he played in the field during 2015, only six (44 ING) occurred at third base. With his offensive profile, he makes for an intriguing offensive third baseman. His prospect status is not nearly as high if he's playing first. Now, the presence of Riley probably played a role, but the concern about Yepez when he signed was that his long-term position might be at first. However, if Yepez continues to parlay his quick, loose swing into big numbers, people will care less about being stuck at first.

22. Robert Whalen, RHP, Grade: C+

Part of the Juan Uribe/Kelly Johnson deal, Whalen carried a bit of a higher grade than the other pitcher (John Gant) acquired in the trade. However, Whalen would only make a trio of starts after the trade before undergoing surgery on both knees to fix some pain he had been dealing with. Nothing is overly impressive about Whalen on the surface, but a 2.48 ERA over nearly 240 innings before the age of 22 is still kind of fun. The big goals for Whalen in 2016 is to stay healthy and a return of his previous strikeout rates would also help. If ready for opening day, I imagine he'll be back in Carolina but Atlanta is certainly hopeful he'll be in Mississippi before August.

21. Max Povse, RHP, Grade: C+

It's hard to miss the former UNC-Greensboro righty. He's 6'8" with a Twitter pic that only makes him look like even more of a giant. He also could be an interesting piece for the future if he can continue to spot his pitches and keep the ball in the yard. After nearly 50 innings with Danville in 2014, Povse moved to Rome to open last season and was rather good there to the tune of 3.1 K/BB and just 2 HR allowed in 59.2 ING. A late June promotion to Carolina didn't continue his success and after one inning on July 20, his season came to a close due to undisclosed injuries. I like his chances of realizing his potential, though that potential might only lead Povse to max out as a productive bullpen piece.

20. John Gant, RHP, Grade: C+

At the time of the trade with the Mets, Gant was considered to be closer to the majors than Whalen, but had a lower ceiling. Apparently, nobody told Gant, who blitzed the Southern League after the trade to the tune of a 1.99 ERA and over a strikeout an inning. That success is a complete turnaround from his 11 games with Binghamton in the AA-Eastern League. A closer look at each spot's BABIP might help explain that (.337 vs. .273 with Mississippi). With limited velocity, Gant relies on deception from a changeup that has similar sink to his fastball. If he can add a better breaking pitch - or upgrade his curveball - Gant could become a decent bottom-of-the-rotation fixture either in Atlanta or elsewhere. If he pitches up to his professional results so far during the upcoming season at Gwinnett (3.24 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 2.8 K/BB, 43-51% GB%), Gant could be in Atlanta as soon as this season.

19. Mike Soroka, RHP, Grade: C+

My ranking pales in comparison to Baseball Prospectus, who ranked the 18 year-old #7 in their Braves' Top 10. Drafted with the #77th overall pick last June, Soroka is a Canadian righty with a plus fastball in stuff and control (velocity maxes out at about 94 mph) plus a great changeup that he has much more control of than pitchers 3-5 years older than him. Where Soroka has made up some of his perceived weaknesses is with a breaking ball, a curveball. While not a plus pitch - at least not yet - it's good enough to give hitters something else to think about. The development of his curve led the Braves to aggressively push Soroka up to Danville to finish 2015. His results weren't as sparkling as they were with the GCL Braves, but a peak at his overall numbers uncovers this amazing nugget - 7.4 K/BB. Now, that's just 34 innings in which he walked five and struck out 37, but we are talking about a guy who didn't turn 18 until last August 4th. That's a very impressive start. More of the same will get him closer to single-digits on my list. Braves might hold him back when Rome's season begins, but I do expect him in Rome sometime this summer.

18. Dustin Peterson, OF, Grade: C+

It'd be easy to ignore that Peterson keeps playing young for his level, but with already over 240 games above rookie ball, the now-21 year-old is off to a quick start to his career. His results haven't been thoroughly impressive by any means, but I still believe the raw power is there. It'll have to be after the Braves moved him away from third base, limiting his overall potential. Peterson has an older brother D.J. that will beat him to the majors, but Dustin has a shot to join him if his in-game power begins to show. While youth has likely stifled his numbers as he has been really young for each year's level, it's time to start seeing some production as he heads into his third full-season year.

17. Ricardo Sanchez, LHP, Grade: C+

One thing that has been quickly apparent under the Holy John Trinity is that young players get pushed quickly. Sanchez was the youngest player in the South Atlantic League last year and signed as a 16 year-old less than three years ago. The results with Rome weren't very pretty. He walked too many batters and struggled to stay on the mound before his season ended in mid-July. The lefty out of Venezuela sports a smooth, repeatable delivery and his velocity sits comfortably in the mid-90's. He has a curveball that could become a plus pitch and a ticket to the majors - at least in a relief capacity. His changeup will likely decide if he can start in the majors. Fortunately, he's got a lot of time and turns just 19 in April. 2016 could be a great bounceback season for him.

16. Zachary Bird, RHP, Grade: C+

Maybe the player most often forgot in the mega deal involving Alex Wood and Hector Olivera last July, Bird has seen slow progression during his minor league run since signing as a ninth rounder in 2012. Still just 21, Bird has great size, improving stuff, and looks the part of the durable middle-of-the-rotation arm who won't be an All-Star often, but will routinely crank out solid campaigns. To become that, he'll need to develop either his curveball or changeup to the point where one of them becomes a consistent third pitch. His slider flashes plus ability while his fastball hits the mid-90's with sink - a profile that could keep a relief option open if the third pitch never really develops. I'm ranking him under the belief that he'll be able to develop that third pitch and become a Jason Hammel-type - a durable, innings eater who gives you 170-200 innings, a good strikeout rate, and 2-3 WAR seasons. That player is valuable. Just ask J.A. Happ who turned a season like that into $36M.

I meant to get this posted a few days ago, but I've been sick so my time schedule has lagged. Next week - hopefully Thursday - I'll release the next ten as we start to get into B-grade prospects and the creme of the crop the system has to offer.