Atlanta Braves 2017 Top 100 Prospects: #61-80

80. Dylan Moore, SS, Mississippi

Born: 8/2/1992
2017 Stats: .207/.291/.292, 482 PA, 7 HR, 10 SB, 45/96 BB/K
Info: Moore came to the Braves from the Rangers and had such a big offensive performance with Carolina that many fans began to think there was a future utility infielder or starting 2B/1B in Moore. He even went out to the Arizona Fall League in 2016 and hit over .300 with a pair of home runs and a pair of steals.

This season, Moore played almost exclusively at shortstop in 2017 with Mississippi, but he really fell off in his overall production. While he did show himself well defensively, which was surprising, Moore’s bat, which had always been his calling card, struggled. Moore’s 25 at this point and it’s tough to see him having a big future in the major leagues, but his improvement defensively this year could preclude more to come in 2018.

79. Luis Mejia, 3B, Danville

Born: 3/8/1997
2017 Stats: .297/.354/.330, 103 PA, 0 HR, 5 SB, 8/13 BB/K
Info: Mejia is a lean switch-hitter that has moved up step by step in the system since coming into the organization. He struggled a bit to find playing time with the influx of infielders into the lower levels of the system. Mejia is not a guy who will likely jump out at anyone, but he’s steady, with good bat control, excellent zone judgement, above-average speed, and gap power. He’s not likely to develop into a 30-HR guy down the road, but he reminds me a lot of Johan Camargo at the same spot in their careers. Defensively, he’s not great at short, but he’s a plus defender at third with an above-average arm that plays up due to his ability to load and fire accurately.

78. Wes Parsons, RHP, Mississippi/Gwinnett

Born: 9/6/1992
2017 Stats: 30 G, 11 GS, 111 1/3 IP, 3.15 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 39/108 BB/K
Info: Parsons has been willing to do pretty much anything the Braves need in his career – from starting to relieving, long relief to closing, and everything in between. Parsons works in the low-90s, touching up to 96. His best secondary pitch is his slider, a pitch that comes in around 83 MPH, and it has an incredible break that appears to break late, really deceiving hitters and generating swing and miss. His 6’5″, 240-pound build belies how long his arms and legs are, which leads to a bit of deception on the hitter as well. Parsons likely is not a future starter long-term, but he’s shown enough that he could be a quality middle relief option or long man in the bullpen, offering a guy who could take a spot start when needed.

77. Gary Schwartz, OF, Danville/Florida

Born: 1/22/1996
2017 Stats: .267/.383/.495, 130 PA, 5 HR, 2 SB, 20/29 BB/K
Info: Schwartz came from Grand Canyon University, whose baseball program has been on the rise in recent years, in the 16th round of this past June’s draft. He doesn’t have any one particular standout tool, though his raw power is fairly untapped and could play up to an above-average tool as well as his defense. His arm is not really such that he’d be a plus in right field, but in left, he’s accurate with an above-average arm, which would play well in that spot. Schwartz showed a better eye than many expected at the plate, and his power with Danville was quite impressive. His time with Florida was brief but not very positive. He strikes me as a guy that could end up becoming a solid 4th outfielder or even a 2nd-tier corner outfield starter if he progresses well, but he’s shown a high floor as well after his drafting.

76. Caleb Dirks, RHP, Gwinnett

Born: 6/9/1993
2017 Stats: 27 G, 40 1/3 IP, 4.02 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 13/45 BB/K
Info: Dirks continues to befuddle those who watch him. He has a fastball that works around 93 MPH, topping out around 96, but with plenty of late movement low in the zone. His slider has played up from an average-ish pitch coming out of college as a 15th round pick in 2014 to at least an above-average pitch. Dirks pounds the zone, rarely allowing free passes. However, in spite of all of that, he ends up seemingly finding ways to stall out or raise questions about his ability to move up as a major league option. This season, it was due to a drastic spike in his home run rate, with the 6 he allowed in 2017 doubling his career number before this season. Dirks certainly has the raw tools to be a solid 6th/7th inning guy, but he’ll need to take that next step to get to that spot.

Next: #71-75