Atlanta Braves 2017 Top 100 Prospects: #61-80

The Atlanta Braves began to see some of the fruits of their multiple-year rebuilding project on 2017. After a pair of seasons with rough records and rosters that fans struggled to find future pieces on beyond budding superstar Freddie Freeman, the 2017 season saw 70+ wins for the first time in 3 seasons, though the team still lost 90.

Last season, this was done through Call To The Pen contributor Benjamin Chase’s previous other site, Tomahawk Take. He’s not there, so we’re happy to have the list here!

The making of the list

This top 100 list is the product of the views of CTTP contributor Benjamin Chase. Through either video views or discussions with contacts throughout the minor league/scouting world, Ben has put together this list, and it is his based on his opinion, and his personal weights on certain things will push players up and down – for instance, players with success at the upper minors will appear higher, all things being equal, and relievers will likely find themselves lower on Ben’s list than others’.

With the list coming out at this time, there are plenty of things that could come out in the offseason that changed the players on this list and their order. There are a number of players on this list that are eligible for minor league free agency and Rule 5, so it’s absolutely feasible that not every name on this list will make it all the way to spring training still as a member of the Atlanta Braves.

All players that still maintain rookie eligibility going into 2018 are eligible for this. From the 2016 list that Ben put together, 3 of the top 10 graduated with time spent at the majors and 5 of the top 20.

The list will come out with 20 players at a time, with #81-100, #61-80, #41-60, #21-40, and #1-20. Also at the end will be a post that offers up the entire list in list format (no player evaluations on those players) and also will add a number more players to keep track of beyond the top 100 that could move up quickly or that had positive 2017 seasons.

With that, we will continue with today’s installment, #61-80….

Next: #76-80

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

75. Jaret Hellinger, LHP, Danville/Rome/Florida

Born: 11/18/1996
2017 Stats: 20 G, 8 GS, 68 2/3 IP, 4.59 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 29/47 BB/K
Info: Hellinger was the definition of hot and cold this season. He was beaten up badly out of the bullpen with Rome to open the season, then had a very solid time with Danville as a starter and long reliever. Then he had one solid relief appearance with Florida. Hellinger stands 6’4″ and is incredibly gangly with long arms and long legs and quite lean. That leads to Hellinger having some issues getting off within his delivery, meaning his timing in that delivery is off, leading to struggles controlling the ball. Hellinger has the stuff to be a back-end starter, but he will need to get his delivery locked in.

74. Joseph Odom, C, Mississippi/Gwinnett

Born: 1/9/1992
2017 Stats: .266/.329/.359, 72 PA, HR, 6/17 BB/K
Info: Odom’s 2017 season was sapped heavily due to injury, and at his age, that could be a very rough thing to his future. Odom has been a guy who has shown above-average power with average zone recognition in his past. He’s been able to show himself as a quality receiver behind the plate with a future backup profile, which for a catcher can mean a long career, but losing time to injury at this point could allow other guys to move past him in the pecking order and prevent him from getting a shot at at bats.

73. Braxton Davidson, OF, Florida

Born: 6/18/1996
2017 Stats: .213/.339/.312, 434 PA, 7 HR, 2 SB, 66/155 BB/K
Info: It’s been a precipitous fall for the former first round selection out of high school in North Carolina. He was repeating the high-A level this season and drastically stepped back. His defense took a step forward in moving over to left field. Davidson can take a walk, strikes out too much, has raw power that he doesn’t show in the game, and has huge holes in his swing. Next verse, same as the first.

72. Jon Kennedy, LHP, Rome

Born: 9/20/1995
2017 Stats: 39 G, 78 1/3 IP, 2.87 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 6/65 BB/K
Info: This could end up being light for Kennedy, but the Braves haven’t really shown that they’re going to push him quickly, so there doesn’t seem to be a rush to get his skills up the system. Kennedy is the first of 3 towering lefties that opened the season in A-ball in the Braves system, and all three showed well. Kennedy’s pinpoint control is his biggest asset in his pitching as he has a fastball that sits around 90 MPH. He also has a curve with tremendous 12-6 looping break that freezes hitters, and coming from a 6’9″ guy who has an arm slot that’d be a very low 3/4 in release point, that curve can be absolutely deadly. Kennedy probably isn’t a guy who will ever be an elite shut down closer type, but his ability to throw multiple innings with quality control and repeat his delivery is a huge asset to any bullpen.

71. Juan Carlos Negret, OF, DSL

Born: 6/19/1999
2017 Stats: .264/.410/.391, 217 PA, 2 HR, 23 SB, 27/47 BB/K
Info: An exceptional athlete that the Braves unearthed from Cuba, Negret opened his season tearing the DSL apart. He came back to earth some, but he still showed good patience and athleticism throughout the season. Negret has good size at 6’1″, 190 pounds listed, though he’s not completely maxed out physically, so he could add some power to his frame yet. Negret has a plus arm and plus to double-plus speed that he uses well to play plus defense in center field or right field. His strikeout rate was a bit high due to a bit of load into his swing, but he has excellent bat speed that should allow him to at least make the jump to a power hitter as he matures into his body further. Negret has an impressive resume to consider and should be one to watch as he comes stateside this season.

Next: #66-70

65. Carlos Franco, 1B/3B, Mississippi/Gwinnett

Born: 12/20/1991
2017 Stats: .252/.326/.427, 512 PA, 21 HR, SB, 48/142 BB/K
Info: Franco has been a guy who seemed to be falling behind the curve of the prospect wave that was brought in, in spite of playing fairly well the whole time. Franco split his time between first and third base in 2017, swinging a powerful left-handed bat. While Franco likely won’t be a guy to push aside other corner infield guys at the big league level, he could be an interesting bench guy for many teams, and as a minor league free agent again, he could find his way to another organization, but he has been with the Braves since signing in 2008, so he may enjoy working in the system until he’s ready to become a coach as many have relayed that Franco is excellent in the clubhouse, especially with his fellow Latin ballplayers.

64. Connor Lien, OF, Mississippi

Born: 3/15/1994
2017 Stats: .187/.252/.329, 411 PA, 10 HR, 17 SB, 24/160 BB/K
Info: Lien is a guy with exceptional raw skills that the Braves took in the 2012 draft out of high school in Florida. Eligible for Rule 5 draft last season, Lien did not get selected, in spite of his elite defense and power/speed combination. Lien has all the raw tools, except that he is missing one – contact. His zone and pitch recognition are lacking, and with a long swing, he doesn’t have the ability to correct when he mis-guesses a pitch, leading to poor batting averages and high strikeouts. Whether Lien will be able to continue as a Braves minor league remains to be seen as there is a strong push of outfielders coming up from the lower levels threatening to push him to a bench role even in the minor leagues. Lien could be an excellent bench outfielder with elite defense if he could just hit enough to get to the big leagues.

63. Adam McCreery, LHP, Rome/Florida

Born: 12/31/1992
2017 Stats: 38 G, 62 1/3 IP, 2.74 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 38/90 BB/K
Info: McCreery was acquired as the return when the Braves traded away Jhoulys Chacin to the Angels in early 2016. What was thought to be a cheap return could turn out to be a valuable piece of the Braves bullpen down the road. He is another of the Braves towering lefties, standing 6’8″ or 6’9″, depending on who you trust. McCreery’s plane on his fastball allows him to limit home runs as batters struggle to drive the ball against him. He can run his fastball up to the mid-90s while dropping two breaking balls as well. His height does mean that he has his moments of getting off in his mechanics, but a change from a near sidearm slot in high school to 3/4 slot now is still a work in progress, so that’s not surprising. McCreery may be older than the typical guy working his way out of A-ball, but the 33% strikeout rate was no fluke. He could be one to watch going forward.

62. Phil Pfeifer, LHP, Mississippi/Gwinnett

Born: 7/15/1992
2017 Stats: 41 G, 59 1/3 IP, 3.49 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 42/77 BB/K
Info: Pfeifer was a 3rd round draft pick by the Dodgers in 2015 after a college career that involved a pretty impressive journey to even completing his collegiate career, let alone becoming a professional. He has been a reliever his entire time as a pro, in spite of a pitch mix that can feature a starter’s repertoire in pitch caliber. Pfeifer’s smallish size has him in the pen in spite of that size, and his bouts with control issues give a good indication that he’s in the right spot. However, his curve and change are both fringe-plus pitches with a fastball that gets excellent movement, working around 93 and touching 95-96. Pfeifer will likely open at AAA, but his ability to work to hitters from both sides should allow him to move to the majors at some point in 2018.

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

61. Tyler Neslony, 1B/OF, Florida/Mississippi

Born: 2/13/1994
2017 Stats: .263/.342/.363, 408 PA, 5 HR, 40/70 BB/K
Info: Neslony had a weird year. He hit for a hot streak at Florida that was tough to match in the entire system during the year from May 25th to June 10th, when he hit .429/.451/.551. That earned him a promotion to Mississippi eventually, but he couldn’t make quality contact at all with the M-Braves. Neslony has a big swing, but he generates doubles power with it, not really true impact power. However, the biggest issue is that Neslony’s glove really works absolutely nowhere. He’s a poor defender at first and the outfield, making 9 errors in just 26 games at first base. The legit stretch he had with Florida puts him this high, but the entire package right now is a prospect that has a lot of work to do to be viable.

Next: Braves Top 100: 81-100

Tomorrow we will see #41-60. So what did you think so far? Any surprises? Questions? Comment below!!