Atlanta Braves 2017-2018 Top 100 Prospects List: Complete List and Others To Know
Others To Know – Upper Minors
Over the course of the next few pages, I’m going to highlight another 32 players that fans should at least be aware of. With the additional few names on the complete list, that gives almost 140 names for Braves fans to whet their whistle as the offseason begins!
Jesse Biddle, LHP – Picked up in spring training of 2016 when the Pirates attempted to slide him through waivers, Biddle spent 2016 recovering from Tommy John surgery, and he was eased back in 2017 to a role in the bullpen as a multi inning reliever, which he excelled in. Once a top prospect with the Phillies, Biddle cruised into mid-July with the Braves when he tore his lat, costing him the rest of the season. On the year, he made 27 appearances, threw 49 2/3 innings, and posted a 2.90 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and a 16/53 BB/K ratio. If not for health concerns, he’d rank for certain in the top 100, and he likely would have seen Atlanta in 2017.
Keith Curcio, OF – I’ve said for a while that Curcio has the perfect design of a bench outfielder – good contact skills, good defense, the ability to even play a little infield – but his 2017 was not at that same level. Some of that was due to BABIP, and Curcio did still have a solid BB/K, but hitting .219/.294/.314 won’t turn the heads enough when you don’t have plus power or plus-plus speed to entice the move up the system. He could end up system depth, but there are still the skills there with a short, quick swing to be a guy who could give the Braves a similar year to what Lane Adams offered in 2017.
Enderson Franco, RHP – Franco is eligible for minor league free agency, and I have not seen anywhere that he has declared, nor that he has signed anywhere, so for now, I’ll assume he’ll return to the Braves. If so, he’s the type of guy who spends years as an org starter, but has the sort of stuff if he was ever put into a bullpen role could have a run of seasons like Cristhian Martinez did for the Braves in the early 2010s, giving 70+ innings of quality long-man work. He spent most of the season with Florida in 2017, but he filled in when Rome and Gwinnett needed an arm in a pinch. Overall, he posted a 3.86 ERA over 121 1/3 innings with a 1.34 WHIP and 43/103 BB/K. He has a heavy mid-90s fastball and a slider to pair with it, but he’s never developed a third pitch to really become a quality starter to project as a big leaguer, and he turns 25 in the offseason, so bullpen may be coming soon.
Michael Mader, LHP – Fas were very excited by the performance of Mader after his acquisition last season, as he made 5 starts for Mississippi, with a 2.40 ERA and 1.10 WHIP with a 6/26 BB/K over 30 IP. Knowing he’d move to the bullpen in 2017, the Braves had him participate in the Puerto Rican winter league in a bullpen role, and he was very good, posting a 0.63 ERA and 1.05 WHIP over 14 1/3 innings. Sadly, he struggled with his location out of the bullpen this year, and it cost him, posting a 4.18 ERA and 1.52 WHIP in 35 appearances and 64 2/3 innings, with a 41/57 BB/K. Mader has a quality pitch mix that isn’t going to ever be a front-line guy, but he could work as a multi-inning reliever, especially from the left side, if he can get his location ironed back out.
Evan Phillips, RHP – After a solid season in 2016 split between Carolina and Mississippi where Phillips posted a 3.02 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and struck out a hitter per inning, Phillips was primed for a quick road up the upper minors in 2017 with a path to the majors if he performed well. While he showed well in spring, Phillips had a rough start to the season, and it was hard to recover his season numbers. On the season, he made 40 appearances, 26 of them scoreless, but his season numbers wouldn’t show that due to the games he allowed runs being rough – 10 of 14 games where Phillips allowed a run, he allowed multiple runs. Phillips’ stuff was certainly not rough, and he still has a good shot to make a positive impression in spring and move into consideration for a bullpen role with the big league club, but as many of his “blow up” games also contained multiple walks, his ability to locate will be key to his success in 2018 and going forward.
Bradley Roney, RHP – Roney has tallied three things in his pro career: strikeouts, raised eyebrows, and walks. Roney throws from an extremely high arm angle, almost overhead, and he brings his fastball in the upper 90s with incredible movement and plane low in the zone. He also works with a hard curve that gets tremendous movement as well. His third pitch is a split change that often gets more rollover grounders than swing and miss, but it’s still a pitch that moves a ton as well. Roney could be a dominant reliever, if he could simply get his control in hand, but to this point, he’s posted a career 18.1% walk rate, roughly 10% more than you’d like to see out of even a “wild” reliever. Roney has the type of dominant pitches that could lead to a big league career in the bullpen if he could figure out how to pound the zone with them.
Next: Others to know - A-ball