Atlanta Braves 2018 minor league awards
The Atlanta Braves had a big season, returning to the playoffs for the first time in multiple years. How did their farm system fare?
As part of our continuing coverage at Call to the Pen of the minor leagues, we will be covering each organization’s top players for 2018. The coverage will go in reverse order of record. Today, we will look at the Atlanta Braves.
We are going to review the system’s leaders for each organization statistically, then choose one hitter and one pitcher to honor for every team. This will be primarily based on statistical performance, though some “age relative to level” could come into play, so a very impressive season from a 28-year-old in AA will rank below a nearly as impressive season from a 20-year-old at the same level.
After we review each organization’s hitter and pitcher of the year, we will close out October with Call To The Pen’s Minor League team of the year. That will lead into November starting our team top 10 prospect lists. In other words, there will be plenty of minor league content on the way at CTTP, so keep coming back for more each day this offseason!!
Atlanta Braves minor leagues
The top minor league system in baseball the last few seasons began to see the fruits at the major league level as the Atlanta Braves won the NL East in 2018. The Braves have fallen to perhaps the #2 farm system (or certainly a top 5 system), but there are still plenty of reinforcements to come.
Before we offer up awards on the season, let’s take a look at the system’s statistical leaders:
Organization Leaders (min. 150 PA, 50 IP)
BA: CJ Alexander .352
OBP: Michael Reed .453
SLG: Austin Riley .522
OPS: Michael Reed .972
R: Rio Ruiz, Drew Waters 72
H: Riley Delgado 153
2B: Drew Waters 39
3B: Drew Waters, Justin Dean 9
HR: Braxton Davidson 20
RBI: Carlos Franco 76
SB: Ray-Patrick Didder 27
TB: Drew Waters 219
W: Kyle Muller 11
G: Jason Hursh 53
GS: Jeremy Walker 26
IP: Jeremy Walker 143
SV: Jacob Webb 18
K: Touki Toussaint 163
ERA: Walter Borkovich 1.47
WHIP: Hayden Deal 1.00
K/9: Chad Sobotka 12.0
K/BB: Miguel Jerez 5.20
Let’s look at the award winners…
Atlanta Braves Minor League Hitter of the Year: Michael Reed
Level(s): AA Mississippi, AAA Gwinnett, MLB Atlanta Braves
Stats: Minors: .342/.453/.520, 97 G, 404 PA, 26 2B, 11 HR, 10 SB, 62/98 BB/K; Majors: .286/.286/.286, 7 G, 7 PA, 0/3 BB/K
Signed as a minor league free agent before the 2018 season, Michael Reed put together tremendous numbers all season long in the outfield for the Atlanta Braves in the upper minors, actually hitting better in AAA than he had in AA.
Reed did not get many opportunities once he got to the majors to show he could do well, even though he did go for 2/7 in his time and had the ability to play all three outfield positions at least adequately.
Whether Reed will stick around with the Atlanta Braves or not in 2019 is still in the air, but he should certainly have interest this offseason if he is a minor league free agent again.
Runners-up
The third first-round selection of the Atlanta Braves in 2015, Austin Riley garnered the imagination of many Braves fans immediately in his draft season by hitting 12 home runs in his draft season. He then hit 20 home runs his next two seasons in the minors as he worked on his infield defense. He is now considered at least an average third base infielder, if not an above-average defender. His hitting was excellent as well, as he combined between AA and AAA primarily this year to hit .294/.360/.522 with 30 doubles and 19 home runs.
The Atlanta Braves were overjoyed to see the top player in the state of Georgia fall to them in the 2nd round of the 2017 draft. As a teenager in 2018, he played across both A-ball levels with tremendous success, hitting .293/.343/.476 with 39 doubles, 9 triples, 9 home runs, and 23 stolen bases.
Probably the biggest surprise of the Atlanta Braves 2018 class was CJ Alexander, who they drafted in the 20th round. Alexander opened with the Gulf Coast League, but by the end of the year, he’d hit his way all the way to high-A, and he hit at least .325 at every level along the way. Overall, he combined to hit .352/.429/.495 with 8 doubles, 7 triples, 2 home runs, and 4 stolen bases in 52 games.
Atlanta Braves Minor League Pitcher of the Year: Touki Toussaint
Level(s): AA Mississippi, AAA Gwinnett, MLB Atlanta Braves
Stats: Minors: 9-6, 24 GS, 136 1/3 IP, 2.38 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 53/163 BB/K; Majors: 2-1, 7 G, 5 GS, 29 IP, 4.03 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 21/32 BB/K
Acquired from Arizona as the price for the Atlanta Braves to take on the salary of Bronson Arroyo from the Diamondbacks, Toussaint was always a high-ceiling pitcher, but in 2018, he went from a “thrower” to a pitcher, and that improvement rocketed him all the way to the majors.
Toussaint was absolutely dominant in the minor leagues, striking out nearly 29% as a starter. He adjusted his delivery this season, and it led to much better control and command this season.
With the majors, he struggled with command at times, but he showed his ability to strike out big league hitters. Toussaint should be a front-runner for a rotation spot in 2019.
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Runners-up
One of a slew of high school arms drafted in 2016, Bryse Wilson was recruited as a football player and baseball player for college before the Atlanta Braves drafted him. In 2018, he flew up the system, going from high-A Florida all the way to the major leagues by the end of the season. Across three minor league levels, he posted a 3.44 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and a 36/143 BB/K over 125 2/3 innings. He’ll likely open in AAA in 2019, but he’ll get a quick call to the big leagues as he’s needed.
Another of the 2016 high school arms in the Atlanta Braves, Kyle Muller was the national Gatorade high school player of the year in his senior year, and he’s taken some time to get his 6’6″ frame working well in controlling his pitches. He moved quickly in 2018 as he began to see that improvement come, going from low-A Rome to AA Mississippi by the end of the season. In all, across 3 levels, he made 25 starts, tossing 139 2/3 innings, with a 3.03 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and a 46/129 BB/K ratio.
With the third overall pick in the 2016 draft, the Atlanta Braves surprised many by selecting high school pitcher Ian Anderson, but his 2018 season showed exactly why they were so high on him. Likely to jump well within the top 50 of any major prospect list after the 2018 season, Anderson pitched with high-A Florida and AA Mississippi. He totaled 24 games started and 119 1/3 innings pitched with a 2.49 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and a 49/142 BB/K ratio
Next. Mariners minor league awards. dark
The 2018 season was a huge step in the rebuild for the Atlanta Braves, and the farm system has many more players to continue seeing the Braves succeed well into the future.