<img alt="Washington Nationals v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/oQ3mYJa1vBbbMlObdVUpHOWSGUQ=/0x0:5223x3482/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73392401/2155336046.0.jpg">
Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images
The newly-promoted Spencer Schwellenbach joins AJ Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep on the list The season is entering June, and with a new month of baseball to be played there is a fresh Baseball America top 100 update for us to enjoy. While not as major as the midseason update, these in-season lists do give us a glimpse at what the Baseball America guys are seeing, and it seems they have come away impressed with the Atlanta Braves. AJ Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep are of course the near-consensus top 100 guys for the system, but the work of Spencer Schwellenbach earned him a debut in the top 100 at #92.
NEW TOP 100 MLB PROSPECTS And this is massive June update. - Paul Skenes now No. 1 - 12 new players- Huge rises from Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies prospectsPlus a ton more. New list: https://t.co/NWqZ92kDGu pic.twitter.com/FnTUxzPlAo— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) June 5, 2024
For AJ Smith-Shawver it’s been a largely rough year, as he has struggled at Triple-A despite an improved changeup. Still the Braves were patient with him working on what he needed to, and ultimately decided he was ready for another chance in the major leagues. Smith-Shawver looked solid and like he could stick around for a bit, but got sent to the injured list delaying a promising start to the season in Atlanta. Smith-Shawver came in at #72 on the June update.
The new top prospect in the system is Hurston Waldrep, who previously saw a tumble but after a breakout month of May shot all the way up to #56. Waldrep impressed with 11 strikeouts in his first game after being promoted to Gwinnett, and has been able to massively improve his strike throwing and the success on his slider. Waldrep is now close to the verge of a major league call up if he contrinues to shine like he has in his past few starts, though questions still linger on whether his fastball command is good enough to make him a consistent starter.
As mentioned before Spencer Schwellenbach joins at #92, and it is a well-deserved move. Schwellenbach dominated in his two starts at Mississippi and has shown some flashes of his potential in Atlanta, with really universal improvement on his pitches. The switch from a changeup to a splitter hasn’t paid massive dividends in games and the Braves may ultimately want to get him more time developing that pitch, but the addition of a cutter to his arsenal and the improvements to his command certainly give him a case along with Waldrep and Smith-Shawver.
<img alt="Washington Nationals v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/oQ3mYJa1vBbbMlObdVUpHOWSGUQ=/0x0:5223x3482/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73392401/2155336046.0.jpg">
Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images
The newly-promoted Spencer Schwellenbach joins AJ Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep on the list The season is entering June, and with a new month of baseball to be played there is a fresh Baseball America top 100 update for us to enjoy. While not as major as the midseason update, these in-season lists do give us a glimpse at what the Baseball America guys are seeing, and it seems they have come away impressed with the Atlanta Braves. AJ Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep are of course the near-consensus top 100 guys for the system, but the work of Spencer Schwellenbach earned him a debut in the top 100 at #92.
NEW TOP 100 MLB PROSPECTS And this is massive June update. - Paul Skenes now No. 1 - 12 new players- Huge rises from Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies prospectsPlus a ton more. New list: https://t.co/NWqZ92kDGu pic.twitter.com/FnTUxzPlAo— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) June 5, 2024
For AJ Smith-Shawver it’s been a largely rough year, as he has struggled at Triple-A despite an improved changeup. Still the Braves were patient with him working on what he needed to, and ultimately decided he was ready for another chance in the major leagues. Smith-Shawver looked solid and like he could stick around for a bit, but got sent to the injured list delaying a promising start to the season in Atlanta. Smith-Shawver came in at #72 on the June update.
The new top prospect in the system is Hurston Waldrep, who previously saw a tumble but after a breakout month of May shot all the way up to #56. Waldrep impressed with 11 strikeouts in his first game after being promoted to Gwinnett, and has been able to massively improve his strike throwing and the success on his slider. Waldrep is now close to the verge of a major league call up if he contrinues to shine like he has in his past few starts, though questions still linger on whether his fastball command is good enough to make him a consistent starter.
As mentioned before Spencer Schwellenbach joins at #92, and it is a well-deserved move. Schwellenbach dominated in his two starts at Mississippi and has shown some flashes of his potential in Atlanta, with really universal improvement on his pitches. The switch from a changeup to a splitter hasn’t paid massive dividends in games and the Braves may ultimately want to get him more time developing that pitch, but the addition of a cutter to his arsenal and the improvements to his command certainly give him a case along with Waldrep and Smith-Shawver.
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