<img alt="Cincinnati Reds v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/4s__s6WDOYy8J5-K_7GlH9sYG5c=/0x0:5520x3680/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73520738/2162572780.0.jpg">
Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images
Caminiti was Atlanta’s first round pick this season It’s certainly been widely stressed that the Atlanta Braves do not have a particularly good farm system, but it may have come as a shock when MLB Pipeline released their new top 100 and new top 30s and the Braves didn’t have a single player land in the top 100. You can check out their top 30 Braves prospects here, but starting with the top 100 here Pipeline stands alone by not ranking any Braves. Some outlets may disagree on which specific players they feel are the top 100 guys for Atlanta, but Pipeline is the only one that I know of currently that doesn’t see anyone as top 100 caliber. It’s somewhat easy to imagine why as well, when you look at the rankings of the guys I personally think are in that tier.
RERANK TIME We've updated the Top 100 Prospects list and all of the team Top 30s!Dig in: https://t.co/brrhUFnhPo pic.twitter.com/mV3P5IXQcp— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 14, 2024
If I was looking at top 100 guys, not getting into specific rankings but just in the caliber/grade of prospect, I would have AJ Smith-Shawver and Drake Baldwin firmly in the top 100, with Hurston Waldrep on the fringe and maybe among that first group of guys in the 100-110 range. This falls apart immediately when pipeline puts Cam Caminiti as the top Braves prospect in the system. I thought that Waldrep, being a first round pick who until getting to Atlanta didn’t struggle at all and shouldn’t have had any reason to drop significantly on lists, would at least get a level of respect but for whatever reason Pipeline feels that both he and Smith-Shawver have taken significant dips. I like Caminiti and I can see someone thinking Caminiti is the top prospect in the system, as I really don’t think it’s that egregious if you believe in that talent more than other guys, but looking at the body of work from just the next 3-4 guys I’m not really buying it yet. Baldwin sits there at number five, which isn’t particularly crazy but given their respective performances in Triple-A I wouldn’t have Baldwin over Alvarez at this point. Though it is fair to say that we don’t really know how long ago these lists were actually compiled — making one for all 30 teams is a task and if they just did it in alphabetical order for example Atlanta could have been made a long time ago. Before JR Ritchie (ranked 7) returned, or shortly thereafter, and before Cade Kuehler (ranked 10) underwent Tommy John surgery. I do think in a lot of circumstances that is the case for these rankings, as while I can see Pipeline feeling that strongly about Kuehler prior to his injury it really doesn’t make sense to have him that high following it.
I do respect their reactivity to Baldwin and how well he’s done this season — they were fairly low on him compared to me going into the year and to jump him above guys like Perdomo, Ritchie, and Murphy is a good move and adjustment. We also saw a rise from Didier Fuentes up to #20, well deserved even if I would personally have him higher, and the addition of Jeremy Reyes to the list. Reyes is getting quite a bit of attention nationally so it seems as if he is one that is getting enough buzz internally for it to leak out, and pipeline dropped an interesting note that his injured list stint is due to bicep tendinitis. Overall the middle of the list is fairly in line with the consensus around baseball, though pipeline is notably high on draftees Nick Montgomery (22) and Ethan Bagwell (24) and lower on Lucas Braun (21) than what he deserved. The two that really don’t make sense to me are Douglas Glod and Diego Benitez being ranked. Glod is a guy who with his power I can see being a fringe top 30 guy, but with the progression and body of work we’ve seen from him I don’t understand how he can rank as high as 16th beyond just being a high bonus international prospect. Benitez is fine if you really do believe in him, but it seems the Braves don’t especially when they jumped a younger, lower bonus prospect from the same position above him in the pecking order. That prospect being John Gil, who isn’t ranked at all on this list. Again I think this is a case of just going of bonuses, because I can’t see any justification at all to having Benitez top 30 especially when Gil, who from what I’ve seen and been told the Braves themselves feel is a significantly better prospect, is unranked. I don’t like ripping into guys for their work too much, and this is far from the worst list I’ve seen, but there are in my opinion a few head-scratchers that shouldn’t be happening. Generally speaking I usually reference our rankings of course for Braves prospects and then Baseball America rankings when looking outside of the organization and this list is a reason for it.
<img alt="Cincinnati Reds v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/4s__s6WDOYy8J5-K_7GlH9sYG5c=/0x0:5520x3680/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73520738/2162572780.0.jpg">
Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images
Caminiti was Atlanta’s first round pick this season It’s certainly been widely stressed that the Atlanta Braves do not have a particularly good farm system, but it may have come as a shock when MLB Pipeline released their new top 100 and new top 30s and the Braves didn’t have a single player land in the top 100. You can check out their top 30 Braves prospects here, but starting with the top 100 here Pipeline stands alone by not ranking any Braves. Some outlets may disagree on which specific players they feel are the top 100 guys for Atlanta, but Pipeline is the only one that I know of currently that doesn’t see anyone as top 100 caliber. It’s somewhat easy to imagine why as well, when you look at the rankings of the guys I personally think are in that tier.
RERANK TIME We've updated the Top 100 Prospects list and all of the team Top 30s!Dig in: https://t.co/brrhUFnhPo pic.twitter.com/mV3P5IXQcp— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 14, 2024
If I was looking at top 100 guys, not getting into specific rankings but just in the caliber/grade of prospect, I would have AJ Smith-Shawver and Drake Baldwin firmly in the top 100, with Hurston Waldrep on the fringe and maybe among that first group of guys in the 100-110 range. This falls apart immediately when pipeline puts Cam Caminiti as the top Braves prospect in the system. I thought that Waldrep, being a first round pick who until getting to Atlanta didn’t struggle at all and shouldn’t have had any reason to drop significantly on lists, would at least get a level of respect but for whatever reason Pipeline feels that both he and Smith-Shawver have taken significant dips. I like Caminiti and I can see someone thinking Caminiti is the top prospect in the system, as I really don’t think it’s that egregious if you believe in that talent more than other guys, but looking at the body of work from just the next 3-4 guys I’m not really buying it yet. Baldwin sits there at number five, which isn’t particularly crazy but given their respective performances in Triple-A I wouldn’t have Baldwin over Alvarez at this point. Though it is fair to say that we don’t really know how long ago these lists were actually compiled — making one for all 30 teams is a task and if they just did it in alphabetical order for example Atlanta could have been made a long time ago. Before JR Ritchie (ranked 7) returned, or shortly thereafter, and before Cade Kuehler (ranked 10) underwent Tommy John surgery. I do think in a lot of circumstances that is the case for these rankings, as while I can see Pipeline feeling that strongly about Kuehler prior to his injury it really doesn’t make sense to have him that high following it.
I do respect their reactivity to Baldwin and how well he’s done this season — they were fairly low on him compared to me going into the year and to jump him above guys like Perdomo, Ritchie, and Murphy is a good move and adjustment. We also saw a rise from Didier Fuentes up to #20, well deserved even if I would personally have him higher, and the addition of Jeremy Reyes to the list. Reyes is getting quite a bit of attention nationally so it seems as if he is one that is getting enough buzz internally for it to leak out, and pipeline dropped an interesting note that his injured list stint is due to bicep tendinitis. Overall the middle of the list is fairly in line with the consensus around baseball, though pipeline is notably high on draftees Nick Montgomery (22) and Ethan Bagwell (24) and lower on Lucas Braun (21) than what he deserved. The two that really don’t make sense to me are Douglas Glod and Diego Benitez being ranked. Glod is a guy who with his power I can see being a fringe top 30 guy, but with the progression and body of work we’ve seen from him I don’t understand how he can rank as high as 16th beyond just being a high bonus international prospect. Benitez is fine if you really do believe in him, but it seems the Braves don’t especially when they jumped a younger, lower bonus prospect from the same position above him in the pecking order. That prospect being John Gil, who isn’t ranked at all on this list. Again I think this is a case of just going of bonuses, because I can’t see any justification at all to having Benitez top 30 especially when Gil, who from what I’ve seen and been told the Braves themselves feel is a significantly better prospect, is unranked. I don’t like ripping into guys for their work too much, and this is far from the worst list I’ve seen, but there are in my opinion a few head-scratchers that shouldn’t be happening. Generally speaking I usually reference our rankings of course for Braves prospects and then Baseball America rankings when looking outside of the organization and this list is a reason for it.
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