Atlanta Braves Midseason Top 50 Prospects: 20-11

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Feb 22, 2016; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves outfielder Braxton Davidson signs autographs during spring training workouts at ESPN /

18. Derian Cruz, SS, GCL

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Many will see Cruz’s stat line so far with the GCL after being one of the two big-money signings last summer out of the Dominican Republic, and the assumption will be that I’ve perhaps left Cruz a bit low on my rankings. That’s about as far from the truth as can be.

Cruz has a great build at 6’1 and 180, and he has a very controlled swing. So far, he’s put up a .355/.365/.516 line with GCL with 2 home runs and 4 steals in 14 games. Very impressive stuff from a pure statistical standpoint. However, he’s also walked one time this season so far and struck out 10 times (not a terrible strikeout rate, but with only one walk, it looks worse). He’s also looked quite raw on defense, having committed 4 charged errors and had a number of other plays that should have been made.

Cruz absolutely oozes the talent, but when I watch he and Pache, it’s obvious to me that Cruz is definitely the more raw of the two, and his ceiling likely isn’t as high. Of course, that’s like saying that Pavarotti has just a touch more range than Jussi Bjorling. Both are incredible in their own right, so preferring one to another isn’t exactly disliking the other.

It is quite possible that with more scouting and views on Cruz, he’ll jump up even further in the winter top 100 list.

17. Braxton Davidson, OF, High-A Carolina

I thought the 19 year-old Davidson would repeat Rome in 2016. Instead the Braves put their faith in the young outfielder, and when he showed up this spring, it was not a good situation. Braxton looked as if he’d trained all winter with a “bro” trainer, his arms and chest swollen with new muscle, but no such noticeable change in his legs and a very noted loss of flexibility in his movement.

This drastically hurt the start of his season, and the stats showed it. He hit .192/.261/.308 in April, and it was noted by national writers making scouting trips to the Carolina League that Braxton was having trouble simply catching up to anything with break. On defense, he was looking bad, to say the least, after showing very good defensive skills in 2015 that made me think he could stick in right field – not an elite defender by any means, but a good enough defender with an above-average arm.

His slugging percentage has picked up every month, as has his on base. In June, Braxton put up a .264/.398/.471 line with a 15.6% walk rate and a 26.6% strikeout rate, which seems high, but it’s the lowest monthly rate of the season by quite a ways. What is incredibly impressive for Braxton this year is that he has yet to face a single pitcher that is younger than he is. That is incredibly impressive, especially as he makes adjustments over the course of the season.

While he’s definitely not done what many hoped he would this year, Braxton certainly has shown resilience this season, and if he can build on his recent performance at the plate and in the field, he’ll end the season with many ready to see him at AA as a 20 year old in 2017.

Next: 16, 15

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