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Atlanta Braves top 50 midseason prospects – AAA and MLB

By Benjamin Chase

ST. LOUIS, MO - JUNE 30: Max Fried #54 delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals in the second inning at Busch Stadium on June 30, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO - JUNE 30: Max Fried #54 delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals in the second inning at Busch Stadium on June 30, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /
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Atlanta Braves
ATLANTA, GA. – JUNE 13: Mike Soroka #40 of the Atlanta Braves throws a first inning pitch against the New York Mets at SunTrust Field on June 13, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /

Starting Pitchers

Kolby Allard – His first start wasn’t perfect, but there was a ton to like. Allard has shown himself to be a guy who will work around hitters with stuff that has tremendous late movement and incredible plane considering his 6’1″ frame. The strikeouts have become a focal point, as has his velocity, but he’s shown an ability to pitch around hitters and be a rare guy who gets better with more chances to face a hitter as he can set him up better.

Wes Parsons – Parsons is a great pitcher to fit into multiple roles across the upper minors. He’s been added to the 40-man, and he could be an excellent candidate to fill into a bullpen need or a spot start, but his lack of focus in his role has made it tough to really project him at this point.

Mike Soroka – Soroka showed some very good things in his short MLB stint before his injury. The questions around his injury remain, and he will be a guy to follow over the offseason as there are some odd comments starting to come out – and frankly, they don’t sound like Mike, which concerns me that people are putting words into his mouth.

Touki Toussaint – Touki’s really worked to utilize his change into his repertoire more consistently this season, and his steps forward as a pitcher rather than just a “thrower” have been tremendous to see. I’m still not 100% sold that he’s a starter long-term in the major leagues, but there is a lot, lot more to go on for that argument than before.

Patrick Weigel – A forgotten man in the system, Weigel exploded through the Braves farm system, completely bypassing high-A and working to AAA in his second season in the system, but then needed Tommy John surgery. If he comes back at full health, Weigel has the premium velocity and two solid breaking pitches to be an effective starter or he could be a tremendous multi-inning weapon.

Bryse Wilson – When Ronald Acuna went from high-A to AAA, seemingly getting better at each level last season at 19 years old, he was the top prospect in all of baseball, headlines galore. Bryse has done that on the mound this season, all the way up to AAA, and all at 20 years old. Why isn’t he getting the same publicity?

Kyle Wright – The big name the Atlanta Braves drafted in 2017 has been really turning it on lately and left his first AAA start without allowing a hit. He did show what remains the biggest concern I’ve had with Wright since watching him with Vanderbilt – consistency in his command/control. Wright’s raw stuff has definite mid-rotation future and possible upside, but the control and command both lapsing is concerning. For comparison, while Newcomb had “walk issues” before coming to the majors, in watching his games, he would hit the glove as positioned nearly every time with his pitch, but he often was working the edge of the zone and missed the call and/or didn’t get the pitch framed well. He was commanding well, but the control was not the best always. Wright has shown issues with both, which makes him very hard to judge in rankings.

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