Atlanta Braves Farm Report: A Preview of the 2019 Mississippi Braves
By Clint Manry
Moving along in previewing the Atlanta Braves Minor League system, we have reached a level where two top-5 Braves prospects reside, not to mention several other talented players.
Mississippi Braves (AA)
Manager: Chris Maloney (2018 MoY)
2018 record: 67-71 (.414%)
1st Half: 4th in the South Division
2nd Half: 3rd in the South Division
Opening Day: Thursday, April 4 at 7:35 p.m. (EST)
NOTE: FV (Future Value) is a rating system created by Fangraphs. The max, or best, value is an 80. This is just another standardized component that is a great tool to use for better understanding the true skill level of a prospect.
Pitchers:
(RHP) Ian Anderson – 55 FV – #4 prospect
(LHP) Thomas Burrows
(RHP) Josh Graham – 40 FV – #26 prospect
(RHP) Jason Hursh
(LHP) Justin Kelly
(RHP) Elian Leyva
(LHP) Michael Mader
(LHP) Kyle Muller – 45 FV – #13 prospect
(RHP) Bradley Roney
(RHP) Matt Withrow
Catchers:
(RHB) Carlos Martinez
(RHB) Jonathan Morales – 40 FV – #31 prospect
Infielders:
(RHB) Ray-Patrick Didder – 40 FV – #29 prospect
(LHB) Daniel Lockhart
(RHB) Alejandro Salazar
(LHB) Luis Valenzuala
(LHB) C.J. Alexander – 40 FV – #25 prospect
Outfielders:
(RHB) Travis Demeritte
(LHB) Tyler Neslony
(RHB) Christian Pache – 55 FV – #1 prospect
The Rundown
Don’t let the 2018 overall record fool you, this is a talented team. As you can see, three of the team’s pitchers make the Braves Prospect List, and I’m not quite sure why reliever Thomas Burrows didn’t make the cut for 2019.
We’ve all heard of the top guys like Ian Anderson and of course, centerfielder Christian Pache; but this team offers more with players like Ray-Patrick Didder, newly promoted third baseman C.J. Alexander and Daniel Lockhart.
As far as Anderson and Pache, though, don’t get to comfy watching them play for Mississippi, as it will probably be short lived. Unfortunately for the team’s win/loss record, in Minor League Baseball it’s all about the development of the players. So as a result teams will often lose their best players by mid-season, but that’s OK, we want these guys moving up!
The Southern League of Double-A baseball is a good one, and in the South division, the Mississippi Braves will have their hands full. Although, Opening Day for Mississippi will task them with a North division foe, the Tennessee Smokies.
If I had to project how this season goes for Mississippi, I look for a better season than 2018 for sure, but all will depend on what kind of talent they receive from the lower minors once Christian Pache and Ian Anderson recieve their destined promotions to Gwinnett.
We’ll see them in the next columns of the Series, but Advanced-A and Single-A feature some kids that are bursting at the seams for an advancement of competition; but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
In a nut shell, try and check the Mississippi Braves out this season, as the roster will most likely look alot different than what’s rolled out on Opening Day in early April.
Now let’s check out the five players that you’re gonna want to look at during the 2019 season. Most of these guys will probably have some short stints in Double-A.
First a quick clarification: I didn’t specify this in the previous report, but I feel like I should now: These five players, or any that I talk about in this report, are not players that I’m ranking in regards to who has the best shot at making the Major Leagues one day.
These are just the five players that I find having either the most interesting case to make the Majors or are just plain and simple, very talented. So please do not take this report as the #1 ranked player being the most likely to play MLB and #5 least likely. There are probably even players that I might not discuss that have better chances at making a Major League roster, though maybe not in this particular report.
NOTE: On each player-page of this report I have provided a VIDEO and PLAYER PAGE link below each player’s name. Clicking on these links will direct you to that specific player’s prospect-video and player-page put together by Fangraphs, with YouTube. This is a great tool to familiarize yourself with these Braves prospects. ETA = Estimated Time of Arrival to MLB.
Previous Reports: