How Atlanta Braves prospects fared in MLB.com’s updated top 100
By Clint Manry
It’s no surprise that the Atlanta Braves have some highly ranked young prospects. Will the Braves continue to stock up on talent or could we see some big moves in the next few days?
Despite this current time period the Atlanta Braves and 29 other MLB organizations are in — the stretch run leading up to the July 31 trade deadline — there’s been a lot of activity regarding prospects, more specifically, the ranking of prospects, over the last 4-6 weeks.
Last week I wrote about ESPN’s latest top 50 list — a midseason update by Keith Law; and I also included various other sites within the industry, such as FanGraphs, Prospects Live, Baseball Prospectus, and MLB.com’s MLB Pipeline.
At the time, MLB.com’s list had not been updated, as it was a ranking released in May. And if you recall, their list was the best of that group in terms of how accurate their rankings were regarding the Atlanta Braves.
Well, as you’ve most likely determined from the title of this piece — they’ve released an updated version. And in my opinion, it’s a dandy.
There are two things that are worth looking into: MLB.com’s updated top 100 list as a whole, and also their newest ranking of the Atlanta Braves top 30 prospects.
Both lists are important, not just because it gives us all something to argue about, but because a player’s ranking impacts what kind of trades the Atlanta Braves can make.
And I shouldn’t have to tell you how meaningful trading is right now for the Atlanta Braves. They’re currently in the thick of it as I write this.
That gives us plenty to look at here: How did the Atlanta Braves prospects do as an organization, compared to other teams? And what kind of changes have occurred within the Braves’ farm system and their own prospect rankings?
We’ll look at both of those subjects and I’ll provide my own two cents as well. Also, given that the MLB Trade Deadline is less than a week away, perhaps it’s an opportune time to discuss how this list impacts the Atlanta Braves’ trading situation over the next several days.