Atlanta Braves 2017 Top 10 Prospects: Where Are They Now?
By Seth Carter
We look back three years at the Atlanta Braves top 10 prospects of the 2017 season and where that wonderful prospect class is today?
MLB Pipeline ranked this crop of Atlanta Braves’ prospects as the top farm system in the universe — this is a fun list.
Things were beginning to turn around for the Braves in 2017. The big-league club would suffer its fourth consecutive losing season, but with these shiny new toys on the way, it would be their last losing season.
We recently reviewed the top 10 prospects from 2015 according to Baseball Prospectus, and the results were not pretty.
Just two years later, we are still tasting the satiating crops from this outstanding farm system. Let’s take a look at the ingredients that make this current Braves recipe taste so good.
10. Travis Demeritte
Travis Demeritte was taken by the Texas Rangers in the first round of the 2013 draft. A Georgia-boy, Demeritte was drafted out of Winder-Barrow High School in Winder, Ga.
At just 19-years-old, Demeritte declared his presence with authority as he smashed 25 homers, drove in 66 runs, and touched home plate 77 times in 118 games for A-Hickory.
In 2016, the Braves wanted to get in on the action so they called the Rangers up and agreed to send Dario Alvarez and Lucas Harrell to the Rangers in exchange for Demeritte.
At the time of the trade, Demeritte had amassed 25 homers and 13 steals in just 88 games in High-A. His slash line at the time of the trade was a glowing .272/.352/.583.
The Braves selected Travis as a representative in the Arizona Fall League that season. He hit four homers and drove in 14 runs.
He played the 2017 and 2018 seasons in AA-Mississippi under the Braves banner. He found himself in AAA-Gwinnett last season, hitting 20 homers, 28 doubles, and two triples in just 96 games. He slashed .286/.387/.558 and drove in 73 runs.
Demeritte has a cool blend of power and on-base ability that the Detroit Tigers were very interested in. The Braves have a bit of a logjam in the outfield right now, so they found a home for the talented right fielder when they reinforced their bullpen last season by sending him to Detroit with Joey Wentz for their closer Shane Greene.
Demeritte made his debut with the Tigers just two days after the trade. He probably hadn’t finished unpacking his bags before he found himself on a major league field. Demeritte currently has four homers this spring and is making a case for the major league roster.