The Atlanta Braves are next on our Players Likely to Debut series. In case you missed it, we rolled out the AL East all of last week.
AL East: Red Sox — Yankees — Orioles — Blue Jays — Rays
NL East: Marlins
Below, you will find a list of three prospects from the respective organization. Each prospect will have a number score next to their name — this number will represent the estimated amount of time we anticipate that player seeing at the big-league level. Players that have already made their big-league debut will not be included on this list.
BREAKDOWN OF TIME ON ROSTER SCORES:
1 — September call-ups / guys that are likely to see less than 20-25 games on the roster
2 — 1/4 of the season (roughly 40 games on roster)
3 — 1/2 of the season (roughly 80 games on roster)
4 — 3/4 of the season (roughly 120 games on roster)
5 — Full season on the MLB roster
ATLANTA BRAVES
Position — Name (Time on Roster Score)
OF — Drew Waters (3)
The last piece of what the Braves hope to be a strong outfield trio for years to come should be ready to join Ronald Acuna Jr and Cristian Pache soon in Atlanta. Waters presents many raw tools that you dream of when looking at developing minor league players. A start in AAA is likely due some concerns about plate approach but the elite bat speed and athleticism should allow Waters to be up by mid season especially with Adam Duvall being non tendered by the organization this winter.
SS — Braden Shewmake (1)
The second of two first rounders in the 2019 draft, Shewmake, has quickly moved through a system lacking a lot position player depth. Unike Waters, Shewmake is not the uber-tooled type of prospect, but he has something Waters doesn’t: an incredible approach at the plate. If he shows development in the power department, he might be able to push for a cup of coffee late this year.
LHP — Kyle Muller (2)
The 6’7” southpaw was added to the Braves 40-man roster this offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft in December. While the Braves still hope the other pitches develop enough to fit in the rotation, Muller’s plus heater is big-league ready and could potentially earn him a chance in the pen at the highest level if the Braves need help.
NOTABLE
With Travis d’Arnaud still around for another year, the Braves don’t necessarily have a rush to move their top catching prospect, Shea Langeliers, up to the Majors yet but his development is something to watch this year. The defense has always played and now fully recovered from his hand injury in 2019, it will be interesting to see how much of the raw power can translate into the game.
Two names to follow are pitchers, Jasseel De La Cruz and Philip Pfeifer who have been included on the Braves 40-man roster. Both could continue to see a starter’s workload in the minor leagues in order to add experience on the mound, but likely would see a bump in effectiveness out of the pen if they were to get a promotion to the highest level.