Atlanta Braves Top 10 Prospects
Atlanta Braves
No team in baseball, particularly one that has established themselves as perennial contenders, ever wants to use the "R" word. And while the Braves may not be in a complete rebuilding mode after posting their worst record since 1990 and failing to reach the playoffs for the third straight year, they're doing some serious retooling.
Major changes began in earnest at the conclusion of the 2007 season, when John Schuerholz became the club's president and passed the general manager reins to right-hand man Frank Wren. Since then, Edgar Renteria and Mark Teixeira have been traded, Andruw Jones has left as a free agent and Tom Glavine and John Smoltz have hit the free-agent market as well. Undaunted by giving up five prospects for Teixeira in a 2006 trade that will turn out to be one of Schuerolz's most regrettable moves, Atlanta sent four youngsters (most notably catcher Tyler Flowers) to the White Sox for Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan this winter.
For the most part, however, the Braves have been trying to get younger. Dealing Renteria and Teixeira yielding building blocks such as Jair Jurrjens, Casey Kotchman and outfield prospect Gorkys Hernandez. Atlanta put together its run of 14 consecutive playoff trips from 1991-2005 by constantly replenishing the big league roster with fresh, homegrown talent, and that blueprint for success remains intact.
Six of the Braves' eight lineup regulars in 2009 were drafted and developed by the club, and the farm system features as much depth as ever. Scouting director Roy Clark and his staff have filled the organization with several high-profile prospects with productive drafts throughout the current decade.
Outfielder Jason Heyward, the system's top position prospect, was selected with the 14th overall pick in 2007, but Atlanta has excelled in finding prospects outside of the first round. Righthander Tommy Hanson, the sensation of the Arizona Fall League was a 22nd-rounder in 2005 and part of the now-defunct draft-and-follow process that also netted the Braves lefthander Cole Rohrbough (22nd round in 2006), Flowers (33rd in 2005) and outfielder Brandon Jones (24th in 2003). They also grabbed outfielder Jordan Schaefer (third round in 2005) and righthander Kris Medlen (10th round in 2006) far lower in the draft than their talents would merit today.
Atlanta also has reasserted itself on the worldwide front, starting with the hiring of Johnny Almaraz as director of international scouting and operations in late 2006. He oversaw the construction of a state-of-the-art facility in the Dominican Republic that opened in 2007, and he and his scouting network are making inroads elsewhere in Latin America as well.
In the last two years, the Braves have signed such talents as righthander Julio Teheran out of Colombia, righthy Randall Delgado and catcher Christian Bethancourt out of the Panama and lefties Santos Rodriguez (part of the Vazquez deal) and Carlos Perez out of the Dominican. Teheran, who cost $850,000, was the top pitcher on the international market in 2007. They also have intensified their efforts in Taiwan, landing righty Wei Cheng Huang and catcher Meng Hsiu Tsai.
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No team in baseball, particularly one that has established themselves as perennial contenders, ever wants to use the "R" word. And while the Braves may not be in a complete rebuilding mode after posting their worst record since 1990 and failing to reach the playoffs for the third straight year, they're doing some serious retooling.
Major changes began in earnest at the conclusion of the 2007 season, when John Schuerholz became the club's president and passed the general manager reins to right-hand man Frank Wren. Since then, Edgar Renteria and Mark Teixeira have been traded, Andruw Jones has left as a free agent and Tom Glavine and John Smoltz have hit the free-agent market as well. Undaunted by giving up five prospects for Teixeira in a 2006 trade that will turn out to be one of Schuerolz's most regrettable moves, Atlanta sent four youngsters (most notably catcher Tyler Flowers) to the White Sox for Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan this winter.
For the most part, however, the Braves have been trying to get younger. Dealing Renteria and Teixeira yielding building blocks such as Jair Jurrjens, Casey Kotchman and outfield prospect Gorkys Hernandez. Atlanta put together its run of 14 consecutive playoff trips from 1991-2005 by constantly replenishing the big league roster with fresh, homegrown talent, and that blueprint for success remains intact.
Six of the Braves' eight lineup regulars in 2009 were drafted and developed by the club, and the farm system features as much depth as ever. Scouting director Roy Clark and his staff have filled the organization with several high-profile prospects with productive drafts throughout the current decade.
Outfielder Jason Heyward, the system's top position prospect, was selected with the 14th overall pick in 2007, but Atlanta has excelled in finding prospects outside of the first round. Righthander Tommy Hanson, the sensation of the Arizona Fall League was a 22nd-rounder in 2005 and part of the now-defunct draft-and-follow process that also netted the Braves lefthander Cole Rohrbough (22nd round in 2006), Flowers (33rd in 2005) and outfielder Brandon Jones (24th in 2003). They also grabbed outfielder Jordan Schaefer (third round in 2005) and righthander Kris Medlen (10th round in 2006) far lower in the draft than their talents would merit today.
Atlanta also has reasserted itself on the worldwide front, starting with the hiring of Johnny Almaraz as director of international scouting and operations in late 2006. He oversaw the construction of a state-of-the-art facility in the Dominican Republic that opened in 2007, and he and his scouting network are making inroads elsewhere in Latin America as well.
In the last two years, the Braves have signed such talents as righthander Julio Teheran out of Colombia, righthy Randall Delgado and catcher Christian Bethancourt out of the Panama and lefties Santos Rodriguez (part of the Vazquez deal) and Carlos Perez out of the Dominican. Teheran, who cost $850,000, was the top pitcher on the international market in 2007. They also have intensified their efforts in Taiwan, landing righty Wei Cheng Huang and catcher Meng Hsiu Tsai.
| Scouting reports for the Top 10 Prospects
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| Pre-Order the 2009 Prospect Handbook 30 scouting reports on every team |
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