For all the flack the Braves farm system gets, and it’s deserved after all the graduations and recent trades, they sure seem to continuously produce MLB level talent.
Just this year, we’ve seen 20-year-old AJ Smith-Shawver go from High-A ball to the majors and have success. From a national perspective, he wasn’t on anyone’s radar. Now, he’s a consensus top 100 prospect in baseball, and given his youth and upside, he’s one of the most valuable prospects in the game.
Braves fans also got to see Daysbel Hernandez make his MLB debut this month. He was recently placed on the IL to make room for the new additions, but the potential was evident, and he might not be the last Brave to make his MLB debut this season.
Darius Vines has spent most of the season rehabbing a shoulder injury, but he’s worked his way back to Gwinnett and impressed in his first two starts with the Stripers. Last week, he tossed 4.2 innings of one-run ball, and yesterday, he followed it up with 5 1/3 scoreless innings.
Darius Vines doesn’t have explosive stuff. He sits in the low-90s with his heater, and his best secondary offering is his changeup. Vines also mixes in a slider and curve, which are both average pitches. However, the numbers speak for themselves. He posted a 3.21 ERA with the Stripers to end last season and is continuing that success after a lot of time off this year.
With rosters set to expand in September and such a big lead in the division, the Braves will have the luxury of seeing some of their younger arms in action. It will also help them manage the workload of their best horses, particularly the younger pitchers like Bryce Elder and Spencer Strider. Darius Vines is on the short list of guys that should get the next shot, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw him in Atlanta within the next six weeks.
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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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