Braves: Five Potential 2022 Breakout Prospects — Pitchers

MILB is not part of the Player’s Union for Major League Baseball, so even if the season is delayed, Minor League Baseball will play on. This is part three of three where I take a look at some potential breakout prospects with the Braves. Part one featured infielders and part two featured outfielders, which are linked below.

 

Braves: Five Potential 2022 Breakout Prospects — Infielders

Braves: Five Potential 2022 Breakout Prospects — Outfielders

 

Honorable Mention:

LHP AJ Smith-Shawver (ROK)

RHP Tyler Owens (A)

RHP Joey Estes (A)

LHP Dylan Dodd (A+)

RHP Jared Johnson (A)

RHP Brandon White (AA)

Recently, Smith-Shawver was named Atlanta’s top young pitching prospect by MLBPipeline, so you can read the full scouting report on him here. Owens had a rough 2021, but he still has decent upside as a high school arm drafted in 2019. Estes is Atlanta’s 14th ranked prospect via MLBPipeline, and his fastball-slider combo generates high upside as a bullpen piece. Dylan Dodd was a third round pick in 2021, and he has a good four-pitch mix with his changeup being his best pitch. His fastball isn’t incredible, but it has touched 95 at times. Dodd’s slider and curveball still need some development, but he just turned 23-years-old. Jared Johnson is another 2019 pick finding his footing in Augusta. Brandon White technically isn’t a prospect at 27-years-old, but he has a career 2.51 ERA over 222.2 minor league innings. Perhaps he could be a late bloomer that helps out Atlanta’s bullpen at some point.

 

RHP Dylan Spain (A+)

Not much was known about Dylan Spain when the Braves drafted him because he pitched at a community college in Hawaii. However, Spain made his presence felt quickly by allowing no earned runs in Augusta and Rome over 17.2 innings pitched with a 0.52 WHIP in 2021. He will be one to watch as he likely starts in Rome and moves up to Mississippi.

 

RHP Darius Vines (A+)

Vines is Atlanta’s 22nd ranked prospect via MLBPipeline, and he has posted some impressive numbers since being drafted in 2019. Vines is a good athlete with a four-pitch mix and only allowing 36 earned runs over 111 innings pitched in 2021. His numbers dipped a tad in Rome, but hopefully, Vines can continue to show some steady growth as he moves up in the system (no pun intended).

 

RHP Indigo Diaz (AA)

If you follow Atlanta’s farm system closely, you will argue that Diaz has already broken out. He was downright absurd in 2021, putting up a microscopic 1.00 ERA and 0.67 WHIP in Rome before getting promoted to Mississippi. He continued his strong play for the M-Braves, only surrendering three earned runs over 18 innings pitched with a 1.06 WHIP. He struck out a staggering 54 batters over 27 innings in Rome and 29 over 18 innings in Mississippi. He has closer of the future potential if he has a repeat performance in 2022, especially with a hard fastball and nasty slurve.

 

LHP Jake Higginbotham (AA)

Another older prospect at 25, the Clemson product has solid career numbers in the minors with a 2.60 ERA and 1.15 WHIP over 104 innings pitched. Higginbotham only threw 11.1 innings in 2021, but he didn’t allow any earned runs and struck out 16 batters. His 0.26 WHIP is extremely impressive, even for a small sample size. He’s a late bloomer to watch going forward.

 

RHP Andrew Hoffman (A)

Hoffman was a 12th round pick by the Braves in 2021, and the Illinois alum had a strong start to his pro career in Augusta. Playing baseball in the Big Ten, Hoffman likely won’t be challenged until he reaches Mississippi, but a 2.73 ERA and 0.98 WHIP over seven starts is a good starting point for him. Hoffman only allowed a .198 batting average and struck out 37 batters over 29.2 innings.