It’s that time of year. The point in the season where the young prospects who have performed well get a shot at the next level. According to Eric Cole of Talking Chop, you can expect a ton of movement in the Braves system in the coming days:
As I mentioned on the Twittersphere and the @TalkingChop pod yesterday, there is a lot of movement coming in the Braves minor leagues. By all accounts, expect Cristian Pache, Drew Waters, Ian Anderson, and Tucker Davidson to be on Gwinnett's roster.
— Eric Cole (@leprekhan) August 5, 2019
We already knew about Pache, but all these moving pieces make things even more exciting for the Braves faithful. Pache and Waters, the future in the outfield, get a crack at AAA, hoping to continue their breakout seasons. Though the Braves have more outfielders than they know what to do with, it would not be a surprise to see either of the two in September.
However, the biggest news for the 2019 season is the promotion of Ian Anderson. After opting not to pay the price tag for a starter at the deadline, the Braves are left with two wild card options to give their rotation a boost leading into the postseason: Anderson and Mike Foltynewicz. This gets Anderson one step closer to the big leagues, and if he performs well, we could see him rather soon. At the very least, one would expect him to get some innings at the big league level in September. But considering the talent level, he could be the guy who can put this Braves rotation over the hump.
Though he has never dominated prospect lists, Tucker Davidson has been outstanding against minor league hitters as he watched the Braves ship guys who used to be ranked higher than him out of town. Kolby Allard, Joey Wentz, and Luiz Gohara are all gone, so between that and his 2019 performance, Davidson is one of the top arms of the system. He owns a 2.03 ERA over 21 starts for AA Mississippi. The lefty is a bit older for a prospect just hitting AAA at 23, but is a big-time guy to keep an eye on.
So Braves fans, go ahead and make that drive to Gwinnett. As it stands, there is a TON of talent there (or reportedly heading there) right now.