Gwinnett Stripers
Drew Waters- Waters has raked at every level, and nothing has changed since his move to Gwinnett. In 12 contests, he’s already racked up 17 hits, including three doubles and a home run. Waters has a multi-hit game in half the games he has played for the Stripers and is carrying a .333 batting average thus far. That’s 14 points higher than he was hitting in Mississippi. The 20-year-old is a line-drive machine, and he is going to put some pressure on the organization to call him up this season if this continues. The Braves will be without both Nick Markakis and Ender Inciarte until at least late September, and I’m not sure how much confidence Adam Duvall and Rafael Ortega inspire come October.
Cristian Pache- The Braves #1 prospect hasn’t had the same type of immediate success as Waters since being promoted. He only has seven hits with one double and nine strikeouts in 12 games, resulting in a .167 batting average. It’s unlikely either Pache or Waters make their major league debuts this season unless desperation calls, but Waters is proving to be the more developed player at this point, especially in the batter’s box.
Bryse Wilson- Even though he’s currently in Atlanta, Wilson has dominated in Gwinnett since late June. Take out one abysmal outing where he gave up nine earned runs in 2.2 innings, and he’s only given up one run in his last 33 innings for the Stripers. Wilson’s shown he’s not quite ready for the majors this season, but he’s right around the corner and should be in the rotation to begin next season.
Kyle Wright- Before his last outing, in which he allowed two earned runs in five innings, Wright record six straight quality starts. Like Wilson, he will have the opportunity to land a rotation spot to begin 2020.
Ian Anderson- After a rocky debut in Gwinnett, Anderson has bounced back with two solid outings. He threw six innings of one-run ball last week and allowed four earned runs in seven innings on Saturday. Anderson’s a strikeout machine but will need to show a bit more control before he is ready for the majors.
Tucker Davidson- Davidson just keeps surprising. He dominated AA and has started his AAA career in a similar fashion, allowing two earned runs in his first two starts. Davidson needs to be on the 40-man by the end of the season to avoid the Rule 5 draft, so there is a chance he makes an appearance for the Braves in September.