One of the biggest myths amongst a lot of Braves fans is that the club doesn’t have talent in their farm system. It’s been gutted in recent years due to trades and graduations. That’s what happens when you’re competing for championships year after year. The farm system becomes an afterthought. However, there aren’t many organizations that draft and develop like the Atlanta Braves, which is why they’ve quickly replenished talent at the top levels in just a couple of years and even the lower levels are beginning to look much better.
Some prospect outlets haven’t recognized it yet, but that’s because they don’t update their prospect lists throughout the season. FanGraphs does, and based on the developments on the farm this season, they now have four Braves prospects ranked inside their top 60 overall — A.J. Smith-Shawver, Drake Baldwin, Hurston Waldrep, and Nacho Alvarez. Smith-Shawver is currently ranked as the 23rd overall prospect, Baldwin came in at 36th, Walrep at 52nd, and Alvarez at 57.
What’s wild is four top 60 prospects don’t even truly capture how much elite young talent the Braves have in their organization, because it doesn’t include a guy like Spencer Schwellenbach, who recently graduated from prospect status. As Alex Anthopoulos stated after the trade deadline, Schwellenbach was the most asked about young piece in trade conversations. Unsurprisingly, the Braves didn’t budge, because if he was still considered a prospect, he’d probably have a spot in the top 10. That’s how impressive Schwellenbach has been at the major-league level.
Over the last several years, the Braves farm system has consistently been ranked near the bottom of the league. Yet, very few teams seem to churn out major-league talent quite like the Braves. They seem to have a diamond in the rough at each turn, and it’s a reminder to take these rankings with a grain of salt. With a slew of new draft picks coming in from this year’s draft and international signing restrictions of the past lifted it might not be long before the Braves have another loaded farm system, which is rare for a club that’s competing for championships.
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