MLB Pipeline discusses which Braves prospects could break their Top 100

At this point, not so much. Winning and trading has a cost. Currently, Jared Shuster is the team’s No. 1 prospect, and while I haven’t really started working on the 2023 list yet, there’s a good chance he sticks in that position. The club’s first-round pick in 2020, Shuster looks very much like a future big league starter and after a season that saw him reach Triple-A, he could contribute in Atlanta next year. But he’s much more of a high floor than ceiling type who doesn’t really feel like a Top 100 guy to me. If he comes out next year in Triple-A and is dominant, I suppose he could be an addition, but there’s more of a back half of a rotation vibe to him.

If you want to project a little into the future, I could eventually see the high school arms taken at the top of the 2022 Draft working into the Top 100 picture. Owen Murphy and JR Ritchie have Top 100 upside, but we need to see what they look like in pro ball for an extended period before they become serious parts of the conversation.

This is a great evaluation. I think Cole Phillips is another guy who could make a big impact, but it’s clear this farm system is lacking talent top to bottom. This is probably as bleak as it has looked since 2014. Thankfully, the Braves are out of timeout with international signing penalties, so hopefully those guys can help replenish the system. The Braves badly need bats, so we’ll see how they approach the draft in June.