Early Look at Atlanta Braves' Arizona Fall League Prospects

The offseason’s premier prospect league, the Arizona Fall League, got underway last week. The Atlanta Braves have seven prospects participating in the showcase, and while none of them are among the organization’s top prospects, there are some interesting players among this group.

For a prospect review of each of these players, click here to take a look at the preview I wrote last month.

Every Braves pitching prospect has thrown exactly three innings. Starting pitcher Aaron Northcraft completed those innings in one start, while relievers Brandon Cunniff and Ryne Harper needed two relief appearances and reliever Nate Hyatt needed three.

The start for Northcraft was especially promising, as he held opposing batters scoreless and only gave up one hit and one walk while striking out two. He appeared in the AFL last year without much success. In 18 innings spanning seven starts, he posted an ugly 8.00 ERA, allowed 23 hits and issued 15 walks.

Whether he was gassed from a long season or unaccustomed to throwing his sinker at the higher altitude in Arizona, it was a decidedly disappointing showing in baseball’s top prospect league. Let’s hope that the start he’s gotten off to this year foreshadows more good work to come.

As for the three relievers, they have all had a good outing and a bad outing.

Hyatt and Cunniff have each allowed just one run, while Harper has allowed two runs. Hyatt has been the most impressive of the relievers so far. In his three innings of work, he’s allowed just one hit (a home run) and one walk while striking out four.

The good early work from the Braves' pitching prospects has not been matched by their hitting prospects.

Shortstop Daniel Castro has done the best work, hitting safely in all four games he’s played. He's still an enigma of sorts, as he profiles as a light-hitting middle infielder, but in game action reminds me of a young Martin Prado. Like Prado, Castro has surprising pop, and decent speed (though not the kind of speed that can steal a lot of bases). 

As a 21-year-old with only half a season of Double-A under his belt, Castro is no stranger to playing against older competition. After signing with Atlanta in 2010, the organization loaned him to the Mexican League for a year and a half. That league consists of many former Major League players, and is largely considered a Triple-A equivalent in terms of talent. 

Alex Brandon/Associated Press

Outfielder Edward Salcedo has collected four hits and three walks in five games in Arizona, but he’s also racked up eight strikeouts. He too is used to playing against older opponents. The Braves have pushed him up the minor league ladder every season, despite the lack of any significant breakout performance at any level. 

This has lead many prospect evaluators to sour on Salcedo, and remove him from their Braves' top prospect list. My assessment of Salcedo is that the bat speed and power in his swing that made him a top prospect a few years ago are still there, and he simply needs more time to catch up to the competition. 

Certainly the strikeouts are a concern, and will bear watching. Salcedo's progression through the minors and his inevitable holding patter for the next year or so at Triple-A remind me of the path that former Braves prospect Wilson Betemit took to the majors. 

Speedy outfielder Kyle Wren is a part-time player for his AFL team and has only made it into two games. Hopefully he makes it into more games, as he might have a chance at a backup role in the Atlanta outfield as early as next year.

All stats are through the games of October 13 and are taken from FanGraphs.com and MLB.com.