Atlanta Braves 2014 All-Prospect Team

It’s been a tough year for the Atlanta Braves, one that started out with so much promise after a great April and almost half the season spent in first place. But lately they’ve been tough to watch as they fall further and further behind in the Wild Card chase.

We’re not about to write them off just yet, but one can’t help but think of next season and whether there are any prospects on the farm who could help in Atlanta next season.

With that in mind, we present our 2014 Braves all-prospect team. We’ll take a look at each position and see which prospect in the system rises to the top.

Braves All-Prospect Team: Catcher

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The Braves catcher of the future is Christian Bethancourt. He was likely the reason that Brian McCann was allowed to leave via free agency, and not Evan Gattis.

Bethancourt’s defense has been the best in the system for years, and now his offense is finally catching up. He hit .283/.308/.408 at Triple-A this season. That’s good, but it should be viewed in an even better light when one considers that he’s only 23 years old.

He has thus far performed admirably at the plate in the big leagues, hitting .278/.316/.296 in 15 games with Atlanta. Bethancourt's continued September audition could lead to Evan Gattis being traded this offseason to clear room for him behind the plate.

Braves All-Prospect Team: First Base

CB Wilkins

When the big league club signs their first baseman to an eight-year, $135 million contract, the scouting department doesn’t usually focus on drafting and developing prospects at first base. And so the Braves have not used any high draft picks on first basemen.

This position has been quite barren for Atlanta since Freddie Freeman graduated to the majors in 2011, and so we reach all the way down to Low-A Rome for the organization’s top first base prospect.

Joey Meneses was an international free agent signed by the Braves in 2011. At 22, he’s old for the level he’s at, but he posted the best OPS for the Rome Braves while playing there for the second year in a row. Is he really a prospect? Probably not, but he’s as close as they come at first base for the Braves.

Honorable mention: fellow Rome first baseman Jacob Schrader.

Braves All-Prospect Team: Second Base

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With the less-than-stellar season that top pitching prospect Lucas Sims turned in this year, many prospect outlets will be rating Jose Peraza as the top prospect in the Braves system this offseason. He certainly deserves to be considered for the top spot.

Peraza started the season at High-A Lynchburg, posting a slash line of .342/.365/.454. That great hitting got him promoted to Double-A Mississippi in mid-June, where he didn’t skip a beat, hitting .335/.363/.422.

He slumped a bit at the end of the year because of a leg injury and was eventually shut down with only a few games left in the season.

Peraza is the fastest player in the system, swiping 60 bags this season and 64 last season. With that kind of speed, he could be the leadoff hitter that Atlanta has been searching for since the departure of Michael Bourn. He may need to work on taking more walks, but if he can hit and run the bases, then there should be a job for him next spring.

Braves All-Prospect Team: Third Base

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Kyle Kubitza had a breakout season this year at Double-A Mississippi. He hit .295/.405/.470 with eight home runs and 21 stolen bases.

Kubitza has a similar offensive profile to that of current Atlanta third baseman Chris Johnson, with modest power and lots of strikeouts. The difference with Kubitza is that he also draws a ton of walks—hence the .405 on-base percentage.

He’ll likely move up to Triple-A next year and make himself ready if needed in Atlanta—though he could probably provide at least replacement-level production at the hot corner now.

Braves All-Prospect Team: Shortstop

CB Wilkins

The next big thing from the small island of Curacao could be Ozhaino Albies. Signed just last year, the 17-year-old made his professional debut stateside this season, skipping the Dominican Summer League, where most international players begin.

In the Gulf Coast League he proceeded to hit .381/.481/.429 for the first month of his pro career, then got promoted to Danville, where he continued his good hitting with a .356/.429/.452 slash line.

Albies offers good speed and so far has shown above-average on-base potential, which leads me to believe that he has a good approach at the plate.

While he is a new name, he should start popping up on Braves prospect lists this offseason.

Braves All-Prospect Team: Left Field

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Edward Salcedo was the Braves international bonus baby in 2010, signing as a power-hitting shortstop. He eventually moved off short to third base, then outgrew the infield altogether. That may not sound like a prospect, nor might his .212/.294/.357 slash line at Triple-A seem like the work of a big prospect, but he’s only 23 years old and still has plenty of power in his swing.

The Braves have pushed him year after year against tougher and tougher competition, and while he will repeat Triple-A next year, he’s in a prime position to finally catch up to the league and have a breakout season—all at age 23.

Braves All-Prospect Team: Center Field

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The general manager’s son, Kyle Wren put his own mark on the baseball world this year. He started out at High-A Lynchburg, putting up a solid slash line of .296/.359/.357. He then got promoted to Double-A Mississippi at the end of June and didn’t skip a beat with a slash line of .283/.338/.376.

At 23, he’s an older prospect but has very good speed, stealing 46 bases this year. He gets on base and does a lot of the little things well, and those attributes could have him competing for a bench role next spring.

Braves All-Prospect Team: Right Field

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This year’s first-round pick, Braxton Davidson, didn’t put up any eye-popping numbers in his pro debut, but the Braves set him up to begin next season at full-season ball in Rome. He’s got the tools to be an All-Star outfielder, and it should only be a matter of time before those tools start to translate to stats on paper.

Braves All-Prospect Team: Starting Pitcher

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The Braves' top prospect, Lucas Sims, had an average year, posting an unimpressive 4.19 ERA at High-A Lynchburg. His strikeouts were down from last season and his hits allowed were up.

There will be many prospect evaluators who drop Sims in their rankings, but he still deserves to be considered the top pitching prospect in the Braves system.

From his stats, it may seem like he had a pedestrian year, but he posted those numbers while being the third-youngest pitcher in the Carolina League. All but 11 of the 676 plate appearances batters had against him this year were against players younger than he was.

He’ll be pushed once again to Double-A Mississippi next season as a 21-year-old pitcher.

Braves All-Prospect Team: Relief Pitcher

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Left-hander Chasen Shreve burst onto the scene this year from virtual obscurity. He caught the attention of many by posting a 12.6 K/9 rate at Double-A. When Shae Simmons was promoted to the majors, Shreve took over the closing duties for Mississippi.

That lasted about a month before the Braves called Shreve up to Atlanta, where he had good success filling in for injured relievers. He’s back with the big league team for the September run, and should be in a strong position to earn a spot on next year’s Opening Day roster.