The Braves have reason to worry about the decline in rankings of their former top prospect.
Even during downturns, the Atlanta Braves typically maintain a strong farm system, consistently producing promising talent.
When the major league team is struggling, the minor league system often sees rapid replenishment. While the MLB franchise has enjoyed success over the past decade, this can sometimes impact the farm system’s rankings, although Atlanta tends to weather this well.
However, there appears to be a disparity between the perception of Braves Country regarding their minor league prospects and the assessments from Baseball Prospectus and ESPN. According to Lindsay Crosby of Braves Today, AJ Smith-Shawver, once a top 100 prospect, has fallen out of this ranking and currently ranks third among Braves prospects in Baseball Prospectus and fourth on ESPN’s list.
Right now, the Braves’ top prospect is right-hander Hurston Waldrep, but he is the only Atlanta farmhand that is top-100 in the game right now. Infielder Ignacio Alvarez comes in slotted at No. 2 in the Braves’ system, with catcher Drake Baldwin even ahead of Smith-Shawver in ESPN’s latest rankings. This tells us something, but I think you have to do a deeper dive into finding out what that is.
Smith-Shawver has been hyped up as a future piece in the Atlanta rotation, but maybe it is a stretch?
Atlanta Braves’ former top prospect AJ Smith-Shawver was downgraded
I remember watching Smith-Shawver get his first run in the Atlanta rotation right before the team caught fire in June. He offered a ton of promise coming out, but I tended to believe that he needed a bit more refinement at Triple-A Gwinnett. Given the grind of the season, I fully expect for him to be a part of this year’s big-league rotation at some point down the line. We are counting on him for 2025
Right now, the Braves’ top prospect is right-hander Hurston Waldrep, but he is the only Atlanta farmhand that is top-100 in the game right now. Infielder Ignacio Alvarez comes in slotted at No. 2 in the Braves’ system, with catcher Drake Baldwin even ahead of Smith-Shawver in ESPN’s latest rankings. This tells us something, but I think you have to do a deeper dive into finding out what that is.
Smith-Shawver has been hyped up as a future piece in the Atlanta rotation, but maybe it is a stretch?
Atlanta Braves’ former top prospect AJ Smith-Shawver was downgraded
I remember watching Smith-Shawver get his first run in the Atlanta rotation right before the team caught fire in June. He offered a ton of promise coming out, but I tended to believe that he needed a bit more refinement at Triple-A Gwinnett.
Given the grind of the season, I fully expect for him to be a part of this year’s big-league rotation at some point down the line. We are counting on him for 2025
