Braves Include 17 Prospects On Initial Player Pool
The Braves announced their 60-man player pool Sunday afternoon, totaling 56 players who will suit up for camp at the beginning of July between Trust Park and Gwinnett’s Coolray Field.
For anyone wondering why the Braves didn’t max out their roster at 60 right away, it’s designed for flexibility. You don’t want to be in a situation where you have to start dropping players out of the pool, because there are implications.
To remove a 40-man player from the pool, he has to be traded, go through waivers, released, outrighted, designated for assignment, placed on the 45-day injured list, test positive for COVID-19, be suspended and so on. Non-40-man players may be removed by trade, release, COVID-19 injured list, suspended and so on. So, the penalty is quite drastic and prevents an organization from taking advantage of the huge pool space by freely rotating players in and out.
The four open spots could be used for in-season additions, such as signing a released player or trading for someone. If spots are left after a while, you could see the Braves add more prospects to the pool for development purposes. Also, the Braves are currently carrying seven catchers for the sake of this July camp. Catchers like Logan Brown and Jonathan Morales will help catch a lot of the bullpens, which is why you see these same names on spring training rosters. Someone like Brown or Morales could hang around for depth purposes, but they may get dropped from the pool later if they can be brought back into the organization.
Pitching prospects on the 60-man pool:
Tucker Davidson, Kyle Muller, Phil Pfeifer, Jared Shuster, Ian Anderson, Jasseel De La Cruz, Patrick Weigel, Bryse Wilson, Kyle Wright, Huascar Ynoa.
Position player prospects on the 60-man pool:
Logan Brown, William Contreras, Alex Jackson, Shea Langeliers, Braden Shewmake, Cristian Pache, Drew Waters.
This 60-game and 60-man roster situation further shows how much pitching depth the Braves have. Not many teams can boast this kind of pitching prospect depth that is not only added to the 60-man pool but can actually contribute right now.
Among the pitching prospects listed, there’s a real possibility we see major league innings this year from Davidson, Pfeifer, De La Cruz, Weigel, Wilson, Wright and Ynoa. Wright will either be in the rotation or serve as a longman behind a starter. Wilson could serve as a multi-inning guy or step into the rotation because of injury. Davidson could get innings if injury opens a spot, perhaps initially out of the bullpen. De La Cruz, Weigel, Pfeifer and Ynoa could get a call in the bullpen if needed. Anderson may be included more for development purposes but could get his debut at some point. The same applies to Muller and Shuster.
If I had to pick a pitching prospect who benefits most from the situation, it could be De La Cruz. I’ve written in the past that he needs to be on a major league mound soon as a fireballing reliever, but he was probably ticketed to a full season in the Gwinnett rotation under normal circumstances. This could propel him to his eventual role more quickly.
It could also help solidify a spot for Wright either as a starter or a longman behind the starter. Instead of jockeying for a rotation spot with a Plan B of opening at Gwinnett, he’s now set on the major league roster and should get a solidified role.
If this situation hurts a pitching prospect, it could be Weigel unless he makes the 30-man roster. Instead of throwing a full season and continuing to gain feel and prove his health between Atlanta and Gwinnett, he’s probably going to throw pens on the side unless he makes the active roster and is able to stick. Also, Anderson and Muller gain nothing by throwing pens and waiting for a call, but the same can be said for a lot of pitchers around the game and is just a product of the situation.
Getting added to the pool is less important for position player prospects. If anything, they’ll get daily, structured work with coaches on the field and go through team workouts, so that’s a plus.
We’re unlikely to see Brown, Contreras or Langeliers in a major league game. I’ve held out hope in the past that Contreras could get his debut, but it’s not even a certainty that Jackson will be the third catcher called if Travis d’Arnaud or Tyler Flowers go on the injured list. Hence the extra pool spots. Contreras and Langeliers will go through team workouts, though, which is all you can do for development right now.
Shewmake is probably in the same boat as an addition for development purposes. There’s an outside chance he makes his debut at some point considering he’s moving quickly within the system and can play reliable defense up the middle.
As disappointing as it sounds, the same likely applies to Waters. He could’ve used a full season at Gwinnett this year and will probably be relegated to team workouts barring something unforeseen. Pache has the better chance of making his debut because of his high-level defense in center field. If injury or ineffectiveness knocks out an outfielder, it could open a door for Pache at least on a part-time basis. The designated hitter also helps create opportunities with Adam Duvall, Nick Markakis and Marcell Ozuna likely getting some reps at DH.
Wednesday and Friday are devoted to updating the prospect list with the new draft picks. On Monday, I’ll dig into notable prospects left off the pool and whether they could get added later.