The international sanctions resulting from John Coppolella’s stint as Atlanta Braves General Manager have been a blight on the Atlanta Braves’ farm system for nearly a decade now. The depth in the system, though, is finally starting to show up again, and six of the top 24 prospects in the system are former international signees. That includes two in this section of the Top 30, who happen to be two of the biggest risers in the system and could see themselves even higher by preseason 2025. It’s been a long and slow recovery process, but the system is growing stronger and should start to produce those exciting international players once again.
25-30 | Honorable Mentions
24. Jeremy Reyes - RHP
How he got to the Braves: 2023 International Free Agency
Jeremy Reyes flew under the radar during last January’s international free agency period and Dominican Summer League season, appearing only five times last season and struggling with his strike-throwing. We were put on to Reyes early in the Florida Complex League season, and quickly it became apparent why there was much more excitement internally around him. Reyes was the best pitcher on the Braves roster in his short stint in the FCL this season, and although his command problems have plagued his performance in Augusta, he has shown flashes of a player who could make a quick ascent on prospect lists.
At 18 years old, Reyes is one of the youngest players in full-season ball, and on most days he looks the part. He tends to scatter his fastball and struggles to repeat his mechanics, but also displays the athleticism that we often look for when projecting command improvements. His pitch mix flashes MLB quality top-to-bottom, starting off with a fastball that sits in the mid 90s and has been reported to be as high as 98 this season. Reyes also mixes in a slider and changeup which both have the makings of MLB pitches, but his command of all of his pitches is so rudimentary that it is sometimes hard to get a good feel for their grades. Still, when he is at his best, he shows off a player who could fit in as a middle of the rotation arm at peak, with the idea that he could be even more if he continues to grow into velocity. Reyes is going to have to go a long way with his command to be a major league starter, but in terms of pure pitch mix, he is one of the easiest of the teenage pitchers to project to an MLB starter role given his ability to flash three average to above-average pitches.
23. Adam Maier - RHP
How he got to the Braves: 2022 MLB Draft, 7th Round Pick
From the moment he was drafted by Atlanta in the seventh round in 2022, Adam Maier has been viewed as a lottery ticket who could pay dividends if he stays healthy. However, the 22-year-old has indeed struggled immensely with injuries. After being sidelined in 2023 as he recovered from Tommy John Surgery, Maier finally tossed his first professional pitch this season as a member of the Augusta GreenJackets.
In 12 starts this season, Maier has logged 53.2 innings for Augusta en route to a 4.53 ERA. While that number doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, Maier has managed to strike out 56 batters across those 53.2 innings compared to just 12 walks on the year. Overall, Maier is an athletic pitcher who possesses a mid-90s fastball and solid breaking pitch offerings. There’s a lot to like about Maier, but unfortunately we just haven’t gotten a true, extended look at him as a professional so the water is still a bit murky on what his ceiling truly is.
22. Hayden Harris - LHP
How he got to the Braves: 2022 Undrafted Free Agent
Hayden Harris is a story not often seen or told in professional baseball. Harris was not particularly good in college at Georgia Southern, logging a 5.30 ERA over his five years with a walk rate that left him with little professional attention. Still, Harris was determined to not see the end of his baseball career just yet, and through LinkedIn found his way into an opportunity with the Braves. Harris struggled again in the complex league, but came out in 2023 firing and led the system in strikeout rate.
Harris lives almost entirely off of the strength of his fastball, and though he does mix in a slider and split-finger fastball on occasion, he is still 75+ percent usage on his fastball. You would think, then, that the player who has ranked fourth in minor league baseball in strikeout rate (min 80 IP) over the past two seasons must be hitting triple digits. However, Harris averages only 92.5 mph on his fastball. Thus, we come to the concept of approach angle, and Harris’s is certainly unique. With his undersized frame, above-average extension, and low arm slot, Harris produces a very flat path to the plate for his fastball, and it plays up well above its velocity. Among Triple-A pitchers who have thrown 100+ four-seam fastballs, Harris has the third-highest whiff rate on the pitch at 46 percent, and it’s not a matter of sequencing. He has also thrown his fastball 79 percent of the time, which puts him in the 99th percentile in both fastball usage and fastball whiff rate.
Harris seems very likely to be in the Braves bullpen next year, and if the injury curse makes its way over to the relievers he very well could make a debut sometime this season. The question is, ultimately, whether his approach will actually work at the major league level. The first question is going to be if he can get out right-handed hitters, but so far his whiff splits on the fastball are promising as he has a 44.4 percent whiff rate against right-handed batters and 47.8 percent against left-handed batters. Both of Harris’ secondaries are below average, but he’s been able to find success using them as surprise pitches and if he can command the slider better, it may be a weapon for him as well. At every level we’ve asked, “Okay, but can Harris do it against better hitters?” So far, the answer has been “Yes!” every time and we’re confident he has the floor of a big league middle reliever.
21. David McCabe - 1B/3B
How he got to the Braves: 2022 MLB Draft, fourth round pick
When the Braves went to Charlotte and drafted David McCabe in the fourth round in 2022, they were taking a player they projected to be a potential middle of the order slugger. There were some concerns, mainly his ability to make contact against top tier velocity and his future defensive home, but the bat was never in question.
McCabe posted a .698 OPS in Augusta after signing in a small sample size in 2022, then started last year off back in Low-A before earning a promotion to Rome for the majority of the season. Between the two levels, he hit .276/.386/.450 with 17 homers in 524 plate appearances. After the season, he went to the Arizona Fall League and hit a very solid .278/.448/.361 in 96 plate appearances.
Coming off a solid 2023 and a good showing in the AFL, the plan was for McCabe to finally get to the upper minors this year and get to regularly face that top tier velocity. Unfortunately he required Tommy John Surgery in mid-February and hasn’t been able to play this season. It isn’t out of the question he gets to DH this year, but still his stock is slightly down as a 24-year-old (25 before Opening Day 2025) that hasn't seen Double-A yet, and after surgery is even more likely to be ticketed at first base defensively.
20. John Gil - SS
How he got to the Braves: 2023 International Free Agency
Signed out of the Dominican Republic for $110,000 in 2023, Gil was not the most-hyped prospect in the Braves’ class. That honor belonged to his teammate Luis Guanipa. However, all Gil has done in professional ball is show that perhaps he should have been paid more attention to.
Gil went straight to the Dominican Summer League after signing and posted a .795 OPS with 11 extra-base hits as a 17-year-old. To start 2024, Gil was bumped up to the FCL squad, where he continued to post solid numbers. In 222 at-bats, Gil sported a .780 OPS with three homers. That performance was good enough to get him promoted to Low-A Augusta, where he has only played three games so far.
While we haven’t gotten a real long look at how he stacks up against the competition at Low-A, there’s a lot to like about Gil. Overall, he is a toolsy infielder with a solid feel for the zone. He doesn’t strike out a ton and has shown he can have some pop, albeit it’s more likely to translate more into gap power than anything else. However, at just 18 years old, there’s plenty of time for Gil to tap into that power as he grows both physically and as a player.
19. Luke Sinnard - RHP
How he got to the Braves: 2024 MLB Draft, third round pick
When Cam Caminiti dropped to the Braves, it was quickly expected that he would command a vast majority of the draft pool, considering his draft stock and projected status for the 2025 draft. When the Braves followed that up with Carter Holton, the talented pitcher out of Vanderbilt, you expected Atlanta to curb spending and go after a cheaper senior sign relatively soon.
Well, the Braves did one better and went with another potential first round pick in Luke Sinnard out of the University of Indiana with their third round pick. Sinnard has all the makings of a first day talent, but is still working his way back from Tommy John Surgery. Standing at 6’8” while playing at a Division One school, Sinnard put up some great strikeout rates (11.88 K/9), and showed surprisingly good control. He does this with an extremely high Induced Vertical Break on his fastball fastball that reaches 96 MPH but sits more comfortably in the low-to-mid 90s, a sharp curveball, a good cutting slider, and a fringe below average changeup that you can certainly work to develop into an average offering. When you once again factor in his height, that high IVB fastball also looks more overpowering due to the extension he gets on the mound as well.
There’s a lot to like about Sinnard, who looks like he can become a relatively fast mover through the minor league system. We likely won’t get a real look at him this season, but he currently projects as a middle of the rotation starting pitcher without much reliever risk and is a guy that we will be watching closely next year as he returns to form.
