Here’s the Braves' new Top 30 Prospects list
Mark Bowman
@mlbbowmanATLANTA -- Given what he has done during his first week as a big leaguer, it should be no surprise to see Vaughn Grissom listed as the newest top prospect within the Braves’ system.
MLB Pipeline has released a new Top 100 Prospects list and updated the Top 30 Prospects within every organization. Grissom fills the Braves’ top spot, which Michael Harris II occupied before he was promoted to the Majors on May 28.
The Top 30 list for the Braves includes many of this year’s MLB Draft selections, including each of the four pitchers the club selected in the first two rounds.
Here’s a look at the Braves’ top prospects:
1. Vaughn Grissom, SS (MLB No. 79)
2. Kyler Muller, LHP
3. Jared Shuster, LHP
4. Bryce Elder, RHP
5. Owen Murphy, RHP
Biggest jump/fall
Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the preseason list:
Jump: Justyn-Henry Malloy, OF/3B (Preseason: 27 | Midseason: 13) -- Once a heralded recruit at Vanderbilt University, Malloy ended his collegiate career at Georgia Tech. He has shown good plate discipline and power potential while playing for High-A Rome and Double-A Mississippi during his first full pro season.
Fall: Indigo Diaz, RHP (Preseason: 11 | Midseason: 30) -- Diaz’s command issues have caused his strikeout-to-walk ratio to fall from an impressive 5.19 in 2021 to a worrisome 2.00 this season in Double-A.
New to the list
Here are the players added to the Top 30 from outside the organization:
No. 5, Owen Murphy, RHP (Draft)
No. 6, JR Ritchie, RHP (Draft)
No. 9, Cole Phillips, RHP (Draft)
No. 16, Adam Maier, RHP (Draft)
No. 23, Drake Baldwin, C (Draft)
No. 24, Seth Keller, RHP (Draft)
No. 25, Blake Burkhalter, RHP (Draft)
Impact callup
Kyle Muller, LHP (No. 2)
The Braves are already getting contributions from Grissom, who was called up from Double-A and homered in his first game on Wednesday, but they’re never afraid to look to the farm for young pitching help. Muller’s previous stints in the big leagues have been uneven at best, but the big left-hander pitched well during the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader in Miami, allowing two runs in five innings with five strikeouts. He has also been outstanding in Triple-A and is tied for the lead in strikeouts in the International League (122 in just 99 innings). And Muller has missed all those bats while starting to answer the one big question about his game -- his command -- by walking just 2.45 per nine innings.
Best tools
Players are graded on a 20-80 scouting scale for future tools -- 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average. Players in parentheses have the same grade.
Hit: 55 -- Vaughn Grissom
Power: 55 -- Ambioris Tavarez (Jesse Franklin)
Run: 55 -- Douglas Glod (Braden Shewmake, Cal Conley, Jesse Franklin, Brandol Mezquita)
Arm: 60 -- Ambioris Tavarez
Field: 55 -- Diego Benitez (Braden Shewmake)
Fastball: 70 -- Cole Phillips
Curveball: 55 -- Kyle Muller
Slider: 60 -- Bryce Elder (Spencer Schwellenbach, Adam Maier)
Changeup: 60 -- Jared Shuster (Dylan Dodd)
Control: 60 -- Dylan Dodd