As one of the top two prospects for the Atlanta Braves, right-handed pitcher Hurston Waldrep gets a lot of attention from national and prospect-focused media.
Just today, he was named as the Braves prospect they’re most excited to see debut in 2024 by MLB Pipeline.
But after Waldrep, what other prospects might we potentially see in Atlanta for 2024?
Catcher Drake Baldwin
The 22 year-old Baldwin just finished a season that saw him climb from High-A Rome all the way to AAA Gwinnett by season’s end. Batting .270/.385/.460 on the season, Baldwin’s a lefty-hitting backup catcher that projects to spend most of 2024 in Gwinnett, but can be a backup option if someone happens to one of the two Atlanta starters and go-to third catcher Chadwick Tromp isn’t available.
Baldwin would require a 40-man roster move.
Outfielder Jesse Franklin
Franklin, a former 3rd rounder by the Braves out of the 2020 MLB Draft, is the only Braves player from that four-player class to not yet deut in the majors. He hasn’t lived up to that status, though, through no fault of his own, dealing with Tommy John surgery just fifteen games into his 2022 season.
Franklin sports plus raw power, but has struggled to effectively get it into games, with a career slugging percentage of .467. His AA numbers from last season, .232/.315/.419 with 115 strikeouts in 94 games, show some of the swing and miss that still plagues his game when facing pitchers with premium offerings in the zone.
(It also shows just how bad that Mississippi ballpark is for power production, another factor that may eventually result in the team moving.)
Quite a few things have to happen for Franklin to make it to the majors this season, including several injuries to the depth players ahead of him (like Forrest Wall), a 40-man roster move, and a jump in offensive production, but Franklin still has the tools to be an effective corner defender who could step into center field in a pinch.
Pitcher Hayden Harris
Harris is an undrafted free agent reliever from Georgia Southern who Atlanta prioritized signing after the 2022 draft. Rising all the way to AA in his first professional season, the lefty hurler struck out 91 batters in his 59.1 innings in 2023. Atlanta then invited him to their postseason workouts in Truist Park, where he faced off against big leaguers trying to stay in rhythm for the upcoming National League Divisional Series.
