Prospects
Ignacio Alvarez
| Ignacio Alvarez | |
|---|---|
| Atlanta Braves – No. 92 | |
| Shortstop | |
| Born: April 11, 2003 Fontana, California, U.S. | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right |
Ignacio Alvarez Jr.(born April 11, 2003), nicknamed Nacho,[1] is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Alvarez attended Kaiser High School in Fontana, California and played college baseball at Riverside City College. He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the fifth round of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft.[2]
Alvarez spent his first professional season with the Florida Complex League Braves and Augusta GreenJackets. He started 2023 with the Rome Braves.[3]
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)
Drake Baldwin
| Drake Baldwin | |
|---|---|
| Atlanta Braves – No. 81 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: March 28, 2001 Madison, Wisconsin | |
Bats: Left Throws: Right |
Drake Randall Baldwin (born March 28, 2001) is an American professional baseball catcher in the Atlanta Braves organization.
Baldwin attended Madison West High School in Madison, Wisconsin, where he played baseball and ice hockey.[4] As a junior in 2018, he led the state of Wisconsin with 43 goals scored.[5]
Baldwin enrolled at Missouri State University to play college baseball. He played in 17 games during a shortened season in 2020, and then played 43 games in 2021, batting .291 with four home runs and 24 RBIs.[6] During the summer of 2021, he played in the Northwoods League for the Madison Mallards and batted .316 with four home runs over 52 games.[7] Baldwin became a strong prospect for the upcoming draft as a junior in 2022, in which he hit .341 with 19 home runs and seventy home runs over sixty games.[8][9] After the season, he was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the third round with the 96th overall pick of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft.[10][11]
Baldwin made his professional debut in 2022 with the Florida Complex League Braves and also played with the Augusta GreenJackets, hitting .258 over 24 games. He opened the 2023 season with the Rome Braves, was promoted to the Mississippi Braves in late August, and was promoted once again in September to the Gwinnett Stripers.[12] Over 109 games between the three teams, he slashed .270/.384/.460 with 16 home runs and 61 RBIs.[13]
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)
Luis De Ávila
| Luis De Ávila | |
|---|---|
| Atlanta Braves | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: May 29, 2001 San Estanislao, Bolívar, Colombia | |
Bats: Left Throws: Left |
Luis De Ávila (born May 29, 2001) is a Colombian professional baseball pitcher in the Atlanta Braves organization.
De Ávila signed with the Colorado Rockies as an international free agent in July 2017. He pitched in the Kansas City Royals organization in 2021. He signed with the Atlanta Braves before the 2022 season.[14]
De Ávila pitched for the Colombia national baseball team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic.[15]
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)
Isaiah Drake
| Isaiah Drake | |
|---|---|
| Atlanta Braves | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: July 15, 2005 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | |
Bats: Left Throws: Right |
Isaiah Keon Drake (born July 15, 2005) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Atlanta Braves organization.
Drake attended North Atlanta High School in Atlanta, Georgia.[16] He was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the fifth round of the 2023 Major League Baseball draft.[17]
Drake signed with the Braves and made his professional debut with the Florida Complex League Braves. In 2024, he participated in the first Spring Breakout prospect showcase.[18]
His brother, Kenyan Drake, plays in the National Football League (NFL).[19]
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)
Jesse Franklin V
| Jesse Franklin V | |
|---|---|
| Atlanta Braves | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: December 1, 1998 Seattle, Washington | |
Bats: Left Throws: Left |
Jesse Owen Franklin V (born December 1, 1998) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Atlanta Braves organization.
Franklin attended Seattle Preparatory School in Seattle, Washington.[20] Alongside baseball, he also played basketball and American football.[21] During his sophomore baseball season in 2015, Franklin hit .532.[22] In 2017, his senior year, he batted .571 with four home runs and was named Washington's Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year.[23][24] He was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 37th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign and instead enrolled at the University of Michigan where he played college baseball.[25]
In 2018, Franklin's freshman year at Michigan, he appeared in 47 games in which he hit .327 with ten home runs and 47 RBIs.[26] He was named Player of the Week once and Freshman of the Week three times throughout the season.[27] He played in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Brewster Whitecaps that summer.[28] As a sophomore in 2019, he batted .262 with 13 home runs and 55 RBIs over 68 games.[29] He returned to Brewster after the season's end.[30] Franklin did not make an appearance during the 2020 season due to a collarbone injury and the season being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[21][31] He was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the third round with the 97th overall selection of the 2020 Major League Baseball draft.[32][33] He signed for $497,500.[34]
Franklin made his professional debut in 2021 with the Rome Braves of the High-A East, slashing .244/.320/.522 with 24 home runs, 61 RBIs, and 19 stolen bases over 101 games.[35] His 24 home runs were most among Atlanta minor leaguers and were also tied for first place in the league.[36] He was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League for the Peoria Javelinas after the season.[37] He was assigned to the Mississippi Braves of the Double-A Southern League to begin the 2022 season.[38] In early June, he underwent Tommy John surgery which forced him to miss the remainder of the season.[39] Franklin returned to play in 2023 with Mississippi, hitting .232 with 15 home runs and 46 RBIs over 94 games.[40]
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)
Yolbert Sánchez
| Yolbert Sánchez | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Sanchez in September 2022. | |
| Atlanta Braves | |
| Infielder | |
| Born: March 3, 1997 La Habana, Cuba | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right |
Yolbert Sánchez (born March 3, 1997) is a Cuban professional baseball infielder in the Atlanta Braves organization.
Sánchez played in the Cuban National Series from 2015 to 2018. In July 2019, he signed with the Chicago White Sox as an international free agent.[41] He made his professional debut in 2019 with the Dominican Summer League White Sox.
After not playing in 2020, due to there being no Minor League Baseball season because of COVID-19, Sánchez played 2021 with the Winston-Salem Dash and Birmingham Barons.[42] After the season, he played in the Arizona Fall League.[43][44] He started 2022 with Birmingham before being promoted to the Charlotte Knights. He was released on September 23, 2023.
On January 24, 2024, Sanchez signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves.[45]
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)
Luke Waddell
| Luke Waddell | |
|---|---|
| Atlanta Braves – No. 79 | |
| Shortstop | |
| Born: July 13, 1998 Loveland, Ohio | |
Bats: Left Throws: Right |
Luke Thomas Waddell (born July 13, 1998) is an American professional baseball shortstop in the Atlanta Braves organization.
Waddell was born in Loveland, Ohio, on July 13, 1998, to parents Eric and Lisa. His older brother is Reid.[46] Luke Waddell attended Loveland High School. In 2023, he was inducted into the Loveland High School Sports Hall of Fame.[47][48] In his high school athletic career, Waddell set several school records in baseball and American football,[47] and as a high school freshman in 2013, was a member of the Loveland Tigers team that won Ohio's Division II state championship in football against Glenville High School, which featured future National Football League player Marshon Lattimore.[49] While a high school student, Waddell also played on the Midland Redskins travel baseball team for three years.[50] In 2017, his final year with the team, Waddell won a Connie Mack World Series championship.[51][52] After graduating from high school in 2017, Waddell joined the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets baseball team.[53] Following the 2018 NCAA Division I baseball season, he played for the Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[54][55] His 2019 season with Yarmouth–Dennis was cut short by his selection to the USA Baseball collegiate national team,[56][57][58] which played in Japan and Taiwan.[59] Waddell was named Georgia Tech's first solo captain since 1991 during the 2020 NCAA Division I baseball season,[60] which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[61] During the 2021 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets baseball season, Waddell was honored with an All-Atlantic Coast Conference first team selection.[62]
Waddell was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 32nd round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft, but returned to Georgia Tech.[50] He was eligible for,[59][63] but not chosen in the 2020 draft,[64][65] and instead focused on completing his bachelor's degree in business administration.[66][46][60] He was subsequently selected by the Atlanta Braves in the fifth round of the 2021 draft,[66][46][67] and accepted a signing bonus of $247,500,[68][69][70] which was approximately $85,000 under slot.[71][68] Waddell was assigned to the Rome Braves, where he played 21 games, hitting .304/.372/.580.[72] In September 2021, Waddell was promoted to the Mississippi Braves,[73][74] and became the first Braves' draft pick of the 2021 class to reach the Double-A level.[75][76][77] After the 2021 Double-A South season ended, the Braves sent Waddell to the Arizona Fall League, where he played for the Peoria Javelinas.[78] Waddell began the 2022 season with the Mississippi Braves.[79][80][81] Waddell was invited to spring training before the 2023 season.[82][83] In March, he was assigned to minor league camp.[84] Waddell was subsequently named to the M-Braves 2023 Opening Day roster.[85] On April 14, Waddell was promoted to the Gwinnett Stripers.[86] Waddell received another invitation to spring training before the 2024 regular season began.[87]
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
