Where the Braves' Top 30 prospects are starting the season
This browser does not support the video element.
With the 2017 season getting started, here's a look at where the Braves' Top 30 Prospects are projected to start the season:
1. Ozhaino Albies -- Gwinnett Braves (AAA)
- Kevin Maitan -- Extended spring training
- Kolby Allard -- Mississippi Braves (AA)
- Mike Soroka -- Mississippi Braves (AA)
- Sean Newcomb -- Gwinnett Braves (AAA)
- Ian Anderson -- Rome Braves (A)
- Ronald Acuna -- Florida Fire Frogs (A Adv)
- Max Fried -- Mississippi Braves (AA)
- Travis Demeritte -- Mississippi Braves (AA)
- Luiz Gohara -- Florida Fire Frogs (A Adv)
- Touki Toussaint -- Florida Fire Frogs (A Adv)
- Austin Riley -- Florida Fire Frogs (A Adv)
- Joey Wentz -- Rome Braves (A)
- Cristian Pache -- Rome Braves (A)
- Patrick Weigel -- Mississippi Braves (AA)
- Kyle Muller -- Extended spring training
- Dustin Peterson -- Disabled list
- Lucas Sims -- Gwinnett Braves (AAA)
- Ricardo Sánchez -- Florida Fire Frogs (A Adv)
- Derian Cruz -- Rome Braves (A)
- A.J. Minter -- Extended spring training
- Rio Ruiz -- Gwinnett Braves (AAA)
- Alex Jackson -- Florida Fire Frogs (A Adv)
- Bryse Wilson -- Rome Braves (A)
- Drew Harrington -- Florida Fire Frogs (A Adv)
- Luke Jackson -- Gwinnett Braves (AAA)
- Akeel Morris -- Mississippi Braves (AA)
- Braxton Davidson -- Florida Fire Frogs (A Adv)
- Lucas Herbert -- Rome Braves (A)
- Brett Cumberland -- Rome Braves (A)
• Complete Braves prospect coverage on MLBPipeline.com/Braves
Team to watch
While there are more Top 30 prospects -- eight -- suiting up for the Braves' new Florida State League affiliate, the Florida Fire Frogs, it's hard not to get excited about the group assembled in Mississippi. The Braves have aggressively double-jumped a number of the arms that helped Rome win the South Atlantic League in 2016, with Kolby Allard, Mike Soroka and Max Fried all leaping up to the Double-A Southern League. That puts four of the Braves' Top 10 prospects at that level.
Where baseball's top prospects are starting the 2017 season
Teams on MiLB.TV
Gwinnett Braves
Mississippi Braves
Rome Braves
New faces
The new face everyone wants to see is international import Kevin Maitan, who received $4.25 million from the Braves to sign. Fans will have to wait a bit to see the 17-year-old as he'll begin the year in extended spring training. The Braves did bring in some new talent via trades. Checking out the new Fire Frogs (playing in Kissimmee, Fla.), you can go watch lefty Luiz Gohara and catcher Alex Jackson, both of whom came from the Mariners, albeit in separate trades.
On the shelf
Dustin Peterson hopes to build off of a solid 2016 season in Mississippi, and then the Arizona Fall League, but he'll have to wait to do so. The outfielder had surgery in early March to remove the hamate bone in his left hand and likely won't return to baseball activities until early May.