Family man Southisene making himself at home with fellow Braves in the desert

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Southisene family business is clearly baseball, with four brothers all playing the game at a high level. 

It starts with Ty, a 2024 fourth-round pick now part of the Blue Jays system and twin brother Tee, a pitcher at UNLV. The youngest is Troy, about to start his freshman year at Oregon State.

In between them is the Braves’ No. 3 prospect and No. 58 on the Top 100. Tate Southisene, the Braves’ first rounder in 2025, is in the Arizona Fall League playing for the Glendale Desert Dogs after a first full season in which he touched Double-A.

All of this begs the question: How did the Southisenes nurture this talented quartet? 

“Just hard work,” Tate said. “I mean, all four of us, we all just push each other, and it's a good environment to be in, just the competitiveness.”

Tate strives to be the best Southisene on the diamond, and if his first full season is any indication, he’s well on his way. The Basic High School (Nevada) product -- all four brothers went there -- hit the ground running by posting a .929 OPS with 20 extra-base hits and 36 steals over his first 51 games at Single-A Augusta. That earned him a promotion to High-A Rome, where he kept producing as a teenager three years younger than the average hitter at the level, with an .806 OPS over 38 games. 

Southisene then reached Double-A, but that visit was over almost before it started. He suffered a fractured wrist when he was hit by a pitch, ending his season at the end of July. He was a bit delayed getting into AFL action as he was finishing up his rehab, though all systems are now go. The 20-year-old admits he couldn’t have foreseen just how much success he’d have this past season. 

“Honestly, no,” said Southisene, who finished with a combined .876 OPS, 35 extra-base hits and 45 steals over 90 games. “I would say during the offseason I had a good idea of what to work on going into that full season.” 

He was sent to full-season ball after signing and struggled, slashing .219/.242/.297 over 15 games with a rough 27/1 K/BB ratio. A lot of the offseason work was designed toward making better decisions at the plate.

“It kind of gave me a good realization of what I needed to work on and what I needed to do in order to play the game at the next level,” Southisene said. “For me, it was kind of just being able to refine and work on my approach and make some swing changes. 

“Coming into Spring Training, I felt like I felt like a way better player than I was four months prior.” 

He actually enjoyed the steep learning curve from his debut and used it to recognize he was swinging at a lot of bad pitches and getting into bad counts. Southisene didn’t want to lose his aggressiveness completely, but while he still struck out 22.4 percent of the time, he also drew walks at a 15.5 percent clip. He also got to a lot more impact than anticipated right out of the gate, with those swing changes really helping him on both fronts.

“Coming in, I was a big handsy guy, big stride, a lot of moving pieces,” Southisene said. “I was just able to tone those down and be able to look in the zone. 

“For me, when my swing was a little sharper, it was easier for me to recognize spin, see the pitch in the right zone, see the pitch where I needed it to be, so cleaning up the swings also cleaned up my approach.”

Braves hitters in the Fall League

Owen Carey, OF (No. 21): There was some hope that this was going to be a breakout season for Carey, a 15th-round pick out of the New Hampshire high school ranks in 2024. He reached Double-A shortly after turning 20, but he also missed nearly two months with a heel injury, so he’s making up for lost at-bats in the hopes he can join Top 100 prospect Eric Hartman as standouts from Day 3 of the ‘24 Draft.

Isaiah Drake, OF (No. 29): A sprained thumb limited the 2023 fifth-rounder to just 68 games in 2026, so he wasn’t able to build as much momentum after a solid 2025 season. Still, he did hit 12 homers and steal 19 bags during his limited time with High-A Rome, and hopefully the additional playing time with Glendale will prepare him for a jump to Double-A in 2027.

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Braves pitchers in the Fall League

Briggs McKenzie, LHP (No. 8): The Braves went way over slot in the fourth round of the 2025 Draft to keep McKenzie from heading to LSU, giving the projectable lefty $3 million to sign. He got off to an incredible start during his pro debut, rapidly rising to High-A Rome, but he only was able to pitch 26 innings due to nerve irritation in his left forearm. It was encouraging to see him healthy enough to get some AFL innings in, and he’ll still only be 20 for all of 2027.

Tanner Bauman, LHP: Bauman was a senior sign of the Yankees, taken in the ninth round of the 2024 Draft and signed for an under-slot $37,500. He pitched in relief mostly at High-A when he was released in early August. After one indy ball outing, the Braves picked him up and he finished the year with High-A Rome. His 90-92 mph fastball can touch 95 and his low-80s slider is capable of missing bats.

Owen Hackman, RHP: Another senior sign from the ninth round of the 2024 Draft, Hackman joined the Braves for just $2,500. After a season of mostly starting for Single-A Augusta in 2025, he moved to a full-time relief role and spent most of the season with Double-A Mississippi. He throws strikes with a fastball that can touch 95, an 84-85 mph slider and an occasional changeup.

Tyler LaPorte, RHP: The oldest player in the AFL at age 29, LaPorte was originally an infielder at Southern University. Seeing some mound time for the first time in 2019, he pitched in the Draft League in 2021 then spent four years at various indy ball stops before signing with the Braves ahead of the 2025 season. He put up terrific numbers in 2026 (1.84 ERA, 13.4 K/9 rate), utilizing a fastball up to 97 mph and a bat-missing 84-85 mph slider.

Logan Samuels, RHP: One more 2024 senior sign, Samuels went in Round 8 and joined the Braves for $7,500. He spent 2026 with High-A Rome and struck out more than a batter per inning, though he also gave up more than a hit per inning. He can run his fastball up to 95 mph to go along with a low-80s slider and spin-killing mid-80s changeup.