The Next Generation of Braves Prospects

April 10, 2009

Throughout the 1990’s the Braves were known for developing home grown talent.  Stars like David Justice, Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones, Steve Avery, Javy Lopez, Rafael Furcal, and Tom Glavine all became stars for Atlanta.  Their success was self-evident, with 14 first place finishes, and five World Series appearances since 1991. 

The past few years, however, have not been as kind to the Braves.  Struggling to middle-of-the-pack finishes, the Braves seemed unable to replicate their past success.  But new homegrown talent has begun to emerge.  Jeff Francoeur and Brian McCann are young players with tremendous potential.  Along with Jordan Schafer, they are at the vanguard of another promising set of prospects.  Two of these talented prospects still in the minors are outfielder Jason Heyward and pitcher Tommy Hanson.  Keep both in mind for your fantasy baseball keeper leagues and for next season’s draft/auction.

Jason Heyward

Drafted in the first round of the 2007 amateur draft, Heyward has quickly risen to the top of the prospect charts and is ranked as the 5th best prospect in baseball according to Baseball America. Heyward is a good contact hitter with speed and projected power. 

His first full season in the minors was a tremendous success.  He hit for a high batting average (.316) and OBP (.388) and only struck-out 74 times.  Plus, he hit 11 homers last season 449 A ball at-bats.  That doesn’t seem too impressive until you look at his age and realize he was only 18.  Indeed, scouts are confident that he will develop into a strong power hitter as he matures.   Heyward begins 2009 in High A ball, but could get promoted quickly if he continues to develop.

Tommy Hanson

Six foot six Tommy Hanson is a future ace.  The 22 year-old right-hander is a strikeout pitcher with incredible poise and should find his way onto the parent club at some point this season. 

Hanson has made mincemeat out of the competition in the minors.  He began his professional career in 2006 in Rookie Ball where he notched a 2.09 ERA in 51.2 innings.  He let up far fewer hits than innings pitched, walked practically nobody, and averaged 9.8 K’s per 9 innings. 

His 2007 season was more of the same.  Split between A and High A ball, Hanson tossed 133 innings and let up only 104 hits and 58 walks, while striking out 154 batters.  His 3.32 ERA was a bit higher than expected, but can be explained by the 16 round-trippers he allowed. 

As an encore, Hanson utterly dominated in 2008.  Split between High A ball and Double A, Hanson had a 2.41 ERA in 138 innings.  He let up only 85 hits (no, that is not a typo) and walked 52.  Perhaps most impressive was his 163 K’s, an average of 10.6 per nine innings. 

Hanson starts 2009 in Triple A, where he already has 10 K’s in 4.1 scoreless innings of work.  With that kind of success, and four major league pitches (a 91-96 mph fastball, a “knee-buckling” curveball, great slider, and an average  changeup), it shouldn’t be long before Hanson makes his major league debut and becomes a top of the rotation starter.

Written by Evan Rosen · Filed Under Blog, Minor Leagues | 2 Comments