Braves farm system no longer the best, but that’s okay
Published 11:28 am Tuesday, February 16, 2021
It wasn’t too long ago that the Atlanta Braves’ farm system was among the best, if not tops in Major League Baseball. When you transition through a massive rebuild that includes trading your best Major League talent for a collection of potential minor league stars, it only solidifies your place among the best farm systems in the game.
But lets face it, who wants to top that list year after year? It means none of those players have reached “The Show” yet and the big league team is likely still floundering in mediocrity or worse. That’s not the case anymore for the Bravos.
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According to espn.com, the Braves have the 13th best farm system in baseball, but that ranking will likely drop even more once the likes of Cristian Pache, Ian Anderson, Drew Waters and Bryse Wilson graduate to the majors full time. After what we saw briefly of Pache, Anderson and Wilson, who doesn’t expect that to happen this year?
Pache is already the best defensive outfielder on the team and he only played sparingly last year. Anderson was elite in his brief time on the mound, which included a sparkling postseason run. Waters hasn’t seen the majors yet but indications are he is a power-hitting outfielder which the Braves certainly could use. And Wilson was nearly unhittable in his one postseason outing against the eventual World Series champion Dodgers.
But with respect to the decline of the farm system, that’s okay. We want our minor league affiliates to produce big-league talent that will make the team contenders for years to come. With the graduation of Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, Mike Soroka and Max Fried in recent years, the Braves should contend for pennants for the next decade … hopefully, that is the idea any way.
The Braves are in a much better position than a few years ago when they were trying to contend with just a handful of stars like Justin Upton, Jason Heyward and Craig Kimbrel. I will admit that it was frustrating as a fan to see your favorite team mortgage big-league all-stars for minor-league standouts with great potential. But it has paid off.
The acquired minor-league talent has produced and established these Braves as contenders. The Braves and their fanbase are no longer worried about the team’s future. They’re living for the here and now. That’s alright by me. As long as it produces the team’s second World Series championship at some point.
