Atlanta Braves Ranked a Top Team for Homegrown Talent

The Atlanta Braves continue to be recognized for their talent, even during the slow start. Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter ranked them the No. 3 team for homegrown talent in Major League Baseball. 

They were the highest ranked team in the National League - the teams ahead of them are the Baltimore Orioles (No. 2) and Cleveland Guardians (No. 1). Only one other National League team in the top 10, the Cincinnati Reds (No.6). 

Reuter judged each team based on the quality of the players that were drafted/signed as amateur free agents and were developed in the team’s minor league system. Through this criteria, there are 14 homegrown players on the Braves 40-man roster. 

So, in theory, Dansby Swanson wouldn’t have qualified for this list if he was still in Atlanta because he was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

The top five homegrown players on the Braves according to this ranking are right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr., third baseman Austin Riley, starting pitcher Spencer Strider, center fielder Michael Harris II and second baseman Ozzie Albies. 

The number of homegrown All-Stars on the Braves roster and the talent still to come stood out. 

“The Braves' collection of homegrown talent will look a lot better once Ronald Acuña Jr. is patrolling right field and Spencer Strider is firing off 100-mph fastballs on the mound,” Reuter said. “Even with those two stars sidelined, they still have three All-Star-caliber hitters in Austin Riley, Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies, as well as a starting pitcher on the rise in Spencer Schwellenbach and a rookie catcher in Drake Baldwin.”

Between the top five players on this team, there are 10 all-star appearances, two rookie of the year awards, five Silver Slugger Awards, a National League MVP and 10 cominbined seasons of receiving MVP votes. Two of these players won the World Series in 2021. 

Teams have their different strategies for success. Some nail the free-agent market. Others are masters of the trade market. There’s something to that. Only two of the teams in the top 10 for homegrown talent have won a World Series this decade.

But having that homegrown talent has still proven to be a tried and true method for success, and the Braves, most years, have been a top example. 

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