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Atlanta's hottest hitting prospect right now? David McCabe

Originally posted on FanNation Braves Today
By Lindsay Crosby | Last updated 6/23/23

Atlanta's minor league system is generally considered to be...uh, light on position players.

Keith Law of The Athletic jokingly said it was basically "three pitching prospects in a trenchcoat".

That's why you keep seeing MLB Draft mocks with Atlanta taking position players, and it's notable when one of them is doing well at the plate. We've told you about Joe Dunand and Ignacio Alvarez recently, and there's another name to file away in your memory banks:

David McCabe.

A fourth-rounder in the 2022 MLB Draft out of UNC-Charlotte, McCabe is on his first full year in the system and has already been promoted once, moving from Single-A Augusta to High-A Rome about three weeks ago.

It's a deserved promotion, too, as the Canadian-born infielder lit up Augusta's opponents to a .267/.381/.493 slash line with eight homeruns and sixteen extra base hits in just forty-two games.

He's hitting just as well in Rome, as well: .328/.434/.438, with two homeruns in his first eighteen games. While the home-run pace has slipped with the increase in competition, the improved batting average and on-base percentage is a good sign that he's acclimating to the promotion well.

MLB.com recently wrote up the hottest hitting prospects for each team, and they singled out McCabe:

The Braves took McCabe in the fourth round of the 2022 Draft out of UNC Charlotte largely because of his switch-hitting power potential and he hasn’t disappointed. He got bumped up to High-A Rome over the past month and he’s kept on hitting, with an OPS of 1.013 over the last 30 days. He’s hit six homers in that span to give him 10 for the year in 58 games.

McCabe, who mostly played first base in college, has spent almost all of his time with Atlanta playing third base, and he has the huge arm to stick at the hot corner. The question is if the defensive actions are good enough, with him possibly being moved back over to first base as he rises through the system.

Despite the Braves having long-term contracts at both infield corners in 3B Austin Riley (2032 w/ 2033 club option) and 1B Matt Olson (2029 w/ 2030 club option), it's always nice to develop internal options at those positions in case of injury, ineffectiveness, or just as trade candidates later down the road.

This article first appeared on FanNation Braves Today and was syndicated with permission.

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