Braves Prospects in Top 100 Entering Offseason

The Atlanta Braves head into the offseason with some standout prospects, despite the overall outlook of the farm system. Back in August, MLB.com ranked the Braves as having the 28th-ranked best system, which is third to last.

However, in this low-rated pool, two pitchers have dazzled enough to crack the top-100 prospects: their top prospect, left-hander Cam Caminiti, and their No. 2 prospect, right-hander JR Ritchie. Caminiti is currently ranked No. 72, and Ritchie is ranked No. 86.

Both are coming off what could be seen as their first "full" seasons in professional baseball. Ritchie has been around a few more years, but he lost parts of two seasons due to recovering from Tommy John surgery. Meanwhile, Caminiti was drafted in 2024 and only made one minor league appearance that season.

Caminiti missed the beginning of the season due to an injury he sustained during Spring Training. He slowely stretched back out over the season, completing five innings just once until August. By the end of the seasons, he got a couple starts that last six innings under his belt.

The strategy worked, as he got consistent starts once he got to Single-A Augusta and pitched to a 2.08 ERA and a .210 batting average against. He punched out 75 batters in 56 1/3 innings pitched. He wasn't promoted beyond Single-A at any point in the season. That'll likely change in 2026.

Ritchie, on the other hand, rose quickly through the minor leagues this season. He started in High-A Rome and moved up to Triple-A by the end of the season. His performance earned him the starting job in the All-Star Futures Game back in July.

While Caminiti is a ways away, Ritchie is expected to see action in the Major Leagues come next season. He might not break camp with the Braves, but he's expected to come up in due time.

While every team has at least one top-100 prospect, the number of prospects you have in the rankings doesn't necessarily translate to a higher farm system ranking. For example, the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles were ranked 10th and 15th, respectively, and currently have the same number of prospects in the top-100 prospects. It's all about the overall outlook.

The Braves' lack of position-player depth has definitely knocked their farm system down again. The move to draft position players with their top draft picks in 2025 is a sign they see the need to address that area. Before 2025, the last time they took a position player in the first round was Braden Shewmake in 2019.

Even with the lack of depth among position players, they've managed to hit the nail on the head on occasion. Catcher Drake Baldwin had a rise similar to Ritchie's the year before and is now a strong candidate to win the National League Rookie of the Year Award.

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