Eric Hartman moves into Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects

Eric Hartman has been the talk of the Atlanta Braves organization on the farm, putting up numbers in High-A Rome at just 19-years-old that are historic, hitting .331 with 12 home runs and 13 steals over his first 31 games.

But it’s not just crazed Atlanta prospect junkies taking notice anymore.

Baseball America recently updated its Top 100 prospects list following a number of graduations, and Hartman has officially cracked the rankings, becoming a top-100 prospect in all of baseball according to arguably the most respected prospect outlet in the sport.

100. Eric Hartman

Ht: 6’1″ | Wt: 180 | B-T: L-R

Age: 19

BA Grade/Risk: 60/High

Adjusted Grade: 45

Hartman has been one of the most noteworthy pop-up prospects in baseball this year, seeing his stock soar in his second full season. The 19-year-old Canadian has elite speed and athleticism and is showing way more power than anticipated. He’s still learning the nuances of the game, but his raw tools are already starting to translate, and his ceiling is high.

Scouting Grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 60 | Run: 70 | Field: 50 | Arm: 60

You’ll notice Baseball America, while incredibly high on Eric Hartman‘s upside, still places him in the “high-risk” category, and most of that stems from where he came from. This was a 20th-round pick out of Canada a couple of years ago that hardly anybody had heard of, but it’s becoming impossible to ignore both the numbers he’s putting up and the way he’s doing it.

Hartman’s power, run, and arm grades tell the story of the kind of athlete he is. He’s capable of playing all three outfield spots and will likely steal 40-50 bases this season.

The power, however, is what’s really been shocking.

Twelve home runs in 31 games for a 19-year-old at any level is absurd. It’s not as if the dimensions in High-A Rome are much different than what exists in Atlanta. Power is power, and if you can drive the ball over the fence consistently, that’s the quickest route through a farm system.

The question for Hartman moving forward is whether the contact skills will continue to hold up as he climbs the ladder. Right now, the .331 average suggests he’s more than capable, but the sample size is still relatively small, and there’s no comparing the pitching in Rome to what he could eventually see at the major-league level.

Hartman’s move to Double-A Columbus will be very telling, and with the way the Braves tend to aggressively promote prospects they believe in, that jump could come sooner rather than later.