Where does the Atlanta Braves farm system rank?

This time of year belongs to prospects. Activity on the free-agency and trade fronts has slowed to a crawl, Spring Training is still a few weeks away, and prospect rankings are being released across the board.

Depending on the outlet, the Braves have anywhere from one to three players ranked inside the Top 100. That’s not bad, but the overall depth of the farm system still leaves a lot to be desired — something reflected in the rankings from ESPN and The Athletic.

#26 Atlanta Braves (ESPN)

From Kiley McDaniel:

“The Braves continue to graduate good players who were only in the top 100 for a limited time, with Drake Baldwin the most recent and Hurston Waldrep graduated as he was turning the corner to move up in these rankings.

Caminiti could debut as soon as 2027 while the two other top 100 prospects, J.R. Ritchieand Didier Fuentes, will likely pitch in the big league rotation at some point in 2026. The position-player depth isn’t great, but recent first-rounder SS Tate Southisene and international signee CF Diego Tornes are the best of the group.”

The Braves have hovered in the 25–30 range of farm system rankings for several years now, and frankly, a big part of the reason is that their top talent graduates to the majors quickly. Dating back to 2022, Michael Harris II and Drake Baldwin have each won NL Rookie of the Year. Spencer Strider finished second in the voting, and Spencer Schwellenbach was firmly in the mix as well, even if his rookie campaign was overshadowed by Paul Skenes’ historic season. On top of that, Hurston Waldrep just enjoyed a breakout rookie campaign, and AJ Smith-Shawver was the early favorite to win Rookie of the Year last season before suffering a UCL injury.

Of course, none of this is a bad thing for the Braves. If anything, it’s proof that their ability to develop talent and prepare players for the major leagues is second to none. That’s why the farm system’s low ranking entering the 2026 season shouldn’t be as discouraging.

#27 Atlanta Braves (The Athletic)

From Keith Law:

“No surprise here — Atlanta is so aggressive in promoting prospects that they often see players lose eligibility before they’re ready for full-time jobs, and they haven’t drafted all that well in recent years, contributing to the thinning of the system pretty much top to bottom. Scouts who saw their High-A club said it was one of the worst teams they saw all year.”

After giving the Braves some deserved praise, it’s also important to acknowledge the downside: this is an extremely top-heavy farm system. Atlanta hasn’t performed particularly well in either the draft or on the international market in recent years, and that’s an area that needs real improvement.

If the Braves don’t start hitting more consistently in both of those pipelines, the well is eventually going to run dry. And when that happens, it’s often the first sign that a rebuild is looming.